400 years later, 5 ways to brush up on your Shakespeare

Shakespeare's legacy, on the 400th anniversary of his death, is being commemorated this year with a variety of books, events and, of course, productions. Here's a small sampling:

Worlds Elsewhere: Journeys Around Shakespeare's Globe (Henry Holt, April 5)

Journalist and scholar Andrew Dickson uses historical records to examine how Shakespeare's work became a global phenomenon, finding resonance in a wide array of countries and cultures and inspiring fascination in figures as disparate as Joseph Goebbels and Nelson Mandela.

400 years after Shakespeare's death, a diverse world is his stage

First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare tour

In January, Washington's Folger Shakespeare Library began taking a selection of its 82 First Folios — books of 36 plays assembled in 1623, among them 18 that had not been published elsewhere — on a tour of the USA. The official site lists dates and locations.

Shakespeare 400 Chicago

For those who live in or can travel to Chicago, the theater-rich city is celebrating Shakespeare with 850 events at 120 sites, ranging from a "culinary complete works" program in which top chefs present dishes inspired by plays to Chicago Shakespeare Theater's "Battle of the Bard," a high-school Shakespeare slam.

King and Country: Shakespeare's Great Cycle of Kings

Brooklyn Academy of Music is welcoming the Royal Shakespeare Company for a six-week residency (through May 1) featuring the politically charged cycle of Richard II, Henry IV Parts I & II and Henry V. Related events will include classes, talks and a visual art display (from Folger Shakespeare Library).

Shylock Is My Name (Hogarth)

In his new novel, Man Booker Prize-winning author Howard Jacobson re-imagines one of Shakespeare's most provocative and controversial characters, from The Merchant of Venice — reminding us that Shakespeare's plays remain relevant and ripe for discovery four centuries on.