Approaching Shakespeare

This podcast has saved my life time and time again for my essays.

Amazing and very interesting

Smith knows the plays and poetry inside out, has researched thoroughly the history of critical appraisals of Shakespeare without in any way being in thrall to it, applies an intelligently modern sensibility to her analysis of the works (famed critic G Wilson Knight is ‘obviously barking [mad]’), entertains by framing her lectures around idiosyncratically pertinent questions (‘why is Falstaff fat?’), makes occasional TV comparisons (eg, The Simpsons, Friends) that implicitly remind you that Shakespeare was the pop culture of his day (and which seemingly bemuse some less untarnished minds in the lecture hall), and delivers novel insights into the plays and poems that in retrospect seem obvious and stun with their brilliance and clarity (the homosocial bonds in Much Ado, the gender play in 12th Night, the sonnets being in love with the idea of being in love). Smith is a generational renewal of Shakespeare appreciation, and the enthusiastic applause at the end of each lecture suggests Smith’s audience know they have witnessed something quite remarkable. One complaint: where is the lecture on my favourite Shakespeare play Troilus and Cressida? Having heard the other lectures, I feel now that I won’t fully understand appreciate that play until I’ve heard Smith’s take on it.

I have adored these lectures for years. They draw you in and teach you so many facets of analysis, context and the use of language. I particularly love her use of rhythm when she speaks - sometimes it feels like the lecture is a performance all on its own. I’ve listened to them over and over. Emma Smith is incredible!