English Literature

In this course, Professor Lisa Hopkins (University of Sheffield Hallam) explores Christopher Marlowe's The Jew of Malta. In the first module, we consider the character of Machiaval/Machiavelli and the presentation of morality in the play, before...

In this course, Professor John Roe (University of York) explores Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part I. The course begins by introducing the tetralogy as a whole (Richard II—Henry IV, Part I—Henry IV, Part II—Henry V), before focusing on the play’s four...

In this course, Professor Lisa Hopkins (Sheffield Hallam) explores John Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore. The course begins by exploring the play’s central theme—incest—before moving on to consider the concepts of ‘heart’ and ‘blood’. After that, we...

In this course, Dr Ross Wilson (University of Cambridge) explores the poetry of Christina Rossetti. Having begun with a summary of Rossetti’s critical reception, both in her own lifetime and then after her death, we then explore Rossetti’s poetry...

In this course, Professor John Lennard explores John Ford’s 17th-century tragedy, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore. The course begins by thinking about john Ford himself, about whom we know very little, and his literary output, before moving on to explore...

In this course, Professor John Lennard explores John Webster’s masterpiece, the Duchess of Malfi. The course begins by thinking about John Webster himself, about whom we know very little, and the historical context for the play itself. After that,...

In this course, Dr Ross Wilson (University of Cambridge) explores the poetry of John Keats. In the first two modules, we think of Keats in terms of first reader, then writer, thinking about his engagement with both the texts of...

In this course, Professor Valentine Cunningham (University of Oxford) explores Victorian Poetry, looking specifically at the poetry of Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christina Rossetti, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Thomas Hardy. As we...

In this course, Professor Sir Drummond Bone (University of Oxford) discusses the life and poetry of Lord Byron. After a brief introduction to the man himself—once famously described as “mad, bad, and dangerous to know”—we then provide a brief...

In this course, Dr Alfie Bown (University of Manchester) explores Dickens’ 1849-50 novel David Copperfield. After a brief introduction that sets the novel in its historical context, we turn to some of the major themes of the novel, including how...

In this course, Dr Alfie Bown (University of Manchester) explores Dickens’ 1854 novel, Hard Times. As we move through the course, we think about the philosophy of Utilitarianism (thinking in particular about Mr. Gradgrind), about class (thinking...

In this course, Ms Karen Hewitt (University of Oxford) explores Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles. As we move through the course, we think about the social context of the novel—particularly Victorian ideas about female sexuality—and the...