Podcast The Classic English Literature Podcast by M. G. McDonough Episodes

Explore every episode of the podcast The Classic English Literature Podcast

Dive into the complete episode list for The Classic English Literature Podcast. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.

	Title	Pub. Date	Duration
	An Unintended Episode: English Country House Poems	02 Sep 2024	00:24:49
Send us a text I had not thought to do an episode on the English country house poetry of the 17th century, but was recently reminded of their place in the survey of early modern literature, so here's a look at that peculiar subgenre. In this show, we'll look at Aemilia Lanyer's "A Description of Cooke-ham" and Ben Jonson's "To Penshurst." Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	John Webster's Sensational The Duchess of Malfi	20 Aug 2024	00:39:33
Send us a text Let's head back to the theatre for a really blood-soaked tragedy! And while we're at it, let's think about the intersection between art and social criticism. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	"You taught me language": Shakespeare's The Tempest	07 Apr 2024	00:40:08
Send us a text For our (probably) final episode on Shakespeare's plays, we sail through The Tempest, a late romance which has attracted historical and psychoanalytical interpretations, but stands out for many readers as perhaps a play in which a version of Shakespeare himself appears as the protagonist. Audio clip from The Tempest ; 2004 Naxos AudioBooks. Taken from The Internet Archive Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	The Felix Culpa: George Herbert's "Easter Wings"	31 Mar 2024	00:10:58
Send us a text To mark the Easter holiday, we return to George Herbert, Jacobean poet and priest, and his most famous work, the pattern poem "Easter Wings." Here's a link to an image of the poem: https://clinicalpsychreading.blogspot.com/2016/03/easter-wings-george-herbert-15931633.html Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Shakespeare: The Narrative Poems	10 Mar 2024	00:45:32
Send us a text While most people know Shakespeare as a playwright, he saw himself as a poet in the quite traditional sense. Today, we'll look at his two major narrative poems: Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. clip from "Mrs. Robinson" by Paul Simon; perf. by Simon and Garfunkel. 1968. Taken from We Got Good at It: A Wrecking Crew Anthology 1962-1971. The Internet Archive. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Shakespeare's The Tragedy of King Lear and the Absurdity of Suffering	18 Feb 2024	00:43:18
Send us a text The Tragedy of King Lear, while considered by many as Shakespeare's greatest play, is also his most devastating. In this episode, we consider what Lear has to say about the meaning of human suffering. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Shakespeare's Problematic Plays	28 Jan 2024	00:47:14
Send us a text In this episode, we look at how our current concerns with identity politics intersects with those of Shakespeare's plays which portray sexist, racist, or anti-Semitic material. Fair warning: this episode will deal with language and tropes that some may find uncomfortable Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth: A Love Story	15 Jan 2024	01:02:10
Send us a text Is Shakespeare's darkest tragedy a cautionary tale about ambition? a bit of Jacobean mythmaking? Or is it the portrait of a deeply committed marriage gone catastrophically wrong? With apologies for all the appalling accents . . . . Performance Clip: Macbeth with Orson Welles, Fay Bainter, and the Mercury Acting Co. Mercury Text Records. From the Internet Archive (archive.org) Additional Music: "The Rout of Moy" perf. Albannach. 2006. From the Internet Archive (archive.org) Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Who is There?: Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Hamlet	29 Dec 2023	01:00:46
Send us a text Shakespeare's Hamlet has not been out of production for over four centuries and its profound examination of the human condition continues to capture the hearts and minds of people the world over. Join me in Elsinore as we think about what some have called the greatest drama in history -- perhaps even the greatest literary achievement of all time! Margaret Atwood's "Gertrude Talks Back" can be found here: https://lucylit.weebly.com/uploads/6/1/5/6/61560063/margaret_atwoods_gertrude_talks_back.pdf Hamlet recording: Hamlet with Richard Burton and the Broadway Cast; Columbia Masterworks DOS 702 (1964). Taken from the Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/lp_hamlet-richard-burton-and-the-broadway-c_richard-burton-hume-cronyn-alfred-drake-ei Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	The First Anglican Christmas Carol	24 Dec 2023	00:15:08
Send us a text Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year! Here's a little subcast episode on poet Nahum Tate's "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks," the first Christmas carol sanctioned by the Anglican Church around the turn of the 18th century. Recording: "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night" THE B.B.C. CHORUS; Berkeley Mason Writer: Nahum Tate (Traditional Christmas Carol); (Text: (1696); Tune: "Winchester Old" 16th Cent.) Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Honor, Ethics, and Assassination: Shakespeare's Julius Caesar	10 Dec 2023	00:40:13
Send us a text Is political violence ever justified? Who decides? And what ethical systems can evaluate the justice of such acts? Today, we look at the ethics driving the characters of Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Happy 400th! Shakespeare's First Folio	30 Nov 2023	00:23:31
