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Shakespeare's Politics

It is well known that Shakespeare lived in an age of monarchy and wrote powerfully in his English history plays about the duties of the sovereign. In this lecture, Jonathan Bate will tell another, forgotten story: of how Shakespeare was also fascinated by Roman political models.

Shakespeare's Lovers

The Rape of Lucrece set the mould for Shakespeare’s exploration of the tragic consequences of sexual desire turning to violence. Jonathan Bate will show how Shakespeare developed these themes from his reading of the great Roman poet Ovid.

Shakespeare's Heroes

What do we mean by a hero and where does our understanding of the ‘heroic’ idiom come from? In this lecture, Jonathan Bate will show how Shakespeare’s idea of the hero was shaped by the classical tradition, going back to the ancient tale of Troy and Virgil’s epic poem The Aeneid.

Shakespeare's London and Ancient Rome

Jonathan Bate tells the story of how and why Shakespeare was steeped in the classics, from his earliest plays such as Titus Andronicus and The Comedy of Errors to his dramatisations of the stories of Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra.

From Test-Tube to YouTube

This lecture tells a startling and unexpected story of science-communication success: the YouTube channel 'The Periodic Table of Videos,' which boasts over 130 million views in more than 200 counties. What is the secret to this educational success?

Shakespeare's Sonnets and the Use of Personification

'When well-appareled April on the heel / Of limping winter treads'. A calendar month cannot dress, nor can a season walk. This lecture will explore the magic of personification in Shakespeare's poetry.

Shakespeare's Astronomy

Amongst all his astronomical allusions, Shakespeare demonstrates a deep knowledge of the night sky and its movements, including the new Copernican world-view. What can we learn of Elizabethan astronomy and Shakespeare's knowledge of it from the plays?

A Little Light Relief

Light, particularly sunlight, has always occupied a mystical power and is commonly held to bestow good health upon recipients of its rays. Both the truth and fallacy in this will be demonstrated with science of photo-medicine from a chemist’s point of view.

Theatre and Love: Tom Stoppard, 'The Real Thing'

It would be churlish to finish a series of lectures...

A Play Within A Play: Behind the Phrase 'House of Cards'

When referring to the play within the play ‘The Real...

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