Julian Girdham

It's the perfect time of the year to re-read the masterpiece ode by John Keats, 'To Autumn'.

The final episode: the cataclysmic events which define this play and mark it as Shakespeare's darkest tragedy.

The penultimate episode, number 11, looks at Act 4 scene 7, and Act 5 scenes 1 and 2, a relatively quiet section between the tumultuous Act 4 scene 6 and the climax of the play.

In episode 10 I whizz through three quick scenes first - Act 4, scenes 3, 4 and 5, and then pay proper attention to the immense and complex scene 6.

Here, I look at Act 4 scene 1 in the aftermath of Gloucester's blinding, and in addressing Act 4 scene 2 give an overview of Albany's character through the play.

The notorious brutalising of Gloucester in Act 3 scene 7 opens up a consideration of images of blindness and seeing throughout the play - a key idea.

Episode 7 of King Lear scene by scene looks at Act 3 scene 4 (the second one in the storm) and scene 6 (the mock trial). Scene 5 is skipped - little to say.

We move into Act 3 with the first three scenes, and in scene 2 into the storm which dominates the central part of the play.

In this episode, I look at the very significant but very short Act 2 scene 3, followed by the much more meaty Act 2 scene 4. They are both connected by the idea ‘nothing’.

This time, three short scenes which mark Lear’s growing isolation, and a sense that darker forces are gathering strength: Act 1 scene 5, Act 2 scene 1 and Act 2 scene 2.

Act 1 scene 3 (briefly) and scene 4 are the focus this time: themes of loyalty and service, and of course of blindness, which is everywhere. Also, dog-owners look away.

In the second scene of the play, we are introduced to the unique feature of this tragedy by Shakespeare, the sub-plot, opening with the fascinating villain Edmund.

The first in a series on individual scenes in the play King Lear , for teachers and pupils. This looks at Act 1 scene 1, the explosive opening scene which sets off the subsequent catastrophe.

An interview with John Fanagan, who has been discovering the works of the American novelist Richard Yates (1926-92). Somewhat neglected since his death, this has changed thanks to the success of the recent film of his novel  Revolutionary Road .  John discusses Yates's 'disaster area' of a private life, and several novels and short stories.

An interview with Professor Terry Dolan about the life, times and works of the great Middle English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, especially his masterpiece,  The Canterbury Tales . Professor Dolan talks about the nature of English society at the time, and discusses pilgrims such as the Knight, the Prioress and the Wife of Bath.

The first revision podcast on the play  Macbeth  opens with an analysis of the crucial soliloquy beginning Act I scene vii, 'If it were done...' These revision podcasts are designed to freshen up thinking in the weeks leading up to the Leaving Certificate. [Made in May 2009].

The second revision podcast on  Macbeth  examines the role of Lady Macbeth, who is too often reduced to a simplistic black and white character, but who should be considered as a real woman, complex and sometimes fragile. This talk looks at the nine scenes in which she appears. [Made in April 2009].

The third  Macbeth  revision podcast prior to the Leaving Certificate is 'King Macbeth: law and order in Scotland', and looks at the nature of monarchy in the world of Shakespeare's text, examining the idea of the natural order, and looking at Duncan's rule at the start of the play. Some historical background is also discussed. [Made May 2009].

The fourth  Macbeth  revision podcast in a series leading up to the Leaving Certificate looks primarily at the latter part of the play. It leads on from last week's session, which examined the nature of order and law in the early part of the play. This considers particularly Malcolm and Macduff in the long scene set in England, the English King Edward, and our feelings as an audience as we wat...

The 5th Macbeth revision podcast, leading up to the Leaving Certificate, examines the influence of the 'weird sisters' and the supernatural on the events of the play, particularly on Macbeth's own thoughts and actions. It concentrates on the witches' influence in the early part of the play. [Made May 2009].

Here are ten quotations from Macbeth: pause after each, and think about who spoke the words, and the context, and then listen to the answers and a commentary on the quotation. These commentaries examine the quotations as key moments in the play, linking them to the rest of the text, and again trying to prompt fresh reflection on the themes and characters. [Made May 2009].

The last of seven Macbeth revision sessions deals with Macbeth as he faces his end in Act V, and analyses the crucial speech in Act V scene v, 'Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrrow...' It looks at why we consider his story tragic, given the horrendous deeds he has committed. [Made May 2009].

In 2020, the annual Voices of Poetry evening moved online. Normally, we would be round a single spotlight in the Big Schoolroom listening to words in different languages from all over the world. This time, words were sent from all over the world inwards, to be gathered virtually in this recording.

Our 30th podcast is one of an occasional series on poems on the Irish Leaving Certificate English course. This examines Seamus Heaney's poem 'Sunlight', one of the dedicatory poems called 'Mossbawn', which open his 1975 collection North. 'Sunlight' is a poem of great warmth, recreating a scene from his childhood on the family farm, suffused with the love of and for his aunt Mary. However, it also...

Our 29th podcast is the fourth in a series looking at the play Hamlet leading up to the Leaving Certificate next month, and is a close examination of Hamlet's first soliloquy, 'O that this too too solid flesh...', putting the speech in its context and looking at how it expresses the character's deepest feelings about his mother.