Faculty of English Language and Literature

The Faculty of English Language and Literature is by far the largest English Department in the UK, with over 75 permanent postholders, a further 70 Faculty members, 900 undergraduates and 300 postgraduates. The Faculty has a very distinguished research and teaching record, covering all periods of English Literature. Oxford’s English Faculty is one of the most illustrious Schools of English in the world. Established in 1894, it has numbered among its members some of the most important critics and scholars in the field, including J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Edmund Blunden, Nevill Coghill, Helen Gardner, Richard Ellmann, Terry Eagleton, and many others. We are now home to nearly eighty Professors, Readers, and Lecturers, with about the same number again of Tutors and Research Fellows based in Colleges. At any one time, there are roughly a thousand students studying within the Faculty at undergraduate level, and another three hundred at graduate level in the largest English graduate school in the country. Traditionally teaching and research in the Faculty has covered the entire history of literature in English from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present day, along with language studies. More recent growth areas include world literature and film studies.

All episodes

Title	Description	People	Date
Rewriting Jane Eyre: The Avenging 'Angel in the House' in Michael Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White	Erin Nyborg draws parallels between Michael Faber's 2002 novel The Crimson Petal and the White and Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.	Erin Nyborg	18 July, 2012
Olive Schreiner	Dominic Davies talks about Olive Schreiner, the postcolonial South African author, and how her work, The Story of the African Farm, engages with the critical question of European hegemony in literary understanding and expectations of literary works.	Dominic Davies	17 July, 2012
'Some exquisitely-dressed stage favourite': Shakespeare and the suffragettes	In this talk, Sophie Duncan examines suffragists' interactions with Shakespeare and his works, as performers, directors, consumers and critics.	Sophie Duncan	17 July, 2012
A Discussion of Emily Dickinson's 'I started early, took my dog'.	Dr Sally Bayley presents an illuminating reading of Emily Dickinson's 'I started early, took my dog'. In her reading, she seeks out allusions to Shakespearean plays including Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice. She then answers questions about the poem.	Sally Bayley	16 July, 2012
The Romance of the Middle Ages	Dr Nicholas Perkins talks about how romance functions as a genre in the middle ages, especially about how gifts and tokens were exchanged as signs of fidelity, specifically in Sir Orfeo, Sir Gawain, and King Horn.	Nicholas Perkins	21 June, 2012
Dickens's Points of View	Professor Jon Mee, University of Warwick, discusses how Dickens's fiction can be considered 'cinematic' by drawing attention to the shifting points of view in Oliver Twist, Our Mutual Friend, and other novels.	Jon Mee	14 June, 2012
Jane Austen's Manuscripts Explored	Professor Kathyrn Sutherland from the University of Oxford talks around the manuscripts of Jane Austen, what we can learn from them about her family life but also her writing style and techniques.	Kathryn Sutherland	8 June, 2012
The Watsons: Jane Austen Practising	Professor Kathryn Sutherland from the University of Oxford talks about some of Jane Austen's manuscripts from the novel "The Watsons" and what we can learn about her from these.	Kathryn Sutherland	8 June, 2012
Great Writers Inspire- An Introduction to the Project	A short introductory video to the "Great Writers Inspire project.	Joshua Carr	23 May, 2012
Literature and Form 4: What is "Comparative Literature"?	Dr Catherine Brown gives the fourth and final lecture in the Literature and Form lecture series. With a philosophical discussion on what Comparative Literature is and how we can study 'literature in comparison'.	Catherine Brown	21 May, 2012
Literature and Form 3: Multiple Plotting	Dr Catherine Brown gives the third lecture in the Literature and Form lecture series. Including the differing ways writers plot their work; from multi-plotted works like Ulysses (Joyce) to double plotted works like Daniel Deronda (George Eliot).	Catherine Brown	21 May, 2012
