Shakespeare

When the decision was made by Britain's Channel 4 to film a TV adaptation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, the result was a gloriously irreverent, deliciously colorful production in which the twins Viola and Sebastian-Parminder Nagra and Ronny Jhutti-are re-imagined as shipwrecked asylum seekers adrift in a surreal contemporary London. In this fascinating four-part series, the people who made it all happen explain how it was done. Clips from the movie are included throughout. 4-part series, 25 minutes each.

As the landscape of the New World awakened England's imagination, so did a new landscape of words-in the English of William Shakespeare and the King James Bible. This classic PBS program describes the spread of English to North America and explains how Shakespeare's prodigious vocabulary filled the language with startling new words, phrases, and constructions. Recording strong echoes of Shakespearean English in the little villages lying near Stratford, the program also describes the making of the Authorized Version of the Bible-the only great work of literature ever created by committee-and examines the linguistic dissent perpetrated by the Puritans. (59 minutes)

This four-part series explores the poetic landscape from the time of Shakespeare's sonnets to the 9/11 attacks using original manuscripts, archival materials, and stirring readings by leading contemporary poets. Discussing and reading selections are Patience Agbabi, Michael Donaghy, W. N. Herbert, John Kinsella, Clare Pollard, and Owen Sheers. 4-part series, 25 minutes each.

This indispensable two-part series-guaranteed to generate enthusiasm-allows theater and drama students a glimpse of the world behind the theater curtain. 2-part series, 25 minutes each.

As arrogant and brash as he was talented and innovative, Ben Jonson lived a life as rife with drama as any of his many plays. He was jailed more than once for staging dramas that satirized the powers that be, and nearly had his ears and nose mutilated after collaborating on a play that lampooned King James I. Friend and colleague of Shakespeare, he is considered by many to have been the first poet laureate of England. This program examines how Jonson's poetry, masques, and plays brought a level of humor, intellect, and formal discipline to English letters that had rarely been seen before. Excerpts from The Alchemist; Every Man in His Humor; Volpone, or the Fox; and Jonson's poetry are included. (22 minutes)

How important is the opening line of a book? Does a writer always have to know what is going to happen next? Where should the line be drawn between historic fact and historical fiction? And what are the particular challenges of writing a biography? Drawing on the expertise of Edvard Radzinsky, Fay Weldon, Anson Cameron, John Lanchester, Nicholas Shakespeare, and other respected authors, this program answers each question with candor and wit-and judging from the authors' responses, there are as many ways to approach storywriting as there are writers. (27 minutes)

This six-part series, filmed on location in Stratford-upon-Avon, comes from the Emmy Award-winning Cromwell Production team. Programs feature commentary by several noted Shakespearean scholars and include performances of key scenes of the most popular tragedies by some of the best Stratford actors. Expert analysis accompanies each key scene, to provide an outstanding educational resource for the study of plot, character, and the universal truths embodied in these enduring dramas. 6-part series, 29-33 minutes each.

Cultivating an appreciation of the English classics requires studying the mother tongue as it was originally spoken. In this program, Dr. Joseph Gallagher brings language to life by reciting examples of Old, Middle, and Early Modern English in their original dialects. In addition, he discusses the evolution of English syntax and morphology. A dramatization of a portion of Beowulf is also included, along with visits to historic literary sites important to the study of English, such as the Sutton Hoo burial grounds, Canterbury, and the remains of the Globe Theatre. Includes subtitles in Modern English, where necessary. (29 minutes)

Shakespeare's troubled character comes to life in this program in the capable hands of leading scholars, as they discuss the major themes of the play, its plot, and the actions of its main characters. Analyzing key scenes, scholars Russell Jackson and Stanley Wells of Stratford-upon-Avon offer insights into the underlying meaning of Hamlet's eloquent soliloquies, as well as the play's eight violent deaths, adultery, ghostly haunting, and ultimate tragic end. Death and revenge are explored as major themes of the work, as well as Shakespeare's playful inclusion of comedic relief. An analysis of Hamlet's relationships with his mother and Ophelia provides interesting insights into his multifaceted character. (31 minutes)

Sitting across a kitchen table yet worlds apart, Beth and Duff engage in a disturbing but seductive counterpoint of dual monologues, two series of impressionistic images from the wreckage of their relationship that wash up on the waves of consciousness. Thanks to the consummate performances of the late Dame Peggy Ashcroft and David Waller, this outstanding production by the Royal Shakespeare Company-directed for stage and screen by Sir Peter Hall-is quintessential Pinter, laden with irony and stressing two of the playwright's recurring themes: communication and memory. Some language may be objectionable. (36 minutes)

Chronicling the rediscovery of classical thought during the Renaissance, this program illustrates the intellectual awakening of the era-as well as its many cruelties-through its literature. The program provides historical context for Machiavelli's The Prince, Erasmus's Education of a Christian Prince, and Sir Thomas More's Utopia; Cervantes' Don Quixote; and Elizabethan literature, especially Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. It also shows how Gutenberg's printing press and the rise of literacy and widespread communication strengthened the Protestant Reformation. Viewers learn about the rise of the new mercantile economy and how it led to new concentrations of power. A Discovery Channel Production. (25 minutes)

Second only to Shakespeare, Henrik Ibsen is the most-performed playwright in the world. This program, as much a tribute to the art of theater as to the immortal Ibsen, reveals a perennial fascination with Norway's master playwright. Excerpts from A Doll's House, Peer Gynt, and other productions captured on film in the United States, Canada, Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Serbia, Iran, China, Argentina, and Venezuela are included, as well as interviews with renowned actor Earl Hyman and other notable interpreters of Ibsen's plays. (51 minutes)

Immortalized by the Bard, Julius Caesar has achieved a transcendent stature in the modern imagination. This video/CD-ROM combination provides a well-rounded assessment of Shakespeare's tragedy of ancient Rome.

This work-the only Shakespeare tragedy considered to have its roots in the classics-is a study in contradiction. Though it is about the character of Brutus, it has Caesar as its dominant figure. This and other complexities and themes of the drama are investigated through the performance of key scenes by noted Shakespearean experts from the Shakespeare Centre and the Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon Avon. Themes and topics include politics and the corruption of power; the play as drama, history, and art; the persona of Brutus as noble but self-deluded; Cassius as an opportunistic prime mover; the rhetorical skills of Brutus and Antony as pivotal to the action; and Shakespeare's use of dramatic effect in key scenes, such as the appearance of Caesar's ghost. (33 minutes)

Kenneth Branagh takes on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night with the Renaissance Theatre Company. The exemplary cast includes Richard Briers as Malvolio, Frances Barber as Viola, Caroline Langrishe as Olivia, Christopher Ravenscroft as Orsino, and James Saxon as Sir Toby Belch. The original music for this production is by Paul McCartney and Pat Doyle. (2 hours 40 minutes)