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Is Shakespeare's darkest tragedy a cautionary tale about ambition? a bit of Jacobean mythmaking?  Or is it the portrait of a deeply committed marriage gone catastrophically wrong?

With apologies for all the appalling accents . . . .

Performance Clip: Macbeth with Orson Welles, Fay Bainter, and the Mercury Acting Co.  Mercury Text Records.  From the Internet Archive (archive.org)

Additional Music: "The Rout of Moy" perf. Albannach.  2006.  From the Internet Archive (archive.org)

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Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

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Shakespeare's Hamlet has not been out of production for over four centuries and its profound examination of the human condition continues to capture the hearts and minds of people the world over.  Join me in Elsinore as we think about what some have called the greatest drama in history -- perhaps even the greatest literary achievement of all time! 

Margaret Atwood's "Gertrude Talks Back" can be found here: https://lucylit.weebly.com/uploads/6/1/5/6/61560063/margaret_atwoods_gertrude_talks_back.pdf

Hamlet recording: Hamlet with Richard Burton and the Broadway Cast; Columbia Masterworks DOS 702 (1964).  Taken from the Internet Archive.  https://archive.org/details/lp_hamlet-richard-burton-and-the-broadway-c_richard-burton-hume-cronyn-alfred-drake-ei

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If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!

Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

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Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year!  Here's a little subcast episode on poet Nahum Tate's "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks," the first Christmas carol sanctioned by the Anglican Church around the turn of the 18th century.

Recording: "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night"  THE B.B.C. CHORUS; Berkeley Mason Writer: Nahum Tate (Traditional Christmas Carol); (Text: (1696); Tune: "Winchester Old" 16th Cent.)

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Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

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Is political violence ever justified?  Who decides?  And what ethical systems can evaluate the justice of such acts?  Today, we look at the ethics driving the characters of Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.

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If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!

Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

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Welcome to the Subcast!  On today's bonus episode, I give a little poddie-training on perhaps the most significant publishing event in English literature: the presentation of the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays.

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If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!

Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

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In this episode, we'll look at two women who are generally regarded as among the greatest female characters ever written: Rosalind from Shakespeare's As You Like It and Beatrice from his Much Ado About Nothing.  Their wisdom, intelligence, and emotional depth challenge Renaissance gender assumptions and inaugurate a line of deep-feeling, wise-cracking female characters down to our own day.

Excerpts from "As You Like It" c. 1964 The Shakespeare Recording Company and "Much Ado About Nothing" c. 1960 The Dublin Gate Theatre; both downloaded from the Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/audio) 

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If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!

Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

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17th-century poet and priest George Herbert offers a playful poem reminding us to strive for gratefulness.  I am, myself, very grateful for all the support you all have offered me.  Thank you so much!

Additional sound: "Mahna Mahna" from The Muppet Show (1977).  Downloaded from Internet Archive.

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Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you!

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If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!

Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

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In today's discussion, we take a look at the character of Henry, Prince of Wales, who will become King Henry V in the group of plays including Henry IV, parts 1 and 2, and Henry V, sometimes called "The Henriad."

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If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!

Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

Send us a text

Trick or treat!  Here's a bone-us episode on Robert Herrick's "The Hag," about a witch's night ride with the Devil!

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If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!

Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

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Here's a good one for the Halloweeny season: Christopher Marlowe's most famous play.  A scholar sells his soul to the Devil for ultimate knowledge and power!

Correction: In this episode, I misidentify the author of "The Devil and Tom Walker" as Nathaniel Hawthorne.  It is, of course, Washington Irving.

Extra musical selection from "Faust" by Charles Gounod, perf. Orchestra And Chorus Of The Théâtre National De l'Opéra.

Support the show

Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you!

Email: [email protected]

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If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!

Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!