The Classic English Literature Podcast

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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 ...

. 37min 27sec

The First Ghost Story? Daniel Defoe's "The Apparition of Mrs. Veal"

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For 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 Apparit ...

. 21min 58sec