English Literature

In this course, Professor Tiffany Stern (University of Oxford) explores how Shakespeare was originally rehearsed, acted and watched, and how this might change our understand of some of his plays. In the first module, we think about actors' roles...
6 lectures
0:52:19
Prof. Tiffany Stern
Royal Holloway, London
English Literature

In this course, Dr John Lennard explores Shakespeare's Hamlet. In the first module, we explore the idea of Hamlet as a revenge tragedy, and think about how Shakespeare has complicated the basic structure. In the second module, we consider the...
5 lectures
0:53:30
Prof. John Lennard
Independent Scholar
English Literature

In Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare's first tragedy, the fragmentation of sacrificed and mutilated bodies gives rise to a polyphony of dismemberment. Over the course of these six lectures, Andrew Zurcher explores how Shakespeare figures the...
6 lectures
1:23:22
Dr Andrew Zurcher
Cambridge University
English Literature

In this course, Mr Clive Wilmer (University of Cambridge) provides an in-depth analysis of Robert Browning's 'My Last Duchess'. The course begins by introducing Browning himself and the dramatic monologue form, before asking us to consider the...
6 lectures
0:40:47
Mr Clive Wilmer
Cambridge University
Classics & Ancient History

In this lecture, Professor Paul Cartledge (University of Cambridge) examines the ancient city-state of Sparta. In the first module, we discuss the evidence for ancient Sparta, noting the tendency for both contemporary and later writers to...
6 lectures
1:02:07
Prof. Paul Cartledge
Cambridge University
English Literature

In this course, Dr Marion Turner (University of Oxford) provides an introduction to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The course begins with a discussion of the opening lines of the General Prologue, before going on to discuss Chaucer himself, the...
6 lectures
0:59:48
Prof. Marion Turner
Oxford University
English Literature

In this course, Professor Diane Purkiss (Oxford) explores Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, with a particular focus on some of the more magical aspects of the play. The course begins with an exploration of the idea of the "Midsummer Night"...
5 lectures
0:43:29
Prof. Diane Purkiss
Oxford University
Classics & Ancient History

In this course, we explore the art and architecture of the Greek world, looking in particular at free-standing sculpture (both Archaic and Classical), architectural sculpture, vase painting, and temple architecture. Within each of these...
6 lectures
1:00:13
Prof. Amy Smith
Reading University
English Literature

In this course, Dr Will Abberley (University of Oxford) explores the influence of Charles Darwin's 'Origin of Species' on contemporary works of Victorian literature: 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens, 'The Coming Race' by Edward...
4 lectures
0:40:37
Dr Will Abberley
Oxford University
English Literature

In this course, Dr Charles Moseley (Cambridge) explores Shakespeare's last play, 'The Tempest'. The first modules concentrate on historical context, looking in particular at the influence of the accession of King James to the throne, and the...
8 lectures
0:57:02
Dr Charles Moseley
Cambridge University
English Literature

In this course, Dr Edmund White (University of Oxford) explores the religious and literary background of Paradise Lost. This course provides an introduction to the religious culture of seventeenth-century England, and shows how this culture...
24 lectures
0:51:03
Dr Edmund White
Oxford University
Classics & Ancient History

In a special set of two lectures, Dr Elton Barker (Open University) explores the worlds of the Homeric epics, suggesting in particular that both the Iliad and the Odyssey question the use of violence as a means of conflict-resolution. In...
2 lectures
0:31:24
Dr Elton Barker
Open University