The Classic English Literature Podcast

The Classic English Literature Podcast

M. G. McDonoughM. G. McDonough
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Food for Thought: Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" and Other Writings

Send us a textI hope you've brought your appetite, because today we're looking at some of Dr. Swift's shorter prose satires (along with a couple of poems) and he certainly gives us plenty to chew on."A Description of the Morning": https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45266/a-de ...  Show more

 . 39min 25sec
Seditious Greetings!: The Political Code of "O Come All Ye Faithful"

Send us a textOne of the most theologically and liturgically important Christmas carols may contain coded messages against the Throne of England!Additional Music: "Adeste Fidelis" by Bing Crosby with The Max Terr choir; John Scott Trotter and his orch.; Traditional; Decca (BM 039 ...  Show more

 . 13min 42sec
"Read All About It!": The Rise of the Public Press

Send us a textIn the early 18th century, the public press came to dominate English writing. Pamphlets, newspapers, and periodicals fed the appetite for news and commentary of an ever-hungrier reading public. Richard Steele and Joseph Addison were the great innovators of the perio ...  Show more

 . 28min 35sec
The First English Novel? Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe

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On this trip, we're looking at the conventional candidate for the first modern novel in English.  Defoe's story of a resourceful man shipwrecked on a d ...

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 . 37min 27sec
The First Ghost Story? Daniel Defoe's "The Apparition of Mrs. Veal"

Send us a textFor you today, Trick or Treaters, a discussion of what some critics assert is the first modern ghost story in English: Daniel Defoe's 1705 "The Apparition of Mrs. Veal."The text: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/36587/36587-h/36587-h.htmSupport the showPlease like, s ...  Show more

 . 21min 58sec