Episodes
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To kick off our series on Shakespeare's The Tempest, we are (as always) starting with an overview of basic facts and history about the play and an introduction to the major themes and motifs of the play.
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
For updates: join our email list, follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, buying us coffee, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod (we earn a small commission when you use our link and shop bookshop.org).
Find additional links mentioned in the episode in our Linktree.
Works referenced:
Shakespeare, William, et al. The Tempest. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011.
SparkNotes Editors. “The Tempest” SparkNotes.com, SparkNotes LLC, 2005, https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/tempest/
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Want to support the podcast? Join our Patreon or buy us a coffee. As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you.
We are now on to our tenth play series! Today we are starting our series on Shakespeare's The Tempest with a synopsis episode. In this episode, we will provide a detailed summary of the plot, breaking down the action of the play scene by scene.
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Special thanks to Nat Yonce for editing this episode.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
For updates: join our email list, follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, buying us coffee, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod (we earn a small commission when you use our link and shop bookshop.org).
Find additional links mentioned in the episode in our Linktree.
Works referenced:
Shakespeare, William, et al. The Tempest. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011.
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Missing episodes?
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Want to support the podcast? Join our Patreon or buy us a coffee. As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you.
In this bonus episode, we’re joined by Dr. Kent Lehnhoff to talk about his new book, Voice and Ethics in Shakespeare’s Late Plays. Together, we explore how Shakespeare uses the concept and qualities of human voice in The Tempest, Cymbeline, King Lear, Pericles, and The Winter’s Tale, how he writes for and about the voice, and beyond that, how embracing the unique voice of each character (and actor) can create a more ethical, inclusive theatre.
About Kent Lehnhof
Kent Lehnhof earned a BA from Brigham Young University and a PhD from Duke University. He is Professor of English at Chapman University, where he specializes in early modern literature and culture, especially the works of William Shakespeare. Dr. Lehnhof has published two dozen scholarly articles, has co-edited two essay collections, and is coming out with a new book in October titled Voice and Ethics in Shakespeare’s Late Plays. In this book and in many of his articles, Dr. Lehnhof treats Shakespeare’s plays like lively enactments of ethical philosophy. He believes that one of the things that makes Shakespeare’s work distinctly Shakespearean is its interest in exploring what it’s like to be in relation—what it’s like to be tied to other people, some of whom love you, some of whom hate you, and some of whom pay you no mind at all.
At present, Dr. Lehnhof is finishing a guidebook for Arden Shakespeare called Understanding Shakespeare’s Plays: A Candid Companion to All the Drama. This book goes through all the play, one by one, giving an overview of each and offering insights and analysis as to what it offers. Dr. Lehnhof only has six plays left to do, which means he’s getting down to the deep cuts. Timon of Athens, anyone?
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
For updates: join our email list, follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, buying us coffee, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod (we earn a small commission when you use our link and shop bookshop.org).
Find additional links mentioned in the episode in our Linktree.
Works referenced:
Lehnhof, Kent. Voice and Ethics in Shakespeare’s Late Plays. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2025. Print.
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Want to support the podcast? Join our Patreon or buy us a coffee. As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you.
In this wrap-up episode, we reflect on our journey through Shakespeare's King Henry V by examining three distinct productions that bring the play to life in unique ways. We begin with Kenneth Branagh's 1989 Oscar-nominated film adaptation, renowned for its realism and cinematic approach. Next, we delve into the 2022 Donmar Warehouse production starring Kit Harington, which frames Henry’s leadership through a modern lens. Finally, we discuss the 2012 Shakespeare's Globe production with Jamie Parker, which offers a more traditional yet energetic take on the play. By comparing these interpretations, we explore how different directorial choices and performances can influence our understanding of the play's themes, characters, and historical context.
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
For updates: join our email list, follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, buying us coffee, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod (we earn a small commission when you use our link and shop bookshop.org).
Find additional links mentioned in the episode in our Linktree.
Works referenced:
Branagh, Kenneth, director. Henry V. Performance by Derek Jacobi, et al., Curzon Film Distributors, Ltd., Samuel Goldwyn Company, CBS Fox Video, 1989.
Shakespeare, William. Henry V. National Theatre Live, https://www.ntathome.com/henry-v. Accessed 2025.
Shakespeare, William. Henry V (2012). Shakespeare’s Globe, 2013, https://player.shakespearesglobe.com/productions/henry-v-2012/. Accessed 2025.
