By Marc Connor, Ph.D., Washington and Lee University We can all agree that William Shakespeare is hard to understand, but perhaps Shakespeare knew that about […]
We don’t simply read Shakespeare’s plays—we watch them. And it is through this watching that we can apply two key tools in understanding Shakespeare: stagecraft and participation. […]
You’ve likely seen a performance of Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet, but how were Shakespeare’s plays performed back in his own time? Gain an intimate look at the eclectic audiences as well as what the stages physically looked like, getting a sense of what it was like to actually watch one of Shakespeare’s plays as it was performed hundreds of years ago. […]
As a playwright, Shakespeare has numerous tricks up his sleeve. Explore plots, metaphor, comedy and more to see how Shakespeare’s plays work. […]
Here’s a great question we all ask about Shakespeare: Where did Shakespeare get his plots? The man wrote 38 plays, but only one or two seem to have an original plot. […]
Sherlock Holmes popularized criminology and forensics investigating in a time when fingerprinting was brand-new. How has Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s impossibly perceptive detective stood the test of time? […]
The Aesthetic Movement was an artistic expression of “art for art’s sake.” Disavowing notions of literature’s societal necessity, Oscar Wilde wrote in opposition to Dickensian literature—and influenced generations. […]
The late Victorian period is known for great literary talent and the controversies that embroiled it. For example, authors and critics clashed over the depictions of sexuality and of unhappy marriages in print and on the stage. But is it really true that there is no bad PR? […]
Genre is a surprisingly slippery term, but it’s actually a pretty complicated idea. Gain a better a understanding of not only how genre works but also how it can open up our understanding of utopian and dystopian literature. […]
What are “The Great Books”? Professor Rufus J. Fears took up this question in “Life Lessons from The Great Books” and came up with this list. How many have you read? Are there any books you would add? See the whole list on The Great Courses Daily! […]
© The Teaching Company, LLC. All rights reserved.