English Literature
From Beowulf to Carol Ann Duffy, via Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth, the Brontes, and others.
English Literature

In this course, Professor Marion Turner (University of Oxford) explores The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale, part of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. We begin by thinking about the portrait of the Wife of Bath in the General Prologue of the Canterbury...
5 lectures
0:54:45
Prof. Marion Turner
Oxford University
English Literature

In this course, Dr Ross Wilson (University of Cambridge) explores the poetry of the great Romantic poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley. We begin in the first module by providing a brief overview of Shelley's short life and career with an emphasis on ...
6 lectures
1:08:11
Dr Ross Wilson
Cambridge University
English Literature

In this course, Professor Lisa Hopkins (Sheffield Hallam University) discusses John Webster’s play The Duchess of Malfi. We begin by thinking about Gothic motifs in the play, focusing in particular on instances of double-ness or twinning. In ...
5 lectures
0:48:30
Prof. Lisa Hopkins
Sheffield Hallam University
English Literature

In this course, Professor John McRae (University of Nottingham) explores the fifteen poems that make up the 'Power and Conflict' cluster in the GCSE English Literature on AQA. Each poem is read in detail, with a short commentary highlighting...
15 lectures
2:30:26
Prof. John McRae
Nottingham University
English Literature

In this course, Professor John Roe (University of York) explores Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. We begin by thinking about the sources for the play, focusing in particular on the works of Plutarch, before moving on in the second module to give a...
8 lectures
1:04:22
Prof. John Roe
York University
English Literature

In this course, Dr Madeleine Davies (University of Reading) explores Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel, Mrs Dalloway. In the first three modules, we outline some of the key contexts for the novel, including: (i) the life and career of Virginia Woolf;...
10 lectures
2:01:36
Dr Madeleine Davies
Reading University
English Literature

In this course, Professor Derek Attridge (University of York) explores J. M. Coetzee’s Booker Prize winning novel, Disgrace. We begin in the first module with a broad introduction to the novel, focusing on the novel’s narrative voice, its use of...
5 lectures
0:47:43
Prof. Derek Attridge
York University
English Literature
Philosophy

In this course, Professor Peter Lamarque (University of York) provides a broad introduction to the philosophy of literature. In the first module, we think about what philosophy actually is. What kinds of questions does the philosopher of...
5 lectures
0:53:20
Prof. Peter Lamarque
York University
English Literature

In this course, Professor John McRae (University of Nottingham) explores John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. We begin with a broad introduction to the world of the novel, focusing in particular on life in America during the Great Depression ...
10 lectures
2:11:28
Prof. John McRae
Nottingham University
English Literature

In this nineteen-part course, Professor John McRae (University of Nottingham) explores Shakespeare’s Macbeth. We begin with a broad introduction to historical, political ...
19 lectures
3:07:34
Prof. John McRae
Nottingham University
English Literature

In this fifteen-part course, Professor John McRae (University of Nottingham) explores Shakespeare’s Hamlet, focusing in particular on Hamlet’s development from “a rogue and peasant slave” to the perfect (“most royal”) king. We begin in the first...
15 lectures
1:55:09
Prof. John McRae
Nottingham University
English Literature

In this course, Dr Sarah Robertson (University of West England) explores John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel, The Grapes of Wrath. We begin by providing some historical context to the novel, focusing in particular on the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl...
4 lectures
0:36:52
Dr Sarah Robertson
UWE Bristol