A comprehensive interactive guide to prosody and metre in English poetry, using examples drawn from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Iron Maiden’s 1984 adaptation. Covers metrical feet, ballad metre, Coleridge’s variations, secondary stress, accentual-syllabic verse, free verse, and the interplay of metre with other poetic techniques. Includes interactive scansion exercises.
Iron Maiden’s 1984 epic has introduced Coleridge’s poem to millions. This video examines how Steve Harris weaves together Coleridge’s poem, his 1817 gloss, and his own words — and what is lost and gained in the process.
A colour-coded analysis of Iron Maiden’s 1984 heavy metal adaptation of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, identifying what Steve Harris drew verbatim from Coleridge’s poem, what he borrowed from the 1817 marginal gloss, and what he invented himself.
A complete parallel-text comparison of the 1798 and 1817 versions of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, with the 1817 marginal gloss displayed alongside and changes between versions highlighted throughout.
A technical companion to the video analysis: how Shelley constructed “Ode to the West Wind” using the ode form, sonnet cycle structure, and terza rima, with discussion questions.
A digital scholarly flipbook examining Chaucer’s ironic portrayal of the Prioress in the Canterbury Tales, with particular attention to Alexander Pope’s 1741 modernisation of the General Prologue.
A combined reading and analysis of the opening eighteen lines of Chaucer’s General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, examining the seasonal imagery, the pilgrimage context, and Chaucer’s use of irony.
A playlist bringing together all videos on Edwin Brock’s Five Ways to Kill a Man, including the combined reading and analysis.
A playlist bringing together all videos on Wordsworth’s Tintern Abbey, including readings, analysis, and an illustrated reading.
A playlist bringing together all videos on Keats’s Ode on a Grecian Urn, including a combined reading and analysis, a standalone analysis, and a plain reading.