When we heard this week was Shakespeare Week, we knew we couldn’t miss out on the chance to get in on the fun from across the pond. We didn’t have to look far for inspiration!

Below, you’ll find a "greatest hits", if you will, of past Free Library blog posts devoted to The Bard himself, many of which include a nod to our 2014 Year of the Bard festivities – what fun that was!

And, since it’s also Women’s History Month, we thought this list was most appropriate to recognize 13 Shakespearean ladies we love!

• The Passover Story, as told by William Shakespeare
  In honor of his 452nd birthday on this past Saturday, April 23, 2016—the second night of Passover...

• Joining the "Happy Few": A Mind Marathon of Shakespeare’s Complete Works
  October 25 marked St. Crispin’s Day, a once-observed feast day, which is also claimed to be the day of the famed Battle of Agincourt—the great battle of Englishmen led by King Henry V against the much-greater-numbered French army. ... And on this great historical day, I, too, joined a “happy few”—in completing the full canon of Shakespeare’s 38 plays. A “mind marathon” I embarked on in 2009, this journey through 14 comedies, 10 tragedies, 10 histories (including seven Henry plays), and four romances was truly a joy.
   
• Celebrate the Grand Finale of the Year of the Bard: Shakespeare at 450
  Over the past year, the Free Library—along with The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre and many other partners throughout the city—has been celebrating the Year of the Bard: Shakespeare at 450, with fun programs, unique performances, and engaging exhibitions.
   
• Celebrate Shakespeare's 450th Birthday with Us!
  With William Shakespeare’s 450th birthday just around the corner on Wednesday, April 23, the Free Library is set to is set to celebrate Shakespeare's big day with programs throughout the city, and we hope you'll join us! From a big birthday bash at Parkway Central Library to children's programs and engaging lectures, Shakespeare's birthday celebrations are part of the Year of the Bard: Shakespeare at 450, presented with The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre and other regional cultural organizations. The Year of the Bard is packed full of engaging, enlightening, and entertaining programs designed to celebrate Shakespeare in all his classic and modern incarnations.
   
• Shakespearean Smackdowns!
  As you may know from the buzz around the libraries, this April marks the 450th anniversary of William Shakespeare's birth. And while Will may be celebrated for his comedies, tragedies, historical plays and sonnets, the Wadsworth Library decided to honor his ability to throw some serious shade. Yes, insults can be hurtful in real life. But sometimes, someone says something so witty and funny that you can't help but laugh. William Shakespeare was the master of the well-turned, direct, and witty line. He simultaneously made you think and made you chuckle at his word play. If you throw a quote of his at a friend (or frienemy), you can immediately stop them in their tracks and think, "Hang on a second... Was I just insulted?"
   
• Bardolatry in the Rare Book Department
  There is an exhibition going on in the Rare Book Department right now that you really need to see. It’s called “Shakespeare for All Time” and it contains some of the rarest treasures in the Free Library’s collection.
   
• Through The Years with William Shakespeare
  In keeping with the spirit of our The Year of The Bard celebration, we've published a new online exhibition and accompanying timeline to our website celebrating 450 years' worth of Shakespearean delight!
   
• Celebrate William Shakespeare During the Year of the Bard
  Today, in the lobby of the Parkway Central Library, the Free Library of Philadelphia, in partnership with The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre and numerous other cultural organizations from around the region, kicked off the Year of the Bard: Shakespeare at 450--a year packed full of engaging, enlightening, and entertaining programs and events designed to celebrate Shakespeare in all his classic and modern incarnations. Actors from The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre and West Philadelphia High School entertained the crowd, and Shakespeare himself made an appearance, too.
   
• The First Folios
  With the opening of the newly refurbished Shakespeare Park directly across the street from Parkway Central, it seems fitting to highlight the Library's holdings related to the man himself.  The Rare Book Department is home to the first four folios of Shakespeare, the gift of P.A.B. Widener and his sister Mrs. Josephine Widener Wichfield, in memory of their father Joseph E. Widener  [This P.A.B. Widener is the grandson of the P.A.B. Widener who presented the library with his Copinger collection of Incunabula in 1899].
   
• 10 Greatest Books of All Time?
  Time Magazine just released a review of J. Peder Zane's The Top 10, in which he asks the greatest living authors for their Top 10 lists. Whether or not you agree with their choices, they certainly picked some doozies...