Beste English Literature podcaster (2024)

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Cavaliers and Roundheads: The English Civil Wars 40:18

10h ago40:18

40:18

Send us a text Today we have a slightly different kind of show -- literary analysis takes a bit of a back seat to historical context. We'll look at the turbulent period between 1625 and 1660, when England went to war with itself over the roles of the monarchy and of Parliament. We'll look at primary historical documents as well as a little poetry t…

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Thanksgiving in Plain Style 20:47

26d ago20:47

20:47

Send us a text This Subcast episode marks the American Thanksgiving holiday by looking at two early accounts of the celebration by Pilgrims William Bradford and Edward Winslow and then turns to that great hymn of thanksgiving -- Psalm 107 -- from The Bay Psalm Book, the first book published in what would become the United States. We'll also look at…

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Carpe Diem!: The Cavalier Poets 32:59

1M ago32:59

32:59

Send us a text Today we look at the love children of John Donne and Ben Jonson, a group of monarchist soldiers during the English Civil War. Collectively known as the Cavalier Poets, they are numerous. We'll look at some representative poems today by Robert Herrick, Thomas Carew, Richard Lovelace, and the ill-fated and unfortunately named Sir John …

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"Death the Leveller" by James Shirley 10:27

2M ago10:27

10:27

Send us a text This year's Halloween Subcast episode looks at James Shirley's meditation on Death. I hope you love it! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and YouTube. If…

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Cant, Costume, and Cutpurses: Dekker and Middleton's The Roaring Girl 34:07

2M ago34:07

34:07

Send us a text Let's head into the Fortune Theatre for a performance of one of the most innovative and deceptively complex comedies of the English Renaissance. The Roaring Girl, or Moll Cutpurse explores the fluidity of social identity by the protagonist's use of clothing and language. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast o…

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"The test of experience": The Philosophy of Sir Francis Bacon 35:35

3M ago35:35

35:35

Send us a text We'll get a bit philosophical today and look at the English language's greatest influence on the scientific revolution: politician, philosopher, and scientist Sir Francis Bacon. His Essays and "The Four Idols" from Novum Organon are our focus. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Mu…

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Vikings Are A Thing! The Scandinavian Influence on English (Out of Time Episode 1) 18:43

3M ago18:43

18:43

Send us a text This is the first of what I'm calling the "Out of Time" episodes, an embedded series of Subcast shows that fill in gaps I may have missed along the way. Today, we fly our Out-of-Time-Machine all the way back to the 8th-century to see how the Danish invasions left an indelible mark upon English language and literature. Pack your battl…

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Will the Real Hamlet Please Stand Up 13:27

3M ago13:27

13:27

Send us a text Here's a short episode to answer a special request by a loyal listener! Let's dive a little deeper into the various versions of Shakespeare's Hamlet that have come down to us! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterat…

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An Unintended Episode: English Country House Poems 24:49

4M ago24:49

24:49

Send us a text I had not thought to do an episode on the English country house poetry of the 17th century, but was recently reminded of their place in the survey of early modern literature, so here's a look at that peculiar subgenre. In this show, we'll look at Aemilia Lanyer's "A Description of Cooke-ham" and Ben Jonson's "To Penshurst." Support t…

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John Webster's Sensational The Duchess of Malfi 39:33

4M ago39:33

39:33

Send us a text Let's head back to the theatre for a really blood-soaked tragedy! And while we're at it, let's think about the intersection between art and social criticism. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Foll…

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Flesh and Spirit: The Writing of John Donne 40:49

5M ago40:49

40:49

Send us a text Poet and priest John Donne's work seems to transcend its early 17th century moment and feels as fresh and alive to us as anything written today. In this episode, we look at the following texts: "The Bait" "Elegy 19: To His Mistress Going To Bed" "Batter my heart" "Death, be not proud" "The Flea" "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" "…