Send us a text Welcome to the Subcast! On today's bonus episode, I give a little poddie-training on perhaps the most significant publishing event in English literature: the presentation of the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Flesh and Spirit: The Writing of John Donne	05 Aug 2024	00:40:49
Send us a text Poet and priest John Donne's work seems to transcend its early 17th century moment and feels as fresh and alive to us as anything written today. In this episode, we look at the following texts: "The Bait" "Elegy 19: To His Mistress Going To Bed" "Batter my heart" "Death, be not proud" "The Flea" "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" "Meditation 17" from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions Additional music: "You Can Leave Your Hat On" by Randy Newman. Sail Away. Reprise Records. 1972. Accessed as public domain through the Internet Archive. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	"I am a woman; when I think I must speak": Shakespeare's Rosalind and Beatrice	25 Nov 2023	00:40:14
Send us a text In this episode, we'll look at two women who are generally regarded as among the greatest female characters ever written: Rosalind from Shakespeare's As You Like It and Beatrice from his Much Ado About Nothing. Their wisdom, intelligence, and emotional depth challenge Renaissance gender assumptions and inaugurate a line of deep-feeling, wise-cracking female characters down to our own day. Excerpts from "As You Like It" c. 1964 The Shakespeare Recording Company and "Much Ado About Nothing" c. 1960 The Dublin Gate Theatre; both downloaded from the Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/audio) Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Happy Thanksgiving! George Herbert's "Gratefulness"	22 Nov 2023	00:07:11
Send us a text 17th-century poet and priest George Herbert offers a playful poem reminding us to strive for gratefulness. I am, myself, very grateful for all the support you all have offered me. Thank you so much! Additional sound: "Mahna Mahna" from The Muppet Show (1977). Downloaded from Internet Archive. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Shakespeare's Henriad	10 Nov 2023	00:36:36
Send us a text In today's discussion, we take a look at the character of Henry, Prince of Wales, who will become King Henry V in the group of plays including Henry IV, parts 1 and 2, and Henry V, sometimes called "The Henriad." Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Happy Halloween from Herrick's "The Hag"!	31 Oct 2023	00:10:35
Send us a text Trick or treat! Here's a bone-us episode on Robert Herrick's "The Hag," about a witch's night ride with the Devil! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Despair and Damnation: Marlowe's The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus	29 Oct 2023	00:37:25
Send us a text Here's a good one for the Halloweeny season: Christopher Marlowe's most famous play. A scholar sells his soul to the Devil for ultimate knowledge and power! Correction: In this episode, I misidentify the author of "The Devil and Tom Walker" as Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is, of course, Washington Irving. Extra musical selection from "Faust" by Charles Gounod, perf. Orchestra And Chorus Of The Théâtre National De l'Opéra. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: A Tragedy of Sonnet-Lovers	15 Oct 2023	00:31:32
Send us a text Does Romeo and Juliet even need an introduction? Well, this time on the poddie, we'll look at the play's tragic lovers through the lens of the Renaissance sonnet, how that poem style's postures shapes the action, making character fate. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Concord of this Discord: Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream	30 Sep 2023	00:34:50
Send us a text Shssshh! Drift off into Shakespeare's most rhymy and least rational play! Today, it's The Dream! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	History, History Plays, and Historiography: Shakespeare's Richard III	17 Sep 2023	00:38:50
Send us a text We're here! Finally, our first Shakespeare play episode. Today, we'll look at The Tragical History of King Richard III. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Spillin' the Tea on Marlowe and Kyd	01 Sep 2023	00:14:48
Send us a text You may be surprised at how the rivalry between these early Elizabethan theatrical superstars played out! Betrayal, torture, assassination; this is tabloid-worthy stuff! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	"Violence Prevails": Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy	22 Aug 2023	00:37:07
Send us a text Oooh, you're in for a bloody one today, dear listener! Perhaps the most popular revenge tragedy in the 16th-century: Kyd's Spanish Tragedy. Wildly infamous, wildly influential, wildly excessive -- just wild! It inaugurates the fashion for revenge tragedy that will dominate theater for the next decades, and paves the way for Shakespeare's Tragedy of Hamlet. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	"Drink to me only with thine eyes": Ben Jonson's Lyrics	21 Jul 2024	00:27:28
Send us a text Today, we'll wrap up our Jonsonian mini-series by looking at some his lyrics, including poems from the 1616 Works and songs from his plays. If you'd like to read along, just ask Uncle Google to serve up these titles: "On Something, that Walks Somewhere" "On My First Daughter" "On My First Son" "Song: To Celia" "Still to be Neat" Additional music from Internet Archive: "Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes" perf. Paul Robeson, 1938. "In Town Tonight" by Eric Coates, perf. Reginald Dixon. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	The Sum of Glory: Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great Parts 1 and 2	13 Aug 2023	00:31:50
