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Critical Readings

CriticalReadings.com

Critical Readings examines key literary texts using close reading and critical analysis, and explains these approaches in discussion. Listeners will learn about the texts themselves and about how to approach a text for critical analysis.

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22 episodes
weekly
Avg 1 hr 8 min
English

Episodes 22

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Monday · 1 hr 15 min
CR Episode 340: Beowulf, Part II
The first page of Beowulf (f. 132r) in the Nowell Codex, Cotton MS Vitellius A XV. Released on 21 September 2026: The panel discusses the second of Beowulf’s battles—this time, against Grendel’s vengeful mother—with special attention to the nature of his foe and the particularly fantastic setting of the battle, which takes place deep beneath the water of the fens. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
September 14 · 1 hr 21 min
CR Episode 339: Beowulf, Part I
An image from Beowulf (2007) Released on 14 September 2026: Dr. Madeline Potter joins the panel just in time for the first-ever Readers’ Choice series: the Old English poem, Beowulf. The panel reads of Beowulf’s battle with Grendel, with special attention to how honour is won and defended by Geats and Danes. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
August 31 · 1 hr 21 min
CR Episode 338: The Once and Future King, Part XIV
T. H. White Released on 31 August 2026: The panel discusses the conclusion of The Candle in the Wind, with a look at Mordred’s unreal motivations, Arthur’s ultimate victory or failure, Guenever’s personal agency, and the development of Gawaine beyond the initial limits of his character. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
August 24 · 1 hr 17 min
CR Episode 337: The Once and Future King, Part XIII
Alexander Vlahos as Morded in Merlin (2012) Released on 24 August 2026: The panel discusses chapters 6–10 of the final book in The Once and Future King, with attention to Arthur’s philosophical character, particularly whether his political theories serve as a prison which prevents the kind of action that could save his realm. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
August 17 · 1 hr 2 min
CR Episode 336: The Once and Future King, Part XII
Nathaniel Parker as Agravaine in Merlin (2011) Released on 17 August 2026: The panel discusses the first five chapters of The Candle in the Wind, the last of the four books in the tetralogy, with a look at White’s historical overview of the mediæval period, and a thorough study of his villainous duo of Agravaine and Mordred. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
August 10 · 1 hr 15 min
CR Episode 335: The Once and Future King, Part XI
Humbert Balsan (Gauvain), Luc Simon (Lancelot), and Vladimir Anatolek-Oresek (Arthur) in Lancelot du Lac (1974) Released on 10 August 2026: The panel discusses the closing chapters of The Ill-Made Knight, with attention to the circumstances of Guenever’s increasingly frenzied behaviour towards Lancelot, and to his growth as a character—from self-glorifying to self-abasing—across the book. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
August 3 · 1 hr 11 min
CR Episode 334: The Once and Future King, Part X
Ioan Gruffudd as Lancelot in King Arthur (2004) Released on 3 August 2026: The panel discusses chapters 26–33 of The Ill-Made Knight, examining the violent deaths of Morgause and Lamorak, Arthur’s solution to the problem of ‘games-mania’ in the Round Table, Guenever’s festering jealousy, and Lancelot’s spiritual devotions. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
July 27 · 1 hr 3 min
CR Episode 333: The Once and Future King, Part IX
Santiago Cabrera as Lancelot in Merlin (2008) Released on 27 July 2026: The panel addresses reader questions and discusses chapters 19–25 of The Ill-Made Knight, with an examination of Lancelot’s pitiable condition and an investigation into its causes, whether due to internal contradiction, or because of external pressures. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
July 20 · 57 min
CR Episode 332: The Once and Future King, Part VIII
Richard Gere as Lancelot in First Knight (1995) Released on 20 July 2026: The panel discusses chapters 9–18 of The Ill-Made Knight, with special attention given to the development of Lancelot’s relationships with the wily Elaine and the imperious Guenever, particularly in the savage denouement that leads to Lancelot’s madness. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
July 13 · 58 min
CR Episode 331: The Once and Future King, Part VII
