The play follows Doctor Faustus, a highly intelligent and ambitious German scholar who becomes dissatisfied with traditional forms of knowledge and seeks to learn magic. With the help of his friends Valdes and Cornelius, Faustus summons the devil Mephistophilis and signs a contract with Lucifer, trading his soul for twenty-four years of magical ability. Despite warnings and misgivings, Faustus uses his powers for trivial pursuits and eventually faces his doom as the contract expires. The play explores themes of knowledge, power, and the consequences of moral compromise, reflecting the intellectual and cultural tensions of the Renaissance era[2][3][4].
The Tempest, written around 1610-1611, is one of Shakespeare's last solo works. The play revolves around Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, who was usurped by his brother Antonio and left to die at sea with his infant daughter Miranda. They survive and find refuge on a remote island, where Prospero masters magic and enslaves the native Caliban and the spirit Ariel. When a ship carrying his enemies passes by, Prospero conjures a tempest to bring them ashore. The play explores themes of magic, betrayal, revenge, and forgiveness as Prospero manipulates the shipwrecked characters to rectify past wrongs and ultimately forgives them. The story also includes the romance between Ferdinand, the King of Naples' son, and Miranda, and ends with Prospero's decision to return to Milan and reclaim his dukedom[2][3][5].
Published in two parts, 'Don Quixote de la Mancha' is a seminal work of Spanish literature that parodies the chivalric romances of the time. The story follows Alonso Quijano, who renames himself Don Quixote, as he embarks on a journey to revive chivalry and seek adventures. Accompanied by his squire Sancho Panza, Don Quixote encounters various characters and situations that highlight the contrast between his idealized world of chivalry and the harsh realities of life. The novel is known for its complex themes, including the distinction between reality and imagination, and its influence on the development of the modern novel.
In the sixteenth century wealthy men and women began to collect books. With these they began to furnish a new room in the house which they called the studiolo. In the “little study” one could read in happiness and contentment, safe from an external world beset by wars and plague. They could conduct conversations with their contemporaries by letter, and with the dead of past ages through their reading. The studiolo became an extension of their intellect, and of their personality.
But the studiolo was also a place from which those religious and political conflicts were conducted. And the studiolo was, in the contemporary imagination, a place of potential madness. After all, it was reading in solitude that infected the brain of that noble gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha; obsessive reading that undermined the power of Duke Prospero of Milan, and resulted in his exile on a far off island with his daughter Miranda; and reading that turned Dr. Faustus to seek power through a diabolical bargain.
With me to discuss the studiolo in history and literature is Andrew Hui, Associate Professor of the Humanities at Yale-NUS College in Singapore. His most recent book is The Study: The Inner Life of Renaissance Libraries, which is the focus of our conversation today.
Historically Thinking 
