The Bicks Pod

Latest Episodes:

Episode 30 - Henry IV Part 1 Jun 16, 2020

Show notes

Prince Hal, Hotspur, and Falstaff make up three of Shakespeare's most memorable characters, and they're all found in the same play! Join us for an exploration of the themes, dynamics, and characters of this first part of the second Henriad Trilogy. If the tricky numerology won't get you, the play itself probably will, filled as it with hilarious scenes, beautiful language, and a straightforward, easy to follow story.

Notes:

The IMDB entry on the BBC production solves many of our questions about actors' names, as usual.
John Oldcastle is the primary historical source for Falstaff.

Ancient Bickerings:

This episode we dive into Hal's true intentions towards Falstaff: attentive son (or son surrogate), or shifty elderly-abuser? While we don't frame it quite that way, the play has more than enough room for interpretation of Henry's role in Falstaff's inevitable downfall.

Episode 29 - Shakespeare and the Law Jun 03, 2020

Show notes

"Let's kill all the lawyers" is one of the most famous lines from Shakespeare, but what did the bard really think about the legal system? And more importantly, how is it presented in his plays?

This episode is all about examining that angle of Shakespeare's work, looking at how different plays and characters interact with, talk about, and interpret the law. We also discuss the questions of morality inherent in any discussion of justice, as well as provide a bit of background and information on the multiple different court systems in existence in Shakespeare's time.

Ancient Bickerings:

This episode the question was a simple one: "In Shakespeare, is the law a source of good?" Despite the simplicity of the question, the answer was anything but, as Lindsay grappled with the full nuance of how the law is presented in Shakespeare's plays.

Notes:

Aidan called "New Place" the "New House" in his intro, because he's a dingus. He regrets the error.
Shakespeare and the Legal Process: Four Essays by J.D.E helped inform Aidan's background on the topic and how it interacted with four plays in particular. It also produced the fabulous line about King Lear's trial scene that Aidan quotes.
Shakespeare and the English Equity Jurisdiction: The Merchant of Venice and the Two Texts of King Lear by B.J. Sokol and Mary Sokol.
Crimes and Accountability in Shakespeare by Theodor Meron.
Shakespeare and the Law by Gavin Mackenzie, includes a passage that Lindsay quotes and helped provide some structure to our conversation.
Counsel Magazine: Shakespeare and the legal world by Quentin Skinner, includes the quotation from Shakespeare's own testimony, which is the only written record of Shakespeare's non-fictional words.

Episode 28 - The Merchant of Venice May 19, 2020

Show notes

In our humble opinion (we both agree so we're calling it a singular thing here), this is one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, maybe even his single greatest. Love, debt, justice, prejudice, the law, and the competing desires for mercy and vengeance: it's a fantastic cocktail of themes, motives, and characters that Shakespeare has conjured and which audiences have been grappling with for hundreds of years. More than just the fantastic speeches given by some of its characters (though they are amazing), this play has remained relevant throughout the years for its nuanced exploration of these topics and the characters that provoke the viewer into exploring them.

We loved talking about this play so much there's nary a break in our conversation, as every element of the story is tightly entwined with the others, so that a discussion of one just naturally flows into another. So grab your ducats and prepare for a discussion of one of the bard's most humanistic, complicated, and mentally engaging plays.

Ancient Bickerings

This episode we tackled a rather sedate but still important topic for the play: is it truly a comedy? A tragedy? Something else entirely?

Other Notes

The Merchant of Venice (2004 Film - With Subtitles)

Thug Notes Summary & Analysis of Merchant of Venice

Episode 27 - Shakespeare's Sources and Influences May 05, 2020

Show notes

It goes without saying that William Shakespeare, that Sweet Swan of Avon, the upstart crow who turned the English language upside down, was an influential dude. But what many people gloss over in their Bardolatrous zeal is the central question of our show today: Who influenced Shakespeare?

