Critical Readings

Released on 4 December 2023:

The panel reads chapters 15–18 and discusses Stoker’s use of cliffhangers and foreshadowing both as a textual convention and as a narrative device, before attending to Seward’s unification of the materialist and metaphysical theories that he encounters.

Released on 27 November 2023:

The panel discusses chapters 12-14, comprising a series of false endings both literal and metaphorical, with attention given to how Stoker’s overall plot structure is replicated within individual episodes, and to the combination of faith and science.

Released on 20 November 2023:

The panel welcomes guest expert Dr. Madeline Potter to discuss chapters 5–11, comprising the letters and journals of Mina Murray, Lucy Westenra, and Dr. Seward, and their observations tragic and fantastical, from giant bats to bug-eating maniacs.

Released on 6 November 2023:

The panel discusses the first four chapters of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, with attention given to the history of the author and the text, the epistolary and gothic form of the novel in its Romantic context, and the narrative development of tension.

Released on 30 October 2023:

The panel reads five poems from Hebrew Melodies, a cycle of poems by Lord Byron originally set to music by Isaac Nathan, including one of Byron’s most-anthologised works, “She Walks in Beauty,” and a companion piece to “The Destruction of Sennacherib”.

Released on 16 October 2023:

The panel discusses the two scenes of the final act of Hamlet, with attention to the text’s focus on death, the mirroring of Hamlet with Fortinbras and Laertes, Horatio’s constant companionship, Ophelia’s burial, and the ultimate defeat of Claudius.

Released on 9 October 2023:

The panel discusses seven scenes, with attention to Ophelia’s innocence and madness, Laertes’ hot-blooded response to the death of his father, Claudius’ failure to demonstrate the wisdom and prudence of a good king, and Hamlet’s apparent inscrutability.

Released on 2 October 2023:

The panel reads Act III of Hamlet with attention to Hamlet’s feigned (or semi-feigned) madness, his suicidal or existentially fatalistic attitude, and the instability and even fatal measure of his interactions with Ophelia, Polonius, and Queen Gertrude.

Released on 25 September 2023:

The panel begins with a brief exercise in parsing Shakespearean prose, followed by a reading of Act II’s scenes, with attention to Polonius’ ambitious scheming, and Hamlet’s feigned (or genuine?) madness with his friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

Released on 18 September 2023:

The panel reads the first act of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, providing an overview of the action and the textual history, with selected readings from within the five scenes paying particular attention to puns, irony, and the mirroring of characters.