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<rss xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:podcast="https://podcastindex.org/namespace/1.0" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" version="2.0"><channel><title>Venus and Adonis (Version 2)</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/venus-and-adonis-version-2--7102630</link><description><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></description><atom:link href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/7102630/episodes/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><language>en</language><category>Books</category><copyright>Copyright Nature Genre</copyright><image><url>https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/9505310c793e54d67898a34af45ccb07.jpg</url><title>Venus and Adonis (Version 2)</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/venus-and-adonis-version-2--7102630</link></image><lastBuildDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:08:49 +0000</lastBuildDate><itunes:author>William Shakespeare</itunes:author><itunes:owner><itunes:name>Nature Genre</itunes:name><itunes:email>spreaker69@podcastlibrary.org</itunes:email></itunes:owner><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/9505310c793e54d67898a34af45ccb07.jpg"/><itunes:subtitle>Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></itunes:summary><itunes:category text="Arts"><itunes:category text="Books"/></itunes:category><itunes:category text="Health &amp; Fitness"/><itunes:category text="Health &amp; Fitness"><itunes:category text="Mental Health"/></itunes:category><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><podcast:guid>c48d68a4-7691-5c90-9668-e0b10bbe1751</podcast:guid><itunes:type>episodic</itunes:type><item><title>Early Church Collection Volume 3-Various</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/early-church-collection-volume-3-various--74085417</link><description><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74085417</guid><pubDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:01:17 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74085417/early_church_collection_volume_3_various.mp3" length="220448351" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Shakespeare</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>27528</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/9505310c793e54d67898a34af45ccb07.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Tales of the Enchanted Islands of the Atlantic-Thomas Wentworth Higginson</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/tales-of-the-enchanted-islands-of-the-atlantic-thomas-wentworth-higginson--74060844</link><description><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74060844</guid><pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:03:05 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74060844/7717_tales_of_the_enchanted_islands_of_the_atlantic_thomas_wentworth_higginson.mp3" length="137529201" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Shakespeare</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>17174</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/9505310c793e54d67898a34af45ccb07.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Once on a Time-A. A. Milne</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/once-on-a-time-a-a-milne--74036242</link><description><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74036242</guid><pubDate>Sun, 23 Aug 2026 09:02:57 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74036242/3337_once_on_a_time_a_a_milne.mp3" length="163492636" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Shakespeare</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>20416</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/9505310c793e54d67898a34af45ccb07.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Tanglewood Tales-Nathaniel Hawthorne</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/tanglewood-tales-nathaniel-hawthorne--74014520</link><description><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74014520</guid><pubDate>Sat, 22 Aug 2026 09:02:33 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74014520/tanglewood_tales_nathaniel_hawthorne.mp3" length="186405862" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Shakespeare</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>23278</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/9505310c793e54d67898a34af45ccb07.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Four Hymns-Edmund Spenser</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/four-hymns-edmund-spenser--73989539</link><description><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73989539</guid><pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2026 09:02:57 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73989539/four_hymns_edmund_spenser.mp3" length="34401374" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Shakespeare</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>4296</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/9505310c793e54d67898a34af45ccb07.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Tempest-William Davenant, John Dryden</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/tempest-william-davenant-john-dryden--73966727</link><description><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73966727</guid><pubDate>Thu, 20 Aug 2026 09:03:08 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73966727/tempest_william_davenant_john_dryden.mp3" length="81177225" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Shakespeare</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>10137</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/9505310c793e54d67898a34af45ccb07.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Crock of Gold-James Stephens</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/crock-of-gold-james-stephens--73944187</link><description><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73944187</guid><pubDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2026 09:02:56 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73944187/crock_of_gold_james_stephens.mp3" length="169417277" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Shakespeare</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>21156</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/9505310c793e54d67898a34af45ccb07.