Critical Readings

The panel reads two later poems by Thomas Warton, including "Verses on Sir Joshua Reynolds's Painted Window at New College Oxford" and "Written at Vale-Royal Abbey in Cheshire," and considers them within the context of Anglicanism and the Enlightenment.Continue reading

The panel introduces one of the Graveyard Poets, Thomas Warton the Younger, and reads in full his most famous poem, "The Pleasures of Melancholy", with attention to how it prefigures the Romantics even as it remains part of the Augustan worldview.Continue reading

In advance of Burns Night, the panel reads four poems by Robert Burns, including "To a Mouse" and "For a' That and a' That", with special attention given to the presence of Romanticism, the use of dialect, and the brotherhood of mankind within nature.Continue reading

The panel discusses the second half of Melville's Benito Cereno, with a focus on the American abolition movement, the obliviousness (wilful or not) of Captain Amasa Delano, the mental domination of Benito Cereno, and Bobo's refusal to be subjugated.Continue reading

The panel provides a primer to academic publishing, including surveying the field, finding an argumentative niche, entering the conversation, and basic research practises, before moving on to symbolism in the first half of Herman Melville's Benito Cereno.Continue reading

The panel reads the last three staves, covering the Ghosts of Christmas Present and Future, and Scrooge's penitential reformation, with special attention to Scrooge's position within the community, and the motivation behind his miraculous change.Continue reading

The panel reads the first two 'staves' of Charles Dickens' classic Christmas story, covering the visitation of the first two ghosts—Marley and Christmas Past—and discussing both Scrooge's miserly spirit and how he is humanised, rather than villainised.Continue reading

Dr. Madeline Potter joins the panel as a special guest to conclude, discussing Dracula's role as a theological monster, the original ending with the destruction of Dracula's castle, Mina's role as heroine, and the novel's differing depictions of death.Continue reading

The panel reads chapters 19–23, with a special focus on both Mina Harker's personality and her treatment at the hands of the male characters, along with the death of Renfield, the Count's ability to manipulate the elements, and his escape from London.Continue reading

The panel reads chapters 15–18 and discusses Stoker's use of cliffhangers and foreshadowing both as a textual convention and as a narrative device, before attending to Seward's unification of the materialist and metaphysical theories that he encounters.Continue reading