Last episode for the summer. Shakespeare snobbery. Two audiences of Shakespeare: the mob and the initiates. Two layers in Othello and Hamlet: romanticism and mimesis. Othello: thirst for the exotic and the death wish. Hamlet: disillusionment with the violent sacred. Shakespeare the man: relationship trauma and dramatic genius.

René Girard wrote a book of literary criticism of Shakespeare titled "Theatre of Envy: William Shakespeare." The book makes centuries of Shakespeare critics look like fools while confirming the bard himself as a monumental literary figure. This podcast summarises some of the big points of Girard's analysis of Shakespeare.

Shakespeare dramatised and reflected on what Girard calls the mimetic nature of desire ("love through others' eyes"), using it as a key plot device in many of his works. In this episode we talk about a few of them, including Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Rape of Lucrece, Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream, Troilus and Cressida.

Furthermore, Girard analyses Shakespeare's depictions of what he calls mimetic crises and sacrificial murder. We discover these elements in Troilus and Cressida and Julius Caesar.

This episode is Part 1 of 2 (for now) on the topic of Shakespeare interpreted by Girard.

Christ's admonitions to turn the other cheek, love thy enemy, etc., from the Sermon on the Mount unsettle many brave Christians. We interpret these admonitions conclusively with the help of René Girard's mimetic exegesis. Take courage soldier! – Jesus does not advocate cowardice or resignation. We also reference C.S. Lewis, and discuss how "love thy enemy" links to Sun Tzu's precepts in The Art of War.

• Mexico: A Girardian analysis of Mel Gibson's movie Apocalypto
• China: Girardian notes on Terracotta Warriors and pandas
• Rome: The Gladiator movie; the origin of gladiatorial games
• Greece: The origin of the ancient Olympic Games

• L'appel du vide -- the call of the void; or as Nietzsche says, "If you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back at you"
• A mimetic theory interpretation of the call of the void: inflamed (rather than mortified) desire leads to sadomasochism, leads to an urge to dash ourselves before the terrible and awesome model-obstacle
• Call of the void in romantic pursuit and poverty (forgot to discuss existentialism and atheism)
• Call of the void leading to political and ethnic self-harm

• René Girard's understanding of the symbiosis of imitation and innovation.
• In traditional societies, imitation was encouraged, innovation was discouraged; in modern society, it is the opposite; why?
• Imitation and innovation game in science, the arts, business, and geopolitics
• Bad imitation: resentment of the rival and cargo cults

Modernity is the precious product of Western Christian Tradition. It is good. You can't and you don't want to go back to some fanciful "trad" era. The aim should be to learn how to navigate the novel challenges of our exciting though perilous times, not give up on them.

An early reader of The Modern Malaise tunes into Boreas Podcast to talk about his personal journey through the shadowy valleys of male coming-of-age, one that included many – or rather all – of the challenges covered in the book: an obsession with Nietzsche, a body-building buddy group, online dating, and money Twitter. His impressions and advice on making it through.