In 1621, Robert Burton published The Anatomy of Melancholy. It was the first attempt in the modern western world to understand and categorise causes, symptoms and treatments of that universal human experience.

In this episode, writer Amy Liptrot grapples with a dilemma close to Robert Burton’s heart - learning as a remedy for melancholy, but also as a cause if pursued ‘overmuch’.

As a single man living at Christ Church, Oxford, devoted to his scholarly labours on melancholy, Burton knew that the absorption in his subject gave him motivation and purpose. But he also knew that this ‘solitary, sedentary’ occupation was a major risk factor for the blues.

Amy speaks to Professor Anne Duffy from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, about the latest research into student mental health, and hears from Henry and Emma, PhD students who have both overcome struggles with anxiety and low mood to find a study-life-balance that works for them.

As Burton drew on the writing of others and made a patchwork of texts within his Anatomy of Melancholy, each episode ends with a modern-day contribution for a new and updated Anatomy of Melancholy.

In this episode, Henry offers the poem New Every Morning by Susan Coolidge.

Simon Russell Beale brings the voice of Robert Burton to life with extracts from The Anatomy of Melancholy.

Presenter: Amy Liptrot
Reader: Simon Russell Beale
Producer: Ruth Abrahams
Series consultant: John Geddes

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4 Show less