All Episodes
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 in total
Ode to the West Wind: Destruction and Renewal
Today, Erika Kyba reads an excerpt from Percy Shelley's Ode to the West Wind, which celebrates the destructive spirit of the West Wind as a harbinger of renewal.
Holy Sonnet IX: A Heavenly, Lethean Flood
Today, Erika Kyba reads John Donne's Holy Sonnet IX, in which the poet wrestles with the themes of sin, guilt, and forgiveness.
Love (III): When Love Bids You Welcome
Today, Erika Kyba reads Love (III), the conclusion of George Herbert's Love series. This poem portrays the beautiful way in which Love crosses over the boundaries of g...
The Sacrifice: "Was Ever Grief Like Mine?"
Today, Erika Kyba reads an excerpt from George Herbert's The Sacrifice, a beautiful meditation on the Passion.
Love (II): Such True Desires
Today, Erika Kyba reads George Herbert's Love (II), in which the poet turns to correct the problems of disordered love that he raised in Love (I).
Love (I): Thou Standing By
Today, Erika Kyba reads George Herbert's Love (I). Join her to unpack his beautiful ode to a forgotten Creator.
Little Brother: The Wrath to Come
Today, Erika Kyba reads Robert W. Service's darkly enthralling "Little Brother." Together, we explore the truth of the poet's bleak vision, as well as looking for aven...
The Hollow Men: This is the Dead Land
Today, Erika Kyba reads the conclusion of T. S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men." Eliot continues to paint a picture of the dark, deathly kingdom that the hollow men find them...
Beggar to Beggar Cried: Driven by the Itch
Today, we explore "Beggar to Beggar Cried," by the Irish poet, William Butler Yeats. This is a poem about the desire for peace and security, juxtaposed with a restless...
The Hollow Men: When Life and Death Mean Nothing
Today, I am joined by Alexandra Comus to read an excerpt from "The Hollow Men," by T. S. Eliot. This is a poem that warns about the consequences of living without mean...
The Nativity Ode: When Wisest Fate Says No
Today, we continue exploring Milton's "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity." In this excerpt, we see that the joy of the Nativity sparks a longing and a hope for an Ed...
The Nativity Ode: Such Music Sweet
Today, we continue exploring Milton's "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity." In this excerpt, we witness Creation move from hushed awe to jubilant songs of praise.
The Nativity Ode: With Wonder Whist
Today, we continue exploring Milton's "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity." In this excerpt, Milton meditates on the cosmic awe that the Christ child's surpassing pow...
The Nativity Ode: When Light Comes to Darkness
Today, we explore Milton's "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity," which ponders the cosmic effects of Christ's coming into the world.
The Windhover: A Christological Kestrel
Today, we explore Hopkins's "The Windhover," a meditation on the flight of a kestrel. Hopkins opens our eyes to the wonder of a natural world that is richly layered wi...
The World is Too Much With Us: Bethink Your Creed
"Creed" is a concept that's often neglected in our day and age, as many nonreligious thinkers consider the idea of creed archaic or limiting. However, everyone has one...
Guigemar: The Confession
This final installment of Guigemar that we will read portrays Guigemar and his lady as they finally come to terms with their love for one another, and as Guigemar is s...
Guigemar: Cupid's Ambush
In this installment of Guigemar, the incandescent, fierce flame of desire begins to consume Guigemar and his lady.
Guigemar: The Hospitality
This installment of Guigemar portrays the lady's reply to the wounded knight and illuminates aspects of her character, such as her hospitality and virtue. However, the...
Guigemar: The Encounter
This installment of Guigemar portrays the first encounter between Guigemar and the imprisoned young lady. The poet brings some interesting elements to the forefront in...
Guigemar: The Caged Lady
This installment of Guigemar introduces some important new characters into the story. Most important of these is a young lady, imprisoned by her jealous and much older...
Guigemar: The Voyage
This installment of Guigemar takes our protagonist to a magical ship that sets sail without any prompting of his. Guigemar falls fast asleep in a room that bears stron...
Guigemar: The Curse
This installment of Guigemar portrays our protagonist's fateful hunt of a white hind with a stag's antlers. Considering the supernatural legends associated with the wh...
Guigemar: The Hunt
Today, we read an opening excerpt from Marie de France's Guigemar, a medieval tale of curses, courtly intrigue, and forbidden love. We examine the poet's characterizat...
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: Do I Dare to Eat a Peach?
Today, we finish out "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," watching the final analysis of our narrator's life play out. The narrator asks himself a seemingly bizarre...
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: The Perils of Communication
This installment of T. S. Eliot's "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" shows our narrator justifying his decision not to pursue his beloved by pointing out the perils of ...
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: When Death Itself Mocks Us
This installment of T. S. Eliot's "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" begins to unravel the dark consequences of our narrator's failure to courageously pursue that which...
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: How Should I Presume?
This installment of T. S. Eliot's "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" reintroduces our narrator's fruitless longing for romance, as he is paralyzed by beauty rather than...
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: To Dare or Not to Dare?
This installment of T. S. Eliot's "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" takes our narrator right up to the entrance of a social engagement, where he wavers between enterin...
The Poetry Fix: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Part 2
In this episode of The Poetry Fix, we revisit T. S. Eliot's Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.