Ancient Bickerings
The gloves come off as Aidan and Lindsay take sides to answer the central question: Since so much of Shakespeare's work was adapted from other source material... was Shakespeare a thief?
Notes:

- What Inspired Shakespeare?
- Warwickshire and Shakspeare's Plays
- BBC Radio 4: In Our Time - Marlowe
- The Holinshed Project
- The University Wits
- The Comedy of Errors - Shakespeare's Sources
- A Midsummer Night's Dream - British Library
- Romeo and Juliet - Shakespeare's Sources
- The Merchant of Venice - Shakespeare's Sources
- Julius Caesar - Influences of Plutarch
- Hamlet Dates and Sources - Royal Shakespeare Company
- Prince of Jutland (aka Royal Deceit) - a film adaptation of Amleth (and yes, it starred Helen Mirren as Geruth)
- Macbeth - Sources
- King Lear Sources
- Edward Hall's Chronicle (Wikipedia - with references to a book about a possible copy belonging to Shakespeare)
- "The Poet's Hand" - The New Yorker
- James VI and I's Demonology
- Lindsay mentioned a comedian or actor who carries around a notebook that he used to write down ideas that struck him from conversations he was having; it was actually Canadian singer/songwriter and Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie. (Source: this came straight from Gord's brother Mike, but it is also referenced on Gord Downie's official website)

Episode 26 - King John May 03, 2020

Show notes

If there's a contest for the least known of Shakespeare's plays, we feel King John would certainly be in the running. With a meandering plot and characters that don't exactly sizzle on the page or stage, it's a tough play to rank amongst the very best that Shakespeare wrote. However, we're well past Shakespeare's early dalliances with drama, and this play reveals a level of intellectual depth, nuance, and contradiction that makes for excellence podcast fodder.

We hope you'll join us for a discussion of the characters and themes of this play set in the high middle ages that nonetheless manages to focus on some very Elizabethan concerns.

Ancient Bickerings:

This episode we discussed a topic that's always doomed to interpretation and mis-interpretation: authorial intention. We tried to answer the question, "Who did Shakespeare want to be the King from amidst the characters of the play?"

Notes:

Shmoop Themes and Related Questions on King John: https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/king-john/themes

The Always Useful Wikipedia Entry on Magna Carta: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta

The Bastard may have loosely been based on Philip of Cognac, who was an illegitimate son of Richard I: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_of_Cognac

Episode 25 - Sex and Shakespeare Apr 07, 2020

Show notes

Looking at sex in Shakespeare’s time and works reveals a similar world stuck between two truths: the first that sex was always a many-splendoured, or at least multifaceted, thing; and the second that despite the crushing weight of legal, cultural, and religious dictates, in trying to police sex, Elizabethans wound up having a fairly free discourse on the subject.

Unfortunately for modern readers, that discourse is still much more obscure than our modern, ultra-liberal discussion of everything from kinks to polyamory; such talk, while still there in Elizabethan works, is far more layered and lacks a lot of the diction we take for granted...

Join The Bicks for a randy discussion about Shakespeare between the sheets!

Notes:

Stanley Wells' Shakespeare, Sex & Love
Hays Code
Nunnery = whorehouse?
- Some people insist this is not the case -- we'll let you be the judge!
- Ophelia pregnant?!
Two bros...chillin in a hot tub... because Vine will never die.
Monty Python - The Meaning of Life condom skit
Philip Larkin, "Annus Mirabilis"
- "Sex began 50 years ago, Larkin said. How has the Earth moved since 1963?"

Ancient Bickerings:

In lieu of a proper bickering sesh, Aidan asks Lindsay if the discussion today has changed the way she looks at Shakespeare's writing about sex, and whether she views him as more liberal now or not. What do you think?

Episode 24 - Romeo and Juliet Mar 24, 2020

Show notes

Romeo and Juliet. Sex and love. Family and religion. It's a story made up of pairings, from the two houses at war to the two lovers who bring the feud to an end. Your two hosts dive into this immortal classic this week to talk the different kinds of love present in the play, the language and poetry Shakespeare was bringing to full use by this time, and the generational gaps presented in the play. Not to mention the objectification of women, the role of fate or destiny, and some of the criticism the play faces (in our view most unjustly) from critics today.

Notes:

A few thoughts about prologues:
- https://www.reddit.com/r/shakespeare/comments/3r9176/why_do_some_plays_have_prologues_but_others_dont/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPjygcUnMgc
We'd love to hear how others came to first see R&J as well, feel free to get in touch and share with us.

Ancient Bickerings:

This week we answer the only question that really matters in this play: who is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet?

Episode 23 - Shakespeare and the Supernatural Mar 10, 2020

Show notes

This episode is all about the spooky, the spectral, and the supernatural. Join us for a discussion on ghosts, visions, and outright magic. We talk about the various works of Shakespeare and how the supernatural manifests itself in each, playing with both the characters' and the audience's emotions and expectations. We also touch on the context in which these plays and poems were written, where fate and the supernatural were simply accepted parts of the world - a world in which we as a Western audience are easily able to imagine ourselves as well.

