English Literature

In this course, Professor Stephen Morton (University of Southampton) discusses Chinua Achebe's 1958 novel Things Fall Apart. The course begins by introducing the author himself and the publication on the novel, before moving on in the second...

In this course, Dr John Rignall (University of Warwick) explores George Eliot's 1860 novel, The Mill on the Floss. The course begins by thinking about George Eliot herself and the place of the novel in her career. In the second...

In this course Dr Allison Adler Kroll (PhD student, University of Oxford) explores Ian McEwan's 2001 novel, Atonement. The course begins with a discussion of the book's title – what is atonement? what is atoned for? – before moving on...

In this course, Professor John Roe (University of York) explores Shakespeare's Henry V. The course begins with a brief introduction to the play as the fourth and final instalment in Shakespeare's second great tetralogy, before moving on in the...

In this course, Dr Christie Carson (Royal Holloway, London) explores Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. We begin in the first module by thinking of the play's status as a comedy: is it enough for the play to end with a marriage...

In this course, Professor Cedric Watts (University of Sussex) explores Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. The course begins by looking at Conrad's life – beginning with his upbringing in the small town of Berdychiv, and following his career as...

In this course, Professor Lisa Hopkins (University of Sheffield Hallam) discusses Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. In the first module, we consider 'the form of Faustus' fortunes', focusing in particular on the importance on books in the play – not least...

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...