Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare Unlimited

By: Folger Shakespeare Library
  • Summary

  • Home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare materials. Advancing knowledge and the arts. Discover it all at www.folger.edu. Shakespeare turns up in the most interesting places—not just literature and the stage, but science and social history as well. Our "Shakespeare Unlimited" podcast explores the fascinating and varied connections between Shakespeare, his works, and the world around us.
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Episodes
  • Studying Shakespeare Now
    Nov 20 2024

    Forget dusty textbooks and silent classrooms—the Folger Shakespeare Library has released new teaching guides designed to make the Bard’s works more engaging, accessible, and inclusive than ever before. In this episode, Peggy O’Brien, the editor behind these guides, and teachers Deborah Gascon and Mark Miazga, co-authors of the lesson plans for Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth respectively, explore how the Folger Method transforms student understanding by focusing on performance, collaboration, and creative engagement with Shakespeare’s language.

    The discussion also addresses how the guides tackle important topics like race and gender and how to adapt to today’s technological and social challenges, offering fresh strategies to connect with students in meaningful ways about Shakespeare and all kinds of literature. Whether you're a teacher, a student, or simply a Shakespeare lover, this episode sheds light on innovative methods for bringing the classics to life and ensuring they remain relevant for future generations.

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    37 mins
  • Farah Karim-Cooper on The Great White Bard (Rebroadcast)
    Nov 5 2024

    Can you love Shakespeare and be an antiracist? Farah Karim-Cooper’s book The Great White Bard explores the language of race and difference in Shakespeare’s plays. Dr. Karim-Cooper also looks at the ways Shakespeare’s work became integral to Britain’s imperial project and its sense of cultural superiority.

    But, for all this, Karim-Cooper is an unapologetic Shakespeare fan. It’s right there in the subtitle of her book: “How to Love Shakespeare While Talking about Race.” Far from casting Shakespeare out of the classroom or playhouse, Karim-Cooper shows new ways to appreciate him. By drawing connections between the plays and current events, she offers an eyes-wide-open tour of Shakespeare’s continued relevance. Karim-Cooper talks with Barbara Bogaev about the role of race in Titus Andronicus, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, and more.

    Farah Karim-Cooper, is the new Director of the Folger Shakespeare Library, was previously a Professor of Shakespeare Studies at King’s College London and Director of Education at Shakespeare’s Globe. The Great White Bard is available now from Viking Press.

    From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Originally published August 15, 2023, updated and rebroadcast November 5, 2024. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Paola García Acuña is the web producer and edited this transcript. We had technical help from Mark Dezzani in Surrey and Voice Trax West in Studio City, California. Final mixing services provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc

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    32 mins
  • How Shakespeare Revolutionized Tragedy, with Rhodri Lewis
    Oct 22 2024

    Shakespeare is often associated with tragedy, but did you know that he changed the genre? In this episode, Rhodri Lewis, professor of English at Princeton University and author of Shakespeare’s Tragic Art, explores how Shakespeare redefined tragedy in ways that still feel modern today. Through a close examination of plays like Titus Andronicus, Romeo and Juliet, and King Lear, Lewis explains how Shakespeare shifted the traditional classical form of tragedy, introducing characters who deceive themselves and struggle to understand their own nature. From the slasher-style Titus to the complex interiority of Juliet, Shakespeare experimented with plot, language, and character to push the boundaries of tragic drama, giving audiences an unsettling yet profoundly human insight into the flawed nature of existence.

    Rhodri Lewis teaches English at Princeton University. His previous books include Hamlet and the Vision of Darkness (Princeton) and Language, Mind, and Nature: Artificial Languages in England from Bacon to Locke. Outside the academy, he writes for publications including The Times Literary Supplement, Prospect, The Literary Review, and The Los Angeles Review of Books.

    From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published October 22, 2024. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This episode was produced by Matt Frassica. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. We had help with web production from Paola García Acuña. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. Final mixing services are provided by Clean Cuts at Three Seas, Inc.

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    33 mins

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Many insights into FAT HAM

Excellent episode which provides much insight into the Broadway play FAT HAM and the process of the playwright. it moves along smoothly and hits on some key elements of the play and key moments. Enjoyed seeing the play this week and this discussion confirmed many of my thoughts about it.

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Intelligent and Entertaining: Shakespeare Plus

I just discovered this series of half-hour podcasts on Shakespeare and related topics from the Folger Shakespeare Library and have been binge-listening most of today. There is of course plenty here about Shakespeare and the plays from actors, directors, and scholars, but also about other writers and artists who have adapted elements of Shakespeare or who have expertise in translation, music, history, and much more . I just listened to "Marion Turner on The Wife of Bath: A Biography," for example, which is as it announces in the title about Turner's fictional biography of Chaucer's most famous character. The connection to Shakespeare is tangential but informative. In the last ten minutes or so Turner elaborates on Shakespeare's careful reading of Chaucer and the clear influences on his plays. But this is just one example. There are now eight years of programming archived in this series and I have found the seven or eight I have heard today all riveting. Shakespeare and the arts -- what's not to like?

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Kudos!

Each of these are master call presentations of so many looks and views of the Bard. Fun, witty and accessible to all.

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