Mini: English Nobility and Titles in Shakespeare's Time
Release Date: 02/12/2025
Julius Caesar: A People's History Meets Shakespeare's Play
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In this episode, we bring together Michael Parenti's The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People's History of Ancient Rome and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar to explore the real historical event at the heart of the play. Parenti reframes the traditional "tyrannicide" narrative and argues that Caesar's murder was a calculated act by Rome's ruling oligarchs to stop a popular reformer who had become a threat to their wealth and power. Using this people's history perspective, we...
info_outline
Mini: Essex's Rebellion: The Plot Against Elizabeth I
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In this episode, we dig into one of the most dramatic scandals of Shakespeare's time: the rise and catastrophic fall of Robert Devereaux, the Earl of Essex. Court favorite, military hero, and ultimately, traitor, Essex had everything and managed to lose it spectacularly. We break down who Essex was, his relationship with Elizabeth, and what finally led him to march on London with a small bnad of followers and an extremely bad plan. And of course, we're a Shakespeare...
info_outline
Julius Caesar: The "Falling Sickness" and Shakespeare's Understanding of Epilepsy
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In today's episode, we are exploring how Shakespeare depicts Julius Caesar's "falling sickness," commonly believed by historians and scholars to be epilepsy. First, we'll discuss how the play Julius Caesar can be read as a disability narrative and how it reflects early modern anxieties around invisible disabilities like epilepsy. Then, we will look at how Shakespeare depicts falling sickness or epilepsy across the canon and determine whether or not the depictions are as...
info_outline
Mini: Astrology in Shakespeare's Time
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Cassius argues that "Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings." In this week's episode, we are exploring early modern ideas of fate and the stars and the practices and beliefs of astrology in Shakespeare's time. We'll discuss the difference between the early modern concepts of natural and judicial astrology, the popularity and influence of...
info_outline
Julius Caesar: Honor and Virtue of Brutus & Portia in Shakespeare's Play
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare repeatedly reminds us that Brutus is an honorable man. In this episode we will explore if this is true, how Shakespeare depicts both masculine honor and its early modern counterpart, feminine virtue, in the characters of Brutus and Portia, and how Portia's characterization by editors and theatremakers has changed over time. First, we unpack how honor was defined for Shakespeare's audiences and how the play incorporates Early Modern anxieties...
info_outline
Julius Caesar: Stuff to Chew On
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. As we start off another one of Shakespeare's plays, we will first take a look at the themes, motifs, and production history of Julius Caesar in this Stuff to Chew On episode. This will provide a basis for future conversations as we dive deeper in later episodes. Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp. Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander. For updates: Follow us on Instagram at Visit our website at Support the...
info_outline
Julius Caesar: Synopsis
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. It's time for our eleventh play! Today we are starting our series on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar 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. Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander. Special thanks to Nat Yonce for editing this episode. For updates: Follow us on Instagram at Visit our...
info_outline
Bonus: Twelfth Night Wrap-up Redux
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. Back in 2021, we recorded our second ever wrap-up episode for our second play series: Twelfth Night. We both watched two versions of Twelfth Night: Trevor Nunn's 1996 film and She's the Man, then we also each watched an additional version. Kourtney watched the The Globe's 2012 production starring Mark Rylance, and Elyse watched National Theatre's 2017 production featuring Tamsin Greig. But then, tragedy struck when Kourtney went to edit the episode! The audio...
info_outline
Bonus: Revisiting Henry V and The Tempest
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. At the end of each year, we revisit the Shakespeare plays we covered over the past twelve months. We've gone back and re-read both Henry V and The Tempest, 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...
info_outline
Mini: Shakespeare in the Borderlands with Dr. Katherine Gillen and Ruben Ramirez of Borderlands Shakespeare Colectiva
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. 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. Over the past four years, we explored this topic through close reading of Jyotsna Singh's Shakespeare and Postcolonial Theory. After completing our episodes on Shakespeare and Postcolonial Theory, we wanted to turn to highlighting and amplifying the work of artists, activists, and...
info_outlineWant 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. <https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199730414/obo-9780199730414-0408.xml>.
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.