English

Studying English Literature

Introductory thoughts from one of our tutors (1000 words)

The author, the text, and the reader

Where is the meaning of a work of literature located? In the mind of the author, the mind of the reader, or in the text itself? Clarissa Lee Ai Ling studies some reader-response theories, and discusses some views on how the objectivity of the literary text is or is not distinguished from the subjectivity of the reader's response. (3,800 words)

What is literary writing?

John Oldcastle considers the qualities which distinguish literary writing from other kinds of writing, exploring the techniques used by literary writers, and their motives for writing, and offering many fine examples of literary writing to illustrate his thesis. (2,300 words)

Indian women's writing

A world of words, lost and found: a brief overview of women's literature in India from the 6th century BC onwards. Sherin Koshy explores the history of women's writing in India, revealing the long tradition which preceded the rise of modern Indian woman writers in English, such as Arundhati Roy and Anita Desai. (2,400 words)

Aristotle: Poetics

Complexity and pleasure: Aristotle's 'complex plot' and the pleasure element in tragedy. Souvik Mukherjee examines Aristotle's Poetics and other works in order to elucidate Aristotle's view of a successful tragedy (2,100 words)

Machiavelli: The Prince

The devil's morals. Souvik Mukherjee studies the ethics in Machiavelli's The Prince (1,500 words)

Castiglione: The Courtier

Bembo's Discourse on Love. Souvik Mukherjee studies Bembo's Discourse on Love in Book IV of The Courtier to consider whether it makes a fitting end to Castiglione's famous Renaissance book. (1,200 words)

Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queene

The Bower of Bliss and The Garden of Adonis. Ian Mackean contrasts two sections of The Faerie Queene to show how Spenser used them to develop themes such as art versus nature, appearances...