The Classic English Literature Podcast Podcast By M. G. McDonough cover art

The Classic English Literature Podcast

The Classic English Literature Podcast

By: M. G. McDonough
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Where rhyme gets its reason! In a historical survey of English literature, I take a personal and philosophical approach to the major texts of the tradition in order to not only situate the poems, prose, and plays in their own contexts, but also to show their relevance to our own. This show is for the general listener: as a teacher of high school literature and philosophy, I am less than a scholar but more than a buff. I hope to edify and entertain!

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Episodes
  • Isaac Watt: The Father of English Hymnody

    Isaac Watt: The Father of English Hymnody
    Apr 5 2026

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    For this Easter holiday, I thought we'd look at a hymn lyric from a very influential writer who is often overlooked in discussions of literature: Isaac Watt. You can find the full text of the lyric in the transcript.

    Additional Music: "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" perf. The Choir of St. Margaret's, Westminster (1931) His Master's Voice (B 3746)

    https://archive.org/details/78_when-i-survey-the-wondrous-cross_choir-of-st-margarets-westminster-miller-herber_gbia0438074b

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    Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you!

    If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!

    Or Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/classicenglishliterature


    Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com

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    Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
    Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
    Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
    My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
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    15 mins
  • Imitation and Optimism: The Essays of Alexander Pope

    Imitation and Optimism: The Essays of Alexander Pope
    Mar 14 2026

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    Alexander Pope, whom some critics regard as the most important poet of the early 18th century, set out to comprehensively explain the rules that governed art, poetry, and humanity itself. And, it turns out, they're all the same rules.

    Support the show

    Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you!

    If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!

    Or Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/classicenglishliterature


    Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com

    Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

    Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
    Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
    Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
    My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
    Show more Show less
    35 mins
  • A Critique of Reason: Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

    A Critique of Reason: Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
    Feb 1 2026

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    While many may think of Swift's magnificent octopus as a mere children's adventure tale, it is, in fact, one of the darkest and most troubling satires in the English language. Written as the Enlightenment began asserting rationality as the measure of all things, Gulliver's Travels questions the very premises of western culture themselves.


    Link to Gulliver's Travels: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/17157/17157-h/17157-h.htm

    Support the show

    Please like, subscribe, and rate the podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube Music, or wherever you listen. Thank you!

    If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting it with a small donation. Click the "Support the Show" button. So grateful!

    Or Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/classicenglishliterature


    Email: classicenglishliterature@gmail.com

    Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

    Podcast Theme Music: "Rejoice" by G.F. Handel, perf. The Advent Chamber Orchestra
    Subcast Theme Music: "Sons of the Brave" by Thomas Bidgood, perf. The Band of the Irish Guards
    Sound effects and incidental music: Freesounds.org
    My thanks and appreciation to all the generous providers!
    Show more Show less
    49 mins
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