Join Erika Kyba to encounter the rising action of Milton's Comus, as the wicked spirit Comus hears the approach of a noble lady and plots to seduce her by passing himself off as a harmless shepherd. The lady enters, not finding Comus at first, but wary of the sounds of revelry that she heard from this part of the forest. Erika analyzes the spiritual drama that is afoot under the trappings of an attempted seduction story.

Join Erika Kyba to read an excerpt from Milton's Comus, in which the titular trickster spirit is introduced. She discusses Comus's use of rhetoric, mixing the pleasurable with the destructive and so using it to bait his listener.

Join Erika Kyba to conclude reading William Knox's "Mortality." Today, Erika discusses the difficulty of preserving the memory of the dead.

Join Erika Kyba for an unflinching look at death as she reads William Knox's "Mortality." Our poet reminds us that all of our earthly triumphs are necessarily ephemeral—but what does that tell us about how we should choose to live our lives?

Join Erika Kyba to encounter "Old Ironsides," the famous elegy that saved the USS Constitution from being scrapped. She discusses how masterfully Holmes pits mercenary concerns against a respect for what is beautiful and noble, weaving in themes of national identity throughout the poem.

Join Erika Kyba for a celebration of Easter in the conclusion of The Dream of the Rood. She analyzes how the Passion, in the poet's vision, exceeds the boundaries of history and continues to move our lives.

Join Erika Kyba and continue your Lenten journey through the medieval Crucifixion poem, "The Dream of the Rood." In today's excerpt, the poet crafts a parallel between the Cross of Christ and Mary, His mother. Erika analyzes why the poet has chosen to link these two figures together, and what this poetic image says about suffering and glory.

Join Erika Kyba and continue your Lenten journey through the medieval Crucifixion poem, "The Dream of the Rood." In today's excerpt, the poet begins to pull in more and more anachronistic medieval imagery to describe the Crucifixion. What is the significance of this artistic choice? Get your weekly poetry fix and find out!

Today, we continue our Lenten reflections on The Dream of the Rood. Join Erika Kyba as she discusses how the poet imagines the Cross as Christ's shield partner in battle. The poet leads us away from identifying suffering as the villain of the Passion, showing us the bigger picture: the Passion was always a battle against sin. And the Cross is our ally in this battle, not our enemy.

Today, we enter into the Lenten season by reading The Dream of the Rood. Join Erika Kyba to meditate on the poet's reframing of the Crucifixion's tragedy.