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Rootabaga Stories-Carl Sandburg</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/rootabaga-stories-carl-sandburg--73919262</link><description><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73919262</guid><pubDate>Tue, 18 Aug 2026 09:03:24 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73919262/rootabaga_stories_carl_sandburg.mp3" length="93015360" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Shakespeare</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>11615</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/9505310c793e54d67898a34af45ccb07.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>1 - Venus and Adonis</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/1-venus-and-adonis--73894561</link><description><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73894561</guid><pubDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:03:31 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73894561/1_venus_and_adonis.mp3" length="33070479" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Shakespeare</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>4115</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/f76807cecdd064e2b0919199af01ba14.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Wild Duck-Henrik Ibsen</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/wild-duck-henrik-ibsen--73870686</link><description><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73870686</guid><pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2026 09:03:27 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73870686/wild_duck_henrik_ibsen.mp3" length="97712773" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Shakespeare</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>12202</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/9505310c793e54d67898a34af45ccb07.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Weston Translation Version 2)-The Gawain Poet</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/sir-gawain-and-the-green-knight-weston-translation-version-2-the-gawain-poet--73850949</link><description><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73850949</guid><pubDate>Sat, 15 Aug 2026 09:04:15 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73850949/17355_sir_gawain_and_the_green_knight_weston_translation_version_2_the_gawain_poet.mp3" length="57720005" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Shakespeare</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[Both Ovid and Spenser also treat this ancient myth, but Spenser alters the ending, converting the tale into an archetype of fulfilled love, whereas Ovid, like Shakespeare, combines humor with pathos as a buffer against sentimentality. Ovid’s Venus behaves absurdly out of character, becoming a huntress to keep her lover company in the woods. Shakespeare, however, preserves decorum; his Venus remains at all times the queen of love. The humor arises rather from the fact that the would-be paramour isn’t interested. This endows the goddess’s wooing with nearly slapstick over-exertion, and yet her sincerity makes her appealing, while Adonis’s immaturity forces us to respect his chastity. The pathos comes, of course, from the unhappy ending—more unhappy because we do not expect a comedy to end sadly, especially not when we sympathize with the characters. The poetic form or genre, the epyllion, is an erotic narrative based on mythology, like Marlowe's Hero and Leander and, later, Phineus Fletcher's Venus and Anchises, also found in the Librivox catalogue. Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both narrative poems, are the only works that Shakespeare ever carefully saw through the press. - Summary by T. A. Copeland]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>7208</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/9505310c793e54d67898a34af45ccb07.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Milton's Minor Poems-John Milton</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/milton-s-minor-poems-john-milton--73360625</link><description><![CDATA["Milton's Minor Poems" showcases the lyrical prowess of John Milton, featuring a collection of his lesser-known yet profoundly impactful works. These poems delve into themes of love, nature, and the human condition, offering listeners a glimpse into the emotional and philosophical landscapes that shaped Milton's thought. The beauty of his language and the depth of his insights resonate with timeless relevance, inviting reflection on the complexities of life and the interplay of passion and reason. Engaging with these minor poems allows audiences to appreciate the richness of Milton's artistry and the enduring power of poetry to illuminate the human experience.]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73360625</guid><pubDate>Mon, 03 Aug 2026 01:46:00 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73360625/milton_s_minor_poems_john_milton.mp3" length="113621840" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>William Shakespeare</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>"Milton's Minor Poems" showcases the lyrical prowess of John Milton, featuring a collection of his lesser-known yet profoundly impactful works. These poems delve into themes of love, nature, and the human condition, offering listeners a glimpse into...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA["Milton's Minor Poems" showcases the lyrical prowess of John Milton, featuring a collection of his lesser-known yet profoundly impactful works. These poems delve into themes of love, nature, and the human condition, offering listeners a glimpse into the emotional and philosophical landscapes that shaped Milton's thought. The beauty of his language and the depth of his insights resonate with timeless relevance, inviting reflection on the complexities of life and the interplay of passion and reason. Engaging with these minor poems allows audiences to appreciate the richness of Milton's artistry and the enduring power of poetry to illuminate the human experience.]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>14188</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/9505310c793e54d67898a34af45ccb07.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item></channel></rss>
