Ripe Good Scholar ripegoodscholar

Hello and welcome to episode 43 of Ripe Good Scholar. Ever since Shakespeare started gaining popularity, people have been attributing plays to him that he may not have had anything to do with. Some of these have been easier to disprove than others. There are a few lingering plays that we cannot say whether Shakespeare had a hand in and so we have The Shakespeare Apocrypha. Things get much more complicated as we dive deeper into what it meant to be a playwright in Shakespeare’s time. There was a lot of collaboration, stealing, and editing. This can make it nearly impossible to determine who was the author. But, that won’t stop us from speculating!
 
Full show notes available at ripegoodscholar.com/ep43
 
Teller of Tales by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4467-teller-of-the-tales
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
 
Minstrel Guild by KevinMacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4056-minstrel-guild
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hello and welcome to Ripe Good Scholar. Today we are beginning to get a clearer picture of the Elizabethan theatre scene. It was a place of collaboration and mentoring. Novice writers would hone their craft with the help of more seasoned ones. Writers would also imitate each other and edit each other’s work for their own use. This realization has caused scholars in recent years to look more closely at Shakespeare’s work and see where he may have collaborated. One unsurprising candidate was Titus Andronicus, easily Shakespeare’s most gruesome play, and one of his earliest. The top candidate for co-author is George Peele, a University Wit. Today, Eli and I are going to get to know George Peele and examine the role he may have played in writing Titus Andronicus.
For this episode, I read excerpts from Shakespeare Co-author by Brian Vickers and several articles. If you want to check out all my sources, head over to ripegoodscholar.com/ep42.
 
Teller of Tales by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4467-teller-of-the-tales
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
 
Minstrel Guild by KevinMacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4056-minstrel-guild
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This is episode 41 of Ripe Good Scholar: The Sources for Twelfth Night
Hello and welcome to Ripe Good Scholar. Since we just celebrated the epiphany, or twelfth night, we thought it would be worthwhile to visit the famous Shakespeare text of the same name. Like most of Shakespeare’s work, the story was borrowed from another source. In this case, it was an English prose version of an Italian play. The prose adaptation, Apollonius and Silla, was written by an English soldier, Barnabe Rich. Today Eli and I are going to look at Rich’s text to see what Shakespeare borrowed and what he left out. By closely examining Shakespeare’s sources, we can get a glimpse into his mind, the mind of a genius. It can also provide some unique insights into the text itself.
For this episode, I read Rich’s Apolonius and Silla, An Original of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night edited by Morton Luce. If you want to check out that book and so much more, head over to ripegoodscholar.com/ep41.
Teller of Tales by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4467-teller-of-the-tales
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
 
Minstrel Guild by KevinMacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4056-minstrel-guild
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode we will be discussing the case of Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester. We Shakespeareans will know Eleanor as the woman that Margaret of Anjou slapped in Henry VI Part 2. In the play and in real life, Eleanor was accused and found guilty of using witchcraft which led to severe consequences, but fortunately not death. It was, of course, much more complicated than what we see in Shakespeare. By looking into the life and downfall of Eleanor Cobham, we see a smart woman who was caught in the crossfire of a power struggle between her husband and his enemies. She did what she could to survive, but only managed to avoid death in the end.
 
At her birth, no one would have anticipated that Eleanor would eventually become the most powerful woman in England. However, that is exactly what happened. She married Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, the regent of England and heir to the throne. The King, Henry VI, was a child for most of her marriage. Humphrey was not the only one vying for power though, with his strongest enemies being Cardinal Beaufort and the Duke of Suffolk. These two proved to be a powerful team and made cunning moves to take down Humphrey by taking down his beloved wife. Eleanor did her best to survive, which she did, but she ultimately lost everything. By all accounts, Humphrey was a broken man.
It’s an interesting tale full of twists and turns that was expertly laid out by Gemma Hollman in her book Royal Witches. Join us on this journey and learn what Shakespeare got right and what he got wrong.
Full show notes at ripegoodscholar.com/ep40
 
Teller of Tales by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4467-teller-of-the-tales
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
 
Minstrel Guild by KevinMacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4056-minstrel-guild
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hello and welcome to Ripe Good Scholar, spooky edition. Since it’s Halloween, let’s explore a topic that would have been all too familiar to the Shakespearean audience: witches. King James in particular was very anti-witch and led some of the most brutal witch hunts in history. Today Dr. Lisa Grogan and I are going to explore the history of witchcraft and witch hunts, specifically focusing on the time of King James. Lisa is familiar with the history of witchcraft because she identifies as a witch and follows the wiccan religion. Join us as we explore what it was to be a witch and how the perception of witches changed over time
 
For this episode we watched a documentary on the Malleus Maleficarum and looked over King James’ Daemonologie. If you want to check out those and so much more, head over to ripegoodscholar.com/ep45.
 
Teller of Tales by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4467-teller-of-the-tales
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
 
Oppressive Gloom by KevinMacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4174-oppressive-gloom
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This is episode 38 of Ripe Good Scholar: Venus, Adonis, and Ovid
Hello and welcome to Ripe Good Scholar. During his school days Shakespeare was studying the Latin classics, including one that would be a favorite in his life as a playwright, Ovid. Shakespeare adapted a story from Ovid into his best-selling poem, Venus and Adonis. While we are very familiar with Shakespeare adapting other works, readers may be surprised to notice such a stark difference between the two tellings. That is why today Eli and I will be examining the story in both Ovid and Shakespeare to find the differences and identify a few surprising similarities.
For this episode I read Charles Martin’s translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, along with Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis and several other articles. If you want to check out those and so much more, head over to ripegoodscholar.com/ep38.
Teller of Tales by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4467-teller-of-the-tales
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
 
Minstrel Guild by KevinMacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4056-minstrel-guild
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/