The Classic English Literature Podcast
M. G. McDonough
Where rhyme gets its reason! In a historical survey of English literature, I take a personal and philosophical approach to the major texts of the tradition in order to not only situate the poems, prose, and plays in their own contexts, but also to show their relevance to our own. This show is for the general listener: as a teacher of high school literature and philosophy, I am less than a scholar but more than a buff. I hope to edify and entertain!
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 7, 2024 • 40min
"You taught me language": Shakespeare's The Tempest
Send us a textFor our (probably) final episode on Shakespeare's plays, we sail through The Tempest, a late romance which has attracted historical and psychoanalytical interpretations, but stands out for many readers as perhaps a play in which a version of Shakespeare himself appears as the protagonist. Audio clip from The Tempest ; 2004 Naxos AudioBooks. Taken from The Internet ArchiveSupport the showPlease like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you!Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.comFollow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber OrchestraSubcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish GuardsSound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.orgMy thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
Mar 31, 2024 • 11min
The Felix Culpa: George Herbert's "Easter Wings"
Send us a textTo mark the Easter holiday, we return to George Herbert, Jacobean poet and priest, and his most famous work, the pattern poem "Easter Wings."Here's a link to an image of the poem: https://clinicalpsychreading.blogspot.com/2016/03/easter-wings-george-herbert-15931633.htmlSupport the showPlease like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you!Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.comFollow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber OrchestraSubcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish GuardsSound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.orgMy thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
Mar 10, 2024 • 46min
Shakespeare: The Narrative Poems
Send us a textWhile most people know Shakespeare as a playwright, he saw himself as a poet in the quite traditional sense. Today, we'll look at his two major narrative poems: Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece.clip from "Mrs. Robinson" by Paul Simon; perf. by Simon and Garfunkel. 1968. Taken from We Got Good at It: A Wrecking Crew Anthology 1962-1971. The Internet Archive.Support the showPlease like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you!Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.comFollow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber OrchestraSubcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish GuardsSound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.orgMy thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
Feb 18, 2024 • 43min
Shakespeare's The Tragedy of King Lear and the Absurdity of Suffering
Send us a textThe Tragedy of King Lear, while considered by many as Shakespeare's greatest play, is also his most devastating. In this episode, we consider what Lear has to say about the meaning of human suffering.Support the showPlease like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you!Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.comFollow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber OrchestraSubcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish GuardsSound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.orgMy thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
Jan 28, 2024 • 47min
Shakespeare's Problematic Plays
Send us a textIn this episode, we look at how our current concerns with identity politics intersects with those of Shakespeare's plays which portray sexist, racist, or anti-Semitic material. Fair warning: this episode will deal with language and tropes that some may find uncomfortableSupport the showPlease like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you!Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.comFollow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber OrchestraSubcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish GuardsSound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.orgMy thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
Jan 15, 2024 • 1h 2min
Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth: A Love Story
Send us a textIs Shakespeare's darkest tragedy a cautionary tale about ambition? a bit of Jacobean mythmaking? Or is it the portrait of a deeply committed marriage gone catastrophically wrong?With apologies for all the appalling accents . . . .Performance Clip: Macbeth with Orson Welles, Fay Bainter, and the Mercury Acting Co. Mercury Text Records. From the Internet Archive (archive.org)Additional Music: "The Rout of Moy" perf. Albannach. 2006. From the Internet Archive (archive.org)Support the showPlease like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you!Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.comFollow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber OrchestraSubcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish GuardsSound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.orgMy thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
Dec 29, 2023 • 1h 1min
Who is There?: Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet
Margaret Atwood, a renowned author, joins the podcast to discuss Shakespeare's "Hamlet". Topics include the play's thematic obsessions, power struggles and revenge plots, exploration of themes and motifs, analysis of the complex characters, and the role of King Claudius. The podcast also explores Horatio's fulfillment of Hamlet's request and Shakespeare's enduring influence.
Dec 24, 2023 • 15min
The First Anglican Christmas Carol
Send us a textHappy Christmas and a Merry New Year! Here's a little subcast episode on poet Nahum Tate's "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks," the first Christmas carol sanctioned by the Anglican Church around the turn of the 18th century.Recording: "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night" THE B.B.C. CHORUS; Berkeley Mason Writer: Nahum Tate (Traditional Christmas Carol); (Text: (1696); Tune: "Winchester Old" 16th Cent.)Support the showPlease like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you!Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.comFollow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber OrchestraSubcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish GuardsSound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.orgMy thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
Dec 10, 2023 • 40min
Honor, Ethics, and Assassination: Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
Send us a textIs political violence ever justified? Who decides? And what ethical systems can evaluate the justice of such acts? Today, we look at the ethics driving the characters of Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar.Support the showPlease like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you!Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.comFollow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber OrchestraSubcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish GuardsSound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.orgMy thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
Nov 30, 2023 • 24min
Happy 400th! Shakespeare's First Folio
Send us a textWelcome to the Subcast! On today's bonus episode, I give a little poddie-training on perhaps the most significant publishing event in English literature: the presentation of the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays.Support the showPlease like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you!Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.comFollow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber OrchestraSubcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish GuardsSound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.orgMy thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
