UConn Welcomes Shakespeare’s 'First Folio'

STORRS, CT — It is a very old book in a temperature-controlled modern archive case.

But to those standing next to it at the University of Connecticut's William Benton Museum of Art on Thursday, it was awe-inspiring, the Grand Canyon of the written word in western civilization.

"It is just amazing to see it up close," said Rachel Zilinski, the registrar and assistant curator at The Benton.

UConn is hosting the 393-year-old "First Folio" of William Shakespeare's plays until Sept. 25.

More information on related events can be found at www.shakespeare.uconn.edu.

The First Folio is the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays published by two of his fellow actors in 1623, seven years after the Bard’s death on April 23. The collection includes 18 plays that would otherwise have been lost, including:

• Macbeth
• Julius Caesar
• Twelfth Night
• The Tempest
• Antony and Cleopatra
• The Comedy of Errors
• As You Like It

The national tour is being hosted by one institution in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s passing this year, UConn officials said. The tour is a partnership between The Folger Shakespeare Library, Cincinnati Museum Center and the American Library Association.

“As an institution with a strong history of championing the dramatic classics through our resident theater, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, we are very proud to have the opportunity to host this exhibition for our state,” said Anne D’Alleva, dean of UConn’s School of Fine Arts. “This is an important document in the life of the arts and our students and wider community to experience here on campus.”

During the month-long run of the exhibition, UConn will also present a variety of related academic and cultural programming in its venues such as the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, libraries and lecture halls, university officials said.

The activities will include a Connecticut Repertory Theatre production of a Shakespeare play, workshops for high school English teachers, a festival of Shakespeare in film and popular culture, a puppet adaptation of Macbeth, a related exhibit on “The Culture of Shakespeare” at the Benton, musical performance and other events.

In 2014, UConn joined the Folger Consortium, a collaborative endeavor of the Folger Shakespeare Library and more than 40 universities in the U.S. and abroad, with each member institution contributing to projects that no one of them can accomplish alone.

Brendan Kane, assistant director of public humanities at UConn who serves as the faculty representative to the Folger Consortium said, “UConn is an ideal host for the First Folio exhibition given its diverse and vibrant community of Renaissance and Reformation scholars. Hosting the tour strengthens scholarly links with the Folger and also demonstrates the University’s ongoing commitment to public humanities and scholarly outreach.”

When standing next to the First Folio, Kane and UConn English professor Greg Semenza called it a defining document of western civilization, both in terms of the written word and Shakespeare and his colleagues as businessmen.

The First Folio is open to the famous "To Be or Not to Be" speech by Hamlet, arguably Shakespeare's most famous words. It the opening phrase of a soliloquy in the "Nunnery Scene," a reflection from an emotional Hamlet as he contemplates life, death and suicide while waiting for Ophelia, the love of his life.

D’Alleva marveled at the placement of the speech — at the bottom of an inside column.

"The first folio is not broken down into verses," she said. "It was a product of the times. The words lined up where they had to."

Kane said the early King James Bible editions present similar layouts.

"But there it is," said Matthew Pugliese, the managing director of the Conn-based Connecticut Repertory Theatre who led the effort to get the First Folio in Storrs. "I was able to see it right before it went into the case — right after the courier delivered it. It was pretty inspiring to see it, to be next to it."

In celebration of the Folio’s stay at UConn, Connecticut Repertory Theater will open its season with Shakespeare’s King Lear which, will run from Oct. 6 to 16.

Photo Credit: CHris Dehnel