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Want to support the podcast? Join our Patreon or buy us a coffee. As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you.
In this mini-episode, we sit down with author Julie Hammonds to discuss her debut novel, Blue Mountain Rose: A Novel in Five Acts. Set against the backdrop of a fictional Shakespeare festival in the Arizona mountains during the 2009 financial crisis, the story follows theater director Richard Keane, company manager Kate Morales, and enigmatic actor Peter Dunmore as they strive to save their beloved open-air stage.
Julie shares insights into how Shakespeare's works inspired the novel's structure and themes, the challenges of portraying the behind-the-scenes world of theater, and the enduring relevance of the Bard's plays in times of personal and collective hardship.
Whether you're a Shakespeare aficionado, a theater enthusiast, or a lover of character-driven narratives, this conversation offers a compelling look into the intersections of art, community, and resilience.
Blue Mountain Rose is now available at booksellers near you and on our Bookshop.com storefront.
About Julie Hammonds
Julie Hammonds fell in love with Hamlet during a high school trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and has nurtured her passion for Shakespeare ever since. She learned to run a light board on an Army base in South Korea, studied the plays on her own and in school, stage-managed The Winter’s Tale and Much Ado About Nothing, and became the founding board president of the Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival. Along the way, she decided to complete the canon as an audience member by seeing Shakespeare’s plays performed on as many different stages as she can reach. The quest has taken her from a community hall in Juneau, Alaska, to the noteworthy festivals in Stratford, Ontario, and Cedar City, Utah, to Shakespeare’s Globe in London and the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. She has four plays to go. This is her first novel.
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
For updates: join our email list, follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, buying us coffee, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod (we earn a small commission when you use our link and shop bookshop.org).
Find additional links mentioned in the episode in our Linktree.
Works referenced:
Hammonds, Julie C. Blue Mountain Rose: A Novel in Five Acts. Soulstice Publishing, LLC, 2025.
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Want to support the podcast? Join our Patreon or buy us a coffee. As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you.
In today's episode, we are exploring the English relationships with foreigners and immigrants from other European countries. First, we'll discuss what the experience of immigrant communities was like in England during the Tudor and early Stuart periods--were the English people xenophobic or welcoming to others? We'll look specifically at experiences of Dutch and French immigrants, who made up the majority of immigrants to England in the mid-late 1500s.
Then, we'll take a look at England's attempt to colonize Ireland through Essex's campaign in the late 1590s and how English anxieties about foreign invasions while also attempting to invade Ireland may have influenced Shakespeare's writing of King Henry V. We'll also discuss the characters of Macmorris, Jamy, and Fluellen and how they represent contemporary English relations with the Irish, Scottish, and Welsh.
We have previously explored England's proto-colonial practices and treatment of people of the global majority outside of Europe, and their legacies in the following episodes:
Mini: Shakespeare and the Colonial Imagination Mini: Shakespeare's World: Immigrants, Others, and Foreign Commodities Mini: "Decolonize the Mind" through Shakespeare Mini: Intercultural and Global Shakespeare in a Postcolonial WorldShakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
For updates: join our email list, follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, buying us coffee, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod (we earn a small commission when you use our link and shop bookshop.org).
Find additional links mentioned in the episode in our Linktree.
Works referenced:
Goose, Nigel. “Immigrants and English Economic Development in the Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Centuries.” Immigrants in Tudor and Early Stuart England, edited by Nigel Goose and Lien Luu, Liverpool University Press, 2013, pp. 136–60. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.4418193.12. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
Goose, Nigel. “‘Xenophobia’ in Elizabethan and Early Stuart England: An Epithet Too Far?” Immigrants in Tudor and Early Stuart England, edited by Nigel Goose and Lien Luu, Liverpool University Press, 2013, pp. 110–35. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.4418193.11. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
Highley, Christopher. “‘If the Cause Be Not Good’: Henry V and Essex’s Irish Campaign.” Shakespeare, Spenser, and the Crisis in Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. 134–163. Print. Cambridge Studies in Renaissance Literature and Culture.
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Want to support the podcast? Join our Patreon or buy us a coffee. As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you.
This week, we are bringing you something a little different and unlocking our Patreon bonus episode on the 1998 film, Shakespeare in Love. Over on our Patreon, we regularly watch/read and discuss Shakespeare-adjacent media.
