English male dramatists and playwrights
8 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
CultureEnglish male poetsSocial philosophersWriters about activism and social changeSonneteersEnlightenment philosophersBurials at Westminster AbbeyCritics of the Catholic ChurchEnglish essayistsEnglish male non-fiction writers17th-century English male writersChristian humanists19th-century English poetsBritish male essayistsEnglish AnglicansEnglish male novelists17th-century English poetsAmerican male non-fiction writersEnglish male short story writersEnglish non-fiction writersEpic poetsLiteracy and society theoristsModernist theatrePeople of the Elizabethan eraVictorian novelists16th-century English poets17th-century English dramatists and playwrights17th-century English writers17th-century writers in Latin19th-century English novelists19th-century pseudonymous writers20th-century English male writers20th-century English poetsAnglican poetsEnglish satiristsEnglish travel writersLiterary theoristsPeople from the City of London19th-century English non-fiction writersAnglican writersBritish critics of religionsChristian poetsEnglish Renaissance dramatistsMale essayistsRhetoric theoristsTrope theoristsWriters of Gothic fiction16th-century English dramatists and playwrights17th-century English philosophers19th-century British philanthropists19th-century British short story writersAmerican male essayists, American male poetsEnglish LGBTQ poetsEnglish literary criticsEnglish philanthropistsEnglish political philosophersEnglish republicansEnglish writers with disabilitiesMembers of the American Academy of Arts and LettersMetaphor theoristsNaturalized citizens of the United StatesNeoclassical writersWriters from London16th-century English male actors, 17th-century English male actors, Burials in Warwickshire, English male stage actors, King's Men (playing company), Male actors from Stratford-upon-Avon, People educated at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare family, William Shakespeare, Writers from Warwickshire19th-century English dramatists and playwrights19th-century English essayists19th-century travel writers20th-century American male writers20th-century English non-fiction writersAlumni of Christ Church, OxfordAmerican lecturersAnglican philosophersBlind writersBritish free speech activistsBritish social reformersCalvinist and Reformed poetsEnglish educational theoristsEnglish emigrants to the United StatesEnglish historical novelistsEnglish male journalistsFormalist poetsLecturersMythopoeic writersPamphleteersWriters from the London Borough of Camden16th-century English male writers16th-century English translators17th-century English educators19th-century British journalists19th-century English historians20th-century American essayistsAlumni of Christ's College, CambridgeAmerican LGBTQ poetsAmerican literary critics, American male dramatists and playwrightsAnti-Catholicism in the United KingdomBlind poetsBritish philosophers of religionDeaths by stabbing in England, English murder victims, People murdered in EnglandDeaths from kidney failure in the United KingdomEnglish Anglican theologiansEnglish DissentersEnglish prisoners and detaineesEnglish reformersEnglish spiesEnglish theologiansGay academicsGay dramatists and playwrights, Gay poetsLGBTQ AnglicansLatin–English translatorsOxford Professors of PoetryPeople from Somers Town, LondonRhetoricians
Auden
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss WH Auden's life and poetry from Europe before WWII, reflecting on his travels to Spain, China and Germany and the rise of totalitarianism.
19 December 2019
Featuring: Mark Ford, Janet Montefiore, Jeremy Noel-Tod
CultureEnglish literary criticsAmerican literary critics, American male dramatists and playwrightsEnglish emigrants to the United StatesAmerican male essayists, American male poets20th-century English non-fiction writersAmerican lecturersMembers of the American Academy of Arts and LettersOxford Professors of Poetry20th-century English male writersAmerican male non-fiction writersBritish male essayistsEnglish essayistsAlumni of Christ Church, OxfordFormalist poetsEnglish male dramatists and playwrightsEnglish male poetsEnglish LGBTQ poets20th-century American essayistsGay dramatists and playwrights, Gay poets20th-century American male writersAnglican poetsModernist theatreLGBTQ AnglicansAmerican LGBTQ poetsGay academicsNaturalized citizens of the United States20th-century English poetsEnglish male non-fiction writers20th centuryDickens
Melvyn Bragg discusses the achievements of Charles Dickens What is his political and literary legacy to our age?
12 July 2001
Featuring: Rosemary Ashton, Michael Slater, John Bowen
Critics of the Catholic ChurchEnglish male novelists19th-century travel writers19th-century English dramatists and playwrightsLiteracy and society theoristsPeople from Somers Town, LondonBritish male essayistsEnglish reformers19th-century English historians19th-century English poetsEnglish Anglicans19th-century English novelistsEnglish male dramatists and playwrightsWriters about activism and social change19th-century pseudonymous writersEnglish male poetsVictorian novelists19th-century British short story writersWriters from the London Borough of CamdenEnglish male journalistsEnglish prisoners and detaineesTrope theoristsEnglish philanthropistsBritish social reformersEnglish male short story writersLecturersBritish critics of religionsAnglican writers19th-century British journalistsEnglish satirists19th-century English non-fiction writers19th-century English essayistsEnglish historical novelistsEnglish male non-fiction writersEnglish travel writers19th-century British philanthropistsWriters of Gothic fictionBurials at Westminster Abbey19th centuryMarlowe
Melvyn Bragg discusses Christopher Marlowe; a forger, a brawler, a spy, but above all a playwright, a poet and the most celebrated writer of his generation.
