804 Shakespeare and Loss (with Sarah Beckwith) | My Last Book with Caroline Lea

804 Shakespeare and Loss (with Sarah Beckwith) | My Last Book with Caroline Lea

From The History of Literature by Jacke Wilson / The Podglomerate

May 25, 2026 · 1h 4m · Episode 804

About this episode

Jacke Wilson discusses Shakespeare's portrayal of loss and community with Sarah Beckwith and Caroline Lea shares her choice for the last book she will ever read.

It's Memorial Day in the United States, a day devoted to remembering the soldiers who have died in service. Together, the society grieves, mourns, and attempts to unite. Similarly, communities can come together through actions like loving; giving; marrying; conversing; acting and doing; and speaking to one another. But what happens when individuals are blocked from the processes that bring a community together? In this episode, Jacke talks to author Sarah Beckwith about her book Shakespeare and Loss: The Late, Great Tragedies, which looks at Shakespeare's use of protagonists who are driven out (or drive themselves out) of family and society in plays like Hamlet, King Lear, Timon of Athens, Macbeth, Coriolanus, and Antony and Cleopatra. How (and why) does Shakespeare portray individuals who have lost their access to these vital concepts of human bonding? And what can we learn from Shakespeare's examples? PLUS Caroline Lea (Love, Sex, and Frankenstein) stops by to discuss 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…

People in this episode

Host: Jacke Wilson

Guests: Sarah Beckwith, Caroline Lea

Topics covered

  • Shakespeare
  • loss
  • community
  • tragedy
  • literature
  • memorial

Keywords

  • Shakespeare
  • loss
  • tragedy
  • community
  • Hamlet
  • King Lear
  • literature
  • memorial day

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal, Lit Hub Radio, The Podglomerate Network

Books & works: Shakespeare and Loss: The Late, Great Tragedies, Hamlet, King Lear, Timon of Athens, Macbeth, Coriolanus, Antony and Cleopatra

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