Cover image of Approaching Shakespeare

Approaching Shakespeare

Each lecture in this series focuses on a single play by Shakespeare, and employs a range of different approaches to try to understand a central critical question about it. Rather than providing overar... Read more

Ranked #1

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King Lear

King Lear

Showing how generations of critics - and Shakespeare himself - have rewritten the ending of King Lear, this sixteenth Ap... Read more

22 Feb 2012

47mins

Ranked #2

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Hamlet

Hamlet

The fact that father and son share the same name in Hamlet is used to investigate the play's nostalgia, drawing on biogr... Read more

23 Oct 2012

46mins

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Ranked #3

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Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night

The seventh Approaching Shakespeare lecture takes a minor character in Twelfth Night - Antonio - and uses his presence ... Read more

20 Oct 2011

47mins

Ranked #4

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Measure for Measure

Measure for Measure

The third Approaching Shakespeare lecture, on Measure for Measure, focuses on the vexed question of this uncomic comedy'... Read more

26 Oct 2010

40mins

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Ranked #5

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Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

This lecture on Julius Caesar discusses structure, tone, and politics by focusing on the cameo scene with Cinna the Poet... Read more

18 May 2015

49mins

Ranked #6

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A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream

This lecture on A Midsummer Night's Dream uses modern and early modern understandings of dreams to uncover a play less c... Read more

5 Nov 2012

40mins

Ranked #7

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The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

This lecture on The Merchant of Venice discusses the ways the play's personal relationships are shaped by models of fina... Read more

20 Nov 2012

43mins

Ranked #8

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Richard II

Richard II

Lecture eight in the Approaching Shakespeare series asks the question that structures Richard II: does the play suggest ... Read more

1 Nov 2011

45mins

Ranked #9

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Richard III

Richard III

In this thirteenth lecture in the Approaching Shakespeare series the focus is on the inevitability of the ending of Rich... Read more

25 Jan 2012

45mins

Ranked #10

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Henry IV part 1

Henry IV part 1

Like generations of theatre-goers, this lecture concentrates on the (large) figure of Sir John Falstaff and investigates... Read more

16 Nov 2011

50mins

Ranked #11

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The Winter's Tale

The Winter's Tale

How we can make sense of a play that veers from tragedy to comedy and stretches credulity in its conclusion? That's the ... Read more

9 Nov 2010

42mins

Ranked #12

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The Tempest

The Tempest

That the character of Prospero is a Shakespearean self-portrait is a common reading of The Tempest: this tenth Approachi... Read more

14 Nov 2011

48mins

Ranked #13

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Taming of the Shrew

Taming of the Shrew

Emma Smith uses evidence of early reception and from more recent productions to discuss the question of whether Katherin... Read more

9 Nov 2012

43mins

Ranked #14

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Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing

Emma Smith asks why the characters are so quick to believe the self-proclaimed villain Don John, drawing on gender and p... Read more

30 Oct 2012

41mins

Ranked #15

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King John

King John

At the heart of King John is the death of his rival Arthur: this fifteenth lecture in the Approaching Shakespeare series... Read more

10 Feb 2012

45mins

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