In today's episode, we are exploring the historical context for the family feud and violence between the Capulets and Montagues in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. We'll briefly revisit the history of medieval bloodfeuds that we examined in our episodes on Macbeth, then we will dive into the pratices of vendettas and dueling in the Italian renaissance and how this form of violence was imported into England, Scotland, and Wales in the late 1500s and early 1600s.

We will examine the rise in popularity of dueling among young men of the English nobility and gentry, how the public theatres romanticized and dramatized dueling, and how Shakespeare wove this trend and reactions to it into the plot of Romeo and Juliet.

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod

Works referenced:

Bowen, Lloyd. “The Duel in Elizabethan and Jacobean England and Wales.” Anatomy of a Duel in Jacobean England: Gentry Honour, Violence and the Law, NED-New edition, Boydell & Brewer, 2021, pp. 68–83. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv18x4j9z.11. Accessed 14 Apr. 2024.

Dean, Trevor. “Marriage and Mutilation: Vendetta in Late Medieval Italy.” Past & Present, no. 157, 1997, pp. 3–36. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/651079. Accessed 14 Apr. 2024.

Quint, David. “Duelling and Civility in Sixteenth Century Italy.” I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance, vol. 7, 1997, pp. 231–78. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/4603706. Accessed 14 Apr. 2024.

In today's episode, we are exploring the life and works of one of Shakespeare's contemporaries: Ben Jonson. Often called "Shakespeare's rival," Ben Jonson was an early modern actor turned playwright who came from humble beginnings to achieve success on the London stages. We'll dive into the parallels between Shakespeare and Jonson's lives, and we'll discuss how Jonson may be the person who we should thank for Shakespeare's First Folio.

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod

Works referenced:

Donaldson, Ian. "Jonson, Benjamin [Ben] (1572–1637), poet and playwright." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. October 03, 2013. Oxford University Press. Date of access 9 Apr. 2024,

Editors of Poetry Foundation. “Ben Jonson.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, 2024, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ben-jonson.

Jonson, Ben. “To the Memory of My Beloved the Author, Mr....” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, 2024, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44466/to-the-memory-of-my-beloved-the-author-mr-william-shakespeare.

Leech, Clifford. “Ben Jonson.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 7 Apr. 2024, www.britannica.com/biography/Ben-Jonson-English-writer.

Mabillard, Amanda. “Preface to The First Folio (1623).” William Shakespeare’s First Folio: The Preface to the First Folio, 21 Jan. 2022, www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/firstfolio.html.

“Research Guides: Shakespeare Studies: Ben Jonson.” Ben Jonson - Shakespeare Studies - Research Guides at New York University, New York University, 2024, guides.nyu.edu/shakespeare-studies/ben-johnson.

“Shakespeare First Folio: Folger Shakespeare Library.” Edited by Folger Shakespeare Library, Shakespeare First Folio | Folger Shakespeare Library, Folger Shakespeare Library, 2024, www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeare-in-print/first-folio/.

Shoemaker, Robert. “Punishment Sentences at the Old Bailey.” The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, Digital Humanities Institute at the University of Sheffield, autumn 2023, www.oldbaileyonline.org/about/punishment.

Westminister Abbey. “Ben Jonson.” Westminster Abbey, Westminster Abbey, 2024, www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/ben-jonson.

In today's episode, we will be discussing what is was like to be a teenager in Shakespeare's time, and how we can see early modern teenagerdom represented in Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. We will build on our previous explorations of the early modern understanding of age and youth from our episodes on girlhood and manhood, then dive into the lived experiences of early modern teens and young adults. Finally, we will discuss the early modern public health crisis of suicide among children and adolescents.

Content Warning: Suicide

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, you are not alone and help is available.

If you are in the United States, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org

You can find additional resources for your location at https://www.iasp.info/suicidalthoughts/

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com

You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod

Works referenced:

Murphy, Terence R. “‘Woful Childe of Parents Rage’: Suicide of Children and Adolescents in Early Modern England, 1507-1710.” The Sixteenth Century Journal, vol. 17, no. 3, 1986, pp. 259–70. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2540320. Accessed 19 Feb. 2024.

Sparey, Victoria. “Performing Puberty: Fertile Complexions in Shakespeare’s Plays.” Shakespeare Bulletin, vol. 33, no. 3, 2015, pp. 441–67. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26355127. Accessed 19 Feb. 2024.