Ranked #1
King Lear
King Lear
Showing how generations of critics - and Shakespeare himself - have rewritten the ending of King Lear, this sixteenth Ap... Read more
22 Feb 2012
•
47mins
Ranked #2
Hamlet
Hamlet
The fact that father and son share the same name in Hamlet is used to investigate the play's nostalgia, drawing on biogr... Read more
23 Oct 2012
•
46mins
Ranked #3
Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night
The seventh Approaching Shakespeare lecture takes a minor character in Twelfth Night - Antonio - and uses his presence ... Read more
20 Oct 2011
•
47mins
Ranked #4
Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure
The third Approaching Shakespeare lecture, on Measure for Measure, focuses on the vexed question of this uncomic comedy'... Read more
26 Oct 2010
•
40mins
Ranked #5
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
This lecture on Julius Caesar discusses structure, tone, and politics by focusing on the cameo scene with Cinna the Poet... Read more
18 May 2015
•
49mins
Ranked #6
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
This lecture on A Midsummer Night's Dream uses modern and early modern understandings of dreams to uncover a play less c... Read more
5 Nov 2012
•
40mins
Ranked #7
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
This lecture on The Merchant of Venice discusses the ways the play's personal relationships are shaped by models of fina... Read more
20 Nov 2012
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43mins
Ranked #8
Richard II
Richard II
Lecture eight in the Approaching Shakespeare series asks the question that structures Richard II: does the play suggest ... Read more
1 Nov 2011
•
45mins
Ranked #9
Richard III
Richard III
In this thirteenth lecture in the Approaching Shakespeare series the focus is on the inevitability of the ending of Rich... Read more
25 Jan 2012
•
45mins
Ranked #10
Henry IV part 1
Henry IV part 1
Like generations of theatre-goers, this lecture concentrates on the (large) figure of Sir John Falstaff and investigates... Read more
16 Nov 2011
•
50mins
Ranked #11
The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale
How we can make sense of a play that veers from tragedy to comedy and stretches credulity in its conclusion? That's the ... Read more
9 Nov 2010
•
42mins
Ranked #12
The Tempest
The Tempest
That the character of Prospero is a Shakespearean self-portrait is a common reading of The Tempest: this tenth Approachi... Read more
14 Nov 2011
•
48mins
Ranked #13
Taming of the Shrew
Taming of the Shrew
Emma Smith uses evidence of early reception and from more recent productions to discuss the question of whether Katherin... Read more
9 Nov 2012
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43mins
Ranked #14
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Emma Smith asks why the characters are so quick to believe the self-proclaimed villain Don John, drawing on gender and p... Read more
30 Oct 2012
•
41mins
Ranked #15
King John
King John
At the heart of King John is the death of his rival Arthur: this fifteenth lecture in the Approaching Shakespeare series... Read more
10 Feb 2012
•
45mins