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James A. Smith, William C. Quinn
Bard FliesEpisodes
James A. Smith, William C. Quinn
Bard Flies
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Episodes of Bard Flies
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Several dozen plays later, Will and James host a wrap-up episode where they revisit, revise, and criticize one another’s rankings, recognize the greatest and most outlandish characters with awards, and reflect on the experience of reading Shake
Several dozen plays later, Will and James host a wrap-up episode where they revisit, revise, and criticize one another’s rankings, recognize the greatest and most outlandish characters with awards, and reflect on the experience of reading Shake
In Shakespeare's final -- yes, final -- play, he returns to where he started with the plight of noblemen in love with the same woman. Working again with John Fletcher, Shakespeare borrows from Chaucer for a tale set in ancient Greece featuring
In the final of the history plays, Shakespeare and his collaborator John Fletcher take on Henry VIII, the story of his first two wives, the birth of the future queen Elizabeth, and the establishment of the Church of England. In this episode, Wi
Magic, monsters, sprites, witches, shipwrecks, betrayal, love stories on an enchanted isle, and emotional catharsis driven by a puppet master pulling all the stings: no, dear listeners, it’s not a Dungeons & Dragons campaign but Shakespeare’s T
In this week’s minisode, the pod features a conversation on Cymbeline with Dr. Dan Normandin, postdoctoral fellow in Early Modern English Literature at George Mason University and, even more importantly, a former classmate of James and Will. Dr
With plot twists that depend on poor facial recognition, one-sided bets over cuckoldry, one of the most idiotic kings in Shakespeare, and a truly villainous stepson whose beheading we are unfairly denied on stage, Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline” is a
In a land ruled by a paranoid and jealous king hell-bent on destroying his own family and buffeted by violent storms, miracles, and a very large and hungry bear, Shakespeare’s characters go from intense melodrama to comedy to redemption in the
In this week’s minisode, Will interviews Dr. Eliot A. Cohen, former Counselor at the Department of State, professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and co-host of the podcast Shield of the Republic. Dr. Coh
What happens when a virtuous general gets drafted to run for office after defeating Rome’s enemies in battle? Nothing good! In this classic tale of martial virtue, popular politics, banishment, and treason, Shakespeare explores the divide betwe
On a tour with the least linear ports of call since The Odyssey, Shakespeare’s Pericles tries to win the hand of a princess in an incestuous relationship with her father by solving a riddle, ends a famine, gets into a shipwreck, wins a differen
In one of the most famously torrid love affairs of all time, defined by extramarital cheating, lavish outfits, histrionics, and the shadow of collapsing empires, this episode’s main characters define obsession and the insanity of passion. No, n
In this film club minisode, Will and James talk about what happens when two great masters collide in director Akira Kurosawa's adaptations of Shakespeare to the samurai epics of medieval Japan. Kurosawa's adaptation of "Macbeth" in his moody an
Double, double toil and trouble! Fire burn and cauldron bubble! Haunted by witches, ghostly daggers, murder, Macbeth is an obvious classic. But why? Will and James discuss Shakespeare's finest marriage story, the power of ambition and guilt, an
In a classic riches-to-rags story, the wealthy and generous Timon goes from commissioning artwork and giving interest free loans to subsisting on roots and railing against humanity in Shakespeare's bleak comedy. The atmosphere is lightened some
Pro tip from King Lear to parents of all varieties, especially those running hereditary monarchies and dictatorships: retirement ain’t all that it’s cracked up to be! The British ruler’s efforts to step away to enjoy his dotage by dividing his
In a plot worthy of a day-time reality show, All’s Well that Ends Well tells the story of a low-born ward named Helena who cures an ailing king and asks for the hand of a young nobleman who will do just about anything to avoid marrying her. Of
Lust, jealousy, rage, race, and one very inconveniently misplaced handkerchief lie at the center of Shakespeare’s "Othello," an emotional tour de force that takes manipulation and evil to new levels. Will and James discuss where Iago falls in t
In the darkest episode of “Undercover Bosses” of all time, the Duke of Vienna announces he’s taking a vacation and disguises himself as a monk, to see how his seemingly pious deputy Angelo runs the city -- only to find out that he’s a hypocriti
Picking up where Homer left off, Shakespeare’s little known Troilus and Cressida tells the story of the Trojan War with contemptuous aplomb. All the heroes are here, in their worst possible lights: the vainglorious Achilles refuses to fight, hi
This film club minisode tackles the most sampled movie on Bard Flies: “Shakespeare in Love,” starring (deep breath) Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Judi Dench, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck, Geoffrey Rush, Rupert Everett, Tom Wilkinson, and a coter
Shipwrecks, women disguised as men, scolds getting their comeuppance, mismatched love matches, and twins! If you’re sensing some common themes in Shakespeare’s comedies, dear listener, you’d be correct. Yet Will and James do not find the combin
...what can one say about the Melancholy Dane that hasn’t already been said? It’s the big one, the work that casts the longest shadow in all of English literature outside of the King James Bible. We quote it without thinking. It helped inspire
All the world’s a stage in "As You Like It," a tale of exile, disguise, revenge, requited love, unrequited love, roleplay therapy, and illegal professional wrestling chokeholds. Will and James discuss one of Shakespeare’s most beloved heroines
Cry havoc! And let slip this explosive episode of Bard Flies, in which Will and James debate the merits of the Romans vying for power in Julius Caesar -- from the dictator himself to his usurpers -- and discuss the grim, all-too-apparent parall
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