English Literature
English Literature

In this course, Professor Grace Ioppolo (University of Reading) explores Shakespeare’s King Lear. We begin in the first module by thinking about Shakespeare’s sources for King Lear – what he took from earlier versions of the ...
7 lectures
1:09:20
Prof. Grace Ioppolo
Reading University
English Literature

In this course, Dr Christie Carson (Royal Holloway, London) explores Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. We begin in the first module by thinking of the play's status as a comedy: is it enough for the play to end with a marriage...
5 lectures
0:54:40
Dr Christie Carson
Royal Holloway, London
English Literature

In this course, Professor Helen Smith (University of York) explores Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. In the first module, we imagine a trip to the theatre in the late 16th century, thinking about the literary, historical and theatrical context of...
5 lectures
0:56:26
Prof. Helen Smith
York University
English Literature

In this course, Professor Tiffany Stern (University of Oxford) explores how Shakespeare was originally rehearsed, acted and watched, and how this might change our understand of some of his plays. In the first module, we think about actors' roles...
6 lectures
0:52:19
Prof. Tiffany Stern
Royal Holloway, London
English Literature

In this course, Professor John Lennard explores Shakespeare’s most urban comedy, Much Ado About Nothing. As we move through the course, we think about a number of issues, including: the setting of the play and its impact on the action;...
5 lectures
0:48:10
Prof. John Lennard
Independent Scholar
English Literature

In this thirty-three part course, Professor John McRae (University of Nottingham) explores Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. We begin with a broad introduction to the historical, political and intellectual context of late 16th-century England,...
33 lectures
3:43:00
Prof. John McRae
Nottingham University
English Literature

In this course, we explore several aspects of King Lear. We begin by looking at some of the textual problems of the play, before looking at aspects of the play and its performance. In particular, we explore the play’s comedic...
5 lectures
0:44:29
Prof. John Lennard
Independent Scholar
English Literature

In this course, we explore several aspects of one of Shakespeare’s later plays, The Winter’s Tale. In particular, we consider the political and theatrical context for the play, the importance of allegory and symbolism, the play’s peculiar...
7 lectures
0:57:08
Dr Charles Moseley
University of Cambridge
English Literature

In this course, we explore several aspects of Antony and Cleopatra. We begin by thinking about why Shakespeare was interested in writing plays that were set in Ancient Rome, before looking at a number of aspects of the play and...
5 lectures
0:44:56
Prof. John Lennard
Independent Scholar
English Literature

In this course, Professor Diane Purkiss (Oxford) explores Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, with a particular focus on some of the more magical aspects of the play. The course begins with an exploration of the idea of the "Midsummer Night"...
5 lectures
0:43:29
Prof. Diane Purkiss
University of Oxford
English Literature

In this course, Dr Martin Wiggins (The Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham) explores Shakespeare's Coriolanus. We begin by thinking about the political circumstances in which the action of the play takes place, focusing in particular...
8 lectures
1:02:14
Dr Martin Wiggins
The Shakespeare Institute
English Literature

In this course, Professor Miles P. Grier (Queens College, CUNY) explores the issue of race in Shakespeare through the lens of the 'racial plot' – the idea that race is not so much an aspect of one's identity as a process that serves a particular...
4 lectures
0:35:24
Prof. Miles Grier
Queens College, CUNY
English Literature

In this course, Professor John Roe (University of York) explores Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. We begin by thinking about the sources for the play, focusing in particular on the works of Plutarch, before moving on in the second module to give a...
8 lectures
1:04:22
Prof. John Roe
York University
English Literature

In Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare's first tragedy, the fragmentation of sacrificed and mutilated bodies gives rise to a polyphony of dismemberment. Over the course of these six lectures, Andrew Zurcher explores how Shakespeare figures the...
6 lectures
1:23:22
Dr Andrew Zurcher
University of Cambridge