1.show knowledge and critical understanding of the major techniques and themes in Shakespeare's plays and poetry
2. show knowledge and critical understanding of the major techniques and themes in the literature of the 18th century, 19th and early 20th centuries
3. analyse text through close reading informed by historical context and critical debates
4. articulate a coherent analytical discussion in written form

Shakespeare Scene Analysis – an interpretation of a scene on stage, in film or in a TV adaptation that analyses theme, character and production choices. (LOs: 1)

Mid-module essay – a literary-critical essay on 2 Shakespeare plays (LOs: 1,3, 4)

Essay – a literary-critical essay on 2 texts from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries (LOs: 1,2,4)

This module will develop students' ability to respond intellectually to Shakespeare's plays and poetry and to develop foundational knowledge of the writing of the 18th,19th and 20th centuries and its importance. The emphasis in the first half of the module will be on developing the skills of dramatic and performance analysis, of theme and literary innovation, of historical and critical contextualisation, and the technical poetic understanding necessary for comprehending the multi-dimensionality of Shakespeare’s oeuvre. The second half of the module will focus on the establishment of the novel in English and the developments in poetry during the 18th and 19th centuries, exploring issues of gender and class, before moving on to the innovations of literary modernism and the exploration of new literary forms.

Shakespeare

Macbeth
Twelfth Night
A Winter’s Tale

18th century
Jonathan Swift, ‘A Modest Proposal’
Poetry

Victorian
Charles Dickens, Great Expectations (1860)
Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (1847)
Charles Baudelaire, poems
Christina Rosetti, poems
Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1891)

20th century
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (1902)
TS Eliot, ‘The Wasteland’ (1922)
Virginia Woolf, Orlando (1928)
Samuel Beckett, Endgame (1957)

Who are the most famous writers in the English language…? This is your chance to explore the range of poetry and plays by The Bard, developing an understanding of the incredible reach of Shakespeare’s work, before going on to experience the greats of thea8th, 19th and 20th centuries: Swift, Dickens, Brontë, Hardy, Woolf, Eliot, Beckett. Through close analysis and discussion in class, as well as the study of film screenings and (where possible) live performances of Shakespeare’s plays, you will journey into the heart of Early Modern English Literature. Then we will trace the emergence and establishment of the prose form and the novel, in particular, in the 19th century, focusing on class, gender and literary innovation. Finally, we will explore the innovations of literary modernism.

Teaching will be delivered by weekly workshops which will involve segments of lecture, discussion activities, student participation and analytical practice. Trips may be arranged which are directly relevant to this core module: students are expected to attend these should their personal circumstances allow. This module will require students to engage in their Academic Mentoring and incorporate that into their Learning Journal as a way of becoming intrinsically motivated learners.

Alexander, C.M.S. (2009) The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare’s Last Plays. Cambridge University Press.
Cheney, P. (2007) The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare’s Poetry. Cambridge University Press.
De Grazia, M. and Wells, S. (2001) The Cambridge companion to Shakespeare. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hamlin, H. (2019) The Cambridge companion to Shakespeare and religion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jackson, R. (2020) The Cambridge companion to Shakespeare on screen. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
McEachern, C. (2013) The Cambridge Companion to Shakespearean Tragedy. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
McEvoy, S. (2012) Shakespeare. London: Taylor & Francis Group.
Magnusson, L. and Schalkwyk, D. (2019) The Cambridge companion to Shakespeare’s language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Smith, E. (2016) The Cambridge companion to Shakespeare’s First Folio. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Thompson, A. (2021) The Cambridge companion to Shakespeare and race. Cambridge, United Kingdom¿;: Cambridge University Press.
Wells, S. and Stanton, S. (2002) The Cambridge companion to Shakespeare on stage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cunningham, V. (2014) Victorian Poets: A Critical Reader, 1st edn. Wiley-Blackwell: Chichester.¿
David, D. (2012) The Cambridge Companion to the Victorian Novel. Cambridge University Press.¿¿
Khan, J.U. (2015) Perspectives: Romantic, Victorian and Modern Literature, 1st edn. Cambridge Scholars Publishing: Newcastle-upon-Tyne.¿
Marshall, G. (2007) The Cambridge Companion to the Fin de Siècle. Cambridge University Press.¿
Martens, B. (2016) Browning, Victorian Poetics and the Romantic Legacy: Challenging the Personal Voice. Routledge: Farnham.¿
Peterson, L.H. (2015) The Cambridge Companion to Victorian Women’s Writing. Cambridge University Press.¿¿
Shattock, J. (2010) The Cambridge Companion to English Literature, 1830–1914. Cambridge University Press.¿¿
Shea, V. & Whitlaw, W. (2015) Victorian Literature: An Anthology. Wiley-Blackwell: Hoboken.¿
Tucker, H.F. (2014) A New Companion to Victorian Literature and Culture, Wiley-Blackwell: Hoboken.¿
Levenson, M (2011), The Cambridge Companion to Modernism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Berman, M (1982). All That is Solid Melts into Air. London: Verso.
Childs, P. (2016). Modernism. London: Routledge.

Library, Film Theatre, Blackboard.