Hi everyone, and welcome to the seventeenth episode of A History of Literary Criticism, a podcast about the history of literary criticism. Today’s episode concerns Wen-Hsin Tiao lung, a book by Liu Xie whose title can be translated as The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons. Nothing funny going on with the structure today—we’ll start with the social and literary context, then on to a pretty broad summary of what is an actual book-length text, and then a discussion in the context of Abrams’ triangle.
14 Aug 2024
16: The Poetic Exposition on Literature
Welcome to the sixteenth episode of A History of Literary Criticism, a podcast about the history of literary criticism. Today’s episode Is on Lu Chi’s The Poetic Exposition on LIterature. We’ll look at the social and cultural context first, then discuss the work in some detail, including its form, and then summarise Lu’s work, which is divided into two parts. Finally, we’ll consider the work in relation to the points of Abrams’ triangle.
30 Jul 2024
15: A Discourse on Literature
Welcome to the fifteenth episode of A History of Literary Criticism, a podcast about the history of literary criticism. Today’s episode concerns Ts’ao P’i’s A DIscourse on Literature. A fairly standard structure today: social and cultural context and then the summary of P’i’s work is divided according to the points of Abrams’ triangle: first, Ts’ao P’i’s thoughts on the artist, then the text, then the world. Significantly, no discussion of the reader, haha. In the conclusion, I’ll discuss how Ts’ao P’i’s positions align, or not, with the other theorists we’ve discussed so far.
23 Jul 2024
I'll Be Back Soon!
No music, nothing fancy, just a quick message to say I'll be back soon!
18 Jun 2024
14: The Maxims of Ptahhotep
Welcome to the fourteenth episode of A History of Literary Criticism. Today’s episode discusses The Maxims of Ptahhotep. The structure of today’s episode is a little different, because the text is quite short and this is the only text to be included, so far, from Ancient Egypt. So first I’ll discuss the social context and then the wisdom literature genre of which The Maxims of Ptahhotep is an example; then I’ll summarize the text and its relationship with Abrams’ triangle.
4 Jun 2024
13: The Great Preface
Welcome to the thirteenth episode of A History of Literary Criticism, a podcast about the history of literary criticism. Today’s episode is focused on a single text—The Great Preface. First we’ll discuss the social context and text itself and I’ll then move on to a discussion of the text itself. This discussion is divided into two main parts—firstly, what The Great Preface says about the nature and role of poetry, and then a discussion of the more ‘literary criticism’ aspects, including the categorisation of poetry and poetic genres.
21 May 2024
12: Confucius
The twelfth episode of A History of Literary Criticism, a podcast about the history of literary criticism. For today’s episode we’re going back to the fifth century BC to discuss Confucius’ work. We’ll start with Confucius’ biography, social and literary context, then focus on two main themes from Confucius’ Analects—the first is Confucius’ own literary criticism, that is, parts of Analects when he directly analyses poetry; the second is his theory of language as outlined in Analects. I’ll then situate Confucius’ thought within the context of Abrams’ triangle.
7 May 2024
11: Classical Theory
Welcome to the eleventh episode of A History of Literary Criticism, a podcast about the history of literary criticism. Today’s episode is a reflection on the texts we’ve covered so far as we move away from the Classical era. The episode is structured according to Abrams’ triangle, fist summarising approaches to considering the relationship between a text and the world, then the text and the reader, and then the text and the artist. I’ll finish today by discussing the overall structure and text selection of the podcast, which has preoccupied me a bit of late.
23 Apr 2024
10: Macrobius, Commentary on the Dream of Scipio
Hi everyone, and welcome to the tenth episode of A History of Literary Criticism, a podcast about the history of literary criticism. Today’s episode concerns Macrobius’ Commentary on the Dream of Scipio. I’ll discuss the author biography, social context and Cicero’s original text first, the subsequent discussion of Macrobius’ work is divided into three parts: philosophers’ use of fables, the significance of dreams, and a discussion of Macrobius’ broader methodology. I’ll then situate Macrobius’ work within the framework of Abrams’ triangle before discussing its broader impact and, yes, relationship to the work of Sigmund Freud.
