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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

66:05

CR Episode 342: The Cask of Amontillado

Critical Readings ·

2026/10/05

The panel reads The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe, with attention to its structure of vengeance, its gothic genre features, the presence of literal echoes and narrative recurrence, and particularly the reliability—and sanity—of the narrator.Continue reading

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64:37

CR Episode 341: Beowulf, Part III

Critical Readings ·

2026/09/28

The panel discusses the conclusion of Beowulf—including Beowulf's final battle and his victorious death—with particular attention given to the didactic purpose of the poem, its framing of leadership and loyalty, and its function in historical context.Continue reading

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75:13

CR Episode 340: Beowulf, Part II

Critical Readings ·

2026/09/21

The panel discusses the second of Beowulf's battles—this time, against Grendel's vengeful mother—with special attention to the nature of his foe and the particularly fantastic setting of the battle, which takes place deep beneath the water of the fens.Continue reading

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81:41

CR Episode 339: Beowulf, Part I

Critical Readings ·

2026/09/14

Dr. Madeline Potter joins the panel just in time for the first-ever Readers' Choice series: the Old English poem, Beowulf. The panel reads of Beowulf's battle with Grendel, with special attention to how honour is won and defended by Geats and Danes.Continue reading

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81:38

CR Episode 338: The Once and Future King, Part XIV

Critical Readings ·

2026/08/31

The panel discusses the conclusion of The Candle in the Wind, with a look at Mordred's unreal motivations, Arthur's ultimate victory or failure, Guenever's personal agency, and the development of Gawaine beyond the initial limits of his character.Continue reading

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77:37

CR Episode 337: The Once and Future King, Part XIII

Critical Readings ·

2026/08/24

The panel discusses chapters 6–10 of the final book in The Once and Future King, with attention to Arthur's philosophical character, particularly whether his political theories serve as a prison which prevents the kind of action that could save his realm.Continue reading

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62:51

CR Episode 336: The Once and Future King, Part XII

Critical Readings ·

2026/08/17

The panel discusses the first five chapters of The Candle in the Wind, the last of the four books in the tetralogy, with a look at White's historical overview of the mediæval period, and a thorough study of his villainous duo of Agravaine and Mordred.Continue reading

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75:52

CR Episode 335: The Once and Future King, Part XI

Critical Readings ·

2026/08/10

The panel discusses the closing chapters of The Ill-Made Knight, with attention to the circumstances of Guenever's increasingly frenzied behaviour towards Lancelot, and to his growth as a character—from self-glorifying to self-abasing—across the book.Continue reading

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71:21

CR Episode 334: The Once and Future King, Part X

Critical Readings ·

2026/08/03

The panel discusses chapters 26–33 of The Ill-Made Knight, examining the violent deaths of Morgause and Lamorak, Arthur's solution to the problem of 'games-mania' in the Round Table, Guenever's festering jealousy, and Lancelot's spiritual devotions.Continue reading

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63:09

CR Episode 333: The Once and Future King, Part IX

Critical Readings ·

2026/07/27

The panel addresses reader questions and discusses chapters 19–25 of The Ill-Made Knight, with an examination of Lancelot's pitiable condition and an investigation into its causes, whether due to internal contradiction, or because of external pressures.Continue reading

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57:07

CR Episode 332: The Once and Future King, Part VIII

Critical Readings ·

2026/07/20

The panel discusses chapters 9–18 of The Ill-Made Knight, with special attention given to the development of Lancelot's relationships with the wily Elaine and the imperious Guenever, particularly in the savage denouement that leads to Lancelot's madness.Continue reading

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58:09

CR Episode 331: The Once and Future King, Part VII

Critical Readings ·

2026/07/13

The panel discusses chapters 1–8 of The Ill-Made Knight, with special attention given to the characterisation and Freudian psychology of Lancelot, contrasting humility with narcissism, and examining the beginning of his relationship with Guenever.Continue reading

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78:30

CR Episode 330: The Once and Future King, Part VI

Critical Readings ·

2026/07/06

The panel reads the second half of The Queen of Air and Darkness, giving special consideration to Arthur's vision of the Round Table and total war, the need for Might to support Right against wickedness, the Aristotelian (or not) nature of the tragedy.Continue reading

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83:22

CR Episode 329: The Once and Future King, Part V

Critical Readings ·

2026/06/29

The panel discusses the first half of The Queen of Air and Darkness (also known as The Witch in the Wood), with particular attention both to the Freudian characterisation of Morgause and her children, and to Merlyn's 'just war' political philosophy.Continue reading

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68:57

CR Episode 328: The Once and Future King, Part IV

Critical Readings ·

2026/06/22

The panel discusses the concluding chapters (20–24) of The Sword in the Stone, with special attention to Arthur's martial inclinations (and what they mean for a broader society), Kay's personal failings (and fundamental goodness), and Merlin's robes.Continue reading

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75:55

CR Episode 327: The Once and Future King, Part III

Critical Readings ·

2026/06/15

The panel discusses chapters 14–19 of The Sword in the Stone, with special attention to White's romanticised depiction of feudalism and the historical setting of the action, and with a comparison of the pacifistic views of the geese vs. the warlike ants.Continue reading

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62:06

CR Episode 326: The Once and Future King, Part II

Critical Readings ·

2026/06/08

The panel reads chapters 8–13 of The Sword in the Stone, with a focus on the precise nature of Merlin's magic and the 'transformations' experienced by the Wart (but not by Kay), and a detailed examination of the episode of the Ants and their collectivism.Continue reading

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70:18

CR Episode 325: The Once and Future King, Part I

Critical Readings ·

2026/06/01

The panel reads the first seven chapters of The Sword in the Stone, with attention given to the modern and medieval aspects of the setting, White's own narratorial voice, the differing metaphors and parallels of characterisation, and the original sources.

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58:33

CR Episode 324: The Poetry of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Critical Readings ·

2026/05/25

The panel reads three poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson—"Uriel", "Ode Inscribed to William H. Channing", and "The Snow Storm"—with special attention to the role of the poet-philosopher's transcendentalist, romanticist, and abolitionist views in the poems.

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68:57

CR Episode 323: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act V

Critical Readings ·

2026/05/18

The panel discusses the concluding act and scene of the play, with special attention to the linguistic wordplay and the Shakespearean critique of players, audiences, and critics alike in the both the play-within-a-play device and in Puck's epilogue.Continue reading

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342 results

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