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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 5, 2026 • 1h 26min
CR Episode 304: The Hobbit, Part I
The panel discusses the first four chapters of The Hobbit with special attention to the development of the story as a text, its features connecting it to the genres of fairy tales and bedtime stories, and its careful use of narrative foreshadowing.Continue reading
Dec 29, 2025 • 1h 20min
CR Episode 303: Romeo and Juliet, Part V
The panel closes out Romeo and Juliet, and the year 2025, with a discussion of Friar Laurence's cowardly culpability, Romeo's impassioned importunity, Juliet's happy dagger, Paris' finest hour, and Shakespeare's interest in people of all walks of life.Continue reading
Dec 22, 2025 • 1h 1min
CR Episode 302: Romeo and Juliet, Part IV
The panel discusses the fourth act, with attention to the self-serving plan of Friar Laurence, who imperils the two lovers by avoiding more rational courses of action in favour of one which helps him avoid scrutiny for his role in their relationship.Continue reading
Dec 15, 2025 • 1h 5min
CR Episode 301: Romeo and Juliet, Part III
The panel discusses the third act—the 'beginning of woe'—when the drama shifts decidedly from comedy to tragedy with the departure of Mercutio and Juliet's nurse from the action, and with both Romeo and Juliet considering death rather than separation.Continue reading
10 snips
Dec 8, 2025 • 1h 20min
CR Episode 300: Romeo and Juliet, Part II
The hosts dive into the intriguing second act of Romeo and Juliet, highlighting the impulsive romance and the enabling figures surrounding the young lovers. They explore the dark humor of Mercutio and the warning inherent in the prologue. Discussions reveal how Shakespeare presents the lovers as ridiculous rather than ideal, along with the complexities of Friar Lawrence's motives. The commentary touches on the social stakes in Verona and critiques the impetuous decisions that lead to tragic outcomes, showcasing the layers of irony in this classic tale.
Dec 1, 2025 • 1h 45min
CR Episode 299: Romeo and Juliet, Part I
The panel discusses the genre classification of Romeo and Juliet before moving on to an examination of the poem's first act, with special attention given to the love-violence parallels, characterisation of the feuding families, and bawdy use of puns.Continue reading
Nov 24, 2025 • 1h 33min
CR Episode 298: The Dunciad, Part IV
The panel concludes The Dunciad with a full reading of the standalone text that became the fourth book of the 1743 edition, before examining Pope's position within the canon of early modern literature and examining his critical appraisal of his culture.Continue reading
Nov 17, 2025 • 1h 9min
CR Episode 297: The Dunciad, Part III
The panel reads the third book of the 1743 Dunciad, in which the poem swells to its crescendo, heaping scorn upon the agents of Dullness and the rampant spirits of ignorance and commercialism that threaten the survival of the arts from opera to poetry.Continue reading
Nov 10, 2025 • 1h 20min
CR Episode 296: The Dunciad, Part II
The panel discusses the second book of Alexander Pope's final Dunciad (of 1743), with attention to the historical personages who are satirised, including Flecknoe and Blackmore, and the effects that they had on later poets and on the English stage.Continue reading
Nov 3, 2025 • 1h 35min
CR Episode 295: The Dunciad, Part I
The panel reads in full the first book of Pope's final version of The Dunciad, giving special attention to the various cultural references and personal depictions in the poem, along with a look at the parodic critical footnotes provided by the author.Continue reading