9 Apr 2024
9: Augustine of Hippo
Welcome to the ninth episode of A History of Literary Criticism. Today’s episode concerns two sections from Augustine of Hippo’s works On Christian Doctrine and The Trinity. I’ll discuss a little of the author biography first, then the main part of the episode is divided into four parts: Augustine’s theory of interpretation, the relationship between intention and language outlined in the texts, the importance of knowledge to Augustine’s theorisations, and the role of communication. Then, to Abrams’ triangle! And the implications of Augustine’s work for Ferdinand de Saussure’s theory of language. Next week’s episode will be dedicated to Macrobius’ Commentary on the Dream of Scipio.
26 Mar 2024
8: Plotinus, On the Intellectual Beauty
The eighth episode of A History of Literary Criticism. Today’s focus is a section of Plotinus’ Fifth Ennead titled On the Intellectual Beauty. I’ll discuss a little of the author biography first, then three key principles I think are vital to understanding his work, his version of the creation myth and the implications of his philosophy for art, artists and readers.
12 Mar 2024
Episode 7: Institutio Oratoria
The seventh episode of A Histoy of Literary Criticism. For today’s episode, we return to the study of rhetoric with a discussion of Quintilian’s Institutio Oratoria. First I’ll outline Quintilian’s biography and the social context in which he lived, then I’ll give a brief overview of Institutio Oratoria before focusing on books 8, 9 and 12, which are the excerpts included in The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism.
27 Feb 2024
Episode 6: On the Sublime
The sixth episode of A History of Literary Criticism. The focus of today’s episode is a concept which, according to the The Sublime Reader, has interested a wide range of thinkers, including Guo Xi, Friedrich Schiller, Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley, Julia Kristeva and Frederic Jameson. Not only that, but Longinus’ work, according to G.M.A. Grube, ‘has a good claim to be considered the most enlightening critical document extant from antiquity, even in its present fragmentary state’.
7 Feb 2024
Relaunch!
I'm back! With some grand plans!
31 Oct 2020
Episode 5 - Ars Poetica
Episode Five of "The History of Literary Criticism" podcast. Today I will be discussing Ars Poetica by Horace. This is quite a complicated work and I really enjoyed reading about it, so the episode is a little longer than usual today. First I’ll discuss Horace’s biography, then some general comments about the form of Ars Poetica, then the summary of the content and general responses, as in previous episodes.
19 Sept 2020
Episode 4 - Aristotle's Rhetoric
Aristotle's Rhetoric
This episode discusses Aristotle's Rhetoric, including context, a summary, and discussion of Aristotle's work in a more contemporary context.
A transcript of the episode, with references, is available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/18heiN1D3fnCVGauSWi9bge8vgC3FZcom/view?usp=sharing
11 Jan 2020
Episode 3 - Aristotle's Poetics
The third episode of the podcast A History of Literary Criticism. This week’s episode discusses Aristotle’s "Poetics" including some biographical information, and important concepts from Aristotle’s broader work. A script of the episode with references is available on the website www.ahistoryofliterarycriticism.wordpress.com.
29 Dec 2019
Episode 2 - Plato
The second episode of the podcast A History of Literary Criticism. This week’s episode outlines Plato’s criticism including social and historical context, his opinions from Books 2, 3, and 10 of The Republic and the implications of his work today. A script of the episode with references is available on the website www.ahistoryofliterarycriticism.wordpress.com.
21 Dec 2019
Episode 1 - What Is?
The first episode of the podcast A History of Literary Criticism. This week’s episode is entitled “What is…?” and provides some context for the rest of the series, as well as outlining some key debates and definitions. A script of the episode with references is available on the website www.ahistoryofliterarycriticism.wordpress.com.
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