For centuries fragments of one of the most important documents about early English theatre have been scattered around the world.
Articles on Shakespeare
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An English professor takes a critical look at why today’s students are assigned the same books that were assigned decades ago – and why American school curricula are so difficult to change.
He is certainly important to English but he isn’t responsible for as much of it as you might think.
Computers can now mimic everything from literary characters to Nirvana songs.
In 26 of his 38 plays, Shakespeare includes a war. Reading them, one is tempted to ask ‘when will we ever learn?’ rather than pronounce, ‘lest we forget’.
Hamlet, the tormented prince of Denmark, embodies our own struggles: between reason and violence, courage and inaction. He is a modern character in an endlessly quotable play.
It may have had something to do with protecting female purity. No official statute clearly required men to do all the acting back then.
After two years of COVID-delay, Bell Shakespeare’s Hamlet reflects both personal and global tragedies.
Disrupting and repositioning the traditional narratives of Shakespeare’s plays helps to challenge western notions of culture, heritage and values.
Science fiction is full of computer programmes and androids who fall afoul of the plots of some of Shakespeare’s most brutal tragedies.
The bard’s plays were not always so readily available. It took a handful of savvy publishers to see the potential in publishing his plays.
Understanding consent is key to avoiding ambiguous and socially awkward encounters and reducing the potential to cause harm. There are lessons in Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’.
As COVID restrictions ease, Ian McKellen’s take on Hamlet reminds us of how theatres dealt with similar situations during the bard’s time.
When the future is clearly changing but we can’t focus on tomorrow, should we just keep dancing? Pamela Rabe anchors the absurdity of The Cherry Orchard.
The founder of the Bell Shakespeare Company has written a book gleaning leadership wisdom from the bard. But figures such as Richard III and Julius Caesar are hardly ones to emulate.
Addressed to a ‘fair youth’ and later, ‘a dark lady’, the sonnets are less well known than Shakespeare’s plays. A journey into them is an unsettling and beguiling literary adventure.
Neil Armfield’s production of the Benjamin Britten opera is a triumph of sure-footed direction, subtle vocal shadings, brilliant comic timing and orchestral precision.
Do you see a fearsome predator? A fragile icon of impending extinction? What these arctic giants have stood for in art has continually evolved.
We might be separated but poems can help bridge the gap and express the sadness of being apart this Valentine’s Day.
They can seem daunting to write but are wonderful to receive so here are a handful of tips to write your own love poem.
Top contributors
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Lecturer in English, Australian National University
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Lecturer in English and Writing, University of Sydney
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Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies, Royal Holloway, University of London
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Tomlinson Professor of Shakespeare Studies, McGill University
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Rachel Hadas is a Friend of The Conversation.
Professor of English, Rutgers University - Newark
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Leverhulme Early Career Reseach Fellow, University of Warwick
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Professor of English, University of Newcastle
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Professor in English Literature and Cultural Studies, University of Southern Queensland
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Honorary Associate in Creative Writing, The Open University
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Professor of Shakespeare and Early Modern Drama, The University of Melbourne
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Associate professor, University of the Witwatersrand
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Emeritus Professor of Shakespeare Studies, University of Birmingham
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Professor of Creative Arts, Griffith University
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Research assistant, Empire, Migration and Belonging, University of Oxford
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Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of Sydney