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
Jul 5, 2021 • 1h 17min
CR Episode 85: Canterbury Tales VII – The Squire’s and Franklin’s Tales
The panel discusses Fragment V, with attention given both to scholarly theories about whether Chaucer deliberately left the Squire's tale interrupted and unfinished, and to Chaucer's use of estates satire in his depiction of the Franklin and his tale.Continue reading
Jun 28, 2021 • 57min
CR Episode 84: Canterbury Tales VI – The Clerk’s and Merchant’s Tales
The panel discusses Fragment IV, containing two tales that deal with men who deliberately engage in unequal marriages to both good and ill results, and considers what these tales demonstrate about historical critiques of progress and the human condition.Continue reading
Jun 21, 2021 • 1h 18min
CR Episode 83: Canterbury Tales V – The Wife of Bath’s, Friar’s, and Summoner’s Tales
Clinton Collister joins the panel to discuss Fragment III and its potential connexions to The Man of Law's Tale (Fragment II), with a focus on the role of justice, legalism, crime, intent, contractual obligations, and the judicial purpose of punishment.Continue reading
Jun 14, 2021 • 1h 10min
CR Episode 82: Canterbury Tales IV – The Man of Law’s Tale
The panel examines The Man of Law's Tale and scholarly arguments about whether it is suited to its putative teller, and consider the tale's depictions of crime and justice (temporal and divine), constancy, providence, misadventure, and religious strife.Continue reading
Jun 7, 2021 • 1h 10min
CR Episode 81: Canterbury Tales III – The Miller’s, Reeve’s, and Cook’s Tales
Leaving behind the Knight's noble depictions of courtly love, the panel descends through bawdy, sexual misadventures in the form of 'quites'--narrative responses--offered by the drunken Miller and the vengeful Reeve, and the Cook's incomplete tale.Continue reading
24 snips
May 31, 2021 • 1h 10min
CR Episode 80: Canterbury Tales II – The Knight’s Tale
Dive into a rich discussion of Chaucer's 'The Knight’s Tale,' where artistry meets martial romance. The panel explores love and rivalry through the lens of Palamon and Arcite, both vying for Emily's heart. Discover the haunting symbolism of the Temple of Mars and the paradox of war. Unpack the complexities of fate, love, and divine intervention as entwined themes shape destinies. The journey also touches on historical perspectives, contrasting the tales' emotional depth with Chaucer's witty commentary, setting the stage for a quirky transition to the forthcoming tales.
May 24, 2021 • 1h 17min
CR Episode 79: Canterbury Tales I – General Prologue
In the first week of the Canterbury Tales series, the panel reviews the biography of Geoffrey Chaucer, introduces the Canterbury Tales in general, and then reads selections from the General Prologue, with emphasis on Chaucer's development of character.Continue reading
May 17, 2021 • 57min
CR Episode 78: Kipling, “If”, and The Great War
The panel discusses selections from the poetry of Rudyard Kipling, including his most famous poem, "If", and three poems related to The Great War and, its mechanised social aftermath: "Gethsemane", "The Benefactor", and "The Secret of the Machines".Continue reading
May 10, 2021 • 1h 3min
CR Episode 77: Ben Jonson’s Critical Eye
The panel discusses Ben Jonson's role as critic and author of the Elizabethan age, and reads four of his poems, including several of his Epigrams, before concluding with his rhapsodic ode written in memory of his friend, William Shakespeare.Continue reading
Apr 26, 2021 • 1h 25min
CR Episode 76: Excerpts from Leaves of Grass
The panel reads excerpts from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, including poems from the inscriptions, Song of Myself, Children of Adam, and Calamus, considering the formal nature of the 'American Epic', and Whitman's use of individualism and universalism.Continue reading
