People of the Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history.
7 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
Marlowe
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 J. Smith
CultureEnglish male poetsEnglish male dramatists and playwrightsPeople of the Elizabethan era16th-century English poetsLatin–English translators16th-century English male writersEnglish spies16th-century English translatorsEnglish Renaissance dramatists, 16th-century English dramatists and playwrightsDeaths by stabbing in England, People murdered in England, English murder victimsMary, Queen of Scots
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, who might have united the French, English and Scottish thrones.
19 January 2017
Featuring: David Forsyth, Anna Groundwater, John Guy
Shakespeare 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
CultureEnglish male poetsSonneteers17th-century English male writersEnglish male dramatists and playwrightsPeople of the Elizabethan era16th-century English poets17th-century English poets17th-century English dramatists and playwrightsEnglish Renaissance dramatists, 16th-century English dramatists and playwrightsBurials in Warwickshire, Shakespeare family, English male stage actors, People educated at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon, 17th-century English male actors, Writers from Warwickshire, 16th-century English male actors, Male actors from Stratford-upon-Avon, William Shakespeare, King's Men (playing company)Shakespeare'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
CultureEnglish male poetsSonneteers17th-century English male writersEnglish male dramatists and playwrightsPeople of the Elizabethan era16th-century English poets17th-century English poets17th-century English dramatists and playwrightsEnglish Renaissance dramatists, 16th-century English dramatists and playwrightsBurials in Warwickshire, Shakespeare family, English male stage actors, People educated at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon, 17th-century English male actors, Writers from Warwickshire, 16th-century English male actors, Male actors from Stratford-upon-Avon, William Shakespeare, King's Men (playing company)Shakespeare'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
CultureEnglish male poetsSonneteers17th-century English male writersEnglish male dramatists and playwrightsPeople of the Elizabethan era16th-century English poets17th-century English poets17th-century English dramatists and playwrightsEnglish Renaissance dramatists, 16th-century English dramatists and playwrightsBurials in Warwickshire, Shakespeare family, English male stage actors, People educated at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon, 17th-century English male actors, Writers from Warwickshire, 16th-century English male actors, Male actors from Stratford-upon-Avon, William Shakespeare, King's Men (playing company)The Death of Elizabeth I
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the death of Queen Elizabeth I and its immediate impact, as a foreign monarch became King in the face of plots and plague.
15 October 2009
Featuring: John Guy, Clare Jackson, Helen Hackett
CultureBurials at Westminster AbbeyEnglish AnglicansPeople of the Elizabethan eraEnglish women poetsPeople excommunicated by the Catholic ChurchEnglish people of Welsh descentPrisoners in the Tower of LondonFounders of English schools and colleges16th-century queens regnant16th-century English translatorsHouse of TudorWilliam Cecil
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and influence of the 1st Baron Burghley, Elizabeth I's powerful Secretary of State who advanced England's interests throughout her reign
7 March 2019
Featuring: Diarmaid MacCulloch, Susan Doran, John Guy