Episode 107: John Donne, The Sun Rising
This episode begins a three-part series on the “aubade,” a poem to greet the morning (often by wishing the morning away). We discuss Donne’s many wonderful techniques and even recite a little.
Episode 73: Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz, Sonnet 189
In this episode, Professor Stephanie Kirk guides our reading of Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz’s “Sonnet 189.” Her scholarly insights help us to appreciate the nuances of Sor Juana’s poetry and.
Episode 64: Shakespeare, Sonnet 29
In episode 64, we talk about Shakespeare’s sonnet 29, a poem about comparison and competition, leading the poet almost to despise himself before, by chance, he remembers his dear friend and is.
Episode 52: Shakespeare, Sonnet 73
This sonnet reflects on the autumn of life and an intimate love, and it turns on that love growing stronger in and through its age, even as the body decays. To learn.
Episode 45: Ben Jonson, On My First Son
In this episode, we look at Ben Jonson’s elegy for his son who died of the plague at the age of 7. This poem is so brief, and yet, it manages to.
Episode 40: William Shakespeare, Sonnet 116
In this episode, we provide a close reading of William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, which allows us to consider the poem’s definition of a love that is enduring. In addition, though, we consider.
Episode 20: Hester Pulter, View But This Tulip
Wendy Wall joins us to discuss an extraordinary poet whose works went unknown for over three hundred years. Hester Pulter brought together science, religion, poetic traditions and so much more. Her 120.
Episode 16: John Milton, When I Consider How My Light is Spent
The episode explores Milton’s great sonnet spun from the difficulties of middle age and new disappointments. We consider how he pulls consolation from his sense of defeat and near despair. Faced with.