When Shakespeare plays are performed on stage and the magic of witches dazzles us with lights, smoke, and mirrors, it’s easy to think these spells and...

In 1606, as Shakespeare staged Macbeth, James I had published his book on witchcraft and the supernatural called Daemonology, and witch trials were ra...

In Shakespeare’s Henry VI part II, Lord Clifford exclaims, “To Bedlam with him! Is the man grown mad?” That’s from Act V Scene 1. This use of the word...

According to The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare, edited by Stanley Wells and Michael Dobson, the phrase “the Clink” described a specific prison in an...

The rise of the printing press created a precursor to the modern day newspaper, where printed publications like broadsides and pamphlets served to com...

William Shakespeare mentions the word “book” over 140 times across his works, showing not only their prominent place in society but their popularity a...

Sandals, boots, spurs, and cobbled shoes are all mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays, found in works like Alls Well That Ends Well, Coriolanus, and even ...

There may not have been indoor plumbing in Shakespeare’s lifetime, but going to the bathroom still involved cleaning up. One aspect you may be surpris...

When William Shakespeare was just 24 years old, a man named Timothy Bright would introduce a system of writing called charactery to England, setting o...

  Leicester’s Men are a group of actors who formed what many consider to be the founding company of English Renaissance Theater. Established with the ...