Send us a text Perhaps the first great play of the Elizabethan stage, Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great is relentless and ruthless. How are we to understand a bloody conqueror and tyrant? What does Marlowe mean by this spectacle of his success? We'll look at those questions today! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	An Overview of Renaissance Theatre	04 Aug 2023	00:18:26
Send us a text A bonus episode on the Subcast looks at the early modern English theatre, the culture and atmosphere of Elizabethan playgoing, as a prologue to our multi-episode discussion of the great English dramatists of the age, and for all time! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	A Still Queer Voice: Richard Barnfield's "The Affectionate Shepherd"	27 Jul 2023	00:26:48
Send us a text This week on the poddie, we discuss a lesser known -- but by no means a lesser quality -- Elizabethan pastoral by Richard Barnfield called "The Affectionate Shepherd." In sophisticated, learned verse, Barnfield highlights the homoerotic elements (not always so) latent in classical and early modern bucolics, which I think a heroic feat in for a 16th century writer. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Live with Me, Be My Love: Pastoral Eclogues	20 Jul 2023	00:27:09
Send us a text If you listen to much modern American country music, you notice that many of the songs conjure up an idealized vision of small-town rural America, distinct from (and presumably superior to) life in urban areas. The fact that many of these songs are written in large cities like Nashville points to a kind of constructed nostalgia. This is very like the vogue for pastoral poetry in 16th century England. We'll look at two famous poems: Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" and Ralegh's "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd." Here's a link to a page that will direct you to the many replies and parodies of these poems: https://comelivewithmeballad.com/replies-parodies/ Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene: The Legend of the Redcrosse Knight	12 Jul 2023	00:32:19
Send us a text Today we'll look at the most famous tale from Spenser's epic The Faerie Queene: Book I "The Legend of the Redcrosse Knight." We'll discuss its allegorical and neoplatonic dimensions while doing a quick drive-by of a passage from Mutabilitie Cantos. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	American Independence: Tudor Roots	04 Jul 2023	00:11:42
Send us a text As Americans mark Independence Day, I wanted to out that the shift in Western thinking that eventually produced a document like the Declaration of Independence began with a doctrine of the 16th century Protestant Reformation and its influence on Tudor political thought. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	The Perfect Pattern of a Poet: Edmund Spenser's Lyrics	27 Jun 2023	00:34:53
Send us a text Some say he is the first real poet of the English Renaissance. Whatever that may mean, Edmund Spenser certainly looms large in 16th century English literature. In this first of two episodes, we will look at his paradoxically traditional and innovative lyric poetry, especially The Shepheardes Calendar, Amoretti, and "Epithalamion." Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	The Queen's Two Bodies: Elizabeth I's Poetry	17 Jun 2023	00:16:09
Send us a text While the political history of Queen Elizabeth I (r. 1558-1603) has been well-rehearsed, fewer listeners may be aware that she was also a devilishly accomplished poet and rhetorician. In this episode of the Subcast, we look at her most important poems -- "When I was fair and young," "On Monsieur's Departure," and "The Doubt of Future Foes" -- as well as note her stirring 1588 speech to the troops at Tilbury. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Defending Poetry: Sir Philip Sidney	10 Jun 2023	00:31:06
Send us a text Though he spent only a brief period as a courtier of Elizabeth I, Sir Philip certainly cut a dashing figure. He also dashed off one of the most influential works of literary theory in English. And he was quite the dab hand at versifying. Today, we look at Sidney's Defence of Poesie, "Ye Goatherd Gods" from Arcadia, and sonnets from Astrophil and Stella. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Nowhereland: Sir Thomas More's Utopia	03 Jun 2023	00:27:54
Send us a text Sir Thomas More's 1516 book inaugurated a new genre of English literature: the utopian fantasy. But More's own life, combined with the text's irony and narrative layering, make this a more complex prescription than you might think! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	English Comes to America	03 Jul 2024	00:41:12
Send us a text It's Independence Day here in America, so today's show takes the opportunity to look at some of writing of early English colonists in New England and how their ideas contributed to the national ethos that would emerge in the coming centuries. Additional music from Internet Archive: "Stars and Stripes Forever." John Philip Sousa. perf Twentieth Century Fox Orchestra "The Love Boat Theme." perf Jack Jones Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	On Henry Howard, the Earl of Surrey	27 May 2023	00:15:01
Send us a text Today we do a quick look at some of the poetry of Henry Howard, the Earl of Surrey, who is credited with the development of the English sonnet and of blank verse. We'll look at "The Night Piece," "Love that Doth Reign," and “Alas, so all things now do hold their peace." Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Venus, Venison, and Venom: The Poetry of Sir Thomas Wyatt	20 May 2023	00:27:02
