Shakespeare: A cultural icon

How Shakespeare has influenced contemporary popular culture. 

How we use our personal influences and theoretical positions to inform our reading of Shakespeare. 

A discussion debating these two different methods of analysing Shakespeare's work. 

Playwright William Shakespeare is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential writers in the English language, and his plays have been read or performed millions of times around the world. He was also quite prolific: Between about 1590 and 1613, Shakespeare wrote at least ... Show More

Nearly four centuries after his death, no writer has come close to matching Shakespeare’s understanding of the world – or his gift for dramatic poetry. It’s not just kings and queens that he captured so uniquely in his transcendent verse. Shakespeare analysed the human condition, ... Show More

In this episode I talk to my parents about the topic of William Shakespeare. We discuss the enduring appeal and significance of William Shakespeare's work, biographical details of his life, the key themes in Shakespeare’s plays, and the impact of his language on modern English. W ... Show More

In this episode, we explore the life and stories of William Shakespeare, one of the most famous writers in history. We'll talk about how he grew up in a small town and went on to write amazing plays like "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet." You'll learn fun facts about his life, what ... Show More

Sophie (age 7) and Ellie (age 5) tell the story of the Life of William Shakespeare.----more---- William Shakespeare was born into Tudor England 500 years ago. He wrote some of the most famous plays in history. We tell the story of Hamlet and Ellie points out that this the same st ... Show More

Did you know that William Shakespeare, one of the most famous English writers, hugely shaped how we speak English? In fact, he invented over 1700 new English words. So in this podcast we have hand picked 15 of the most useful expressions that you can start using to add a bit of s ... Show More

Irish journalist and author, Fintan O'Toole on how the Victorians changed the meaning of Shakespeare's plays, and how we can bring them back to life.Fintan O'Toole is an Irish journalist and author who writes on politics and history for the New York Review of Books and the Irish ... Show More

Ever since Shakespeare wrote his tragedy on Richard III the world has thought of him as an evil king with a shriveled soul. But is that actually unjust?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

In the wide realm of Shakespeare worship, the house in Stratford-upon-Avon where William Shakespeare was born in 1564 – known colloquially as the 'Birthplace' – remains the chief shrine. It's not as romantic as Anne Hathaway's thatched cottage, it's not where he wrote any of his ... Show More