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228 episodes
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Critical Readings CriticalReadings.com
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- Arts
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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CR Episode 228: Le Morte Darthur, Part III
The panel reads the Roman War sequence with particular attention to Malory's use of historical progression, metaphor, and physical violence, especially in regard to his understanding of military knighthood and the use of wise counsel in governance.Continue reading
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CR Episode 227: Le Morte Darthur, Part II
The panel catches up on the tale of "Balyn and Balan," before discussing "The Wedding of King Arthur" and "The Book of Adventures", with comments on the vexed nature of Malorian chivalry, and Malory's use of both foreshadowing and narrative parallelism.Continue reading
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CR Episode 226: Le Morte Darthur, Part I
The panel discusses the biography of Sir Thomas Malory, the textual history of Le Morte Darthur, the lineage of King Arthur, and the initial formation of the textual world of Arthurian England, including Merlin, Uther, Igraine, Morgause, and Mordred.Continue reading
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CR Episode 225: All for Love, Act V
The panel closes discussion of Dryden's All for Love with an examination of the death of Marc Antony and Cleopatra, how the scene differs from that of Shakespeare, and what role is ultimately played by Octavius, even despite his absence from the stage.Continue reading
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CR Episode 224: All for Love, Act IV
The panel discusses the penultimate act of Dryden's All for Love, with special attention to the depictions (or rather, lack thereof) of Octavius, the villainous portrayal of Alexas, and the play's lack of a clearly-defined figure of heroic virtue.Continue reading
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CR Episode 223: All for Love, Act III
The panel discusses the third act of Dryden's most successful play, All for Love, with particular attention to Marc Antony's lack of constancy, and Dryden's artistic reimagining of historical events in order to place Octavia in Cleopatra's palace.Continue reading