English Literature

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 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, we explore several aspects of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, thinking in particular about the play in performance. In the first module, we think about how Shakespeare manipulates, fuses, and pays with genre, before moving on to...

In this course, Dr Linda Freedman (University College, London) explores the poetry of the 19th-century American poet, Emily Dickinson. The course begins with an introduction to Emily Dickinson herself, dispelling the myth that she was a an...

In this course, Professor Cedric Watts (University of Sussex) explores Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel, The Secret Agent. The course begins by thinking about Conrad's life – his upbringing in Poland, his early career as a merchant sailor, and his later...

In this course, Dr Marion Turner (University of Oxford) explores the 14th-century poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The course begins with an introduction to the Arthurian tradition, focusing in particular on the representations of Arthur and...

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, 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 Christopher Pittard (University of Portsmouth) explores Arthur Conan Doyle's second Sherlock Holmes novel, The Sign of Four (1890). We begin by providing a broad introduction to the novel, exploring how the novel came to be...

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...

In this course, Dr Steve McLean explores H. G. Wells' 1898 novel The War of the Worlds. We begin by thinking about Wells' literary career, focusing in particular on his work as a scientific journalist as well as his interest...

In this course, Professor Robert Hampson (Royal Holloway, London) explores Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. We begin by providing some of the historical context of the novel, focusing both on Conrad's own experiences as a seaman, as well as on...