Literature and Form 2: Chapters	Dr. Catherine Brown offers a series of talks introducing different writing forms and their use in great novels: In the second lecture, Brown talks about the ways in which writers choose to break up their works into chapters, parts, and volumes.	Catherine Brown	21 May, 2012
Literature and Form 1: Unreliable Narrators	Dr. Catherine Brown offers a series introducing different writing forms and their use in great novels: In the first lecture, Brown discusses the use of the unreliable narrator, particularly in Nabokov's Lolita and McEwan's Atonement.	Catherine Brown	21 May, 2012
What is a Great Writer? An academic panel discusses the question.	In this panel discussion from the Great Writers Inspire Engage Event workshop, Dr Seamus Perry, Dr Margaret Kean, Professor Peter McDonald and Dr Ankhi Mukherjee discuss what we mean when we talk about greatness in writing.	Seamus Perry, Margaret Kean, Peter McDonald, Ankhi Mukherjee, Rebecca Beasley	15 May, 2012
Julian Thompson on Wilkie Collins	Dr. Julian Thompson considers how Wilkie Collins's fiction was pioneering across a variety of genres, including detective fiction and gothic thrillers.	Julian Thompson	15 May, 2012
Chaucer	Professor Daniel Wakelin discusses the work of Chaucer and explains how he was one of the first to use everyday spoken English as a literary language in the 14th Century.	Daniel Wakelin	17 April, 2012
Ezra Pound	Dr Rebecca Beasley explains why we should read Pound, someone she considers as the central figure in early 20th Century poetry movements.	Rebecca Beasley	10 April, 2012
Mary Leapor	Dr Jennifer Batt talks about Mary Leapor, an 18th Century kitchen maid who wrote accomplished verses and won accolades from literary society.	Jennifer Batt	27 March, 2012
DH Lawrence 7. Reception History	Catherine Brown gives the Seventh and final lecture in the DH Lawrence series.	Catherine Brown	19 March, 2012
DH Lawrence 6. Birds, Beasts and Children	Catherine Brown gives the sixth lecture in the DH Lawrence series.	Catherine Brown	19 March, 2012
John Milton	Dr Anna Beer shares a few short extracts of Milton's poem Lycidas and discusses what they show about Milton's very special qualities as a writer.	Anna Beer	15 March, 2012
The Lure of the East: the Oriental and Philosophical Tale in Eighteenth-Century England	Professor Ros Ballaster discusses the objectives of oriental tales published in the second half of the 18th Century which use the sheer power of storytelling to conjure up alternative worlds.	Ros Ballaster	13 March, 2012
Only Collect: An Introduction to the World of the Poetic Miscellany	Dr Abigail Williams, Director of the Digital Miscellanies Index, explains how these popular collections of poetry designed to suit contemporary tastes were used in the 18th Century.	Abigail Williams	9 March, 2012
Why Dickens?	Dr Robert Douglas-Fairhurst talks of Dickens' life and influences and why these have made his works so popular.	Robert Douglas-Fairhurst	2 March, 2012
DH Lawrence 5. The Alps	Catherine Brown gives the fifth lecture in the DH Lawrence series.	Catherine Brown	28 February, 2012
DH Lawrence 4. The World at Large	Catherine Brown gives the fourth lecture in the DH Lawrence series.	Catherine Brown	28 February, 2012
DH Lawrence 3. Christianity	Catherine Brown gives the third lecture in the DH Lawrence series.	Catherine Brown	28 February, 2012
King Lear	Showing how generations of critics - and Shakespeare himself - have rewritten the ending of King Lear, this sixteenth Approaching Shakespeare lecture engages with the question of tragedy and why it gives pleasure.	Emma Smith	22 February, 2012
DH Lawrence 2. Humour	Catherine Brown gives the second lecture in the DH Lawrence series.	Catherine Brown	15 February, 2012
DH Lawrence 1. Consciousness	Catherine Brown gives her first lecture in the D.H. Lawrence series.	Catherine Brown	15 February, 2012
Babbling a Dialect of France: Loanwords, French, and Johnson's Dictionary	Professor Mugglestone discusses the concept of loanwords in relationship to Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language.	Lynda Mugglestone	13 February, 2012
King John	At the heart of King John is the death of his rival Arthur: this fifteenth lecture in the Approaching Shakespeare series looks at the ways history and legitimacy are complicated in this plotline.	Emma Smith	10 February, 2012
J.M. Coetzee	Professor Peter McDonald gives a talk on the work of South African Nobel Laureate, J.M. Coetzee.	Peter McDonald	7 February, 2012
Olive Schreiner	Professor Elleke Boehmer gives a talk on Olive Schreiner (1855-1920), the South African novelist, pioneering feminist, and anti-imperialist polemicist.	Elleke Boehmer	7 February, 2012
