Tragedies

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Tragedies

Macbeth, Act 4

Macbeth returns to the Witches. Macduff's family is killed while Macduff and Malcom plot invasion from England.

Nov 11, 2026 7:33 AM

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Tragedies

Macbeth, Act 3

Macbeth orders the murder of Banquo. Banquo’s ghost appears at the feast and drives Macbeth mad. Macbeth plans to go see the witches to learn more of his fate.

Nov 3, 2026 6:36 AM

Tragedies

Macbeth, Act 2

Macbeth kills Duncan. Duncan’s sons flee to England and Macbeth is crowned King.

Nov 1, 2026 11:16 AM

Tragedies

Macbeth, Act 1

Macbeth and Scottish forces defeat the Norwegian invasion. The witches prophesy Macbeth shall be King. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth plot to murder Duncan.

Oct 29, 2026 4:20 AM

Tragedies

King Lear, Act 5

The British forces overcome the French. Goneril and Regan die. Edgar kills Edmund, and Edmund repents his orders to kill Cordelia but too late. “The wonder is he has endured so long.”

Oct 28, 2026 7:27 AM

Tragedies

King Lear, Act 4

Lear recovers his senses and reconciles with Cordelia. Edgar puts Gloucester through a mock suicide to revive him.

Oct 27, 2026 8:10 AM

Tragedies

King Lear, Act 3

Lear descends into madness in a hovel and conducts a mock trial for his daughters in a hovel. Gloucester is condemned for treason by Cornwall and has his eyes plucked out.

Oct 26, 2026 6:53 AM

Tragedies

King Lear, Act 2

Edmund perfects his betrayal of Edgar, and Lear is driven mad and onto the heath by his daughters.

Oct 25, 2026 6:38 PM

Tragedies

King Lear, Act 1

Lear demands his daughters flatter him to earn their share of the kingdom. Cordelia refuses and is banished. Lear resigns the crown, Goneril begins a campaign of passive aggression and gaslighting to drive him mad.

Oct 25, 2026 7:45 AM

Tragedies

Pelops

The second play in the tragedy of the House of Atreus. Pelops, resurrected by Hermes, journeys to Elis to find a new home and brings the curse upon his family.

Oct 24, 2026 5:38 AM

Tragedies

Richard II, Act 5

Richard is imprisoned at Pomfret, Bolingbroke forgives Rutland but executes the other traitors. He vows a crusade to repent of his guilt.

Oct 22, 2026 6:30 AM

Tragedies

Richard II, Act 4

Richard surrenders the crown to Bolingbrook in Parliament. Carlisle prohesies civil war.

Oct 18, 2026 3:32 PM

Tragedies

Richard II, Act 3

In Act III of Shakespeare’s Richard II, the struggle for England’s throne reaches its turning point. As Bolingbroke’s power grows, Richard returns to find his kingdom slipping away. At Flint Castle, the once-divine king confronts the terrifying possibility that a monarch is, after all, only a man. In an act filled with betrayal, despair, and some of Shakespeare’s most beautiful poetry, Richard begins his descent from majesty to mortality.

Oct 17, 2026 6:19 AM

Tragedies

Richard II, Act 2

John of Gaunt delivers his prophecy to Richard, Richard departs for Ireland and Bolingbroke raises to English nobles in rebellion

Oct 11, 2026 10:15 AM

Tragedies

Richard II, Act 1

In the first act of Shakespeare’s Richard II, Bolingbroke, the future Henry IV, accuses the Duke of Norfolk of treason. King Richard fails to persuade them to reconcile and declares they shall fight a duel to settle the matter.

Oct 3, 2026 2:26 PM

Tragedies

Iphigenia Among The Taurians

Years after she was led to Aulis to be sacrificed, Iphigenia lives in exile as a priestess of Artemis, charged with sacrificing strangers who come to her shores. When two Greek prisoners arrive, she discovers that one is her long-lost brother Orestes. Euripides’ Iphigenia Among the Taurians is a story of recognition, escape, and a family broken by violence given one unexpected chance at reunion.

Aug 23, 2026 8:6 AM

Tragedies

Oedipus at Colonus

An old, blind Oedipus comes at last to Colonus, seeking a place to die. Hunted by his past and fought over for the strange power promised by his death, the ruined king must confront his sons, his city, and the gods before finding a final resting place. Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus is a haunting story of exile, reconciliation, and redemption at the end of a long and terrible life.

Aug 21, 2026 5:56 AM

Tragedies

Tantalus

Tantalus, mighty king and son of Zeus, prepares a feast for the gods—and becomes convinced it is a test of his own divinity. As reason gives way to pride, he crosses the final boundary between man and god, father and monster, and discovers too late the meaning of the laws he has broken.

Aug 16, 2026 3:19 PM

Tragedies

The Persians

In the only surviving tragedy telling of contemporary events, Aeschylus tells of the defeat of the Persian armies at Salamis.

Aug 9, 2026 9:34 AM

Tragedies

Odysseus in Hades

Odysseus awakens in darkness, waiting for a dawn that never comes. Guided by Sisyphus through the shadows of Hades, the great king retraces the path of his life until memory gives way to truth.

Aug 1, 2026 11:6 AM

Tragedies

Antigone

A sister defies a king. A ruler defies the gods. Sophocles’ Antigone is one of the defining tragedies of the ancient world, exploring duty, law, pride, and the devastating cost of moral certainty. In this episode, we examine the clash between Antigone and Creon and ask why this timeless drama continues to provoke debate more than 2,400 years after it was first performed.

Jul 25, 2026 1:35 PM

Tragedies

The Cyclops

In honor of the release of The Odyssey, this week we read the only extant satyr play, The Cyclops by Euripides. In Greek Theater, authors wrote four plays for a performance, three tragedies and one comedy called a satyr play. This satyr tells the story of Odysseus outwitting the Cyclops.

Jul 18, 2026 3:6 PM

Tragedies

Medea

Betrayed by Jason's marriage to Creon's daughter and threatened with exile, Medea resolves a terrible revenge. She sends poisoned gifts that kill the bride and Creon, then—unable to allow her children to be used against her—kills her own sons.

After committing these acts she escapes Corinth in a chariot granted by her divine lineage, leaving Jason ruined and the city shattered. The episode examines betrayal, wrath, and the tragic consequences of vengeance.

Jul 12, 2026 4:50 PM

Tragedies

Hippolytus

A proud young prince devoted to Artemis rejects love and scorns the power of Aphrodite. In revenge, the goddess kindles a forbidden passion in his stepmother, Phaedra, setting in motion one of Greek tragedy’s cruelest chains of misunderstanding. In this episode, we explore Euripides’ Hippolytus—a haunting drama of chastity, desire, divine vengeance, and the heartbreaking reconciliation between a father and his dying son.

Jul 5, 2026 1:8 PM

Tragedies

Hymn to Apollo

In this episode, we turn from tragedy to one of the oldest surviving works of Greek literature: the Homeric Hymn to Apollo. We follow the god’s remarkable rise from his miraculous birth on the island of Delos to his conquest of the monstrous Python at Delphi. Along the way, Apollo establishes his great oracle, claims his sacred sanctuary, and gathers the first priests who will serve him. More than a simple hymn of praise, the poem reveals how the Greeks understood divine power, prophecy, music, and the founding of sacred places. It is the story of a young god announcing himself to the world—and ensuring that mortals will hear his voice for generations to come.

Jun 20, 2026 10:42 AM

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