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  • Article

Shakespeare and the four humours

Blood. Phlegm. Black bile. Yellow bile. The theory of the four humours informed many of Shakespeare's best-known characters, including the phlegmatic Falstaff.

  • Article

Battling the heteronormativity of sexual health

As a queer, Black women, Mary W is sick of the never-ending hetero-cycle of clinic appointments, where her needs and sexuality are always a surprise to the doctor. She calls for a revolution.

  • Article

The significance of safe spaces as refuges from racism

Beer writer David Jesudason discusses the impact racism has had on his mental health, and the consolation offered by pubs that feel truly safe.

  • Book extract

The meaning of happiness

What is happiness? Tiffany Watt Smith charts how its definition has changed over time, from chance emotion to something that can be measured and controlled.

All stories (15)

Images

  • The gouty King George IV relaxing before nine portraits chronicling his past extravagant styles of dress; representing the King's attempt to withdraw from public ridicule. Coloured etching by W. Heath, 1824.
  • The gouty King George IV relaxing before nine portraits chronicling his past extravagant styles of dress; representing the King's attempt to withdraw from public ridicule. Coloured etching by W. Heath, 1824.
  • Keen's mustard : established A.D. 1742.
  • A Church of England rector seated at table as a servant brings a roasted pig on a dish. Aquatint after G.M. Woodward.
  • A dog (Brutus) hiding behind a door in a barn while another dog sits outside the door. Etching by T. Landseer, 1824, after E. Landseer.
  • People using advanced materials and modes of transport in the year 2000, some travelling in hot-air balloons, some with their own wings, and some in carriages running on steam. Lithograph by C.J. Grant, 1834.
  • Two witches tell Macbeth (representing the Earl of Bute) that he will be king and another, holding a noose, says he will be "Knight - the first that ever graced the Scottish annals". Etching, 1762.
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Catalogue

All works (69)