The Classic English Literature Podcast

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This Subcast episode marks the American Thanksgiving holiday by looking at two early accounts of the celebration by Pilgrims William Bradford and Edward Winslow and then turns to that great hymn of thanksgiving -- Psalm 107 -- from The Bay Psalm Book, the first book published in what would become the United States.  We'll also look at what's called the "Puritan Plain Style" of composition, a marked departure from the ornate literature of its Anglican contemporaries.

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Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

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Today we look at the love children of John Donne and Ben Jonson, a group of monarchist soldiers during the English Civil War.  Collectively known as the Cavalier Poets, they are numerous.  We'll look at some representative poems today by Robert Herrick, Thomas Carew, Richard Lovelace, and the ill-fated and unfortunately named Sir John Suckling.

Additional music:
"Consort for Brass" by Kevin MacLeod
"La Violetta" by Claudio Monteverdi; perf. The Boston Camerata, dir. Joel Cohen
"In Town Tonight" by Reginald Dixon; perf. Eric Coates

Support the show

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation.  Click the "Support the Show" button.  So grateful!

Or 

Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/classicenglishliterature

Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen.  Thank you!

Email: [email protected]

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Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

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This year's Halloween Subcast episode looks at James Shirley's meditation on Death.  I hope you love it!

Support the show

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation.  Click the "Support the Show" button.  So grateful!

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Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

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Let's head into the Fortune Theatre for a performance of one of the most innovative and deceptively complex comedies of the English Renaissance.  The Roaring Girl, or Moll Cutpurse explores the fluidity of social identity by the protagonist's use of clothing and language.

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If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation.  Click the "Support the Show" button.  So grateful!

Or 

Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/classicenglishliterature

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Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

Send us Fan Mail

We'll get a bit philosophical today and look at the English language's greatest influence on the scientific revolution: politician, philosopher, and scientist Sir Francis Bacon.  His Essays and "The Four Idols" from Novum Organon are our focus.

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If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation.  Click the "Support the Show" button.  So grateful!

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Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

Send us Fan Mail

This is the first of what I'm calling the "Out of Time" episodes, an embedded series of Subcast shows that fill in gaps I may have missed along the way.  Today, we fly our Out-of-Time-Machine all the way back to the 8th-century to see how the Danish invasions left an indelible mark upon English language and literature.  Pack your battle-axe!

Support the show

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation.  Click the "Support the Show" button.  So grateful!

Or 

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Email: [email protected]

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Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

Send us Fan Mail

Here's a short episode to answer a special request by a loyal listener!  Let's dive a little deeper into the various versions of Shakespeare's Hamlet that have come down to us!

Support the show

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation.  Click the "Support the Show" button.  So grateful!

Or 

Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/classicenglishliterature

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Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

Send us Fan Mail

I had not thought to do an episode on the English country house poetry of the 17th century, but was recently reminded of their place in the survey of early modern literature, so here's a look at that peculiar subgenre.

In this show, we'll look at Aemilia Lanyer's "A Description of Cooke-ham" and Ben Jonson's "To Penshurst."

Support the show

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation.  Click the "Support the Show" button.  So grateful!

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Email: [email protected]

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Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

Send us Fan Mail

Let's head back to the theatre for a really blood-soaked tragedy!  And while we're at it, let's think about the intersection between art and social criticism.

Support the show

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation.  Click the "Support the Show" button.  So grateful!

Or 

Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/classicenglishliterature

Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen.  Thank you!

Email: [email protected]

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Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!

Send us Fan Mail

Poet and priest John Donne's work seems to transcend its early 17th century moment and feels as fresh and alive to us as anything written today.  In this episode, we look at the following texts:

"The Bait"
"Elegy 19: To His Mistress Going To Bed"
"Batter my heart"
"Death, be not proud"
"The Flea"
"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning"
"Meditation 17" from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions

Additional music: "You Can Leave Your Hat On" by Randy Newman.  Sail Away.  Reprise Records.  1972.  Accessed as public domain through the Internet Archive.

Support the show

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation.  Click the "Support the Show" button.  So grateful!

Or 

Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/classicenglishliterature

Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen.  Thank you!

Email: [email protected]

Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!