Katherine Mansfield and Rhythm Magazine	Dr Faith Binckes explains why modernist short story writer and critic Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) is a great writer, highlighting her involvement with the 1911-1913 periodical Rhythm, edited by her second husband John Middleton Murry.	Faith Binckes	7 February, 2012
George Eliot - A Very Large Brain	Dr Catherine Brown gives a talk on George Eliot and her influences.	Catherine Brown	7 February, 2012
William Blake	Dr David Fallon introduces the poetry, painting, and engraving of William Blake, focusing on the imaginative and visionary aspects of Blake's work and his desire to break the publics 'mind-forg'd manacles'.	David Fallon	7 February, 2012
18th Century Labouring Class Poetry	Dr Jennifer Batt gives a talk on Stephen Duck, one of the 18th Century labouring-class poets.	Jennifer Batt	7 February, 2012
Jonathan Swift and the Art of Undressing	Dr Abigail Williams gives a talk on Jonathan Swift and the Art of Undressing.	Abigail Williams	7 February, 2012
Beowulf	Dr Francis Leneghan gives a talk on Beowulf, one of the most important works in Anglo-Saxon literature.	Francis Leneghan	7 February, 2012
Shakespeare and the Stage	Professor Tiffany Stern gives a talk on William Shakespeare and how his plays were performed in Elizabethan England.	Tiffany Stern	7 February, 2012
Pericles, Prince of Tyre	Pericles has been on the margins of the Shakespearean canon: this fourteenth lecture in the Approaching Shakespeare series shows some of its self-conscious artistry and contemporary popularity.	Emma Smith	1 February, 2012
Richard III	In this thirteenth lecture in the Approaching Shakespeare series the focus is on the inevitability of the ending of Richard III: does the play endorse Richmond's final victory?	Emma Smith	25 January, 2012
The Comedy of Errors	Lecture 12 in the Approaching Shakespeare series asks how seriously we can take the farcical exploits of Comedy of Errors, drawing out the play's serious concerns with identity and selfhood.	Emma Smith	23 January, 2012
The Joys of Cricket	This podcast looks at cricket seen through eighteenth-century eyes, focussing on a poem by James Dance, called 'Cricket: An Heroic Poem.'.	Adam Rounce	12 December, 2011
George Eliot 3. Reception History	In this third and final podcast, Dr Catherine Brown discusses the popularity of George Eliot's work in the Victorian period, which led to her status as a sage and the steady accumulation of her wealth.	Catherine Brown	5 December, 2011
History of English Pronunciation	Do we really know what Chaucer's poetry sounded like? Professor Simon Horobin introduces evidence that gives us an insight into the history of English pronunciation and explores what it tells us about how and why changes in language take place.	Simon Horobin	30 November, 2011
Henry IV part 1	Like generations of theatre-goers, this lecture concentrates on the (large) figure of Sir John Falstaff and investigates his role in Henry IV part 1. Lecture 11 in the Approaching Shakespeare series.	Emma Smith	16 November, 2011
George Eliot 2. Genre and Justice	The second lecture in the series on George Eliot considers how narrative justice operates in relation to the genres of comedy and tragedy, particularly in 'Adam Bede' and 'Daniel Deronda'.	Catherine Brown	15 November, 2011
The Tempest	That the character of Prospero is a Shakespearean self-portrait is a common reading of The Tempest: this tenth Approaching Shakespeare lecture asks whether that is a useful reading of the play.	Emma Smith	14 November, 2011
George Eliot 1. Intellect and Consciousness	In this lecture Dr Catherine Brown brings her discussion to focus primarily upon Eliot's atypical novella 'The Lifted Veil' and her novel 'Middlemarch'.	Catherine Brown	10 November, 2011
Antony and Cleopatra	What kind of tragedy is this play, with its two central figures rather than a singular hero? The ninth lecture in the Approaching Shakespeare series tries to find out.	Emma Smith	10 November, 2011
Shakespeare and the Oxford English Dictionary (OED)	Professor Charlotte Brewer introduces the methodology behind the creation of the OED and how current activity to update the Dictionary may reveal new evidence about Shakespeare's impact on the English Language.	Charlotte Brewer	8 November, 2011
Realism	Dr Catherine Brown, English Faculty, Oxford, gives a lecture exploring the nature of realism in verbal and visual art.	Catherine Brown	8 November, 2011
Richard II	Lecture eight in the Approaching Shakespeare series asks the question that structures Richard II: does the play suggest Henry Bolingbroke's overthrow of the king was justified?	Emma Smith	1 November, 2011