Shakespeare in Love, written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard and directed by John Madden, follows a fictional love affair between William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) and a noblewoman, Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), during the writing of Romeo and Juliet. The film also features performances by Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck and Judi Dench. Shakespeare in Love received 7 Oscars, including Best Picture at the 71st Academy Awards.
We originally released this episode in February 2023 as a Patreon-exclusive.
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
For updates: join our email list, follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, buying us coffee, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod (we earn a small commission when you use our link and shop bookshop.org).
Find additional links mentioned in the episode in our Linktree.
Works referenced:
Stoppard, Tom, and Marc Norman. Shakespeare in Love. Panorama, 1998.
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Want to support the podcast? Join our Patreon or buy us a coffee. As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you.
In today's episode, we will be exploring the lives of common and working people of Shakespeare's time. While Shakespeare's plays tend to feature nobles, monarchs, and other people of higher status as their main characters, they also feature a variety of characters from lower ranks of society.
We will discuss the overall representation of common people in Shakespeare's plays, dive into the specific occupations represented within Shakespeare's play, King Henry V, and then give an overview of other occupations held by the lower ranks of society in Shakespeare's time.
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
For updates: join our email list, follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod.
Find additional links mentioned in the episode in our Linktree.
Works referenced:
Gillings, Mathew. “Shakespeare and Social Status.” Encyclopedia of Shakespeare’s Language, University of Lancaster, 21 Nov. 2019, wp.lancs.ac.uk/shakespearelang/2017/06/05/shakespeare-and-social-status/.
Olsen, Kirstin. "Occupations." All Things Shakespeare: A Concise Encyclopedia of Shakespeare's World, Greenwood World Publishing, Oxford / Westport, CT, 2007.
Olsen, Kirstin. "Servants." All Things Shakespeare: A Concise Encyclopedia of Shakespeare's World, Greenwood World Publishing, Oxford / Westport, CT, 2007.
Unwin, Stephen. “Introduction.” Poor Naked Wretches: Shakespeare’s Working People, Reaktion Books, London, UK, 2022.
Unwin, Stephen. “Inns, Taverns and Brothels.” Poor Naked Wretches: Shakespeare’s Working People, Reaktion Books, London, UK, 2022.
Unwin, Stephen. “Soldiers, Sailors and Men at Arms.” Poor Naked Wretches: Shakespeare’s Working People, Reaktion Books, London, UK, 2022.
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Want to support the podcast? Join our Patreon or buy us a coffee. As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you.
Have you ever wondered where those colorful Folger paperback editions of Shakespeare plays got their name? Or how the Folger Shakespeare Library came to have the largest collection of First Folios in the world? Or if there was any relation to the coffee brand?
In today’s episode, we are going to be exploring the life of Henry Folger, his wife Emily Jordan Folger, their quest for copies of the First Folio, and how their collection forever changed our modern understanding of Shakespeare and the early modern period.
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
For updates: join our email list, follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod.
Find additional links mentioned in the episode in our Linktree.
Works referenced:
Grant, Stephen H. Collecting Shakespeare: The Story of Henry and Emily Folger. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014
Mays, Andrea E. The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folger’s Obsessive Hunt for Shakespeare’s First Folio. Simon & Schuster, 2016.
"Purchasing Power Today of a US Dollar Transaction in the Past," MeasuringWorth, 2025.
Staff, Folger Shakesepeare Library. “Andrea Mays on the Millionaire and the Bard.” Folger Shakespeare Library, 18 Nov. 2015, www.folger.edu/podcasts/shakespeare-unlimited/shakespeare-unlimited-episode-36/.
Staff, NPR. “A Fortune in Folios: One Man’s Hunt for Shakespeare’s First Editions.” NPR, NPR, 14 May 2015, www.npr.org/2015/05/14/406470976/a-fortune-in-folios-one-man-s-hunt-for-shakespeare-s-first-editions.
Witmore, Michael. "Henry Clay Folger." Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Jun. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/money/Henry-Clay-Folger. Accessed 5 March 2025.
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Want to support the podcast? Join our Patreon or buy us a coffee. As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you.
In today's episode, we are exploring the realities of military life in early modern and medieval England and how those realities are reflected (or not!) in Shakespeare's King Henry V. We will discuss historical misrepresentations of the English military during Shakespeare's lifetime and how recent scholarship has discovered a wealth of narratives that prove those previous understandings to be incorrect.
