Critical Readings

The panel reads the fourth act of Antony and Cleopatra with particular attention to the character of Marc Antony and his worldview of personal honour and prowess, in conflict with the political schemes and grand designs of both Octavius and Cleopatra. Continue reading

The panel discusses the third act, with a focus on the deterioration of the Roman political situation, Marc Antony's skills as a battlefield leader and a political figure, and the sophisticated psychological understanding of both Octavius and Cleopatra. Continue reading

The panel discusses the second act of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, with a focus on the Roman political situation, the difference between republican and dictatorial rule, and Cleopatra's intoxicating effect upon those caught in her orbit. Continue reading

The panel reads the first act of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, providing an historical overview of the events, and reading the text with attention given to the psychological motivations of the drama and their historical context within Roman culture. Continue reading

The panel reads three poems by Lady Mary Wroth, from The Countess of Montgomery's Urania and Pamphilia to Amphilanthus, discussing their context, social impact, and the paradox of their genre conventionality but also Elizabethan authorial radicalism. Continue reading

The panel reads three poems by N. Scott Momaday, including "The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee", "The Monoliths", and "Rings of Bone" with special attention to the usage of active and passive symbolism, and the function of time, stasis, and circularity. Continue reading

The panel discusses Melville's short story, "Bartleby, the Scrivener", and examines the symbolism of its characters, the meaning of Bartleby's passive resistance, and the various interpretations of the work in light of history and literary theory. Continue reading

The panel reads three, middle-length poems by the XXth century imagist poet, Amy Lowell, with special attention to their use of garden-like symbolism, liminal spaces (physical and temporal), and the moon as a metaphorical representation of transience. Continue reading

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

The panel discusses chapters 12-14, comprising a series of false endings both literal and metaphorical, with attention given to how Stoker's overall plot structure is replicated within individual episodes, and to the combination of faith and science. Continue reading

The panel welcomes guest expert Dr. Madeline Potter to discuss chapters 5–11, comprising the letters and journals of Mina Murray, Lucy Westenra, and Dr. Seward, and their observations tragic and fantastical, from giant bats to bug-eating maniacs. Continue reading

The panel discusses the first four chapters of Bram Stoker's Dracula, with attention given to the history of the author and the text, the epistolary and gothic form of the novel in its Romantic context, and the narrative development of tension. Continue reading

The panel reads five poems from Hebrew Melodies, a cycle of poems by Lord Byron originally set to music by Isaac Nathan, including one of Byron's most-anthologised works, "She Walks in Beauty," and a companion piece to "The Destruction of Sennacherib". Continue reading

The panel discusses the two scenes of the final act of Hamlet, with attention to the text's focus on death, the mirroring of Hamlet with Fortinbras and Laertes, Horatio's constant companionship, Ophelia's burial, and the ultimate defeat of Claudius. Continue reading

The panel discusses seven scenes, with attention to Ophelia's innocence and madness, Laertes' hot-blooded response to the death of his father, Claudius' failure to demonstrate the wisdom and prudence of a good king, and Hamlet's apparent inscrutability. Continue reading

The panel reads Act III of Hamlet with attention to Hamlet's feigned (or semi-feigned) madness, his suicidal or existentially fatalistic attitude, and the instability and even fatal measure of his interactions with Ophelia, Polonius, and Queen Gertrude. Continue reading