Victorian Poetry
This playlist brings together seven courses on Victorian poetry. The first two provide a general introduction to the poetry of the Victorian period and how to read and analyse it. The next four courses focus on the work of several Victorian poets of note (Tennyson, Browning, Rossetti and Hardy).
What this playlist includes:
70 lectures across 7 courses.
All resources designed and delivered by university academics and researchers.
Self-marking quizzes for all lectures, as well as an end-of-topic quiz.
Reading lists, essay questions and extension activities.
Courses and Lectures
1. Victorian Poetry
Prof. Valentine Cunningham
Oxford University
Oxford University
1.1. Repetition – 10:49
1.2. Presence and Absence – 09:50
1.3. Sadness and Melancholy – 11:34
1.4. Selfhood and the Self – 12:11
1.5. Self-Reflexivity – 11:38
2. Poetry: How to Read and Analyse Poetry
Prof. John Lennard
Independent Scholar
Independent Scholar
2.1. Metre 1: Rhythm – 12:03
2.2. Metre 2: Scansion – 11:42
2.3. Form 1: Internal Baggage – 10:21
2.4. Form 2: External Baggage – 12:06
2.5. Layout – 12:22
2.6. Lineation – 13:52
2.7. Punctuation – 11:59
2.8. Rhyme 1: Definition and Degrees – 09:23
2.9. Rhyme 2: Type, Position and Relation – 11:59
2.10. Diction 1: The Scale of Choice – 11:53
2.11. Diction 2: The Demands of Register – 09:26
2.12. Syntax – 10:53
2.13. History – 11:49
2.14. Biography and Gender – 09:32
2.15. Close Reading and Beyond – 10:10
3. Tennyson: Maud
Prof. Seamus Perry
Oxford University
Oxford University
3.1. Monodrama – 05:17
3.2. Speculation – 07:03
3.3. Maud Herself – 05:36
3.4. Repetition – 06:43
3.5. The Ending of the Poem – 06:58
3.6. Maud and Other Poems – 06:13
4. Robert Browning: My Last Duchess
Mr Clive Wilmer
Cambridge University
Cambridge University
4.1. Introduction to the Poem – 09:24
4.2. Reading: "My Last Duchess" – 04:48
4.3. Analysing the Poem – 02:42
4.4. The Duke – 08:43
4.5. The Duchess and the Interlocutor – 05:39
4.6. Browning's Use of History – 09:31
5. The Poetry of Christina Rossetti
Dr Ross Wilson
Cambridge University
Cambridge University
5.1. Critical Reception – 11:19
5.2. Repetition – 11:17
5.3. Repetition – 09:08
5.4. Expectation – 12:59
5.5. Ambiguity and Uncertainty – 07:14
5.6. Speakers – 11:43
6. The Poetry of Christina Rossetti
Dr Tom Mole
Edinburgh University
Edinburgh University
6.1. Song: ‘When I am dead, my dearest’ – 14:38
6.2. Remember – 13:08
6.3. From the Antique – 10:39
6.4. Echo – 05:54
6.5. Shut Out – 08:02
6.6. In the Round Tower at Jhansi – 14:48
6.7. A Birthday – 10:59
6.8. Winter, My Secret – 06:10
6.9. Maude Clare – 06:40
6.10. Up-Hill – 08:21
6.11. ‘No, Thank You, John’ – 04:56
6.12. Good Friday – 13:24
6.13. Twice – 08:18
6.14. Soeur Louise de la Miséricorde – 11:56
7. The Poetry of Thomas Hardy
Prof. John McRae
Nottingham University
Nottingham University
7.1. Introduction to Thomas Hardy – 11:01
7.2. Her Initials – 04:21
7.3. The Ruined Maid – 07:45
7.4. The Roman Road – 07:01
7.5. On One Who Lived and Died Where He Was Born – 05:58
7.6. Drummer Hodge – 07:32
7.7. The Darkling Thrush – 10:41
7.8. The Oxen – 15:16
7.9. In Time of 'The Breaking of Nations' – 06:05
7.10. The Convergence of the Twain – 14:55
7.11. At Castle Boterel – 07:17
7.12. Under the Waterfall – 08:01
7.13. The Voice – 04:50
7.14. The Haunter – 04:03
7.15. Your Last Drive – 08:48
7.16. Afterwards – 06:00
7.17. I Looked Up From My Writing – 07:12
7.18. The Man He Killed and Conclusion – 08:13
What Next?
Check out these other playlists within English Literature:
