Critical Readings

CR Episode 143: Poetry In Memoriam Elizabeth II

19 September 2022 Critical Readings

The panel reads poetry celebrating the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II, including Philip Larkin and Ted Hughes for the Silver Jubilee, Hughes for the 40th anniversary, Simon Armitage for the Platinum Jubilee, and his newly-written Floral Tribute.

CR Episode 142: The Poetry of James Weldon Johnson

12 September 2022 Critical Readings

The panel reads three stirring poems by the American diplomat, activist, author, poet, and professor James Weldon Johnson, examining the theological symbolism and social commentary in “The Creation”, “Listen, Lord”, and “Lift Every Voice and Sing”.

CR Episode 141: Wordsworth’s Prelude, Book I

29 August 2022 Critical Readings

The panel reads the first book of William Wordsworth’s “The Prelude”, discussing the intention of the overall work, with special attention to the presentation of childhood freedom, the intellectual work of writing poetry, and existential dread.

Allegory of March, by Francesco del Cossa FEATURED

CR Episode 140: Ezra Pound’s Canto LXXIV

22 August 2022 Critical Readings

The panel attempts to read Canto LXXIV from The Cantos of Ezra Pound, but finds even this one poem too dense to complete in a single episode, with its use of a vast array of literary and personal references fused into a challenging composite work.

So Like a Shatter'd Column Lay the King, by Julia Margaret Cameron FEATURED

CR Episode 139: Idylls of the King, Part XII

15 August 2022 Critical Readings

The panel concludes the series on Idylls of the King with a full reading of “The Passing of Arthur” and the epilogue “To the Queen”, considering Gawain’s warning, the last battle, Bedivere’s treachery, and Arthur’s departure with the three queens.

The Little Novice with Queen Guinevere, by Julia Margaret Cameron FEATURED

CR Episode 138: Idylls of the King, Part XI

8 August 2022 Critical Readings

The panel reads the penultimate idyll, “Guinevere”, last of the original 1859 collection, and focuses on the redemptive arc of the queen, passing from recognition of her sin and fear of shame into pursuit of the pure and the good for its own sake.

The Parting of Lancelot and Guinevere, by Julia Margaret Cameron FEATURED

CR Episode 137: Idylls of the King, Part X

1 August 2022 Critical Readings

The panel reads the second part of the story of Sir Pelleas, “The Last Tournament”, with its contrast between white innocence and red blood, its manifold inversions of the Arthurian court, and its connexion to the real-life Eglinton Tournament of 1839.

Guinevere, by Julia Margaret Cameron FEATURED

CR Episode 136: Idylls of the King, Part IX

25 July 2022 Critical Readings

The panel reads “Pelleas and Ettare” and questions whether Arthur overprotects Sir Pelleas, considering the implications for the court, whilst also examining Tennyson’s psychologising of Ettare, and the potential dangers of a too-idealistic worldview.

Galahad and the Nun, by Julia Margaret Cameron FEATURED

CR Episode 135: Idylls of the King, Part VIII

18 July 2022 Critical Readings

The panel discusses the dispersal of the Round Table in “The Holy Grail”, the conflict between the Common Good of the realm and the individual knights’ quests for the Absolute Good, and the experiences of Gawain, Bors, Lancelot, Perceval, and Galahad.

Elaine, by Julia Margaret Cameron FEATURED

CR Episode 134: Idylls of the King, Part VII

11 July 2022 Critical Readings

Moving into the second half of the Idylls, the panel reads “Lancelot and Elaine”, one of the most beloved poems in the cycle, contrasting Guinevere with Elaine and Lancelot with Gawain, and reading Arthur as a messianic, interpretive mirror of the court.

Vivien and Merlin, by Julia Margaret Cameron FEATURED

CR Episode 133: Idylls of the King, Part VI

4 July 2022 Critical Readings

The panel reads the poem that serves as the hinge in the cycle of the Idylls, “Merlin and Vivien”, looking at how Vivien uses manipulation, dissemblance, and falsehood to achieve her ends, and considering the natural ends of the law and the state.

Alfred Tennyson with Book, by Julia Margaret Cameron FEATURED

CR Episode 132: Idylls of the King, Part V

27 June 2022 Critical Readings

The panel reads the last-composed of the Idylls, “Balin and Balan”, with attention to the tale’s depiction of the conflict between the Old Order and the New Order, the origin and proliferation of rumour and scandal, and the use of shadow as metaphor.

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Critical Readings

CR Episode 167: The Poetry of Wilfred Owen

CR Episode 166: H. P. Lovecraft’s Polaris

CR Episode 165: Pope’s Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot

CR Episode 164: Tennyson’s Locksley Hall

CR Episode 163: Love and Death with Edna St. Vincent Millay

CR Episode 162: Thomas Babington Macaulay’s Horatius