Recounting Shakespeare's Life

Recounting Shakespeare's Life

Her father loved me, oft invited me, Still questioned me the story of my life From year to year—the battles, sieges, fortunes That I have passed. —Othello (1.3.149–152) What do we know about Shakespeare's life? The answer: Not as much as we would like to. As much or as little, in other words, as we would about any middle-class Englishman of his time. This episode of Shakespeare Unlimited considers not only that question, but two others: During the past four centuries, when and how did biographers learn about Shakespeare's life? And does knowing about any writer's biography, including Shakespeare's, make any difference in responding to their work? To tackle those big, and intriguing, questions, Rebecca Sheir talks with Brian Cummings, Anniversary Professor of English at the University of York. Cummings delivered the 2014 Shakespeare's Birthday Lecture on "Shakespeare, Biography, and Anti-Biography" at the Folger Shakespeare Library; the lecture also opened the Folger Institute's NEH-funded collaborative research conference, "Shakespeare and the Problem of Biography," which Cummings co-organized. ----------------------------------- From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast series. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. Produced for the Folger Shakespeare Library by Richard Paul. Garland Scott is the associate producer. Edited by Gail Kern Paster and Esther Ferington. With help from Lisa Burch and Chris Robins at the University of York.

Jaksot(296)

Hamnet, with Chloe Zhao and Maggie O'Farrell

Hamnet, with Chloe Zhao and Maggie O'Farrell

Hamnet, the acclaimed novel by Maggie O’Farrell, is now a major film. The story imagines the life and death of Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, whose loss would later echo through one of his most famous tra...

2 Joulu 202536min

London's First Playhouse and Shakespeare

London's First Playhouse and Shakespeare

Before Shakespeare became a literary icon, he was a working writer trying to earn a living in an emerging and often precarious new industry. In The Dream Factory: London’s First Playhouse and the Maki...

17 Marras 202536min

Mary, Queen of Scots, with Jade Scott

Mary, Queen of Scots, with Jade Scott

Imprisoned for nearly 20 years by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots, fought her battles through words, sending and receiving coded letters hidden in books, garments, and even beer bar...

3 Marras 202536min

Richard Burbage and the Shakespearean Stage

Richard Burbage and the Shakespearean Stage

Long before Shakespeare became a household name, there was Richard Burbage. As the first actor to play Hamlet, Macbeth, Richard III, and King Lear, Burbage helped define what it meant to be a Shakespe...

21 Loka 202534min

Harriet Walter: New Words for Shakespeare's Women

Harriet Walter: New Words for Shakespeare's Women

Shakespeare’s plays are filled with unforgettable women—but too often, their voices are cut short. Ophelia never gets to defend herself. Gertrude never explains her choices. Lady Anne surrenders to Ri...

7 Loka 202535min

Stephen Greenblatt on Christopher Marlowe

Stephen Greenblatt on Christopher Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare were both born in 1564, rising from working-class origins finding success in the new world of the theater. But before Shakespeare transformed English drama,...

23 Syys 202540min

Al Letson on his play Julius X

Al Letson on his play Julius X

You may know Al Letson as a journalist—he’s the host of the popular investigative podcast Reveal. Before that, he created and hosted the public radio show State of the Re:Union. But Letson is also an ...

8 Syys 202529min

Director Rosa Joshi on Julius Caesar Today

Director Rosa Joshi on Julius Caesar Today

Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar feels urgently contemporary in Rosa Joshi’s new production at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival—one of America’s largest and longest-running theater festivals, now in its 90t...

26 Elo 202540min

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