We will also discuss the rules of war that existed historically during the reign of King Henry V and how accurately Shakespeare portrays and navigates those historical norms within the fictional world of the play.
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
For updates: join our email list, follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod.
Works referenced:
Lawrence, D.R. (2011), Reappraising the Elizabethan and Early Stuart Soldier: Recent Historiography on Early Modern English Military Culture. History Compass, 9: 16-33. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-0542.2010.00748.x
Meron, Theodor. “Shakespeare’s Henry the Fifth and the Law of War.” The American Journal of International Law, vol. 86, no. 1, 1992, pp. 1–45. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2203137. Accessed 18 Feb. 2025.
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Want to support the podcast? Join our Patreon or buy us a coffee. As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you.
In today’s episode, we’ll be talking about early modern English nobility. Shakespeare’s history plays are about monarchs and royal lineages, and the world he was writing in was organized by ranks and degrees. So, we think it's important to talk about these pivotal ranks from kings to landed gentry.
And we want to acknowledge that this mini-episode is strictly focusing on the social ranks from the Crown down to the landed gentry. We will be discussing additional ranks and social classes of England in forthcoming episodes.
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
For updates: join our email list, follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod.
Works referenced:
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "baron". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 May. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/baron. Accessed 9 February 2025.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "duke". Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Feb. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/topic/duke. Accessed 9 February 2025.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "earl". Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Jul. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/earl-title. Accessed 9 February 2025.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "marquess". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Sep. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/marquess. Accessed 9 February 2025.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "peerage". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Dec. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/peerage. Accessed 9 February 2025.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "viscount". Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Jun. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/viscount. Accessed 9 February 2025.
Debrett’s, The Editors of. “The Baronetage.” Debretts, Debretts, 10 Dec. 2024, debretts.com/peerage/the-baronetage/.
Debrett’s, The Editors of. “Debrett’s Guide to the Ranks and Privileges of the Peerage.” Debretts, Debretts, 10 Dec. 2024, debretts.com/peerage/the-peerage/ranks-and-privileges-of-the-peerage/.
Debrett’s, The Editors of. “The Knightage.” Debretts, Debretts, 10 Dec. 2024, debretts.com/peerage/the-knightage/.
Ruggiu, François-Joseph . "Nobility and Gentry in the Early Modern Atlantic World". In obo in Atlantic History. 9 Feb. 2025. .
Wikipedia contributors. "Landed gentry." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 17 Jan. 2025. Web. 9 Feb. 2025.
Wikipedia contributors. "Social class in the United Kingdom." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 15 Jan. 2025. Web. 9 Feb. 2025.
Zelazko, Alicja. "British nobility". Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Jul. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/British-nobility. Accessed 9 February 2025.
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Want to support the podcast? Join our Patreon or buy us a coffee. As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you.
In this week's episode, we are exploring the historical record to better understand the difference between the facts of the historical record and the history-making and myths in Shakespeare's King Henry V. We will share brief biographies of the historical figures presented in Shakespeare's play and discuss how understanding where Shakespeare embellished or elided history can help us understand the values of the audiences of his day and how this understanding can potentially inform performances and readings of Shakespeare's play today.
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
For updates: join our email list, follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod.
Are you a teacher who teaches upper grades (US 9-12 or equivalent) and teaches Shakespeare or wants to teach Shakespeare? We want to hear from you: https://www.shakespeareanyone.com/teachersurvey
Works referenced:
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Charles VI". Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Nov. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-VI-king-of-France. Accessed 26 January 2025.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Edward of Norwich, 2nd duke of York". Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Oct. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-of-Norwich-2nd-duke-of-York. Accessed 26 January 2025.
