Podcasts – Critical Readings

CR Episode 95: Frank O’Hara and Modernism

20 September 2021 S. P. Cooper

The panel reads three poems by mid-twentieth century American poet, Frank O'Hara, and examines his connexions to other forms of artistic modernism and post-modernism, including not only prose poetry, but abstract expressionism, cubism, and Dadaism.

CR Episode 94: The Macabre Verse of Edward Gorey

13 September 2021 S. P. Cooper

The panel follows the work of Poe and Lear to the macabre and surreal art of Edward Gorey, looking at four of his early, and most famous, works including The Gashlycrumb Tinies (an abecedarium), The Evil Garden, The Insect God, and The Doubtful Guest.

The Owl and the Pussycat, by Edward Lear

CR Episode 93: Edward Lear’s Complete Nonsense

30 August 2021 S. P. Cooper

How pleasant to know Mr. Lear! Who has written such volumes of stuff! Some think him ill-tempered and queer, But a few think him pleasant enough.

CR Episode 92: The Gothic Romanticism of Edgar Allan Poe

23 August 2021 S. P. Cooper

The panel reads a selection of Poe's most significant verse, including "The Raven" and "Annabel Lee", and considers not only how Poe's use of Gothic and Romantic themes shapes the content and form of his poems, but also surprising mediæval connexions.

CR Episode 91: Complexity in Geoffrey Hill

16 August 2021 S. P. Cooper

The panel reads a small selection of poems by Geoffrey Hill, with a focus on his use of paradoxical language, complex metaphors, and highly imagistic description--and, contrasts Hill's work with that of the mid-20th century poet, Philip Larkin.

Cherubim, Ladder of Virtues, and Tree of Penitence Manuscript

CR Episode 90: Canterbury Tales XII – The Parson’s Tale and Chaucer’s Retraction

9 August 2021 S. P. Cooper

The panel concludes its summer reading of The Canterbury Tales with a look at penitence, sin, and freedom in The Parson's Tale, and then considers whether Chaucer's Retraction (Boece excluded!) is an appropriate end to the Tales and to Chaucer's oeuvre.

The Trial of Saint Cecilia by Domenichino

CR Episode 89: Canterbury Tales XI – The Second Nun’s, Canon’s Yeoman’s, and Manciple’s Tales

2 August 2021 Caspius

In the penultimate episode covering the Canterbury Tales, the panel discusses the potential links between Fragments VIII and IX, the morals of the tales included in them, particularly Cecilia's active piety and the Manciple's reserved discretion.

The Cock (Chanticleer) and the Fox, by Milo Winter

CR Episode 88: Canterbury Tales X – The Monk’s and the Nun’s Priest’s Tales

26 July 2021 S. P. Cooper

The panel discusses the final two tales in Fragment VII: the tragic vignettes of unfortunate individuals described in The Monk's Tale, and the jolly (and much beloved) fable of the rooster Chanticleer and the wily Fox in the Nun's Priest's Tale.

CR Episode 87: Canterbury Tales IX – The Shipman’s, Prioress’, and Chaucer’s Tales

19 July 2021 S. P. Cooper

The panel considers vice in the Shipman's tale and piety in the Prioress' tale, before moving on to examine Chaucer's humble self-depiction in his rollicking minstrel song, The Tale of Sir Thopas, and in his dialogue on Prudence, The Tale of Melibee.

Chaucer's Canterbury Pilgrims, by William Blake

CR Episode 86: Canterbury Tales VIII – The Physician’s and Pardoner’s Tales

12 July 2021 S. P. Cooper

The panel looks at the honor-before-death connexion between Fragment V and Fragment VI as exemplified by Virginia in the Physician's Tale, and then considers the multiple levels of moral instruction on offer in the boldly hypocritical Pardoner's Tale.

Dorigen and Aurelius by Mary Eliza Haweis

CR Episode 85: Canterbury Tales VII – The Squire’s and Franklin’s Tales

5 July 2021 S. P. Cooper

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.

Griselda's Marriage to Walter by Mary Eliza Haweis

CR Episode 84: Canterbury Tales VI – The Clerk’s and Merchant’s Tales

28 June 2021 S. P. Cooper

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.

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