King Lear and Mao’s China, with Nan Z. Da

King Lear and Mao’s China, with Nan Z. Da

Nan Z. Da, in her book The Chinese Tragedy of King Lear, finds unsettling parallels between Shakespeare’s play and 20th-century China under Mao Zedong. Da, a literature professor at Johns Hopkins University, weaves together personal history and literary analysis to reveal how King Lear reflects—and even anticipates—the emotional and political horrors of authoritarian regimes. From public punishments to desperate displays of flattery, from state paranoia to family betrayal, she shows how Shakespeare’s tragedy resonates with the lived experiences of generations shaped by Maoism. She joins us to discuss the story of her family in Mao’s China and why Lear may be Shakespeare’s most “Chinese” play. Nan Z. Da is an associate professor of English at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to that, she taught for nine years at the University of Notre Dame. She is the author of Intransitive Encounters: Sino-US Literatures and the Limits of Exchange and co-editor of the Thinking Literature series.

Jaksot(298)

Pronouncing English as Shakespeare Did

Pronouncing English as Shakespeare Did

"Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue." —HAMLET (3:2:1–2) When Shakespeare wrote his lines, and actors first spoke them, how did they say the words—and wh...

20 Maalis 201528min

Brave New Worlds: The Shakespearean Moons of Uranus

Brave New Worlds: The Shakespearean Moons of Uranus

Sometimes it seems you can hear or see traces of Shakespeare just about anywhere on Earth. But how about around the planet Uranus, which had not even been discovered in Shakespeare's time? In this ce...

20 Maalis 201540min

Codes and Ciphers from the Renaissance to Today

Codes and Ciphers from the Renaissance to Today

"When sorrows come, they come not single spies, But in battalions..." —HAMLET (4.5.83) It's a striking comment that occurs late in this podcast—and by the time you hear it, you may well agree: "Witho...

20 Maalis 201514min

When Romeo Was a Woman

When Romeo Was a Woman

"I will assume thy part in some disguise And tell fair Hero I am Claudio" —MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING(1.1.316) The actress Charlotte Cushman was a theatrical icon in 19th century America, known to the pr...

20 Maalis 201529min

Romeo and Juliet Through the Ages

Romeo and Juliet Through the Ages

"For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo." —ROMEO AND JULIET(5.3.320) Though the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet is a perennial favorite, the world around the play h...

20 Maalis 201531min

Music in Shakespeare

Music in Shakespeare

"Now, good Cesario, but that piece of song, That old and antique song we heard last night." —Twelfth Night (2.4.3) Rebecca Sheir, host of our Shakespeare Unlimited series, interviews Ross W. Duffin, ...

20 Maalis 201520min

Artistic Directors Talk Shakespeare

Artistic Directors Talk Shakespeare

"And by that destiny to perform an act / Whereof what’s past is prologue, what to come / In yours and my discharge." (The Tempest, 2.1.288) Shakespeare's words and stories may be timeless, but what ...

20 Maalis 201519min

Shakespeare and Insane Asylums

Shakespeare and Insane Asylums

"Though this be madness, yet there is method in ’t." (Hamlet, 2.2.223) Plenty of people today consider Shakespeare a literary genius, a pillar of theater history, a gifted writer of timeless love po...

20 Maalis 201518min

Suosittua kategoriassa Premium

nikotellen
anni-jaajo
jaljilla
antin-matka
tuplakaak
grekovit
hei-baby-3
maanantaimysteeri
sita
terveisia-perheesta
murhan-anatomia
olipa-kerran-otsikko
the-harlin-show
ihme-ja-kumma
palmujen-varjoissa
kaksi-aitia
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
backmanholmavuo
i-dont-like-mondays
ihan-oikeesti