What does Shakespeare teach us about wonder, consciousness, creativity, and the human condition? In this thought-provoking episode of Discover the Wonder, host Daniel Herther sits down with renowned Shakespeare scholar and professor Theresia de Vroom for a wide-ranging conversation on curiosity, meaning, art, literature, and how we make sense of life.

Theresia shares how wonder begins in childhood—and how modern life can erase it—then brings us into the world of Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, exploring how Shakespeare created characters with emotional depth, moral complexity, and multiple perspectives on truth. Along the way, they unpack the symbolism in Renaissance masterpieces like Holbein’s The Ambassadors and the cultural power of Queen Elizabeth I’s “Rainbow Portrait,” revealing how art trains us to see what we usually avoid: mortality, identity, and the search for meaning.

This episode also explores the role of mercy, conscience, and empathy, and why Theresia teaches Shakespeare on Skid Row, where students often read the work with extraordinary clarity. A must-listen for anyone interested in Shakespeare explained, literary analysis, art history, philosophy, spiritual curiosity, and finding wonder in everyday life.

Wonder and curiosity as a daily practice

Shakespeare’s relevance today: truth, empathy, and moral complexity

Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” and the fear of the unknown

King Lear, compassion, and responsibility for the vulnerable

Macbeth, mortality, and “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow”

How art and literature deepen meaning and expand perspective