Unknown Narrator

Pope Adrian VI

The narrator engages with Pope Adrian VI as a historical figure whose writings on reading and interpretation are analyzed, creating a scholarly but distant intellectual relationship.

Job

The narrator examines Job as a biblical archetype of suffering and patience, using his story to explore themes of endurance and divine justice in reading.

Cardinal Newman

The narrator closely analyzes Cardinal Newman's ideas on education and reading, treating him as a key intellectual influence.

Longinus

The narrator references Longinus's treatise on the sublime as a foundational text for understanding literary greatness.

Milton

The narrator engages with Milton's poetry and prose, particularly Paradise Lost, as a central text for exploring the art of reading.

Aristotle

The narrator draws on Aristotle's Poetics and rhetorical works as foundational frameworks for analyzing literature and reading.

John Earle

The narrator references John Earle's character sketches as examples of literary observation and moral commentary.

Socrates

The narrator invokes Socrates as a model of dialectical inquiry and the pursuit of truth through questioning.

Satan

The narrator analyzes Satan as a literary character in Milton, exploring his rhetorical power and moral ambiguity.

Apollo

The narrator references Apollo as a symbol of poetic inspiration and divine order in classical and Renaissance literature.

Plato

The narrator engages with Plato's dialogues and theories of forms to discuss the nature of reading and interpretation.

Shakespeare

The narrator uses Shakespeare's plays and sonnets as prime examples of the depth and complexity of literary reading.

On the Art of Reading

The narrator reflects on the art of reading and critiques modern educational practices.

Lecture I: Introductory

The narrator reflects on his own experience with a book that sparked his thoughts on literary study, and critiques the modern educational system.

Lecture II: Apprehension Versus Comprehension

Delivers the lecture, arguing for the art of reading as apprehension over comprehension, and criticizing the examination system.

Lecture III: Children's Reading (I)

The lecturer recounts personal experiences as a teacher in a Cornish school and as a child raised with strict religious teachings.

Lecture V: On Reading for Examinations

The lecturer, speaking to students about the challenges of reading for examinations.

Lecture VII: The Value of Greek and Latin in English Literature

Delivers the lecture, using personal anecdotes and rhetorical questions to advocate for classical education.

Lecture IX: On Reading the Bible (II)

Delivers the lecture, questioning the exclusion of the Bible from literary study and proposing its inclusion.

Lecture X: On Reading the Bible (III)

The lecturer, who presents the analysis of Job and argues for its literary value.

Lecture XI: Of Selection

The lecturer reflects on the problem of book accumulation and the need for selection, using personal observations and historical parallels.

Endnotes

The narrator reflects on the system of English teaching and provides endnotes.