12 episodes
Not Shakespeare: Elizabethan and Jacobean Popular Theatre Oxford University
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- Education
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4.7 • 59 Ratings
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This series of six lectures introduces six plays from the Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre. Once popular and now little-known, they can tell us a lot about what their first audiences enjoyed, aspired to and worried about - from immigrants in early modern London to the role of women in the household, from what religious changes might mean for attitudes to the dead to fantasies of easy money and social elevation.
Each lecture outlines the play so there is no assumption you have already read it, then goes on to try to understand its historical context and its dramatic legacy, drawing parallels with modern film and contemporary culture as well as with Elizabethan material. The lecturer's aim with students in the room and with interested listeners on iTunes U is to broaden our understanding of the theatre Shakespeare wrote for by thinking about some non-Shakespearean drama, and to recreate some of the excitement and dramatic possibilities of the new, popular technology of Renaissance theatre.
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The Tamer Tam'd: John Fletcher
A riposte to Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew Fletcher’s play is a riposte to Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew: in this lecture I discuss their interconnectedness as a way to identify Fletcher’s particular dramaturgy. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/
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Tis Pity She's a Whore: John Ford
Reboot of Romeo and Juliet and other Elizabethan plays This lecture discusses the play’s reboot of Romeo and Juliet and other Elizabethan plays, its sensationalism, and its connections to anatomy. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/
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The Witch Of Edmonton
Witchcraft and bigamy. A collaborative play about witchcraft, bigamy - and a talking Dog - what more could you want? Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/
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A Chaste Maid in Cheapside: Thomas Middleton
This lecture discusses comedy, fertility, and all those illegitimate children in this play about sex, economics and meat. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/
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The Alchemist: Ben Jonson
Written in the context of plague in London, The Alchemist’s plot and language are deeply concerned with speed and speculation. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/
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Dr Faustus: Christopher Marlowe
My lecture on this infernal play discusses Elizabethan religion, the revisions to the play, and whether we should think about James Bond in its final minutes. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/
Customer Reviews
Love This Lecture Series
I would love to have some more. Brilliant, engaging work.
Brilliant
Delighted to discover this lecture series after thoroughly enjoying Prof Smith's Shakespeare lectures. She opens these plays up to an ignorant, modern reader/listener by discussing the historical context of the plots and themes, the plays' long literary reception and performance history, and making contemporary parallels, all with great wit and interesting, unexpected insights. Also, the Coen brothers.
First rate!
Have listened to half of the Approaching Shakespeare lectures (8 or 9), and fervently hope Professor Smith will eventually provide lectures on the entire canon. Her method of selecting one, overarching question about each play, along with a different critical or analytic technique each time, provides a wonderful education in not only the play at hand, but in ways to approach ALL of Shakespeare's plays. She's articulate, knowledgeable, and has a dry wit about her whose tone is well in keeping with her material. I could not recommend these lectures more highly!