Send us a text Firmly in the Tudor Renaissance now, literati! Today, we'll look at Sir Thomas Wyatt, the first major poet of Henry VIII's court. He brought back the iambic pentameter line and developed the English sonnet. We'll look particularly at "They Flee from Me" and "Whoso List to Hunt." Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	John Skelton: The Last Medieval (or First Renaissance) Poet	13 May 2023	00:27:50
Send us a text As we move our discussions toward 16th century Tudor literature, we look at a key transitional figure: John Skelton. His virtuosic versifying introduces the English Renaissance and we'll hear "To Mistress Margaret Hussey" and take a deep look at "The Book of Phillip Sparrow." Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	For the Coronation of King Charles III	06 May 2023	00:10:24
Send us a text To mark the coronation of Charles III, I present to you a 15th century coronation poem written for Henry VI by John Lydgate. God Save the King! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	The Mysteries and the Miller's Tale (The Canterbury Tales, Part 3.75 [?])	30 Apr 2023	00:17:20
Send us a text Let's have a look at perhaps why Chaucer, in his "The Miller's Tale," alludes so often to the incipient mystery plays of the late 14th century. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	The Birth of English Drama: Mystery and Morality	22 Apr 2023	00:33:33
Send us a text If, as it's often said, William Shakespeare is the greatest writer in the English -- perhaps, indeed, in any -- language, then where did his most famous genre come from? Today, we look at the very earliest English plays, the birth of English theatre. We will consider "The Second Shepherd's Play," "The York Crucifixion," and "Everyman." Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Weal and Woe: Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur (The Matter of Arthur, Part 4)	15 Apr 2023	00:24:21
Send us a text Sir Thomas Malory's hernia-making masterpiece Le Morte D'Arthur is the subject of part 4 of our sporadic mini-series The Matter of Arthur. Because it's such a massive work, and because its versions of the Arthur legends are the most well-known, this episode will largely focus on Malory's deft use of the Lancelot and Guinevere love affair as necessary for his romantico-tragic vision. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	William Dunbar's "Done is the Battle": An Easter Hymn	09 Apr 2023	00:12:37
Send us a text Here's a nice little egg in your Easter basket! I look at William Dunbar's Easter hymn "Done is the Battle" from around the year 1500. I hope you enjoy the show, and I hope your Easter, Passover, Ramadan, and spring rites are happy and blessed! Cheers! Additional Music: Consort for Brass by Kevin MacLeod Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	The Great Vowel Movement	01 Apr 2023	00:10:33
Send us a text Today on the Subcast there's a brief explainer on the Great Vowel Shift, the most significant change in English since the Norman Invasion. We're beginning to move into Modern English! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Medieval Mysticism: The Book of Showings and The Book of Margery Kempe	25 Mar 2023	00:36:36
Send us a text Today we look at the literature of female mysticism in the English 14th and 15th centuries, particularly the landmark texts Dame Julian of Norwich's Book of Showings and Margery Kempe's The Book of Margery Kempe, which are not only profound religious statements but the earliest voices of women in the English language. Special thanks to Jessica Orluck for her advice and assistance! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	"A Pretty Kind of Game": Ben Jonson's Volpone and The Alchemist	17 Jun 2024	00:34:06
Send us a text We'll finish our look at Ben Jonson's comedies today with perhaps his most well-regarded efforts: Volpone, or The Fox and The Alchemist. Additional music: "In Town Tonight" by Eric Coates, perf. Reginald Dixon. From the Internet Archive. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Three Doctors and a Razor: Medieval English Philosophers	19 Mar 2023	00:20:05
Send us a text A Subcast episode looking at four of the most influential philosophers working in England during the Middle Ages: Anselm of Canterbury, Roger Bacon, John Duns Scotus, and William of Ockham. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Keep the Faith: Moral John Gower	11 Mar 2023	00:31:21
Send us a text Today we take a look at John Gower, who was once considered the "Father of English Poetry," but who is now largely unknown outside English departments. Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Mock Chivalry: "The Tournament of Tottenham"	05 Mar 2023	00:11:30
Send us a text A CEL Subcast episode! Today we look at a comic poem from the first half of the 15th century: "The Tournament of Tottenham." But who's the joke on? On Hold Music: "Lounge" by Serge Quadrado Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
	Love and Loss in Anglo-Saxon Poetry	26 Feb 2023	00:13:26
Send us a text A Subcast episode! Let's read two Old English poems that treat the female experience in Anglo-Saxon England: "Wulf and Eadwacer" and "The Wife's Lament" -- the only surviving OE poems written in a woman's voice! Support the show Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you! Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful! Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

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