logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2020
19m 51s

6. Sorry, But Shakespeare Didn't Create ...

Merriam-Webster, New England Public Media
About this episode

One of the most cherished and enduring myths about the English language is that its vocabulary was largely populated through the genius of a single man: William Shakespeare. Without seeking to diminish the importance of the man who was undeniably influential, we would like to point out that this is just not the case.

Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.

Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.

Transcript available here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
Aug 2022
Episode 100: How did we get here?
It’s our 100th episode, which seemed like a good occasion to answer a listener question of a more personal type: how did we—that is, we three editors—get here?Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transc ... Show More
22m 8s
Jul 2022
Do we repeat ourselves? Very well then, we repeat ourselves.
A listener questions a tautology in one of our definitions and starts us off on a discussion of all types of repetition and redundancy.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.Transcript available here.See ... Show More
13m 48s
Jul 2022
Hackneyed Phrases, Both Old and New
Writing advice often includes hackneyed phrases we’re supposed to avoid. The phrases we're warned against today are different from the ones of yesteryear. We'll explore both.Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.Produced in collaboration with New England Publ ... Show More
14m 55s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2024
CLASSIC: Will the real Shakespeare please stand up?
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
1h 3m
Sep 2024
William Shakespeare: The Playwright Who Changed the World
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
11m 23s
Jul 2024
Political Poems: 'When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd' by Walt Whitman
Whitman wrote several poetic responses to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. He came to detest his most famous, ‘O Captain! My Captain!’, and in ‘When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd’ Lincoln is not imagined in presidential terms but contained within a love elegy that atte ... Show More
10m 35s
Nov 2023
Richard Schoch, "Shakespeare’s House: A Window onto his Life and Legacy" (Bloomsbury, 2023)
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
59m 26s
Jun 2024
EP20 - Star and Star Lover | Sidney, Astrophil and Stella
Sir Philip Sidney, Astrophil and Stella.  Over the course of the sixteenth century English poets experimented with the sonnet form invented by their Italian neighbours, and the Petrarchan conventions that came with it.  The goal was a long sequence of many short poems which chron ... Show More
1h 21m
Mar 2025
Novel Approaches: ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Emily Brontë
When Wuthering Heights was published in December 1847, many readers didn’t know what to make of it: one reviewer called it ‘a compound of vulgar depravity and unnatural horrors’. In this episode of ‘Novel Approaches’, Patricia Lockwood and David Trotter join Thomas Jones to explo ... Show More
26m 38s
Mar 2025
Native English isn't Relevant to the Majority of English Users - Jennifer Jenkins
Want to monetize your skills as a teacher? Book a free 1:1 with us to see if we can help. "It's such social injustice to expect people to use English like native English speakers, whichever country they're in." We dive into this and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) with Jennifer ... Show More
1h 44m
Sep 2024
‘The Cleverest Woman in England’
Jane Ellen Harrison was Britain’s first female career academic, a maverick public intellectual burdened with the label ‘the cleverest woman in England’. Her quips and quirks became legendary, but many of those anecdotes were promulgated by Harrison herself. Mary Beard joins Tom t ... Show More
40m 26s
Apr 21
932. What is so great about Shakespeare? 🎭 (with Mum & Dad)
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
1h 30m
Jul 2024
The Six Wives of Henry VIII: Anne Boleyn Part 1 | 30
Anne Boleyn has been painted by history as a woman-hating vixen who weaseled her way into being Queen number two. But the real story is way more complicated. Anne started out as a pious lady-in-waiting who garnered the King’s attention. When Henry’s interest grows into a full-blo ... Show More
41m 44s