Critical Readings

The panel discusses the episode of Sir Gareth of Orkney, with attention given both to the anti-egalitarian worldview and historical reality of the period, and to the role of violence and prouesse in the Arthurian Court—and the moral clarity it provides. Continue reading

The panel reads the tale of Sir Launcelot du Lake, with attention given to the features of mediaeval romance, Malory's use of humour and his knowledge of the details of knightly combat, and the different, sometimes competing ends of Arthurian governance. Continue reading

The panel reads the Roman War sequence with particular attention to Malory's use of historical progression, metaphor, and physical violence, especially in regard to his understanding of military knighthood and the use of wise counsel in governance. Continue reading

The panel catches up on the tale of "Balyn and Balan," before discussing "The Wedding of King Arthur" and "The Book of Adventures", with comments on the vexed nature of Malorian chivalry, and Malory's use of both foreshadowing and narrative parallelism. Continue reading

The panel discusses the biography of Sir Thomas Malory, the textual history of Le Morte Darthur, the lineage of King Arthur, and the initial formation of the textual world of Arthurian England, including Merlin, Uther, Igraine, Morgause, and Mordred. Continue reading

The panel closes discussion of Dryden's All for Love with an examination of the death of Marc Antony and Cleopatra, how the scene differs from that of Shakespeare, and what role is ultimately played by Octavius, even despite his absence from the stage. Continue reading

The panel discusses the penultimate act of Dryden's All for Love, with special attention to the depictions (or rather, lack thereof) of Octavius, the villainous portrayal of Alexas, and the play's lack of a clearly-defined figure of heroic virtue. Continue reading

The panel discusses the third act of Dryden's most successful play, All for Love, with particular attention to Marc Antony's lack of constancy, and Dryden's artistic reimagining of historical events in order to place Octavia in Cleopatra's palace. Continue reading

The panel reads the second act of John Dryden's All for Love, with special attention to the rhetorical manoeuvres of Cleopatra, and the psychological state of both Antony and Cleopatra, as their outsized emotional investments doom them both. Continue reading

The panel reads the first act of John Dryden's take on the story of Antony and Cleopatra, All for Love, with a focus on Marc Antony's mental state, the military situation with which he is confronted, and whether he is at fault for his circumstances. Continue reading

The panel concludes with the final act of Antony and Cleopatra, highlighting Octavius' intentions towards his defeated political foe, Cleopatra's attempt to escape the wheel of fate, and the Roman development of Boethius' response to Stoicism. Continue reading

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