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PODCAST

Critical Readings

CriticalReadings.com

Critical Readings examines key literary texts using close reading and critical analysis, and explains these approaches in discussion. Listeners will learn about the texts themselves and about how to approach a text for critical analysis.

arts literature

All Episodes

63:19

CR Episode 145: E. E. Cummings on Nonconformity

Critical Readings ·

2022/10/03

The panel performs a thorough close readings of two well-anthologised poems by E. E. Cummings--'i sing of Olaf glad and big' and 'the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls'--examining how their structure and formal aspects reflect their content.Continue reading

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52:17

CR Episode 144: Poetry for King Charles

Critical Readings ·

2022/09/26

In celebration of King Charles III, the panel reads two poems written to celebrate the reigns of his predecessors, King Charles I and King Charles II, including a New Year's Gift by Thomas Carew and a coronation panegyric by John Dryden, respectively.Continue reading

en-GB

64:29

CR Episode 143: Poetry In Memoriam Elizabeth II

Critical Readings ·

2022/09/19

The panel reads poetry celebrating the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II, including Philip Larkin and Ted Hughes for the Silver Jubilee, Hughes for the 40th anniversary, Simon Armitage for the Platinum Jubilee, and his newly-written Floral Tribute.Continue reading

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43:22

CR Episode 142: The Poetry of James Weldon Johnson

Critical Readings ·

2022/09/12

The panel reads three stirring poems by the American diplomat, activist, author, poet, and professor James Weldon Johnson, examining the theological symbolism and social commentary in "The Creation", "Listen, Lord", and "Lift Every Voice and Sing".Continue reading

en-GB

57:33

CR Episode 141: Wordsworth’s Prelude, Book I

Critical Readings ·

2022/08/29

The panel reads the first book of William Wordsworth's "The Prelude", discussing the intention of the overall work, with special attention to the presentation of childhood freedom, the intellectual work of writing poetry, and existential dread.Continue reading

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67:03

CR Episode 140: Ezra Pound’s Canto LXXIV

Critical Readings ·

2022/08/22

The panel attempts to read Canto LXXIV from The Cantos of Ezra Pound, but finds even this one poem too dense to complete in a single episode, with its use of a vast array of literary and personal references fused into a challenging composite work.Continue reading

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99:51

CR Episode 139: Idylls of the King, Part XII

Critical Readings ·

2022/08/15

The panel concludes the series on Idylls of the King with a full reading of "The Passing of Arthur" and the epilogue "To the Queen", considering Gawain's warning, the last battle, Bedivere's treachery, and Arthur's departure with the three queens.Continue reading

en-GB

91:04

CR Episode 138: Idylls of the King, Part XI

Critical Readings ·

2022/08/08

The panel reads the penultimate idyll, "Guinevere", last of the original 1859 collection, and focuses on the redemptive arc of the queen, passing from recognition of her sin and fear of shame into pursuit of the pure and the good for its own sake.Continue reading

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95:20

CR Episode 137: Idylls of the King, Part X

Critical Readings ·

2022/08/01

The panel reads the second part of the story of Sir Pelleas, "The Last Tournament", with its contrast between white innocence and red blood, its manifold inversions of the Arthurian court, and its connexion to the real-life Eglinton Tournament of 1839.Continue reading

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86:20

CR Episode 136: Idylls of the King, Part IX

Critical Readings ·

2022/07/25

The panel reads "Pelleas and Ettare" and questions whether Arthur overprotects Sir Pelleas, considering the implications for the court, whilst also examining Tennyson's psychologising of Ettare, and the potential dangers of a too-idealistic worldview.Continue reading

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86:29

CR Episode 135: Idylls of the King, Part VIII

Critical Readings ·

2022/07/18

The panel discusses the dispersal of the Round Table in "The Holy Grail", the conflict between the Common Good of the realm and the individual knights' quests for the Absolute Good, and the experiences of Gawain, Bors, Lancelot, Perceval, and Galahad.Continue reading

en-GB

99:53

CR Episode 134: Idylls of the King, Part VII

Critical Readings ·

2022/07/11

Moving into the second half of the Idylls, the panel reads "Lancelot and Elaine", one of the most beloved poems in the cycle, contrasting Guinevere with Elaine and Lancelot with Gawain, and reading Arthur as a messianic, interpretive mirror of the court.Continue reading

en-GB

105:37

CR Episode 133: Idylls of the King, Part VI

Critical Readings ·

2022/07/04

The panel reads the poem that serves as the hinge in the cycle of the Idylls, "Merlin and Vivien", looking at how Vivien uses manipulation, dissemblance, and falsehood to achieve her ends, and considering the natural ends of the law and the state.Continue reading

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90:05

CR Episode 132: Idylls of the King, Part V

Critical Readings ·

2022/06/27

The panel reads the last-composed of the Idylls, "Balin and Balan", with attention to the tale's depiction of the conflict between the Old Order and the New Order, the origin and proliferation of rumour and scandal, and the use of shadow as metaphor.Continue reading

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75:03

CR Episode 131: Idylls of the King, Part IV

Critical Readings ·

2022/06/20

The panel reads "Enid and Geraint", the second part of the Enid tale and the fourth of the Idylls, with attention to the opposite perils of decadence and bestiality, the significance of personal redemption, and the firm strength of Tennyson's women.Continue reading

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73:57

CR Episode 130: Idylls of the King, Part III

Critical Readings ·

2022/06/13

In this third part of the Idylls of the King, the panel reads "The Marriage of Geraint", originally the first half of "Enid", with attention to Tennyson's use of narrative quoting and foreshadowing, and his depiction of knightly masculinity.Continue reading

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108:06

CR Episode 129: Idylls of the King, Part II

Critical Readings ·

2022/06/06

In the second Idylls of the King episode, the panel reads "Gareth and Lynette", with special attention to Gareth's demonstration of chivalry through action, the text's presentation of nobilty as essential to knightliness, and Bellicent's characterisation.Continue reading

en-GB

116:42

CR Episode 128: Idylls of the King, Part I

Critical Readings ·

2022/05/30

The panel begins a twelve-week series covering the entirety of Tennyson's Arthurian cycle, Idylls of the King, beginning with the cycle's publishing history and formal characteristics, and readings of the dedication and "The Coming of Arthur".Continue reading

en-GB

60:28

CR Episode 127: The Waste Land, Part IV

Critical Readings ·

2022/05/23

The Waste Land series concludes with readings and analysis of the final two parts--"Death by Water" and "What the Thunder Said"--with special attention to the biblical and grail quest imagery, the Wheel of Fortune, and contrasting aquatic extremes.Continue reading

en-GB

78:46

CR Episode 126: The Waste Land, Part III

Critical Readings ·

2022/05/16

In this third part of the four-part series on The Waste Land, by T. S. Eliot, the panel reads "The Fire Sermon" and discusses cities both real and unreal, and how the abnegation of all human desire leads to the hollowing out of the psyche.Continue reading

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305 results

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