Critical Readings

Released on 3 July 2023:

The panel reads some excellent listener questions, and then discusses chapters 60–71, with special attention to the studied ambiguity of the text, Ahab’s identification and contrast with Moby Dick, and the ‘problematisation of the hierarchy’ (ding-ding).

Released on 26 June 2023:

The panel discusses chapters 52-59, with special attention given to how the structure of the narrative both anticipates and surpasses post-structuralist critiques whilst challenging the genre of the novel and changing the attitudes of its readers.

Released on 19 June 2023:

The panel discusses chapters 43-51, examining the presence of Romanticism in the text and character of Ishmael, and highlighting how the text’s rapid shifts in perspective and narrative focus may further structuralist and poststructuralist readings.

Released on 12 June 2023:

The panel discusses chapters 35-42, exploring Melville’s purpose in adopting a multigeneric style, and paying special attention to Ahab’s motivations, including his conception of malice and universal evil, and his understanding of justice and vengeance.

Released on 5 June 2023:

The panel discusses chapters 26-34, with a particular focus on the effect of genre considerations in framing the novel, its shift into Shakespearean tonality and structure, and Melville’s use of humour amidst grave and existential subject matter.

Released on 29 May 2023:

The panel discusses chapters 16-25, with a particular attention to characterisation beyond Ishmael and Queequeg–particularly that of Peleg, Bildad, Elijah, and Bulkington–and to the overarching Old Testament Biblical influences upon the narrative.

Released on 22 May 2023:

The panel reads chapters 5-15, with a special focus on the description and narrative use of religious symbolism and devotional practice, contrasting the Christian Ishmael and the pagan Queequeg to illustrate Ishmael’s welcoming, fraternal worldview.

Released on 15 May 2023:

The panel reads the prologues and first four chapters of Moby Dick, provides an overview of the publication history of the text, and discusses the character and reliability of the jocular, circuitous narrator, who commands the reader to ‘Call me Ishmael.’

Released on 8 May 2023:

The panel concludes with an examination of Lucrece’s central role as a Shakespearean protagonist, addressing her attitude towards the conflict between Roman shame and the natural law, and how her speech is situated across historical contexts.

Released on 1 May 2023:

The panel reads the second third of Shakespeare’s Lucrece, with particular attention to the paradoxical presentation of light and darkness, and to the dual nature of guilt and shame in the poem, as situated within a putatively historical Roman context.