Shakespeare and Pals: Recapping the Bard

Available Episodes

5 of 39

039 You're in a cult, dad! Molière's Le Tartuffe (1664)
The big question: Are the French funny? It wasn't just England that had Renaissance theatre. France had a crack at it, too, and their big-dog of classical comedy was Molière. Orgon's wife and children hate Tartuffe, a mooching, puritanical, hypocritical conman. Unfortunately, Orgon thinks Tartuffe is a saint. Can Orgon family, with the help of a feisty maid, catch Tartuffe red-handed? Has Molière's comedy survived the centuries? Join Michael and Sophie to find out! Make sure to subscribe and share this podcast! Comments and questions can be sent to [email protected] Sources: Molière, Le Tartuffe (Folio classique) Tartuffe, or the Hypocrite (trans. Curtis Hidden Page), Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2027
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1:30:13
038 The Ides of March: Julius Caesar (1599)
The one where Brutus gets radicalised by anonymous commenters Conspiracy, assassination, sky-rending omens. Julius Caesar is dictator-for-life, and some people think this might be bad for democracy. But is it right to kill him? And then the second half of the play is about a war that no one remembers. Does Julius Caesar deserve its place among Shakespeare's A-list? Join Michael and Sophie to find out! Make sure to subscribe and share this podcast! Comments and questions can be sent to [email protected] Sources: The Oxford Shakespeare: Julius Caesar (Oxford University Press)
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1:47:00
037 Stabby Stabby: Plutarch's Life of Julius Caesar (100s AD)
We're traveling back in time to the inspiration for Shakespeare's Roman plays - Plutarch! Plutarch wrote compact, anecdote-filled, politically-astute biographies of the great Greeks and Romans, and who greater than Julius Caesar? Would Plutarch's tale of the rise and fall of Julius Caesar be worth reading even if Shakespeare never based his Julius Caesar on it? Join us to find out! Make sure to subscribe and share this podcast! Comments and questions can be sent to [email protected] Sources: Plutarch (trans. Robin Waterfield), Roman Lives (Oxford University Press) Plutarch (trans. Bernadotte Perrin), Caesar (Perseus Digital Library)
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1:21:20
036 Take My Mistress, Please... AGAIN!: The Two Gentlemen of Verona REDUX (1589)
We're having a second chance at a first impression. Shakespeare's first play -- AGAIN! Just like Shakespeare got better, so have we. Sophie and Michael go back to Shakespeare's very first play. Does Shakespeare's debut -- packed with love triangles, cross-dressing, and love-able rogues, and hate-able heroes -- benefit from a new light? Tune in to our new episode 1 and episode 36. Make sure to subscribe and share this podcast! Comments and questions can be sent to [email protected] Sources: The Oxford Shakespeare: The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Oxford University Press) Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage, edited by Brian Vickers (Routledge)
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1:53:18
035 The Elizabethan James Cameron: Henry V (1599)
Is Henry V great? Or propaganda? It's great propaganda! In Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare invented the modern romantic comedy. Now he invents the modern war film. Henry V fights the valiant, villainous French with a country-crossing army of ethnically diverse warriors (English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh). Does this patriotic crowd-pleaser still work in our more cynical times? Is it patriotic at all? Join us to find out! Make sure to subscribe and share this podcast! Comments and questions can be sent to [email protected] Sources: The Oxford Shakespeare: Henry V (Oxford University Press) Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage, edited by Brian Vickers (Routledge)
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