Episodes

  • Episode 181: Heaven and Earth

    Episode 181: Heaven and Earth
    Jan 30 2025
    The invention of the telescope in the early 1600s laid the foundation for the scientific revolution, but it also disrupted the traditional view of the universe and led to a conflict with the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, the Anglican Church completed … Continue reading →
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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • Episode 180: English on the Move

    Episode 180: English on the Move
    Nov 13 2024
    In the first decade of the 1600s, English speakers were on the move as they established the first permanent English settlement in North America. They also began a steady a migration to northern Ireland after an event known to history as the Flight of the Earls. As these English speakers relocated to regions outside of Britian, they took their regional accents and dialects with them. In this episode, we'll examine how those settlement patterns shaped the way English is spoken around the world. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 180
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    1 hr and 14 mins
  • Episode 179: Defining Moments

    Episode 179: Defining Moments
    Sep 24 2024
    In the early 1600s, several landmark events shaped the history of England and determined how and where the English language would be spoken in the centuries that followed. The period from 1602-1605 saw the end of the Elizabethan era, the unification of the crowns of England and Scotland, the authorization of the King James Version of the Bible, the Gunpowder Plot, and the first English description of New England. The period also produced a literal defining moment with the publication of the first English dictionary. In this episode, we explore those defining moments and examine how they shaped the future of English. We also explore several plays by William Shakespeare that are also dated to this period. Works discussed in this episode include:Twelfth Night – William ShakespeareOthello – William ShakespeareA Table Alphabeticall - Robert Cawdrey TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 179
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    1 hr and 26 mins
  • Episode 178: Much Ado About Hamlet

    Episode 178: Much Ado About Hamlet
    Aug 7 2024
    In the first couple of years of the 1600s, several new Shakespeare plays appeared. Much Ado About Nothing and As You Like It were recorded in the Stationer's Register, and a third play called The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark was likely performed on the stage for the first time. In this episode, we'll look at those plays and examine how they influenced the English language. We also explore the creation of the East India Company in 1600 and the Essex Rebellion of 1601. Works discussed in this episode include:Much Ado About Nothing - William ShakespeareAs You Like It - William ShakespeareThe Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark - William Shakespeare TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 178
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • Episode 177: Dressed for Success

    Episode 177: Dressed for Success
    Jun 26 2024
    In this episode, we look at clothing and fashion in the Elizabethan era, and we examine the connection between clothing, custom and language. We also examine Shakespeare’s plays about the lives of Julius Caesar and Henry V of England. Along … Continue reading →
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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • Episode 176: All the World’s a Playhouse

    Episode 176: All the World’s a Playhouse
    May 9 2024
    Theaters were an important part of cultural life in Elizabethan England, and they contributed many words to the English language. Those words joined thousands of other words that were pouring into English from around the world. In this episode, we look at how distant cultures were contributing to the growth of English and how Shakespeare's acting company built a world-famous theater in the late 1500s. Works discussed in this episode include:Henry IV, Parts One and Two – William ShakespeareThe Merry Wives of Windor – William ShakespeareA Report of the Kindome of Congo – Abraham Hartwell, TranslatorThe Isle of Dogs – Ben Jonson and Thomas NasheDiscours of voyages into ye Easte & West IndiesA Worlde of Wordes - John FlorioPalladis Tamia, Wit’s Treasury - Francis Meres TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 176
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    1 hr and 20 mins
  • Episode 175: The English of Romeo and Juliet

    Episode 175: The English of Romeo and Juliet
    Mar 25 2024
    Romeo and Juliet is one of William Shakespeare's most popular plays and one of the most popular plays ever written. In this episode, we examine the language of the play to see how it reflects the English of Elizabethan England, and we identify evidence of emerging pronunciations that would become common over the following centuries. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 175
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    1 hr and 33 mins
  • Episode 174: Speak and Spell

    Episode 174: Speak and Spell
    Feb 8 2024
    English spelling largely reflects the state of the language in the late 1500s. In this episode, we look at one of the first English spelling books, and we explore several plays by William Shakespeare to examine the way he rhymed words. We also explore the way modern spellings reflect the pronunciation of words during the Elizabethan period. Works discussed in this episode include:King John - William ShakespeareRichard II - William ShakespeareThe English School-Maister - Edward CooteHaue With You to Saffron-Walden - Thomas NasheA Midsummer Night's Dream - William Shakespeare TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 174
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    1 hr and 29 mins