Carpenter, Christine. "Beauchamp, Richard, thirteenth earl of Warwick (1382–1439), magnate." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. October 03, 2013. Oxford University Press. Date of access 27 Jan. 2025
Catto, Jeremy. "Chichele, Henry (c. 1362–1443), administrator and archbishop of Canterbury." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 23, 2004. Oxford University Press. Date of access 27 Jan. 2025
Griffiths, R. A. "Holland [Holand], John, first duke of Exeter (1395–1447), soldier and magnate." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. January 03, 2008. Oxford University Press. Date of access 27 Jan. 2025
Harriss, G. L. "Beaufort, Thomas, duke of Exeter (1377?–1426), magnate and soldier." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. January 03, 2008. Oxford University Press. Date of access 27 Jan. 2025
Harriss, G. L. "Humphrey [Humfrey or Humphrey of Lancaster], duke of Gloucester [called Good Duke Humphrey] (1390–1447), prince, soldier, and literary patron." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. June 11, 2020. Oxford University Press. Date of access 27 Jan. 2025
Harriss, G. L. "Richard [Richard of Conisbrough], earl of Cambridge (1385–1415), magnate." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 14, 2023. Oxford University Press. Date of access 27 Jan. 2025
Hughes, Jonathan. "Arundel [Fitzalan], Thomas (1353–1414), administrator and archbishop of Canterbury." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. May 24, 2007. Oxford University Press. Date of access 27 Jan. 2025
Jones, Dan. Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England’s Greatest Warrior King. Viking, 2024.
Pollard, A. J. "Neville, Richard, fifth earl of Salisbury (1400–1460), magnate." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. January 03, 2008. Oxford University Press. Date of access 27 Jan. 2025
Stratford, Jenny. "John [John of Lancaster], duke of Bedford (1389–1435), regent of France and prince." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 22, 2011. Oxford University Press. Date of access 27 Jan. 2025
Tuck, Anthony. "Edmund [Edmund of Langley], first duke of York (1341–1402), prince." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 14, 2023. Oxford University Press. Date of access 27 Jan. 2025
Tuck, Anthony. "Neville, Ralph, first earl of Westmorland (c. 1364–1425), magnate." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. January 03, 2008. Oxford University Press. Date of access 27 Jan. 2025
Vale, Brigette. "Scrope, Henry, third Baron Scrope of Masham (c. 1376–1415), soldier and administrator." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. January 03, 2008. Oxford University Press. Date of access 27 Jan. 2025
Walker, Simon. "Erpingham, Sir Thomas (c. 1355–1428), soldier." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. January 03, 2008. Oxford University Press. Date of access 27 Jan. 2025
Wikipedia contributors. "Charles II, Duke of Lorraine." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 11 Jan. 2025. Web. 27 Jan. 2025.
Wikipedia contributors. "Isabeau of Bavaria." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 24 Jan. 2025. Web. 27 Jan. 2025.
Wikipedia contributors. "Louis, Duke of Guyenne." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 10 Nov. 2024. Web. 27 Jan. 2025.
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To kick off our series on Shakespeare's King Henry V, we are (as always) starting with an overview of basic facts about the play and an introduction to the major themes and motifs of the play.
Location of the Battle of Agincourt
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod.
Works referenced:
Shakespeare, William. King Henry V. Edited by T. W. Craik, Arden Shakespeare, 1995.
SparkNotes Editors. “King Henry V” SparkNotes.com, SparkNotes LLC, 2005, https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/henryv/
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We are starting off 2025 and Shakespeare Anyone's fifth year with our first History (and also a play with the number five in its title): King Henry V. In this episode, we will provide a detailed summary of the plot, breaking down the action of the play scene by scene. To quote this play, "once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more," or...let's dive in!
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod.
Works referenced:
Shakespeare, William. King Henry V. Edited by T. W. Craik, Arden Shakespeare, 1995.
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Over this past year, we quietly went back to where we began this podcast and worked on revising our Intro Series, "Stuff You Should Know." We updated the original episodes quietly in September. When we started thinking about what we wanted to release for the end of 2024, we feel like nothing encapsulates how we've grown as podcasters and scholars over the past four years better than these revised episodes, so we wanted to revisit them and share these episodes again.
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This is Part 3 of our intro series “Stuff You Should Know,” which covers some background and context into the life and times of Shakespeare, because art isn’t created in a vacuum. In this episode, we’ll be covering some basic information about Shakespeare. And when we say basic, we mean basic. And, even though Shakespeare is a famous figure, scholars and historians actually know quite little about William Shakespeare the man.
We will discuss what scholars know about Shakespeare's early life in Stratford-upon-Avon and what a typical education for a young man of Shakespeare's background. We will also discuss some popular theories about what Shakespeare may have done in life before arriving in London. We will then give an overview of Shakespeare's career of an actor and playwright, his family, and his later life.
