In which Jess tells Aubrey all about The Athiest's Tragedy, a little-known early modern play she read in preparation for her PhD exams. It's wild, you guys. #graveyardsnogging
Mid-Summer Mini-sode: Hamlet Chat
In our first "mini-sode" of the summer, we revisit a chunk of our conversation with Patrick Aaron Harris that didn't make it into the Merchant 101 episode...because it was about Hamlet - the American Shakespeare Center's Hamlet, to be precise - and we bird-walked deep into our FEELINGS about it.
Mid-Summer Mini-sode: The Witch
In our second summer "mini-sode," Jess talks us through Thomas Middleton's wacky play, The Witch.
Spanish Tragedy 101
In our very first non-Shakespeare episode featuring Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, we break a few traditions and create some new ones. Our Rhetorical Device of the Week is aposiopesis; we introduce a new feature for non-Shakes episodes called "Meet the Contemporary" in which we tell you whatever facts are available about the playwright; we also introduce a new game, purely inspired by the not-so-friendly, Mean-Girls-esuqe rivalry between Thomas Kyd and Christopher Marlowe; and our ShakesBubble Gossip features a review of OSF's production of Henry V and Cheek By Jowl's french-speaking production of Pericles. What a way to end Season One! See you in August, wordnerds!
Some articles and resources we mentioned in today's episode:
Pericles 101
This week we learn that Pericles is the most bonkers play in the canon, with not one but two shipwrecks and six - SIX! - different worlds in which it takes place. Confused yet? In Pericles 101, the Rhetorical Device of the Week is hendiadys; the Burbage Break is all about the shipwreck trope in early modern plays; Aubrey plays a round of "Aubrey Fails at Shakespeare;" and in our Tips & Tidbits we discuss exactly how complicated and fun this play can be. In our ShakesBubble Gossip, Jess gives us the "short version" of her current projects and we follow up on a relevant MLitt thesis project.