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Northwestern University

Interior View: The Shakespeare Garden

two women standing in the Shakespeare garden

Tucked between Tech and the Garrett Theological Seminary, the Shakespeare Garden is a place of repose on a busy college campus, a sanctuary so tranquil one might hear a leaf drop. For decades, it has been a place for the studious to reconnect with nature, for lovers to linger and for the frenetic to find peace. Laurie Shannon, the Franklyn Bliss Snyder Professor of English Literature, appreciates the spot. “Whether you love Shakespeare or not, anyone in our culture can make good use of a retreat like this,” says Shannon, a scholar of Shakespeare and natural history. “We all need to get out, away from our screens, and conjure a different relationship to the physical world.” As the garden marks its 100th year, Shannon explains how the space brings the literary and scientific world of Shakespeare to life.

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