Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill is one of the city's tucked away treasures. The library, dedicated to the life and works of William Shakespeare, is a must-see for literary aficionados.
The Folger Shakespeare Library is set to open a new exhibit that places the spotlight on sleep.
Sleep and dreams have long fascinated mankind. Elizabethan England was no different. For Shakespeare, dreams served as a literary device to foretell future events through premonition as well as a portal between fantasy and reality. To Sleep, Perchance to Dream explores the conscious – and unconscious – nighttime activities of Shakespeare’s day and their role in popular culture.
Exhibition Highlights
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream features nearly one hundred books and illustrations from the Folger collection, as well as objects connected with sleeping and dreaming in Elizabethan England. Highlights include:
- An interactive “Dream Machine” that allows visitors to deconstruct their own dreams using a special touchscreen display and interpretations drawn from period dream manuals.
- Recipes for sleep remedies. Women of this period often compiled recipes to ease sleeplessness; a collection by Mary Granville and her daughter Anne advises applying a mixture of strained ivy leaves and white wine vinegar to the temples.
- Elizabethan nightwear. Full-size replicas of bedroom attire for men and women, created especially for this exhibition, will be on display.
- Dreams on stage. Dreams play prominent roles in Shakespearean drama, from Romeo and Juliet to Macbeth to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Photographs from contemporary productions of these plays accompany the exhibition.
Dates & Times:
February 19–May 30, 2009
Monday–Saturday,10 a.m.–5 p.m.
General Information:
201 East Capitol Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
202-544-4600
