The Troubadour Podcast

Send us a textHow should we perceive children?  Are children born with sin as the Calvinists believed? Do infants retain a memory of God as some Romantics believed? Are children, as Rousseau taught, naturally good with an innate ability to learn?In these two poems we will explore how William Blake, a Romantic poet, gave voice to the voiceless infants. We will also discuss why these poems are useless by themselves but profound within the context of The Songs of Innocence and Experience.

Send us a textThis is a great example of William Blake's expression of the dialectic process. There are two nurse's songs in Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience. Each one reveals the inner feelings of a nurse as she is watching over a group of her wards. Each poem is in contrast to the other and speaking through the other.This is a shorter episode because these poems are both more on the surface. But they are valuable to understanding Blake's book as a whole.

Send us a textNight may be a time for partying in 2020, but two hundred years ago night represented terror and death.In this poem we will explore a deep theme that runs throughout both the Songs of Innocence and the Songs of Experience. It will be important to read or listen to this poem before we read the songs of experience.

Exploring the themes of innocence and struggle through William Blake's poem 'Holy Thursday', analyzing the societal disparities faced by orphaned children in London. Reflecting on the stark differences between harsh reality and ideals of utopia, drawing parallels with the movie 'JoJo Rabbit' to highlight the power of innocence in challenging societal norms and ideologies.

Analyzing William Blake's 'A Cradle Song', the podcast explores innocence, suffering, and imagination, delving into symbolism, emotions, and the divine connection between babies and God. It also touches on the depth of a mother's emotions in the poem.

Send us a textI had the pleasure to sit down with Jason Crawford of The Roots of Progress to discuss human progress in the arts and sciences.We discussed quite a bit, including:The concept of progressProgress in ancient Greece and Modern progressHow it can be lostHow art can fuel human progressExplorers like Vasco Balboa and the myth of EldoradoHistory of bronze, steel and other technologiesAnd so much more!Enjoy this great conversation and let us know what you think. Is our ability to continue creating new inventions and making new discoveries coming to an end?

Explore the gripping tale of a man facing psychological tortures in a dark pit, contemplate consciousness and memory in swoon-like states, experience dread and isolation in the dungeon, navigate through a mysterious dungeon with limited resources, and feel the protagonist's torment in a grim prison cell.

Send us a textA new theme from The Song's of Innocence and Experience by Blake starts to take shape with this poem.In simple language, understandable to a 5 year old, Blake uses words to paint a picture of a kind of fairy tale land. This is a perfect land that can actually exist one day. To get to that day requires just one important condition.The Laughing Song By William BlakeWhen the green woods laugh with the voice of joy,And the dimpling stream runs laughing by;When the air does laugh with our merry wit,And the green hill laughs with the noise of it;when the meadows laugh with lively green,And the grasshopper laughs in the merry scene,When Mary and Susan and EmilyWith their sweet round mouths sing 'Ha, ha he!'When the painted birds laugh in the shade,Where our table with cherries and nuts is spread:Come live, and be merry, and join with me,To sing the sweet chorus of 'Ha, ha, he!'

Send us a textI will be arguing that Science Fiction is the genre of fantasy literature that uses science as a backdrop of plausibility. Moreover, that is an important genre for our present day, as its themes and style very much do influence our modern world.We will be comparing Edgar Allan Poe's Rhetoric of Science style of writing with Nathanial Hawthorne and Mary Shelley's romantic style of writing.We will also delve into this story by Poe, its impact at the time of publishing it, and the lessons we have yet to learn from it.

Send us a textWilliam Blake believed there were two contrary states battling it out within each and every individual human being. Innocence and experience. The way that we developed as unique individuals was by a "dialectic process." That is, there is a Thesis (a little boy is lost) and an Anti-thesis (The little boy is found) Together they can become a synthesis, or, a new thesis.We find this process all throughout this book of poetry by Blake. In today's episode we will be covering the two aforementioned poems. They are very short but reveal much of the way that Blake believed the human soul was developed