Walcott and Naipaul: History and Myth	Catherine Brown, Lecturer in English Literature, compares West Indian writers Derek Walcott and Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul on their attitudes towards history and myth.	Catherine Brown	26 October, 2011
English and Gender	Professor Deborah Cameron explores some of the key theories surrounding the use of language by women and men. Are we really so different?	Deborah Cameron	21 October, 2011
Introduction to the MSt in English Language	Professor Deborah Cameron introduces the new Master's course in English Language offered by the University of Oxford.	Deborah Cameron	21 October, 2011
Twelfth Night	The seventh Approaching Shakespeare lecture takes a minor character in Twelfth Night - Antonio - and uses his presence to open up questions of sexuality, desire and the nature of romantic comedy.	Emma Smith	20 October, 2011
Titus Andronicus	Focusing in detail on one particular scene, and on critical responses to it, this sixth Approaching Shakespeare lecture on Titus Andronicus deals with violence, rhetoric, and the nature of dramatic sensationalism.	Emma Smith	19 October, 2011
Poetry and Tobacco	This podcast looks at the relationship between tobacco and poetic inspiration, through some popular comic poems.	Abigail Williams, Laurence Williams, John Clargo	3 August, 2011
You are the Earth, You are the Sky; How one man become the dominant force in the British media's coverage of sport. Does that mean he controls sport itself?	Final lecture of the 2011 News International Professorship of Broadcast Media lecture series on Sport and Broadcast Media.	Matthew Engel	19 April, 2011
From Reith to wreath; The Great Days of Sport on BBC TV and how they ended	Matthew Engel, the journalist and sports writer and 2011 New International Professor of Broadcast Media gives his third lecture in the 2011 series entitled; Please, mister, can we have our ball back? Sport, the media, and the people.	Matthew Engel	19 April, 2011
It's the Cat's Whisker: How Sport and the Media developed together, from Mesopotamia to John Logie Baird	Matthew Engel, the journalist and sports writer and 2011 News International Broadcast Media Professor gives his second lecture in the 2011 series entitled 'Please, mister, can we have our ball back? Sport, the media, and the people.	Matthew Engel	19 April, 2011
Life and death? No, Much more Important than that; How Sport turned into Big Business and a Global Obsession	Matthew Engel, Journalist and Sports Writer and 2011 News International Visiting Professor of Broadcast Media gives the first of the 2011 series on Broadcast media, entitled; Please, mister, can we have our ball back? Sport, the media, and the people.	Matthew Engel	19 April, 2011
Tolkien's Languages	These lectures cover an introduction to J R R Tolkien's career, show how medieval literature influenced his fiction, and consider the wider scheme Tolkien worked on linking his mythology to historical and other mythical events.	Elizabeth Solopova	21 March, 2011
Tolkien and Medieval Literature	These lectures cover an introduction to J R R Tolkien's career, show how medieval literature influenced his fiction, and consider the wider scheme Tolkien worked on linking his mythology to historical and other mythical events.	Elizabeth Solopova	21 March, 2011
J R R Tolkien 'Beyond the Shoreless Sea'	These lectures cover an introduction to J R R Tolkien's career, show how medieval literature influenced his fiction, and consider the wider scheme Tolkien worked on linking his mythology to historical and other mythical events.	Stuart Lee	21 March, 2011
J R R Tolkien: Medievalist and Mythmaker	These lectures cover an introduction to J R R Tolkien's career, show how medieval literature influenced his fiction, and consider the wider scheme Tolkien worked on linking his mythology to historical and other mythical events.	Stuart Lee	21 March, 2011
Brought to Book: Book History and the Idea of Literature	Professor Paul Eggert, University of New South Wales, gives the 17th Annual D.F. McKenzie lecture on the subject of books and gives a case study of Henry Lawson, Australian author of Where the Billy Boils.	Paul Eggert	9 March, 2011
The Winter's Tale	How we can make sense of a play that veers from tragedy to comedy and stretches credulity in its conclusion? That's the topic for this fifth Approaching Shakespeare lecture on The Winter's Tale.	Emma Smith	9 November, 2010
