Macbeth, Act Two, Scene Two. In the inaugural episode of Professing Literature we examine a conversation held in the aftermath of one of literature’s most famous murders. Macbeth has just stabbed a king to gain a throne he will never sit upon securely. His tense exchange of words with Lady Macbeth discloses the moral and psychological stakes of the act, a ... Show More
May 2021
EP02 - Losing Your Way at a Picnic | Austen, "Emma"
Emma, Vol 3, Chapter 7. A bright summer day in Surrey offers a sharp contrast to emotional storms. In this episode we discuss one of Jane Austen’s great set pieces, the picnic at Box Hill. Emma gets herself into deep trouble when she embarrasses an old friend, and the man who sec ... Show More
1h 2m
May 2021
EP03 - When the Sweet Turns Sour | Heaney, “Blackberry Picking”
Seamus Heaney, “Blackberry-Picking.” Today we consider a lyric poem from Death of a Naturalist, Seamus Heaney’s first collection (1966). In “Blackberry-Picking” Heaney recounts a memory from his childhood, or perhaps from the beginning of his childhood’s end.----------We started ... Show More
57m 35s
Jul 2021
EP04 - Lunchbreak At the Victory Mansions | Orwell, "1984"
George Orwell, 1984, Chapter One. The opening paragraphs of George Orwell’s novel seem innocuous, as a man named Winston Smith returns to his apartment building for lunch. However, from the first sentence onward Orwell estranges us from the world we take for granted and begins hi ... Show More
1h 3m
Mar 2023
Macbeth
In this episode, we discuss Macbeth, a work of Shakespeare’s that Jared had never read. Topic include: political propaganda, the problem of evil characters, Wicked and Darth Vader, the Great Conversation, and the Book of Job. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss thi ... Show More
1h 2m