Potions, poisons, and symbolic herbs are frequent plot devices in the plays of William Shakespeare, and reflect the medical knowledge of his time.
literature
Posted inIn Brief
A Digital Re-creation of a Lost 18th-Century Shakespeare Museum
One of the first museums created for the enjoyment of the middle class was the Shakespeare Gallery, opened in 1789 by John Boydell.
Posted inArt
Imagining the Thoughts of Women Readers in Paintings
One recurring image in the paintings of Western art history is that of a woman sitting in solitude, seemingly lost in the pages of a book.
Posted inArt
22,000 Images from Leading US & UK Authors, Including Wilde & Thoreau, Released Online
Around 22,000 images from collections on 25 authors are now available through the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas.
Posted inArt
The Lonely, Private Paintings of Tennessee Williams
NEW ORLEANS — On the patio of his cottage in Key West, with his most celebrated writing years behind him, playwright Tennessee Williams took refuge in painting.
Posted inNews
Historian Cracks a Code and Discovers a Possible Portrait of Shakespeare
“I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,” William Shakespeare wrote in a stanza from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Posted inArt
Using Fiction to Map the Emotional Geography of Victorian London
The Stanford Literary Lab has plotted quotes from over 700 19th-century authors who mentioned locations in London in order to compose concentrations of dread or happiness.
Posted inNews
The Library of Congress Is Uploading 75 Years of Poetry and Literature Recordings
Yesterday selections from the Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature at the Library of Congress became available to stream online for the first time.
Posted inOpinion
The Problem with the “Medical Humanities”
A work of literature or art can be effective in different ways — most of which are by nature invisible.
Posted inNews
Mysterious Engravings Question Authorship of Shakespeare’s Works
William Shakespeare was a commoner who wrote witty plays attended by Queen Elizabeth. Sir Francis Bacon was a noble who served as her Attorney General. Right?
Posted inIn Brief
Gogol on the Go: Moscow Metro Riders Get Free eBooks
Muscovites may now download books by Russia’s literary giants for free while they wait for the subway. Thanks to an initiative of Moscow Metro, the city’s public transportation authority, riders can download ebooks to their smartphones and tablets by scanning a QR code on the subway platform.
Posted inArt
New Algorithm Turns the Emotion of Language into Music
The future of e-books, or any electronic text, may be soundtracked. A new experiment in automation is generating music in response to the emotion of words in literature.