Critical Readings

Released on 20 July 2026:

The panel discusses chapters 9–18 of The Ill-Made Knight, with special attention given to the development of Lancelot’s relationships with the wily Elaine and the imperious Guenever, particularly in the savage denouement that leads to Lancelot’s madness.

Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.

Released on 13 July 2026:

The panel discusses chapters 1–8 of The Ill-Made Knight, with special attention given to the characterisation and Freudian psychology of Lancelot, contrasting humility with narcissism, and examining the beginning of his relationship with Guenever.

Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.

Released on 6 July 2026:

The panel reads the second half of The Queen of Air and Darkness, giving special consideration to Arthur’s vision of the Round Table and total war, the need for Might to support Right against wickedness, the Aristotelian (or not) nature of the tragedy.

Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.

Released on 29 June 2026:

The panel discusses the first half of The Queen of Air and Darkness (also known as The Witch in the Wood), with particular attention both to the Freudian characterisation of Morgause and her children, and to Merlyn’s ‘just war’ political philosophy.

Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.

Released on 22 June 2026:

The panel discusses the concluding chapters (20–24) of The Sword in the Stone, with special attention to Arthur’s martial inclinations (and what they mean for a broader society), Kay’s personal failings (and fundamental goodness), and Merlin’s robes.

Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.

Released on 15 June 2026:

The panel discusses chapters 14–19 of The Sword in the Stone, with special attention to White’s romanticised depiction of feudalism and the historical setting of the action, and with a comparison of the pacifistic views of the geese vs. the warlike ants.

Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.

Released on 8 June 2026:

The panel reads chapters 8–13 of The Sword in the Stone, with a focus on the precise nature of Merlin’s magic and the ‘transformations’ experienced by the Wart (but not by Kay), and a detailed examination of the episode of the Ants and their collectivism.

Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.

Released on 1 June 2026:

The panel reads the first seven chapters of The Sword in the Stone, with attention given to the modern and medieval aspects of the setting, White’s own narratorial voice, the differing metaphors and parallels of characterisation, and the original sources.

Watch on YouTube (may include YouTube ads) with this link.

Released on 25 May 2026:

The panel reads three poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson—”Uriel”, “Ode Inscribed to William H. Channing”, and “The Snow Storm”—with special attention to the role of the poet-philosopher’s transcendentalist, romanticist, and abolitionist views in the poems.

Released on 18 May 2026:

The panel discusses the concluding act and scene of the play, with special attention to the linguistic wordplay and the Shakespearean critique of players, audiences, and critics alike in the both the play-within-a-play device and in Puck’s epilogue.