Ep 13: The Art of Shakespeare with Rebecca Lemon

Suraj speaks with Rebecca Lemon, a Professor of English at the University of Southern California. Prof. Lemon talks about the works of Shakespeare and their place in the English canon, how to interpret/study Shakespeare in the modern era, and the connection between iambic pentameter and regular spoken English. She also discusses the vital role of the humanities and how she finds inspiration to write her own books.

I took Prof. Lemon’s ENGL 230, “Shakespeare and His Times,” when I was a student at USC. I greatly appreciated the way she contextualized Shakespeare through the lens of race and gender. Our class often had tough and nuanced conversations, and the result of those conversations, at least for me, was true inspiration for my own artistic works.

I’m so glad to have Professor Rebecca Lemon on Art In All Its Forms!

CORRECTION: March 26th, 2021

An earlier version of this post misstated Rebecca Lemon’s title. She is a Professor of English, not an “Associate Professor.” I regret the error.

Show Notes and Links:

1. Rebecca Lemon’s website

2. Prof. Lemon’s book “Addiction and Devotion in Early Modern England”

3. Prof. Lemon’s book “King Richard III: Language and Writing”

4. Prof. Lemon’s book “Treason by Words”

5. Duke Ellington’s Such Sweet Thunder

6. Richard III’s opening monologue

7. The scene between Desdemona and Emilia in “Othello”

8. “Is Othello a Racist Play?” from the Royal Shakespeare Company

9. Finding the body of Richard III in a Leicester car park

10. RaceB4Race at ASU