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"Drink to me only with thine eyes": Ben Jonson's Lyrics 27:28

5M ago27:28

27:28

Send us a text Today, we'll wrap up our Jonsonian mini-series by looking at some his lyrics, including poems from the 1616 Works and songs from his plays. If you'd like to read along, just ask Uncle Google to serve up these titles: "On Something, that Walks Somewhere" "On My First Daughter" "On My First Son" "Song: To Celia" "Still to be Neat" Addi…

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English Comes to America 41:12

6M ago41:12

41:12

Send us a text It's Independence Day here in America, so today's show takes the opportunity to look at some of writing of early English colonists in New England and how their ideas contributed to the national ethos that would emerge in the coming centuries. Additional music from Internet Archive: "Stars and Stripes Forever." John Philip Sousa. perf…

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"A Pretty Kind of Game": Ben Jonson's Volpone and The Alchemist 34:06

6M ago34:06

34:06

Send us a text We'll finish our look at Ben Jonson's comedies today with perhaps his most well-regarded efforts: Volpone, or The Fox and The Alchemist. Additional music: "In Town Tonight" by Eric Coates, perf. Reginald Dixon. From the Internet Archive. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, o…

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Humorous Humors: Ben Jonson's Early Comedies 30:45

7M ago30:45

30:45

Send us a text Today, I look askance at two plays by Ben Jonson, whom many see (not me, though) as the greatest English playwright bar Shakespeare: Every Man In His Humour and Every Man Out of His Humour. These have become the paradigmatic examples of the 17th century "comedy of humours." Thank you to the Internet Archive for providing public domai…

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The Bible in English 54:04

7M ago54:04

54:04

Send us a text Today, we take a historical survey of the Bible in English, from early partial translations and paraphrases in the 7th century through the magnificence of King James I's Authorized Version of 1611. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email:…

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More than the Dark Lady: Aemilia Lanyer's "Eve's Apology in Defense of Women" 33:02

8M ago33:02

33:02

Send us a text Today we look at Aemelia Lanyer's pioneering and influential work, "Eve's Apology in Defense of Women" from 1611's Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagra…

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Fair Youths and Dark Ladies: Shakespeare's Sonnets 47:19

8M ago47:19

47:19

Send us a text For our final episode focusing on Shakespeare, we look at his sonnets, arguably the most famous collection of lyric poems in the language. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram,…

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"You taught me language": Shakespeare's The Tempest 40:08

9M ago40:08

40:08

Send us a text For 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 Audi…

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The Felix Culpa: George Herbert's "Easter Wings" 10:58

9M ago10:58

10:58

Send us a text To 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.html Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast …

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Shakespeare: The Narrative Poems 45:32

10M ago45:32

45:32

Send us a text While 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…

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Shakespeare's The Tragedy of King Lear and the Absurdity of Suffering 43:18

10M ago43:18

43:18

Send us a text The 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 show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Ema…

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Shakespeare's Problematic Plays 47:14

11M ago47:14

47:14

Send us a text In 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 uncomfortable Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast o…

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Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth: A Love Story 1:02:10

11M ago1:02:10

1:02:10

Send us a text Is 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 Recor…

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Who is There?: Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet 1:00:46

12M ago1:00:46

1:00:46

Send us a text Shakespeare's Hamlet has not been out of production for over four centuries and its profound examination of the human condition continues to capture the hearts and minds of people the world over. Join me in Elsinore as we think about what some have called the greatest drama in history -- perhaps even the greatest literary achievement…

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The First Anglican Christmas Carol 15:08

12M ago15:08

15:08

Send us a text Happy 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 …

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Honor, Ethics, and Assassination: Shakespeare's Julius Caesar 40:13

1y ago40:13

40:13

Send us a text Is 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 show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. T…

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Happy 400th! Shakespeare's First Folio 23:31

1y ago23:31

23:31

Send us a text Welcome 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 show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. T…

