History of the Eighteenth Century in Ten Poems
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History of the Eighteenth Century in Ten Poems
Ten short podcasts on quirky aspects of eighteenth-century life. This series of short podcasts offers an alternative history of the eighteenth century. Ten poems were chosen that illustrate the everyday and the extraordinary, the comic and the serious aspects of the period. Each talk begins with a p...
Recent Episodes
10 episodes
Smallpox in poetry
Smallpox was rife in the eighteenth century, leaving its mark both on its sufferers, and on the literature of the period. This podcast explores its hi...
The poetry of war
Explores the aesthetics and impact of war poetry in the early eighteenth century, focussing on Joseph Addison's poem, The Campaign. Blood, guts and go...
The Ladle: a comic poem
Matthew Prior's The Ladle was one of the most popular poems of the eighteenth century. This podcast explores its appeal. Matthew Prior's The Ladle was...
Music in miscellanies
Much popular music of the eighteenth century is found in poetic miscellanies. But how was it performed? Giles Lewin explores the popular music of the...
Pastoral Poetry
Introduces the poetry of rural life, and its debt to classical sources. Often idealised, the rural and the rustic play an important part in eighteenth...
Politics in poetry
This podcast explores the culture of Jacobitism in the eighteenth century, using a popular ballad. The culture of Jacobite politics took many forms in...
The life of epigrams
This podcasts introduces the popular eighteenth century epigram. Epigrams were hugely popular in the eighteenth century, and this podcast explores som...
Petticoats and fashion
An introduction to the world of fashion and the politics of the petticoat, seen through the poetry of the time. This podcast gives a glimpse into the...
The Joys of Cricket
This podcast looks at cricket seen through eighteenth-century eyes, focussing on a poem by James Dance, called 'Cricket: An Heroic Poem.'.
Poetry and Tobacco
This podcast looks at the relationship between tobacco and poetic inspiration, through some popular comic poems.