Simon Schama explores the life and times of William Shakespeare to shed a new and fascinating light on some of the greatest plays ever written. He asks the question: "What came first, Englishness, or Shakespeare's idea of it?" and produces a persuasive argument in favour of the latter.
1 season · 2 episodes
S1 E1This England
Jun 22, 201260 min
Schama explores how, in his history plays, Shakespeare created a vision of England that still rings true today. Against the backdrop of the Reformation, Shakespeare began to dramatize English history and the English character in a new and u
S1 E2Hollow Crowns
Jun 29, 201260 min
Simon Schama explores Shakespeare’s attitude to the other great subject of his day - Kingship. He asks how far Shakespeare’s most profound tragedies, including Richard II, Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear, were inspired by his own experience o
