
French literary critics
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods.
4 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
Germaine de Staël
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas, works and life of Germaine de Stael (1766-1817), a literary critic, author, opponent of Napoleon and developer of Romanticism.
16 November 2017
Featuring: Catriona Seth, Alison Finch, Katherine Astbury
CultureFrench travel writers19th-century French novelists, 19th-century French women writersConversationalistsFrench Roman Catholics19th-century French letter writersFrench women philosophersFrench literary criticsWriters from Paris19th-century French philosophersFrench salon-holdersFrench feminists18th-century philosophersConverts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism, Romantic philosophersWomen in the French Revolution18th-century French women writersPeople of the First French EmpireFrench women novelistsProust
Melvyn Bragg discusses the life and achievements of the 19th century French novelist Marcel Proust whose 3000 page work À La Recherche du Temps Perdu has been called the definitive modern novel.
17 April 2003
Featuring: Jacqueline Rose, Malcolm Bowie, Robert Fraser
Conversationalists20th-century atheistsFrench philosophers of art19th-century French philosophersLGBTQ Roman Catholics19th-century French LGBTQ people, 20th-century French LGBTQ people19th-century mysticsPhilosophers of literatureFrench Roman Catholic writersFrench atheistsBurials at Père Lachaise Cemetery20th-century French novelistsFormer Roman CatholicsAphoristsDeaths from pneumonia in France, Prix Goncourt winnersFrench male non-fiction writersFrench literary criticsPeople with hypochondriasisFrench essayists19th-century atheists20th-century mystics20th-century French philosophersLycée Condorcet alumniFrench short story writersFrench LGBTQ novelistsWriters from ParisModernist writers20th-century French essayists, 20th-century French short story writersSartre
Melvyn Bragg discusses the life and works of French novelist, playwright and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.
7 October 2004
Featuring: Jonathan Rée, Benedict O'Donohoe, Christina Howells
PhilosophyLycée Henri-IV alumni20th-century atheistsNobel laureates in LiteratureFrench sociologistsBlind writersFrench communistsFrench philosophers of artPhilosophers of nihilismFrench biographers, French ethicistsExistentialistsPhilosophers of social scienceFrench philosophers of sciencePhilosophers of deathÉcole Normale Supérieure alumniTheorists on Western civilizationPhilosophers of literatureContinental philosophersPhilosophers of sexualityPhenomenologistsFree love advocatesFrench atheistsPhilosophy writersCritical theoristsBurials at Montparnasse CemeteryFrench Nobel laureates20th-century French novelistsFrench humanistsLegion of Honour refusals20th-century French dramatists and playwrightsFrench magazine foundersFrench anarchists, French anti-capitalists, French anti-fascistsFrench philosophers of historyAphoristsFrench philosophers of educationFrench political philosophersFrench epistemologistsFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesLycée Louis-le-Grand alumniFrench Marxists, French anti-war activistsFrench literary criticsLibertarian socialistsFrench philosophers of cultureFrench Resistance membersAtheist philosophersFrench scientists with disabilitiesOntologistsPhilosophers of mindMetaphysicians20th-century French philosophersWriters from ParisFrench socialistsScholars of antisemitismSimone de Beauvoir
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Simone de Beauvoir - her work on existentialist ethics, philosophy and literature and her influence on feminism.
22 October 2015
Featuring: Christina Howells, Margaret Atack, Ursula Tidd
PhilosophySocialist feministsFrench communistsFrench philosophers of artFeminist theoristsExistentialistsFrench feministsBisexual women writersPhilosophers of sexuality20th-century French memoiristsFrench bisexual women, French bisexual writersFrench atheistsBurials at Montparnasse Cemetery20th-century French novelistsFormer Roman CatholicsFeminist studies scholarsJerusalem Prize recipientsFrench philosophers of educationFrench political philosophersCommunist women writersBisexual memoiristsDeaths from pneumonia in France, Prix Goncourt winnersFrench women philosophersFrench Marxists, French anti-war activistsFrench literary criticsAtheist philosophersBisexual novelistsFrench women novelists20th-century French philosophers20th-century French women writersFrench LGBTQ novelistsWriters from ParisUniversity of Paris alumniScholars of feminist philosophy