
798.5 Thinking Through Shakespeare (with David Womersley) | My Last Book with Ramie Targoff
From The History of Literature by Jacke Wilson / The Podglomerate
May 6, 2026 · 51 min
About this episode
Jacke Wilson discusses Shakespeare's exploration of human nature with David Womersley and hears from Ramie Targoff about her last book choice.
Is there such a thing as a general human nature? And if so, does Shakespeare serve as a "faithful mirror" to it, as Dr. Johnson claimed? In this episode, Jacke talks to Oxford University's David Womersley about his book Thinking Through Shakespeare, which explores how Shakespeare's plays think through--and invite us to think through--deep human questions of lasting importance. PLUS Ramie Targoff (Shakespeare's Sisters: How Women Wrote the Renaissance) discusses her choice for the last book she will ever read. The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at gabrielruizbernal.com. Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: Jacke Wilson
Guests: David Womersley, Ramie Targoff
Topics covered
- Shakespeare
- human nature
- literature
- women in literature
- deep human questions
Keywords
- Shakespeare
- human nature
- David Womersley
- Ramie Targoff
- literature
- deep questions
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Oxford University, Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal, Lit Hub Radio, The Podglomerate, historyofliterature.com, patreon.com/literature
Books & works: Thinking Through Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Sisters: How Women Wrote the Renaissance
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