In the fifth episode of Among the Ancients II we turn to Greek lyric, focusing on Pindar’s victory odes, considered a benchmark for the sublime since antiquity, and the vivid, narrative-driven dithyrambs of Bacchylides. Through close reading, Emily and Tom tease out allusions, lexical flourishes and formal experimentation, and explain the highly contextual n ... Show More
Yesterday
Who’s afraid of realism? ‘The Death of Ivan Ilyich’ by Leo Tolstoy
In the late 1870s, shortly after the publication of Anna Karenina, Tolstoy experienced what might be described today as a midlife crisis. In his short autobiographical book A Confession, finished in 1880, he questioned what meaning there is in life that is not annihilated by the ... Show More
23m 23s
Apr 20
London Revisited: Plague, Rebellion and Guilds
If historians of medieval London had a patron saint, it might well be Edward I. While many English monarchs chose to leave London to its own devices, Edward decided from the start of his reign in 1272 to put pressure on the city to justify its liberties. The result was a profusio ... Show More
27m 44s
Nov 2023
Next Year on Close Readings: Among the Ancients II
For the final introduction to next year’s full Close Readings programme, Emily Wilson, celebrated classicist and translator of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, returns for a second season of Among the Ancients, to take on another twelve vital works of Greek and Roman literature with th ... Show More
11m 41s
May 2023
Andrew Epstein on John Ashbery ("Street Musicians")
An episode I've been waiting for from the beginning: Andrew Epstein joins the podcast to talk about John Ashbery, one of the most important poets of the last hundred years, and his beautiful and haunting poem of mid-career, "Street Musicians."Andrew is Professor of English at Flo ... Show More
1h 28m
May 2023
Manon Lescaut (Partie 2) - Abbé Prévost
Dans cette deuxième partie, écoutez la suite et la fin de l'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut. C'est un roman-mémoires écrit par l'abbé Prévost, et publié en 1731. Nous vous en proposons le meilleur résumé possible mais nous vous invitons aussi, bien sûr, à lir ... Show More
15 m
Apr 2023
Harris Feinsod on William Carlos Williams ("To Elsie")
Harris Feinsod joins the podcast to talk about William Carlos Williams, his great book of 1923, Spring and All, and one of its strange and unforgettable poems, "To Elsie."Harris is an associate professor of English and Comparative Literary Studies at Northwestern University. He i ... Show More
1h 21m
Jul 2023
Liberté, de Paul Éluard ✍️
<p>Paul Éluard, de son vrai nom Eugène Grindel, est l'auteur du célèbre poème "Liberté". Un texte écrit pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale et devenu un symbole d'espoir, marquant ainsi plusieurs générations. C'est le deuxième poème que nous vous proposons d'écouter au cours de no ... Show More
4m 56s
Oct 2022
Episode 2 - Le pardon
<p>Philosophy Is Sexy n’est pas qu’un podcast, c’est une parenthèse intime, un pas de côté, pour oser la philosophie, la désacraliser, la remettre au cœur de notre vie et se laisser inspirer. Marie Robert, auteure du best-seller traduit en quinze langues, "Kant tu ne sais plus qu ... Show More
24 m
Jul 2022
779. [2/2] Poetry Reading: Sir Gawain and The Green Knight (by Simon Armitage)
<p>Luke reads verses from a modernised version of this medieval poem, considered one of the masterpieces of Middle English literature. </p><p>Listen to hear the rhyme and rhythm of the poetry, the descriptive vocabulary and details of the story, with vocabulary explanations and c ... Show More
1h 38m