Smallpox was rife in the eighteenth century, leaving its mark both on its sufferers, and on the literature of the period. This podcast explores its history in verse. Smallpox was common during the eighteenth-century, and its aftereffects much discussed and lamented in popular literature. This podcast explores its representation in eighteenth-century verse.
Sep 2023
Episode 170: Printers, Plague and Poets
In this episode, we examine the connection between poetry and plague in the early 1590s. An outbreak of the recurring sickness contributed to Shakespeare’s early career as a poet, and that poetry likely included his many sonnets. We also examine how an old acquaintance from Shake ... Show More
1h 17m
Nov 2020
S3 Ep5: History of Pandemics: Smallpox, and Jenner
Welcome to the eighteenth century, at a point when Europe is going through another major smallpox outbreak, a disease that by this point has been plaguing populations around the globe for centuries. Peter will discover why milkmaids may be to central to the story of vaccination, ... Show More
43m 22s
May 2025
Lab Leak: Could Smallpox Come Back?
In 1978 the world is on the brink of declaring victory over smallpox. No cases have been seen for months, and it looks like the end for a deadly, painful disease. When a photographer in Birmingham begins to feel ill, doctors are mystified: it looks like smallpox, but how could sh ... Show More
37m 53s