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"I am a woman; when I think I must speak": Shakespeare's Rosalind and Beatrice 40:14

1y ago40:14

40:14

Send us a text In this episode, we'll look at two women who are generally regarded as among the greatest female characters ever written: Rosalind from Shakespeare's As You Like It and Beatrice from his Much Ado About Nothing. Their wisdom, intelligence, and emotional depth challenge Renaissance gender assumptions and inaugurate a line of deep-feeli…

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Happy Thanksgiving! George Herbert's "Gratefulness" 7:11

1y ago7:11

7:11

Send us a text 17th-century poet and priest George Herbert offers a playful poem reminding us to strive for gratefulness. I am, myself, very grateful for all the support you all have offered me. Thank you so much! Additional sound: "Mahna Mahna" from The Muppet Show (1977). Downloaded from Internet Archive. Support the show Please like, subscribe, …

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Shakespeare's Henriad 36:36

1y ago36:36

36:36

Send us a text In today's discussion, we take a look at the character of Henry, Prince of Wales, who will become King Henry V in the group of plays including Henry IV, parts 1 and 2, and Henry V, sometimes called "The Henriad." Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Th…

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Happy Halloween from Herrick's "The Hag"! 10:35

1y ago10:35

10:35

Send us a text Trick or treat! Here's a bone-us episode on Robert Herrick's "The Hag," about a witch's night ride with the Devil! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and …

1
Despair and Damnation: Marlowe's The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus 37:25

1y ago37:25

37:25

Send us a text Here's a good one for the Halloweeny season: Christopher Marlowe's most famous play. A scholar sells his soul to the Devil for ultimate knowledge and power! Correction: In this episode, I misidentify the author of "The Devil and Tom Walker" as Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is, of course, Washington Irving. Extra musical selection from "Fau…

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Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: A Tragedy of Sonnet-Lovers 31:32

1y ago31:32

31:32

Send us a text Does Romeo and Juliet even need an introduction? Well, this time on the poddie, we'll look at the play's tragic lovers through the lens of the Renaissance sonnet, how that poem style's postures shapes the action, making character fate. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or …

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Concord of this Discord: Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream 34:50

1y ago34:50

34:50

Send us a text Shssshh! Drift off into Shakespeare's most rhymy and least rational play! Today, it's The Dream! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and YouTube. If you en…

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History, History Plays, and Historiography: Shakespeare's Richard III 38:50

1+ y ago38:50

38:50

Send us a text We're here! Finally, our first Shakespeare play episode. Today, we'll look at The Tragical History of King Richard III. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok,…

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Spillin' the Tea on Marlowe and Kyd 14:48

1+ y ago14:48

14:48

Send us a text You may be surprised at how the rivalry between these early Elizabethan theatrical superstars played out! Betrayal, torture, assassination; this is tabloid-worthy stuff! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gm…

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"Violence Prevails": Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy 37:07

1+ y ago37:07

37:07

Send us a text Oooh, you're in for a bloody one today, dear listener! Perhaps the most popular revenge tragedy in the 16th-century: Kyd's Spanish Tragedy. Wildly infamous, wildly influential, wildly excessive -- just wild! It inaugurates the fashion for revenge tragedy that will dominate theater for the next decades, and paves the way for Shakespea…

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The Sum of Glory: Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great Parts 1 and 2 31:50

1+ y ago31:50

31:50

Send us a text Perhaps the first great play of the Elizabethan stage, Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great is relentless and ruthless. How are we to understand a bloody conqueror and tyrant? What does Marlowe mean by this spectacle of his success? We'll look at those questions today! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple…

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An Overview of Renaissance Theatre 18:26

1+ y ago18:26

18:26

Send us a text A bonus episode on the Subcast looks at the early modern English theatre, the culture and atmosphere of Elizabethan playgoing, as a prologue to our multi-episode discussion of the great English dramatists of the age, and for all time! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or w…

