Making a case for Shakespeare, 400 years after his death

What is the world’s largest Shakespeare collection doing in Washington, DC? Across the street from the Library of Congress, diagonally opposite the Supreme Court, sits the Folger Shakespeare Library. At first glance, the large neoclassical block of white marble looks like another government building. Approach the entrance, however, and you will be greeted by a statue of Puck, the mischief-making sprite from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. At his feet, a quotation reads: “Lord, what fooles these mortals be!”