From the witch appearance in Henry VI through to Shakespeare's final swan-song in The Tempest, we've got you covered with an analysis of all the major uses and themes of the supernatural.

Ancient Bickerings

This week's debate is less of a debate and more of a reflection on what supernatural forces we're still willing to admit some sort of belief in.

Episode 22 - A Midsummer Night's Dream Feb 25, 2020

Show notes

Shakespeare's original comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream follows young lovers and old lovers into the mystical, natural space of the forest, where the rules don't apply the way they do anywhere else. Continuing the increasing sophistication of his plays of late, Shakespeare comments on both the nature of love and the nature of the theatre. Join us as we discuss one of our favourite of the Bard's comedies!

Notes:

- The content of 1 Corinthians is partly mixed up by Nick Bottom after his sojourn in the woods; it's one of the most famous parts from the New Testament, and passages from it are routinely recited at weddings (much like Shakespeare's sonnets!)
- Joseph Campell's monomyth and later amendments by scholars like David Adams Leeming discuss the mythological underpinnings of the journey all heroic figures take as their stories are told; though not a strictly heroic tale, Midsummer does borrow from these ideas to describe the journey of the lovers from civilization to chaos and back again.
- For more discussion about forests and liminal spaces, check out this blog post
- Read up on the Coffee Shop AU, a common trope in the world of fanfiction
- A funny version of the Tragedy of Pyramus and Thisbe, starring The Beatles, from 1964 for Shakespeare's 400th birthday -- a must watch!
- We had the opportunity to chat with John Bernardy of 25YL Site about the thematic links between Midsummer and our old fave, Twin Peaks -- check out our discussion about faeries and Lodges and forested liminal spaces (oh my!)
- If you haven't seen the 1999 theatrical version of this play, we recommend it!

- ...and if you don't know what Nanaimo Bars are, here's a recipe

Ancient Bickerings

Of all the pairings and couplings going on in A Midsummer Night's Dream, which couple is our favourite?

Episode 21 - Shakespeare's Portraits Feb 11, 2020

Show notes

Topic Introduction:

What's in a face? That's the question we tackle this episode, with an auditory look at the various faces that have been purported to be of Shakespeare over the ages. Which portraits have been put forth as depictions of the Bard? Of those, which are most likely, and which have been discredited?
More importantly: Why do we care so much?

List of Portraits Discussed in this Episode:

The Stratford monument: In Stratford-upon-Avon, installed in 1617-1618 above the chancel in Holy Trinity Church, which is where Shakespeare is buried.

The First Folio engraving by Martin Droeshout: The most famous portrait of Shakespeare, featured on the title page of the First Folio.

The Chandos Portrait: Aka the sexy earring portrait. Possibly depicts Shakespeare in costume as Shylock. Definitely dates from the first decade of the 17th century. Owned by the National Portrait Gallery.

The Cobbe Portrait: One of the more recently identified portraits potentially of Shakespeare.

The Sanders Portrait: Maybe our favourite (as a Canadian, if nothing else). Has undergone possibly the most rigorous testing of any of the supposed portraits of Shakespeare.

The Soest Portrait: Aka Greg. Just a nice guy.

...and the rest, which have all been disproved as portraits of Shakespeare:

Grafton
Flower
Ashbourne
Janssen

Notes on terminology:
provenance: the record of ownership of a painting or work of art. It's used to authenticate a piece of art; the more solid the history of ownership or provenance, the more authentic it is deemed to be. Murky provenance doesn't automatically discount a painting, and solid provenance doesn't always guarantee that a painting is what it claims to be.

dendrochronology: the study of tree rings, used specifically to date a piece of wood. Used in the art world to determine the age and possibly the years of growth of the paneling a portrait or painting has been painted on.

microscopic analysis: examines signs of aging in the paint layer. Looks at things such a craquelure, pigment saturation, efforts at restoration and other such things that can only be seen under a microscope.

IR spectroscopy: uses infrared (IR) light to determine specific properties of a painting, like the paint or glue used in its production. Can also be used on wood to determine dating.

Ancient Bickerings:

Today is less of a debate and more of an opinion piece: Which portrait do we each want to be authentically of Shakespeare?

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