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 Smith
16th-century English dramatists and playwrightsLatin–English translatorsDeaths by stabbing in England, English murder victims, People murdered in England16th-century English male writersEnglish male dramatists and playwrightsEnglish male poetsPeople of the Elizabethan era16th-century English poetsEnglish Renaissance dramatists16th-century English translatorsEnglish spiesMary, 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
16th-century English dramatists and playwrightsSonneteersEnglish male dramatists and playwrightsEnglish male poetsPeople of the Elizabethan era17th-century English dramatists and playwrights16th-century English poets17th-century English male writers17th-century English poetsEnglish Renaissance dramatists16th-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 WarwickshireShakespeare'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
16th-century English dramatists and playwrightsSonneteersEnglish male dramatists and playwrightsEnglish male poetsPeople of the Elizabethan era17th-century English dramatists and playwrights16th-century English poets17th-century English male writers17th-century English poetsEnglish Renaissance dramatists16th-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 WarwickshireShakespeare'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
16th-century English dramatists and playwrightsSonneteersEnglish male dramatists and playwrightsEnglish male poetsPeople of the Elizabethan era17th-century English dramatists and playwrights16th-century English poets17th-century English male writers17th-century English poetsEnglish Renaissance dramatists16th-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 WarwickshireThe 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
CultureFounders of English schools and collegesPeople excommunicated by the Catholic ChurchEnglish people of Welsh descentHouse of TudorPrisoners in the Tower of LondonBurials at Westminster AbbeyEnglish AnglicansPeople of the Elizabethan eraEnglish women poets16th-century queens regnant16th-century English women16th-century English translatorsWilliam 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