That Shakespeare Life

Barbara Traister is the author of The Notorious Astrological Physician of London, and Heavenly Necromancers: The Magician in English Renaissance Drama, as well as former Professor of English at Lehigh University. She joins us today to look at some of Shakespeare's examples of medicine depicted in his plays and explore where Shakespeare got it right, and some of the hidden messages we can discover in the text by understanding the realities of astrology and 17th century medicine.

In this episode, I'll be asking Barbara about :

• What kinds of doctors existed in the 16th and 17th century?
• What role did astrology play in time keeping and individuals knowing how often to take their medicine?
• Why were people accepting, even respectful and trusting of doctors who mixed herbal medicine, but suspicious of witches by accusing them of mixing potions?
• What was the relationship between the 4 humors and the more bizarre practices of medicine like bloodletting?

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Barbara Traister is the author of The Notorious Astrological Physician of London, and Heavenly Necromancers: The Magician in English Renaissance Drama, as well as former Professor of English at Lehigh University. She joins us today to look at some of Shakespeare’s examples of medicine depicted in his plays and explore where Shakespeare got it right, and some of the hidden messages we can discover in the text by understanding the realities of astrology and 17th century medicine.

In this episode, I’ll be asking Barbara about :

• What kinds of doctors existed in the 16th and 17th century? 
• What role did astrology play in time keeping and individuals knowing how often to take their medicine? 
• Why were people accepting, even respectful and trusting of doctors who mixed herbal medicine, but suspicious of witches by accusing them of mixing potions?
• What was the relationship between the 4 humors and the more bizarre practices of medicine like bloodletting? 

Glyn Jones joins us today to talk about kitchen gardens and estate gardens that impacted Shakespeare. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust maintains 5 gardens thought to have been part of William Shakespeare's home in Stratford and today Glyn Jones is going to help us explore whether or not Shakespeare had a garden himself, what purpose a garden might have served a playwright, and what sort of things would have been planted there. In this episode, I ask Glyn about: - Why would a playwright own a garden? - Is a garden and a backyard the same thing? - Would Shakespeare have had a kitchen garden? - What about those tobacco pipes found on the grounds there? We will also discuss Shakespeare's son-in-law, John Hall, the medical doctor, and the importance of herbs in medicine that lead to a medical garden on the grounds at SBT. Mr. Jones will even share with you the best spot to walk at the gardens themselves if you want to stand where Shakespeare himself actually stood.

Glyn Jones joins us today to talk about kitchen gardens and estate gardens that impacted Shakespeare. Shakespeare Birthplace Trust maintains 5 gardens thought to have been part of William Shakespeare’s home in Stratford and today Glyn Jones is going to help us explore whether or not Shakespeare had a garden himself, what purpose a garden might have served a playwright, and what sort of things would have been planted there.

In this episode, I ask Glyn about: 

- Why would a playwright own a garden?
- Is a garden and a backyard the same thing? 
- Would Shakespeare have had a kitchen garden? 
- What about those tobacco pipes found on the grounds there? 

We will also discuss Shakespeare's son-in-law, John Hall, the medical doctor, and the importance of herbs in medicine that lead to a medical garden on the grounds at SBT. Mr. Jones will even share with you the best spot to walk at the gardens themselves if you want to stand where Shakespeare himself actually stood. 

Does William Shakespeare belong in the theater and not the literature department? Nigel Wood is a Professor of Literature at Loughborough University, specializing in early modern literature and the staging of dramatic texts. He joins us today to discuss the evolution of Shakespeare's plays as a result of reading what was intended to be performed. I will be asking Nigel about the significance of stage directions in addition to the written dialogue, and what impact Condell and Heminges' publication of the First Folio might have had on the course of Shakespeare's enduring legacy thereafter. Are we doing Shakespeare a disservice to study his works as literature? You'll learn: >> Does Shakespeare belong in literature or are we mistakenly placing him there? >> What about original practice techniques? Does that help us get closer to real Shakespeare? >> Turns out early modern theaters had a playbill. Find out what it contained and how it was used >> How does the stage itself impact the performance? Are the stage directions we can read designed for a specific space? >> We talk Cymbeline, Titus Andronicus, Oedipus, and more!

Hazel Forsyth, Senior Curator of the Medieval and Post-Medieval Collections at the Museum of London, joins us today to discuss a 2009 archeological find done by the Museum of London where they discovered, among other evidence of theater life in the 17th century, a set of period shoes near the site of the old Rose Theater, dating to within Shakespeare's lifetime. While the shoes themselves have now been moved into the archives at the Museum of London, at the time they were displayed they were part of a small collection of shoes and artifacts like hazelnuts which were possibly worn by Shakespearean actors at The Rose, and the hazelnut shells have their own theater connection as well. The remarkable find is allowing archaeologists and historians to piece together some of the history of Shakespeare's time period.

Hazel Forsyth, Senior Curator of the Medieval and Post-Medieval Collections at the Museum of London, joins us today to discuss a 2009 archeological find done by the Museum of London where they discovered, among other evidence of theater life in the 17th century, a set of period shoes near the site of the old Rose Theater, dating to within Shakespeare's lifetime. While the shoes themselves have now been moved into the archives at the Museum of London, at the time they were displayed they were part of a small collection of shoes and artifacts like hazelnuts which were possibly worn by Shakespearean actors at The Rose, and the hazelnut shells have their own theater connection as well. The remarkable find is allowing archaeologists and historians to piece together some of the history of Shakespeare’s time period. 

Grace Tiffany is a successful novelist, author, and professor of Shakespeare at Western Michigan University. Her first novel, My Father Had a Daughter, was published in 2003, and is a fictional tale about the life of Shakespeare's second daughter Judith. While fictional, the book brings the historical facts about Judith Quiney to life on the pages of her book. Since her debut novel, Grace has completed 6 historical novels set in the Renaissance or Middle Ages and her work focuses primarily on Shakespeare. Her latest book, Gunpowder Percy, builds on the historical facts surrounding the 1605 Gunpowder Plot when Shakespeare was 41 years old. In addition to her novels, Grace has received numerous research and teaching awards for her creativity in the field of Shakespeare Studies. She has written numerous scholarly articles and monographs on Renaissance history and culture, with her work appearing in Shakespeare Studies, Texas Studies in Literature and Language, and The Renaissance Quarterly, among others. James Shapiro has called Grace's book The Turquoise Ring, one of the six best creative adaptations of Shakespeare in history. Today, Grace is joining us to discuss the subject of her first novel, Judith Quiney, and take us inside the life of Shakespeare's second daughter.