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A Still Queer Voice: Richard Barnfield's "The Affectionate Shepherd" 26:48

1+ y ago26:48

26:48

Send us a text This week on the poddie, we discuss a lesser known -- but by no means a lesser quality -- Elizabethan pastoral by Richard Barnfield called "The Affectionate Shepherd." In sophisticated, learned verse, Barnfield highlights the homoerotic elements (not always so) latent in classical and early modern bucolics, which I think a heroic fea…

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Live with Me, Be My Love: Pastoral Eclogues 27:09

1+ y ago27:09

27:09

Send us a text If you listen to much modern American country music, you notice that many of the songs conjure up an idealized vision of small-town rural America, distinct from (and presumably superior to) life in urban areas. The fact that many of these songs are written in large cities like Nashville points to a kind of constructed nostalgia. This…

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Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene: The Legend of the Redcrosse Knight 32:19

1+ y ago32:19

32:19

Send us a text Today we'll look at the most famous tale from Spenser's epic The Faerie Queene: Book I "The Legend of the Redcrosse Knight." We'll discuss its allegorical and neoplatonic dimensions while doing a quick drive-by of a passage from Mutabilitie Cantos. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTu…

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American Independence: Tudor Roots 11:42

1+ y ago11:42

11:42

Send us a text As Americans mark Independence Day, I wanted to out that the shift in Western thinking that eventually produced a document like the Declaration of Independence began with a doctrine of the 16th century Protestant Reformation and its influence on Tudor political thought. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on…

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The Perfect Pattern of a Poet: Edmund Spenser's Lyrics 34:53

1+ y ago34:53

34:53

Send us a text Some say he is the first real poet of the English Renaissance. Whatever that may mean, Edmund Spenser certainly looms large in 16th century English literature. In this first of two episodes, we will look at his paradoxically traditional and innovative lyric poetry, especially The Shepheardes Calendar, Amoretti, and "Epithalamion." Su…

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The Queen's Two Bodies: Elizabeth I's Poetry 16:09

1+ y ago16:09

16:09

Send us a text While the political history of Queen Elizabeth I (r. 1558-1603) has been well-rehearsed, fewer listeners may be aware that she was also a devilishly accomplished poet and rhetorician. In this episode of the Subcast, we look at her most important poems -- "When I was fair and young," "On Monsieur's Departure," and "The Doubt of Future…

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Defending Poetry: Sir Philip Sidney 31:06

1+ y ago31:06

31:06

Send us a text Though he spent only a brief period as a courtier of Elizabeth I, Sir Philip certainly cut a dashing figure. He also dashed off one of the most influential works of literary theory in English. And he was quite the dab hand at versifying. Today, we look at Sidney's Defence of Poesie, "Ye Goatherd Gods" from Arcadia, and sonnets from A…

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Nowhereland: Sir Thomas More's Utopia 27:54

1+ y ago27:54

27:54

Send us a text Sir Thomas More's 1516 book inaugurated a new genre of English literature: the utopian fantasy. But More's own life, combined with the text's irony and narrative layering, make this a more complex prescription than you might think! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wher…

1
On Henry Howard, the Earl of Surrey 15:01

1+ y ago15:01

15:01

Send us a text Today we do a quick look at some of the poetry of Henry Howard, the Earl of Surrey, who is credited with the development of the English sonnet and of blank verse. We'll look at "The Night Piece," "Love that Doth Reign," and “Alas, so all things now do hold their peace." Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on…

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Venus, Venison, and Venom: The Poetry of Sir Thomas Wyatt 27:02

1+ y ago27:02

27:02

Send us a text Firmly in the Tudor Renaissance now, literati! Today, we'll look at Sir Thomas Wyatt, the first major poet of Henry VIII's court. He brought back the iambic pentameter line and developed the English sonnet. We'll look particularly at "They Flee from Me" and "Whoso List to Hunt." Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the p…

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