The Classic English Literature Podcast

Send us Fan MailToday, you get to treat yourselves to a discussion of Pope's major satirical poems: The Rape of the Lock and The Dunciad. And, as a special bonus, you get to endure a desultory introduction concerning the Beatles at a cocktail party as well as series of pop cultur ...  Show more

Send us Fan MailFor this Easter holiday, I thought we'd look at a hymn lyric from a very influential writer who is often overlooked in discussions of literature: Isaac Watt. You can find the full text of the lyric in the transcript.Additional Music: "When I Survey the Wondrous Cr ...  Show more

Send us Fan MailAlexander Pope, whom some critics regard as the most important poet of the early 18th century, set out to comprehensively explain the rules that governed art, poetry, and humanity itself. And, it turns out, they're all the same rules.Support the showIf you enjoy t ...  Show more

Send us Fan MailWhile many may think of Swift's magnificent octopus as a mere children's adventure tale, it is, in fact, one of the darkest and most troubling satires in the English language. Written as the Enlightenment began asserting rationality as the measure of all things, G ...  Show more

Send us Fan MailI 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- ...  Show more