{"podcast":{"title":"Close Readings","slug":"close-readings-6008264","podcast_index_feed_id":6008264,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/LRB7524563961","website_url":"https://lrb.me/closereadings","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/8048b732-4c5a-11f0-b296-b352f3a58800/image/5fa291b4c093e3f1c80cfc2115b27a8a.jpeg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"London Review of Books","episode_count":209,"summary":"Close Readings is a multi-series podcast from the London Review of Books. Two contributors explore areas of literature through a selection of key works, providing an introductory grounding like no other. Listen to some episodes for free here, and extracts from our ongoing subscriber-only series. How To Subscribe In Apple Podcasts, click 'subscribe' at the top of this podcast feed to unlock the full episodes. Or for other podcast apps, sign up here: https://lrb.me/closereadings RUNNING IN 2026 'Who's afraid of realism?' with James Wood and guests 'Nature in Crisis' with Meehan Crist and Peter Godfrey-Smith 'Narrative Poems' with Seamus Perry and Mark Ford 'London Revisited' with Rosemary Hill and guests Bonus Series: 'The Man Behind the Curtain' with Tom McCarthy and Thomas Jones ALSO INCLUDED IN THE CLOSE READINGS SUBSCRIPTION: 'Conversations in Philosophy' with Jonathan Rée and James Wood 'Fiction and the Fantastic' with Marina Warner, Anna Della Subin, Adam Thirlwell and Chloe Aridjis 'Love and Death' with Seamus Perry and Mark Ford 'Novel Approaches' with Clare Bucknell, Thomas Jones and other guests 'Among the Ancients' with Emily Wilson and Thomas Jones 'Medieval Beginnings'…","last_synced_at":"2026-06-19T04:18:10.768764+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264"},"episode":{"title":"Narrative Poems: ‘Paradise Lost’ (Book 9) by John Milton","slug":"narrative-poems-paradise-lost-book-9-by-john-milton","published_at":"2026-03-16T13:33:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/narrative-poems-paradise-lost-book-9-by-john-milton","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264","url":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/LRB6228821944.mp3?updated=1773668156","audio_url":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/LRB6228821944.mp3?updated=1773668156","summary":"When Milton came to describe Eve’s tasting of the forbidden fruit, he knew he couldn’t rely on suspense to grip the reader. Instead, he used multiple genres and perspectives to interrogate the moral and emotional significance of ‘man’s first disobedience’, self-consciously drawing on the resources of Renaissance tragedy, pastoral and love poetry to achieve his great innovation, the Christian epic. In this episode, Seamus and Mark look at the ways in which Milton’s study of temptation and free will became an unparalleled expression of poetic brilliance, from its thrillingly ambiguous and seductive depiction of Satan to its vivid dramatisation of the reproachful lovers confronting the consequences of their misdeeds, and ultimately its claim to being the finest love poem in English. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and to all our other Close Readings series, sign up: Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/applesignupnp Other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/scsignupnp Read more in the LRB: Colin Burrow: Loving Milton https://lrb.me/npmilton01 Tom Paulin: Milton and the Regicides: https://lrb.me/mpmilton02 Tobias Gregory: Milton’s Theology: https://lrb.me/npmilton03 Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"When Milton came to describe Eve’s tasting of the forbidden fruit, he knew he couldn’t rely on suspense to grip the reader. Instead, he used multiple genr…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":986,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/close-readings-6008264/episodes/narrative-poems-paradise-lost-book-9-by-john-milton/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/close-readings-6008264/narrative-poems-paradise-lost-book-9-by-john-milton.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}