Introduction to the Auden's 'Ode'

Try this introduction to Auden's poem 'Ode'.

The Road - 1

This is the first podcast on Cormac McCarthy's The Road. The podcast covers some of the more basic pointers of AO2 that you definitely need to understand.

As I Walked Out One Evening

This is the second podcast on 'As I Walked Out One Evening'. MAke sure you listen to the other on first; this podcast talks about the moment that the 'clocks' start speaking right the way through to the end of the poem.

O What is that Sound?

'O WHat is that Sound' is a ballad; or rather, Auden (like Coleridge) uses the conventions of a ballad in order to create interesting meanings. Although there is FAR more to say about this poem than can be expressed in a few minutes, this podcast is a good place to start.

As I Walked Out One Evening

This poem appears very simple at the start; it isn't! The meanings of the poem are philosophical: time, love and life are explored. They aren't so much defined, as 'explored'. However, the construction of the poem is fascinating, too. Here, the podcast covers the frame narrative and the first change of 'point of view' - Auden's doing very well to include all those in the first few stanzas.

Othello - Othello's Descent into 'Otherness'

This podcast covers Othello's descent from rhetorical master into illogical babbling prose! In many ways, Othello actually BECOMES an 'other' because of the treatment Iago gives him: 'working' (Othello even uses the word 'wrought' int hat sense) Othello into the madman he becomes.

Othello - Introduction to Tragedy

This is a very brief podcast on the features of tragedy: you need to write about these for AO4! This podcast takes you through the plot, and the features of a tragic hero, tragic villain and tragic victim.