Critical Readings

The panel discusses the third act—the 'beginning of woe'—when the drama shifts decidedly from comedy to tragedy with the departure of Mercutio and Juliet's nurse from the action, and with both Romeo and Juliet considering death rather than separation.Continue reading

The panel discusses the second act, including the secret marriage plans facilitated by Friar Laurence, with attention given to the impetuous behaviour of Romeo and Juliet, and the dangerously enabling conduct of those around them, Mercutio excepted.Continue reading

The panel discusses the genre classification of Romeo and Juliet before moving on to an examination of the poem's first act, with special attention given to the love-violence parallels, characterisation of the feuding families, and bawdy use of puns.Continue reading

The panel concludes The Dunciad with a full reading of the standalone text that became the fourth book of the 1743 edition, before examining Pope's position within the canon of early modern literature and examining his critical appraisal of his culture.Continue reading

The panel reads the third book of the 1743 Dunciad, in which the poem swells to its crescendo, heaping scorn upon the agents of Dullness and the rampant spirits of ignorance and commercialism that threaten the survival of the arts from opera to poetry.Continue reading