Want more about Shakespeare the man? Check out these episodes that go more in depth on topics we touch on in this episode:
Mini-Episode: Christopher Marlowe Mini: Ben Jonson, Shakespeare's Colleague and Competitor Mini: Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare's WifeShakespeare Anyone? is created, written, produced, and hosted by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Episode written and researched by Kourtney Smith with contributions by Elyse Sharp. Revised September 2024.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod.
Works referenced:
Dale, Liam, director. William Shakespeare: the Life and Times. 1091 Pictures, Cobra Entertainment, 3 Apr. 2017. Accessed 16 Sept. 2020, from www.youtube.com/watch?v=qafnuBH8KPs
Mcarafano. (2020, February 25). Shakespeare's Life. Accessed 16 Sept. 2020, from https://www.folger.edu/shakespeares-life
William Shakespeare Biography. (n.d.). Accessed 16 Sept. 2020, from https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/explore-shakespeare/shakespedia/william-shakespeare/william-shakespeare-biography/
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Over this past year, we quietly went back to where we began this podcast and worked on revising our Intro Series, "Stuff You Should Know." We updated the original episodes quietly in September. When we started thinking about what we wanted to release for the end of 2024, we feel like nothing encapsulates how we've grown as podcasters and scholars over the past four years better than these revised episodes, so we wanted to revisit them and share these episodes again.
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This is Part 2 of our intro series “Stuff You Should Know,” which covers some background and context into the life and times of Shakespeare, because art isn’t created in a vacuum. In this episode, we’ll be covering some basic information about early modern England during the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. And when we say basic, we mean basic. This is a quick overview of early modern England, more importantly the England that influenced Shakespeare.
In this episode, we’ll be covering some basic information about the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods, as well as the public theatres during those respective eras. We'll review how the transition from feudalism to mercantilism changed English society and discuss facets of early modern English society such as fashion, social mobility, religious freedom, and public health. We will give an overview the history of the public theatre in England and discuss some key features of what theatre-making was like for Shakespeare and his contemporaries.
Want more about the Elizabethan and Jacobean England & Theatre? Check out these episodes that go more in depth on topics we touch on in this episode:
Mini: Commerce and Trade in Shakespeare's Time King Lear: Mental Health and Disability in Shakespeare's Time Mini-Episode: The Gunpowder Plot Mini-Episode: The Four Humours Hamlet: Ophelia, Gertrude, and Female Agency Mini: Plague, Quarantine, & Shakespeare Mini: Shakespearean Vengeance: Exploring Revenge Tragedies in Early Modern England Mini-Episode: Shakespeare's Globe Theatre Mini: Traveling Theatre Companies Mini: Shakespeare's Folios and QuartosShakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Episode written and researched by Kourtney Smith with contributions by Elyse Sharp. Revised September 2024.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod.
Works referenced:
Brown, John Russell, and Peter Thomson, editor and author. “Chapter 6 English Renaissance and Restoration Theatre.” The Oxford Illustrated History of Theatre, pp. 173 - 200. Oxford University Press, 2001
Sherry, Joyce. “Elizabethan Theatre.” YouTube, 4 Jan. 2014, Accessed 6 Sept. 2020, from www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_cTCdkCAcc
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Over this past year, we quietly went back to where we began this podcast and worked on revising our Intro Series, "Stuff You Should Know." We updated the original episodes quietly in September. When we started thinking about what we wanted to release for the end of 2024, we feel like nothing encapsulates how we've grown as podcasters and scholars over the past four years better than these revised episodes, so we wanted to revisit them and share these episodes again.
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This is Part I of our intro series, “Stuff You Should Know,” which covers some background and context into the life and times of Shakespeare, because art isn’t created in a vacuum. In this episode, we’ll be covering some basic information about the monarchy and English Renaissance. And when we say basic, we mean basic. This is a quick overview of early modern England, more importantly the England that influenced Shakespeare.
In this episode, we’ll be covering some basic information about the English monarchy and English Renaissance. We will give an overview of the history of the English monarchy during the English Renaissance, through the early modern period and a little beyond Shakespeare's lifetime. We will discuss how the Renaissance differed from the medieval period that came before it and how the English Renaissance differed from the Italian Renaissance.
Want more about the English Renaissance? Check out these episodes that go more in depth on topics we touch on in this episode:
Mini: Shakespeare and Petrarch Mini: Shakespeare and the Colonial Imagination Mini: Shakespeare's World: Immigrants, Others, and Foreign Commodities Mini: "Decolonize the Mind" through Shakespeare Mini: Commerce and Trade in Shakespeare's Time Hamlet: Ophelia, Gertrude, and Female AgencyShakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Episode written and researched by Kourtney Smith. Revised September 2024.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod.
