The Shakespeare Mindset: Improve your life the Bard way not the hard way cover art

The Shakespeare Mindset: Improve your life the Bard way not the hard way

The Shakespeare Mindset: Improve your life the Bard way not the hard way

By: Dave Cohen
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Summary

 Stuck in a rut? Scared of change? Stressed about the world? Anxious for yourself and your loved ones? Know what, more than 400 years ago everyone felt the same way only without the comfort of light bulbs, central heating and sticky toffee pudding. William Shakespeare wrote about it all - and offered many answers to all kinds of modern questions such as what can we do to conquer our fears, how do we find true love and what does it mean to be human? He also asked: to be or not to be? We're still working on that one. My name's Dave Cohen - comedian, author and Horrible Histories lyric writer turned Shakespeare fanboy and I'm here to tell you that there are only two ways to deal with life's problems - the hard way or the Bard way.

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Dave Cohen Personal Development Personal Success Philosophy Social Sciences
Episodes
  • How To Deal With Bullies

    How To Deal With Bullies
    May 12 2026

    "And live a coward in thine own self-esteem".

    Today we're looking at bullying through the lens of Shakespeare’s plays, which show how bullies often attack a person’s self-worth rather than simply exerting power. Shakespeare, writing in the dangerous and politically volatile world of Elizabethan London, understood bullying both as personal cruelty and institutional oppression. Fellow playwrights such as Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Kyd suffered persecution, torture, and even death, demonstrating how fear and intimidation shaped the creative world Shakespeare inhabited.


    Examples of bullying in Shakespeare include Prince Hal who in Henry IV Part 1 uses mockery and humiliation to dominate others, especially Falstaff, while Feste in Twelfth Night encourages collective ridicule against Malvolio. Shakespeare’s most sinister bully, however, is Iago from Othello, whose manipulation, racism, jealousy, and gaslighting destroy lives. Even Hamlet is presented as a more complex form of bully, inflicting emotional cruelty on Ophelia while consumed by his own grief.


    Bullies are often driven by insecurity, resentment, or feelings of inadequacy. Shakespeare’s genius lies in portraying them not as monsters, but as damaged and vulnerable people whose actions still cause immense harm. Quiet honesty and forgiveness may sometimes be more powerful than dramatic revenge.

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    26 mins
  • The Joy of Texts

    The Joy of Texts
    May 5 2026
    "To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first." I'm still quite new to this Shakespeare business, but the more I read and see the more I find out about who I truly am. Imagine a world full of self-aware people. Go on, dig deeper with me, you'll thank me for it.

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    27 mins
  • You Can Sometimes Get What You Want

    You Can Sometimes Get What You Want
    Apr 28 2026
    "Can one desire too much of a good thing?" Shakespeare asks in As You Like It, and in this episode I explore how to navigate this complex emotional state with Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Oxford University and author of the delightfully accessible This Is Shakespeare.

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    42 mins
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