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
Oct 31, 2022 • 1h 1min
CR Episode 148: Longfellow and the Civil War, Part I
In the first of a two-part reading of selections from Longfellow's Tales of a Wayside Inn, the panel reads the beginning of the Prelude and then examines "Paul Revere's Ride" in detail, with attention to the structure of the text and its formal aspects.Continue reading
Oct 24, 2022 • 51min
CR Episode 147: Melville and the Civil War, Part II
The panel concludes a two-part survey of Melville's reading of the Civil War as viewed through his Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866) by discussing poems on Stonewall Jackson, the Surrender at Appomattox, and post-war America.Continue reading
Oct 17, 2022 • 59min
CR Episode 146: Melville and the Civil War, Part I
In this first episode of a two-part examination of Melville's poetic response to the Civil War, the panel reads two poems from his first poetry collection, Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War (1866): 'The Conflict of Convictions' and 'Gettysburg'.Continue reading
Oct 3, 2022 • 1h 3min
CR Episode 145: E.E. Cummings on Nonconformity
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
Sep 26, 2022 • 52min
CR Episode 144: Poetry for King Charles
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
Sep 19, 2022 • 1h 4min
CR Episode 143: Poetry In Memoriam Elizabeth II
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
Sep 12, 2022 • 43min
CR Episode 142: The Poetry of James Weldon Johnson
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
Aug 29, 2022 • 58min
CR Episode 141: Wordsworth’s Prelude, Book I
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
Aug 22, 2022 • 1h 7min
CR Episode 140: Ezra Pound’s Canto LXXIV
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
Aug 15, 2022 • 1h 40min
CR Episode 139: Idylls of the King, Part XII
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