Additional sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com
Works Referenced:
Cooper, Dr. Tanya. “Elizabeth I and Her People”. National Portrait Gallery, The Weiss Gallery, 7 Oct. 2013. Accessed 8 Sept. 2020, from www.npg.org.uk/whatson/elizabethi/film
Elizabethans - Religious Settlement. (2018, September 23). Accessed 24 Sept. 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylP6oZgSeuI
Fox, Dr. James, creator and writer. A Very British Renaissance, Episode 1: The Renaissance Arrives. A BBC Arts Production, 2014. Accessed 16 Sept. 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rtc1cY3ZDTs
Fox, Dr. James, creator and writer. A Very British Renaissance, Episode 2: The Elizabethan Code. A BBC Arts Production, 2014. Accessed 16 Sept. 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCCjOck6cd4
Fox, Dr. James, creator and writer. A Very British Renaissance, Episode 3: Whose Renaissance?. A BBC Arts Production, 2014. Accessed 16 Sept. 2020, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03yzflc/episodes/guide
William, Professor Kate, presentor. The Stuarts - A Bloody Reign, Episode 101: King James I. Timeline, A 3DD Production in association with Yesterday imagined by UKTV, 31 July 2018. Accessed 16 Sept. 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zfgxzk3UtY -
It's time for our annual bonus episode! Join us as we revisit the Shakespeare plays we covered this year. We've gone back and re-read both Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing, and we will discuss what has changed in our readings of these plays after completing our research as well as what we would like to see more (or less) of in future productions or research relating to these two plays.
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod.
Works referenced:
Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing: Revised Edition. Edited by Claire McEachern, 2nd ed., Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.
Shakespeare, William, and René Weis. Romeo and Juliet: Revised Edition. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2012.
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Each year, in recognition of the National Day of Mourning/Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, we examine how British colonialism is irrevocably intertwined with Shakespeare through close reading of Jyotsna Singh's Shakespeare and Postcolonial Theory. In this week's episode, we will explore how Shakespeare’s plays can be interpreted and performed in a postcolonial society.
This practice involves shifting our perceptions of Shakespeare’s plays as timeless and universal to timely and particular, especially in the context of performance. We will discuss a few postcolonial readings and performances from both Western and Global Shakespeare scholars and practitioners. We will also explore how these specific productions prompt and answer the questions of: “Why this play?” and “Why now?” Who is producing this play? Who is on the stage playing these characters? What interpretive choices are being made? Where is this play being performed? These are all questions we invite all to ask as we apply this framework to our own scholarship and theatre practice.
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod.
Works referenced:
Singh, Jyotsna G. Shakespeare and Postcolonial Theory, The Arden Shakespeare, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 2020.
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In today's episode, we will be finishing up our exploration of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing by watching and discussing three productions.
First, we will discuss Kenneth Branagh's 1993 film version, starring Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson. Then we will take a look at the 2019 Public Theatre's Shakespeare in Park production directed by Kenny Leon and starring Danielle Brooks and Grantham Coleman. Last but not least, we will round out our viewings with the 2011 Wyndham's Theatre production starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate.
Want more Much Ado About Nothing adaptations? Over on our Patreon, we also have a discussion of the 2023 film Anyone But You starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell (coming late November 2024)
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
Follow us on Instagram at @shakespeareanyonepod for updates or visit our website at shakespeareanyone.com
You can support the podcast by becoming a patron at patreon.com/shakespeareanyone, sending us a virtual tip via our tipjar, or by shopping our bookshelves at bookshop.org/shop/shakespeareanyonepod.
Works referenced:
"Much Ado About Nothing." Great Performancess, directed by Kenny Leon, performances by Danielle Brooks and Grantham Coleman, et.al, season 47, episode 9,
Thirteen / WNET, 2019. PBS, https://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shakespeare-in-the-park-much-ado-about-nothing-about/9822/.Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, performances by Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, et.al. The Samuel Goldwyn Company, 1993. Prime Video.
Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Josie Rourke and Robert Delamere, performances by Catherine Tate and David Tennant, et.al. Wyndham's Theatre. 2011. Digital Theatre.
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