A reading of "L'Art" by Theophile Gautier; translation by George Santayana.

The poem "L'art" by Theophile Gautier. In 35 years, what have I forged?

I sort through the detritus of my teaching career. I wonder at a message.

How do we determine the meaning of a work which has no author? And what responsibility is there in authoring our own interpretation? We examine the potential meanings of this poem, dig at length into the different ideas of medieval authorship, and find we may have not have wandered yet that far, at all.

How do we determine the meaning of a work which has no author? And what responsibility is there in authoring our own interpretation? We examine the potential meanings of this poem, dig at length into the different ideas of medieval authorship, and find we may have not have wandered yet that far, at all.

A discussion of the Intentional Fallacy in determining meaning. Are the early theorists right that all of the meaning is in the text alone? Is the author irrelevant? What does that mean for me as a reader?

WayPoint: A reading of Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market." wondering how her work might respond to Chopin, how she anticipates the role of author and reader.

Where do we place the tragedy in Kate Chopin's short story? Is it in the protagonist's failure to escape or her failure to believe she can?

Full Members Bonus Episode: Digging further into post-structural questions offered by the story.

An introduction or review to the concept of irony in literature, helpful to those who want to better understand the "twist" ending to the story.