Episode 176: All the World’s a Playhouse

The History of English Podcast

Theaters were an important part of cultural life in Elizabethan England, and they contributed many words to the English language. Those words joined thousands of other words that were pouring into English from around the world. In this episode, we look at how distant cultures were contributing to the growth of English and how Shakespeare’s acting company built a world-famous theater in the late 1500s. Works discussed in this episode include:
‘Henry IV, Parts One and Two’ – William Shakespeare
‘The Merry Wives of Windor” – William Shakespeare
‘“A Report of the Kindome of Congo’ – Abraham Hartwell, Translator
‘The Isle of Dogs’ – Ben Jonson and Thomas Nashe
‘Discours of voyages into ye Easte & West Indies’
‘A Worlde of Wordes’ – John Florio
‘Palladis Tamia, Wit’s Treasury’ – Francis Meres

TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 176