Rana Mitter is joined by Edith Hall, Nandini Das and Beatrice Groves to explore the books which inspired Shakespeare from the Bible and classical stories to the writing of some of Shakespeare's contemporaries.
Edith Hall is Professor in the Classics Department and Centre for Hellenic Studies at King's College London. Her books include Introducing The Ancient Greeks and has co-written A People's History of Classics with Henry Stead.
Nandini Das is Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford. She is also a New Generation Thinker on the scheme run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Beatrice Groves is Research Lecturer in Renaissance Literature at the University of Oxford and her books include Texts and Traditions: Religion in Shakespeare 1592-1604
The programme was recorded in front of an audience in BBC Radio 3's pop-up studio as part of Radio 3's Stratford residency at the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Producer: Torquil MacLeod
You can find a playlist of programmes exploring different aspects of Shakespeare on the Free Thinking programme website including interviews with the actors Antony Sher & Janet Suzman, writers including Jo Nesbo & Mark Ravenhill and detailed explorations of The Tempest and the Winter's Tale https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06406hm