Macbeth	In this fourth Approaching Shakespeare lecture the question is one of agency: who or what makes happen the things that happen in Macbeth?	Emma Smith	2 November, 2010
Measure for Measure	The third Approaching Shakespeare lecture, on Measure for Measure, focuses on the vexed question of this uncomic comedy's genre.	Emma Smith	26 October, 2010
The Life of Henry the Fift.	ePub version of text The Life of Henry the Fift. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, Containing his Death: and the Coronation of King Henry the Fift.	ePub version of text The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, Containing his Death: and the Coronation of King Henry the Fift. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The First Part of Henry the Fourth, with the Life and Death of Henry Sirnamed Hot-spvrre.	ePub version of text The First Part of Henry the Fourth, with the Life and Death of HENRY Sirnamed HOT-SPVRRE. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The life and death of King Richard the Second.	ePub version of text The life and death of King Richard the Second. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The life and death of King Iohn.	ePub version of text The life and death of King Iohn. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The Winters Tale.	ePub version of text The Winters Tale. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
Twelfe Night, Or what you will.	ePub version of text Twelfe Night, Or what you will. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
All's Well, that Ends Well.	ePub version of text ALL'S Well, that Ends Well. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
Measvre, For Measure.	ePub version of text MEASVRE, For Measure. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The Taming of the Shrew.	ePub version of text THE Taming of the Shrew. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The Tempest.	ePub version of text THE TEMPEST. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The Two Gentlemen of Verona.	ePub version of text THE Two Gentlemen of Verona. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
As you Like it.	ePub version of text As you Like it. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The Merry Wiues of Windsor.	ePub version of text THE Merry Wiues of Windsor. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The Comedie of Errors.	ePub version of text The Comedie of Errors. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The Merchant of Venice.	ePub version of text The Merchant of Venice. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
A Midsommer Nights Dreame.	ePub version of text A MIDSOMMER Nights Dreame. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
Much adoe about Nothing.	ePub version of text Much adoe about Nothing. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
Loues Labour's lost.	ePub version of text Loues Labour's lost. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The first Part of Henry the Sixt.	ePub version of text The first Part of Henry the Sixt. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The Tragedie Of King Lear.	ePub version of text THE TRAGEDIE OF KING LEAR. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The second Part of Henry the Sixt, with the death of the Good Duke Hvmfrey.	ePub version of text The second Part of Henry the Sixt, with the death of the Good Duke HVMFREY. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke.	ePub version of text The tragedie of HAMLET, Prince of Denmarke. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The Tragedie Of Macbeth.	ePub version of text THE TRAGEDIE OF MACBETH. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The Tragedie Of Ivlivs Caesar.	ePub version of text THE TRAGEDIE OF IVLIVS CAESAR. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The Life Of Tymon Of Athens.	ePub version of text THE LIFE OF TYMON OF ATHENS. / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010
The Tragedie Of Romeo and Ivliet	ePub version of text THE TRAGEDIE OF ROMEO and IVLIET / Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.	William Shakespeare	26 October, 2010

Faculty of English Language and Literature

Related

Series in this collection

History of the Eighteenth Century in Ten Poems

Shakespeare's First Folio (ePub format)

Approaching Shakespeare

Broadcast Media

Literature, Art and Oxford

Indian Traces in Oxford

Censorship in Literature in South Africa

Not Shakespeare: Elizabethan and Jacobean Popular Theatre

Tolkien at Oxford

Medieval English

All episodes