Awkward Shakespeare

Want to understand more about Shakespeare’s plays but not into boring lectures on how to pass a GCSE in English literature? Awkward Shakespeare is a scene by scene guide to some of Shakespeare’s greatest works, an in-depth but lighthearted exploration of the stories and language behind the plays. Every episode deals with a single scene, so it’s really easy to navigate, and we’ll be looking at key characters and key concepts along the way.

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Episodes

Tuesday Nov 19, 2024

Macbeth
Act 2 Scene 2
Macbeth goes to pieces on realising that committing murder makes you a murderer. Owls shriek, there's a lot of knocking, and Lady Macbeth rolls her eyes and her sleeves up and gets on with things. 

Monday Nov 18, 2024

Macbeth
Act 2 Scene 1
It was a dark dark night, and in a dark dark castle, a dark dark thane was carrying out dark dark deeds... 

Wednesday Nov 13, 2024

Macbeth
Act 1 Scene 7
Macbeth has a change of heart, before changing it back when his wife tells him he's not a man and he clearly doesn't love her.She says she'd happily bash out a baby's brains if he asked her to. Faced with that terrifying statement, Macbeth recommits himself to the murder and they agree tonight will be Duncan's last. End scene, end act.

Monday Nov 11, 2024

Macbeth
Act 1 Scene 6
Duncan arrives at Macbeth's castle and, unaware that he's commenting on the scene of his own impending demise, compliments the location like an eager estate agent. Lady Macbeth welcomes him in... 

Thursday Nov 07, 2024

Macbeth
Act 1 Scene 5
Lady Macbeth reads a letter from her husband about the witches and not only starts plotting regicide immediately, but calls on whatever local evil spirits are around to assist her. Impressive? Yes. Kind of scary? Also yes. Bye bye feelings, hello murderous intent. 

Thursday Oct 24, 2024

Macbeth
Act 1 Scene 4
The king sounds the dramatic irony klaxon as he talks about how much he trusted the previous Thane of Cawdor. Duncan is grateful to Macbeth for all his excellent fighting, but names his son as his heir, sending Macbeth into further dark thoughts about what he might have to do to become king himself.

Wednesday Oct 23, 2024

Macbeth
Act 1 Scene 3
The weird sisters talk shipwrecks and severed thumbs, and throw Macbeth into existential turmoil by telling him he's going to be King. Apparently out of nowhere he starts considering murder. Meanwhile Banquo is impressively chill about potentially fathering a dynasty of Scottish monarchs.

Friday Oct 18, 2024

Macbeth
Act 1 Scene 2
An injured Captain reports from the battlefield, we hear how great a soldier "valour's minion" (no, not that kind) Macbeth is, and a rebel gets unceremoniously sliced in half. 
(Republished after a correction!)

Thursday Oct 17, 2024

Macbeth
Act 1 Scene 1
Our story begins with three witches on a Scottish heath. They don't say much, but do they need to?

Introduction: Why Be Awkward?

Thursday Oct 17, 2024

Thursday Oct 17, 2024

Why the Awkward English Teacher? Why Awkward Shakespeare? Why a podcast at all? An introduction to the reasoning behind a scene by scene Shakespeare podcast.

The Awkward English Teacher

A little bit socially awkward, but mostly just really stubborn. This podcast series exists because I've never liked education to be about passing exams or learning how to answer questions in specific ways. I first encountered Shakespeare in primary school through Leon Garfield's Shakespeare's Stories, a school trip to Return to the Forbidden Planet, and two very passionate and gifted teachers who wrote us our own Shakespearean mash-up rock musical for a school play. It's that enthusiasm I want to share.

Throughout I will do my best to be accurate, but my days of university level study are far behind me now and there are bound to be some errors along the way. Feel free to politely point them out! Or if there's a take you simply don't agree with, comment and give your own. Discussion is, after all, what it should be about. Thanks for listening.

Copyright 2024 All rights reserved.

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