Summary
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Death, what the 16th century philosopher Frances Bacon called, ‘the least of all evils’. A subject which has provoked thousands of reflections which live on: How has the perception, dread or even desire for our own endings shaped the development of the culture of Europe and the West, from funeral rituals to Gothic novels, to the Aids fiction and fact of today. From the celebration of the passage of a soul to the grief of the loss of a body. And how have different eras addressed the essential existential problems that death presents us with?With Jonathan Dollimore, Professor of English, York University; Thomas Lynch, poet, essayist, funeral director and author of The Undertaking - Life Studies from the Dismal Trade; Marilyn Butler, Professor of English Literature and Rector of Exeter College, Oxford.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You don't need us to tell you there's a general election coming. |
| 0:04.6 | So what does it mean for you? |
| 0:06.4 | Every day on newscast we dissect the big talking points, |
| 0:10.1 | the ones that you want to know more about. |
| 0:12.3 | With our book of contacts, we talk directly to the people you want to hear from. |
| 0:16.8 | And with help from some of the best BBC journalists, |
| 0:19.4 | we'll untangle the stories that matter to you. |
| 0:23.0 | Join me, Laura Kunsberg, Adam Fleming, Chris Mason and Patty O'Connell for our daily |
| 0:28.3 | podcast. |
| 0:29.3 | Newscast, listen on BBC Science. |
| 0:35.0 | Thanks for downloading the In Our Time podcast. For more details about In Our Time and for our terms of use, |
| 0:39.0 | please go to BBC.co. UK. |
| 0:41.0 | UK forward slash Radio4. I hope you enjoy the program |
| 0:44.6 | Hello our subject today is what the 16th century philosopher Francis Bacon called the least of all evils |
| 0:51.0 | death a subject which has provoked thousands of reflections which live on. |
| 0:55.4 | How has the perception, dread or even desire for our own ending shape the development of the |
| 1:00.0 | culture of Europe and the West and how have different eras addressed the |
| 1:03.1 | essential problems that death presents us with. With me as the poet essays |
| 1:07.6 | and The Undertaker Thomas Lynch, he made an international impact with his first book |
| 1:11.6 | of essays The Undertaking two years ago |
| 1:14.0 | and is just publishing his new collection, Bodies in Motion and at Rest. |
| 1:17.7 | I'm also joined by the Professor of English Literature and rector of Exeter College |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.