Franco Nero (Lancelot) and Richard Harris (Arthur) in Camelot (1967) Released on 13 July 2026: The panel discusses chapters 1–8 of The Ill-Made Knight, with special attention given to the characterisation and Freudian psychology of Lancelot, contrasting humility with narcissism, and examining the beginning of his relationship with Guenever. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
July 6 · 1 hr 18 min
CR Episode 330: The Once and Future King, Part VI
Colin Morgan (Merlin) and Bradley James (Arthur) in Merlin (2008–2012) Released on 6 July 2026: The panel reads the second half of The Queen of Air and Darkness, giving special consideration to Arthur’s vision of the Round Table and total war, the need for Might to support Right against wickedness, the Aristotelian (or not) nature of the tragedy. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
June 29 · 1 hr 23 min
CR Episode 329: The Once and Future King, Part V
Helena Bonham Carter as Morgan Le Fay in Merlin (1998) Released on 29 June 2026: The panel discusses the first half of The Queen of Air and Darkness (also known as The Witch in the Wood), with particular attention both to the Freudian characterisation of Morgause and her children, and to Merlyn’s ‘just war’ political philosophy. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
June 22 · 1 hr 8 min
CR Episode 328: The Once and Future King, Part IV
Arthur in The Sword in the Stone (1963) Released on 22 June 2026: The panel discusses the concluding chapters (20–24) of The Sword in the Stone, with special attention to Arthur’s martial inclinations (and what they mean for a broader society), Kay’s personal failings (and fundamental goodness), and Merlin’s robes. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
June 15 · 1 hr 15 min
CR Episode 327: The Once and Future King, Part III
An Angle of Geese Released on 15 June 2026: The panel discusses chapters 14–19 of The Sword in the Stone, with special attention to White’s romanticised depiction of feudalism and the historical setting of the action, and with a comparison of the pacifistic views of the geese vs. the warlike ants. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
June 8 · 1 hr 2 min
CR Episode 326: The Once and Future King, Part II
Arthur and Merlin in The Sword in the Stone (1963) Released on 8 June 2026: The panel reads chapters 8–13 of The Sword in the Stone, with a focus on the precise nature of Merlin’s magic and the ‘transformations’ experienced by the Wart (but not by Kay), and a detailed examination of the episode of the Ants and their collectivism. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
June 1 · 1 hr 10 min
CR Episode 325: The Once and Future King, Part I
T. H. White Released on 1 June 2026: The panel reads the first seven chapters of The Sword in the Stone, with attention given to the modern and medieval aspects of the setting, White’s own narratorial voice, the differing metaphors and parallels of characterisation, and the original sources. Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.
May 25 · 58 min
CR Episode 324: The Poetry of Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson Released on 25 May 2026: The panel reads three poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson—”Uriel”, “Ode Inscribed to William H. Channing”, and “The Snow Storm”—with special attention to the role of the poet-philosopher’s transcendentalist, romanticist, and abolitionist views in the poems.
May 18 · 1 hr 8 min
CR Episode 323: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act V
The Banquet Scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935) Released on 18 May 2026: The panel discusses the concluding act and scene of the play, with special attention to the linguistic wordplay and the Shakespearean critique of players, audiences, and critics alike in the both the play-within-a-play device and in Puck’s epilogue.
May 11 · 53 min
CR Episode 322: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act IV
Calista Flockheart, Christian Bale, Dominic West, and Anna Friel in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999) Released on 11 May 2026: The panel discusses the resolution of the love quadrangle, as Puck puts right the enchantments in order to bring Oberon’s original plan to fruition, before turning to consider Titania’s relationship to her husband in the wake of her own enchantment.
May 4 · 1 hr 10 min
CR Episode 321: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III
Judi Dench and Ian Richardson in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1968) Released on 4 May 2026: The panel discusses the deployment of additional fairy magic, with the transformation of Bottom and the confounding of Helena, and the confusion that results when both Bottom and Helena misbelieve that they are subject of their friends’ pranks.

Showing 1–20 of 22 episodes