Episodes

  • Antony and Cleopatra Part 3 - The Language

    Antony and Cleopatra Part 3 - The Language
    Jul 28 2022
    Part 3 features close-readings of three key scenes in which Antony and Cleopatra articulate their cosmic self-conceptions in language so transcendent that it helps transform their vision into reality. Speeches and Performers:  Enobarbus, Act 2, “The barge she sat in …” (Andrew Woddall) Antony, Act 4, “I will o’ertake thee, Cleopatra …” (Scott Ripley) Cleopatra, Act 5, “I dreamt there was an emperor Antony … ” (Dame Harriet Walter and Dame Janet Suzman)
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    35 mins
  • Antony and Cleopatra Part 2 - The Language

    Antony and Cleopatra Part 2 - The Language
    Jul 28 2022
    Part 2 explores the play’s varied and conflicting perspectives on its leading characters. From the Roman point of view, Antony and Cleopatra are figures who fall from greatness, and their story is a tragedy or even, at times, farce; but from other points of view, Antony and Cleopatra represent a kind of success that could scarcely be achieved or even conceived of in Rome. The episode analyzes the play’s characters, language, and mythic archetypes to ask how the play makes so many viewpoints compelling, and where these competing perspectives leave the audience when the play comes to its end.
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    27 mins
  • Antony and Cleopatra Part 1 - The Story

    Antony and Cleopatra Part 1 - The Story
    Jul 28 2022
    Antony and Cleopatra, the last of Shakespeare’s Roman plays, is an epic story that begins with the material of politics and history but expands into the realm of romance, poetry, and myth. Following the events of Julius Caesar – Caesar’s assassination and the triumph of Mark Antony and Octavius Caesar in the resulting civil wars – Antony and Caesar are now joint rulers of Roman Empire. But Antony has left behind Rome and his imperial duties to be with his beloved Cleopatra, the captivating queen of Egypt. Personal and political rivalries bring Antony and Cleopatra to war with Caesar, in a conflict in which “the greater cantle of the world” is at stake. In the end, the lovers are forced out of the field of politics, but enter the space of legend. In this course, you’ll learn the story of Antony and Cleopatra, study two of the most monumental personalities that Shakespeare ever created, and discover how these characters descend into and transcend tragedy In Part 1, you’ll be guided through a detailed account of the story with commentary by Joyce MacDonald, Professor of English at the University of Kentucky. This episode includes key background and context for the play’s historical source material. The summary is told using the language of the play itself, placing key quotations in context to help you understand where these lines come from and what they mean. 
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    26 mins
  • Titus Andronicus Part 3 - The Language

    Titus Andronicus Part 3 - The Language
    Jul 28 2022
    Part 3 features close-readings of several significant scenes that show how religion, race, and literary tradition function within the violent world of Titus Andronicus and sometimes provoke that violence. Speeches and Performers:  Titus, Marcus, and Publius, Act 4, “Terras Astraea reliquit …” (Jonathan Oliver) Aaron, Lucius, and the Goths, Act 5, “And if it please thee? …” (Yolanda Ovide) Tamora, Titus, Chiron, Demetrius, Act 5, “If thou didst know me … ” (Tiffany Abercrombie)
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    41 mins
  • Titus Andronicus Part 2 - The Characters

    Titus Andronicus Part 2 - The Characters
    Jul 28 2022
    Part 2 opens with a discussion of the place of Rome in Renaissance culture. It then analyzes the Roman classical sources – sources his audience knew well – that Shakespeare uses to construct his plot, and how Shakespeare’s use of those sources calls their moral values into question. It goes on to discuss the elements of the play that have generated most shock and revulsion – the graphic violence, the irreverent dark humor – and how they relate to the very purpose of theatre.
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    27 mins
  • Titus Andronicus Part 1 - The Story

    Titus Andronicus Part 1 - The Story
    Jul 28 2022
    Shakespeare wrote numerous plays and poems engaged with ancient Roman history. Shakespeare’s Renaissance culture had ancient Rome as its foundation stone. Roman language and literature were at the heart of English Renaissance education, and Rome was held up as a model for English civilization. But in Titus Andronicus, the earliest of his Roman works, Shakespeare crafts a bloody tale of violence and revenge that subjects this entire cultural edifice to searing critique. Are the violence and moral vacuums of this play a perversion of Roman values, or are they a central part of the classical tradition? In this course, you’ll learn the story and historical context behind Titus Andronicus, discover the classical sources that structure this play, and see how the play’s most controversial elements pose a serious question about the purpose of tragedy. In Part 1, you’ll be guided through a detailed account of the story with commentary by Russ Leo, Associate Professor of English at Princeton University. This episode introduces the key historical, political, and literary contexts that shape the play’s questions and themes. This summary is told using the language of the play itself, placing key quotations in context to help you understand where these lines come from and what they mean. 
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    27 mins
  • Cymbeline Part 2 - The Characters

    Cymbeline Part 2 - The Characters
    Jul 28 2022
    Part 2 begins with a discussion of the sexual violence and jealousy depicted in the play. It goes on to examine how the play’s sprawling romance plot represents, in symbolic but recognizable form, origin stories for some significant historical phenomena: Britain’s own monarchy, the Renaissance culture of Europe, and what would have been for Shakespeare’s audience the central event of world history: the birth of Christ. It concludes by discussing how these historical forces shape the unexpected moments of spiritual vision, repentance, and peace that conclude the play, and why the play’s particular vision of communities coexisting might be its most powerful legacy for the 21st century.
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    26 mins
  • Cymbeline Part 3 - The Language

    Cymbeline Part 3 - The Language
    Jul 28 2022
    Part 3 features close-readings of three key speeches that reflect together the central structuring element of the story: how characters fall in order to rise. Speeches and Performers: Iachimo, Act 2, “The crickets sing …” (Mark Quartley and Donald Sumpter) Imogen, Act 3, “Why, I must die…” (Gabrielle Sheppard) Posthumus, Act 5, “Yea, bloody cloth…” (Stuart Vincent)
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    38 mins