7 July 2005
Featuring: Katherine Duncan-Jones, Jonathan Bate, Emma Smith
16th-century English poets16th-century English male writersEnglish male dramatists and playwrights16th-century English dramatists and playwrights16th-century English translatorsPeople of the Elizabethan eraEnglish male poetsEnglish spiesLatin–English translatorsEnglish Renaissance dramatistsDeaths by stabbing in England, English murder victims, People murdered in England16th centuryMilton
Melvyn Bragg examines the literary and political career of the 17th century poet John Milton, examining work such as Paradise Lost as well as his role as propagandist during the English Civil War.
7 March 2002
Featuring: John Carey, Lisa Jardine, Blair Worden
Critics of the Catholic ChurchChristian humanistsBritish free speech activistsNeoclassical writersRhetoricians17th-century writers in Latin17th-century English writersMythopoeic writersRhetoric theoristsEnglish Anglican theologiansLiteracy and society theoristsBlind poetsEnglish political philosophersEnglish essayistsEpic poets17th-century English poetsEnglish male dramatists and playwrightsMetaphor theoristsWriters about activism and social changeChristian poetsSonneteersEnglish male poetsCalvinist and Reformed poetsDeaths from kidney failure in the United KingdomAnglican philosophersAnglican poetsBlind writersAnti-Catholicism in the United KingdomMale essayistsWriters from LondonPeople from the City of London17th-century English male writersEnglish writers with disabilitiesEnglish non-fiction writersLiterary theoristsBritish philosophers of religionEnglish DissentersAlumni of Christ's College, Cambridge17th-century English educatorsEnlightenment philosophersSocial philosophersPamphleteersEnglish educational theorists17th-century English philosophers17th-century English dramatists and playwrightsEnglish theologiansEnglish republicans17th centuryTheologyShakespeare and Literary Criticism
Melvyn Bragg discusses the enduring popular and academic appeal of Shakespeare and examines whether literary criticism and the academic institution ruins the pleasure of reading.
4 March 1999
Featuring: Harold Bloom, Jacqueline Rose
English Renaissance dramatists16th-century English poets17th-century English poetsEnglish male dramatists and playwrights16th-century English male actors, 17th-century English male actors, Burials in Warwickshire, English male stage actors, King's Men (playing company), Male actors from Stratford-upon-Avon, People educated at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare family, William Shakespeare, Writers from Warwickshire16th-century English dramatists and playwrightsPeople of the Elizabethan eraSonneteers17th-century English male writersEnglish male poets17th-century English dramatists and playwrights16th century17th centuryShakespeare's Life
Melvyn Bragg discusses what we know about the life of William Shakespeare, a tantalising conundrum that has exercised minds since the day the playwright died.
15 March 2001
Featuring: Katherine Duncan-Jones, John Sutherland, Grace Ioppolo
English Renaissance dramatists16th-century English poets17th-century English poetsEnglish male dramatists and playwrights16th-century English male actors, 17th-century English male actors, Burials in Warwickshire, English male stage actors, King's Men (playing company), Male actors from Stratford-upon-Avon, People educated at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare family, William Shakespeare, Writers from Warwickshire16th-century English dramatists and playwrightsPeople of the Elizabethan eraSonneteers17th-century English male writersEnglish male poets17th-century English dramatists and playwrights16th century17th centuryShakespeare's Work
Melvyn Bragg discusses whether the work of William Shakespeare is 'not of an age but for all time' or increasingly irrelevant museum pieces embalmed in out of reach language.
11 May 2000
Featuring: Frank Kermode, Michael Bogdanov, Germaine Greer
English Renaissance dramatists16th-century English poets17th-century English poetsEnglish male dramatists and playwrights16th-century English male actors, 17th-century English male actors, Burials in Warwickshire, English male stage actors, King's Men (playing company), Male actors from Stratford-upon-Avon, People educated at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare family, William Shakespeare, Writers from Warwickshire16th-century English dramatists and playwrightsPeople of the Elizabethan eraSonneteers17th-century English male writersEnglish male poets17th-century English dramatists and playwrights16th century17th centuryThomas Middleton
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss one of the star writers for the London stage in the age of Shakespeare, much in demand for his own work and for rewriting the work of others.
20 March 2025
Featuring: Emma Smith, Lucy Munro, Michelle O’Callaghan