What happens when two bawdy, Early Modern word-nerds sit down to talk about all things Shakespeare? You get "The Hurly Burly Shakespeare Show!": an irreverent mix of entertainment and scholarly content suitable for novices and hard-core “Bardolaters” alike. Jess (The Scholar) and Aubrey (The Practitioner) discuss the plays of William Shakespeare and his contemporaries, as well as other fascinating aspects of the Early Modern period’s lively theatre and print culture. “The Hurly Burly Shakespeare Show!” features the latest “Shakes-bubble” gossip, Burbage Breaks, nerdy games, hot takes and absolute havoc as Jess and Aubrey attempt to summarize each play in five minutes or less. Or not. We do what we want! Come for the Hurly, stay for the Burly: we guarantee you’ll learn something new with every episode.
Ooopsies...This was supposed to be a Midsummer 301, but after we watched the 2019 Public Theatre production of Much Ado About Nothing, we just HAD to talk about all the interesting, political, shocking, confusing, GORGEOUS CHOICES they made! We also gossip a little bit, but mostly we're just gushing about this thought-provoking and beautiful production. ***WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD***
Also, here’s a link to the article about QE1’s translation of Tacitus.
We sit down with incredibly thoughtful special guest, Dr. Haylie B. Swenson, of the Folger to talk about animal studies and how rats in particular…ahem…penetrate the text and person of Coriolanus. The Rhetorical Device Revisited is epizeuxis, epizeuxis, epizeuxis, and how Shakespeare uses it to create a particularly sheep-like mob in the play (animals, again!). In our on-going How to Grad School segment, Haylie and Jess discuss how to confront the isolation that comes with ABD status and writing your dissertation. We gossip about the (very few) upcoming productions of Coriolanus, as well as a call for action* on racism in Medieval and Early Modern academia. Thanks for giving us so much to chew on, Dr. Swenson!
*To read the fantastic call to action written by Kimberly Anne Coles, Kim F. Hall, and Ayanna Thompson, go here.
In this episode we break down everything you need to know about T-Mids’s smash hit, The Revenger’s Tragedy. We offer you a Taste of Text (a new feature of our 101 episodes) from Act 3, scene 5, AKA the best scene in the play; we break down the authorship question surrounding this play, and then we learn that it’s a parody of other revenge tragedies (which is probably why it’s the best of them all). On top of all that, we introduce a new game and dish some smokin’ hot ShakesBubble Gossip fresh from academic Twitter. Why do we love The Revenger’s Tragedy so much? You’ll just have to listen to find out!
These are the links to the things we Gossiped about this episode:
This week we continue the conversation around Jess’s research into “Confessions of a Thugge” and it’s relationship to King Lear, as well as why rhetorical questions present a unique opportunity for audience contact. The Rhetorical Device Revisited, then, is erotema (the rhetorical question, obvi). We also discuss the nuances of competition and competitiveness in our on-going How to Grad School segment, and gossip about the ongoing protest of the Williams College English Department. Thanks for joining us!
Find out more about the Williams College boycott here.
We hate Prospero. #SorryNotSorry BUT there are still interesting things to delve into with The Tempest (including why we hate Prospero so much, tbh). The Rhetorical Device(s) revisited are accumulatio and auxesis. Jess talks about editorial interference in Miranda’s ONLY good speech, and Aubrey rants about - you guessed it - Prospero. We also shout out some highlights from the recent Blackfriars Conference at the ASC and the upcoming Symposium at the Hudson Strode Program in Alabama.
Find out more about the TOTALLY FREE symposium here.
