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
Apr 2025
Henry VIII by William Shakespeare ~ Full Audiobook [history]
Henry VIII by William Shakespeare audiobook. Genre: history In Henry VIII, Shakespeare stages the Tudor court as a place where ceremony and ambition collide, and where a single royal decision can remake lives overnight. England's formidable king, Henry VIII, moves through a glitt ... Show More
2h 57m
Aug 2024
Episode 178: Much Ado About Hamlet
In the first couple of years of the 1600s, several new Shakespeare plays appeared. Much Ado About Nothing and As You Like It were recorded in the Stationer’s Register, and a third play called The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark was likely performed on the stage for the first ... Show More
1h 17m
May 2025
Richard III by William Shakespeare ~ Full Audiobook [tragedy]
Richard III by William Shakespeare audiobook. Genre: tragedy In this gripping historical drama, England is still reeling from civil war when Richard, Duke of Gloucester, steps out of the shadows with a ruthless plan to seize the crown. Twisted in body and sharpened in mind, Richa ... Show More
3h 31m
Aug 2022
Othello by William Shakespeare ~ Full Audiobook [tragedy]
Othello by William Shakespeare audiobook. Genre: tragedy In the glittering, volatile world of Venetian power and military prestige, Othello, a celebrated Moorish general, has risen through skill and courage to command respect. But his private life becomes the talk of the city whe ... Show More
3h 10m