Professor of English, Katherine Duncan-Jones, discusses the real life characters and contemporaries of Shakespeare that inspired, shaped, and on occasion performed the various roles of the 'fool' in much of his work.
Shakespeare's Fools
Shakespeare's fools, in sync with Shakespeare's revolutionary ideas about theatre, began to depart from a more simple representation of the traditional jester. Like other of his characters, Shakepeare's fool began to speak outside of the narrow confines of exemplary morality, to address themes of love, psychic turmoil, and the innumerable themes that arise in Shakespeare, and indeed, modern theatre.
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The annual Oxford University Alumni Weekend aims to showcase the Collegiate University as a whole, giving prominence to a range of current research and its application to real world situations, as well as recognising the achievements of Oxford men and women.
This series also includes podcasts from other alumni events including study days and the Oxford European Reunion.
Past themes include "A Global Oxford" (2008), "Equal Citizenship" (2009) and "Shared...