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How can we best appreciate Shakespeare's texts? Should they only be seen, or in contrast, only be read? ‘Shakespeare and dramatic literature’ considers this issue. Some argue that the force-feeding of Shakespeare's demanding language to schoolchildren for examination is destructive to the enjoyment the plays offer in performance. Shakespeare did not intend his plays to be read in print. However, we can't ignore the popularity of Shakespeare's plays as literature. He has had a great impact on the history of English literature. The story of failure in tragedy and success in comedy suggest that if there is such a thing as a national characteristic in English literature, it is closely related to wit and humour. ...Less

English literature: the home of nostalgia, belonging, sceptical accommodation, dissent, ridicule, self-hatred, rebellion, and alienation. ‘The Englishness of English Literature?’ examines the accuracy of this definition. ‘English’ has to be measured against ‘British’, ‘Scottish’, ‘Welsh’, and ‘Irish’. English literature is also interested in the interplay between home and abroad. The principal creative oppositions upon which English literature is built are court versus county, and country versus city: ‘green and pleasant land’ versus ‘dark Satanic mills’. English literature lives in a melting pot containing Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Norsemen, Normans, Huguenots, Dutch, Hanoverians, Jews, migrants, refugees, colonial subjects, and many more. ...Less

The way that we have studied literature has changed over the years. ‘The study of English’ looks at how English language and literature have been studied since the 16th century. The detailed analysis of English literature texts began not in the educational system, but in what became known as ‘the public sphere’ — the realm of civil or ‘polite’ urban society that emerged in the 18th century. The public sphere of the 19th and 20th centuries allowed more space for debates about literature. The work of establishing accurate texts has accordingly been an important part of the history of English studies. Editorial choices are interpretive choices, providing foundation for the survival of the classics and thoughtful reading. ...Less

There is an ancient history to the origins of English literature, which is contrary to the Anglocentric version of literary history. ‘When it began’ looks at the many inputs into the evolution of English literature including the Celts, the Anglo-Saxons, the Normans, and Chaucer. Where did English literature begin? With the Celtic bards, Julius Caesar, Cædmon, Alfred, or with the poem that celebrate the battle of Brunanburh and Athelstan's unification of the kingdom? Or did it begin with Chaucer? The Bible is foundational of English literature by virtue of its generic impurity. Our primary tool for reading English literature — hermeneutics, the art of interpretation — was originally devised as a way of reading the Bible. ...Less

English literature is different things to different people. ‘What it is’ analyses this from a variety of perspectives. To some it is the books that they live with and love, those that embody life. Others would define it as those books that seem to invite the performance of tricks of interpretation. Literature texts could be those in which language is used cleverly, those that respond to a diversity of readings. But is there a danger in reducing English literature to a set of facts? This is a common response from book lovers when they first encounter critical analysis. Perhaps studying English literature can add extra layers to the pleasure of reading and re-reading. ...Less

Romance is a very ancient literary form. A typical example is the adventures of Apollonius, told in many different versions. But is it good literature? ‘Aspects of the English novel’ examines why the popularity of a novel in the marketplace equates with lack of respect from the literary establishment. There is a side to the art of the novel in which the profoundest understanding of the complexity of individuals, their relationships and their social milieu, requires a commitment to human intelligence. Great literature creates a force that takes possession of the writer and enables them to create a place that takes possession of the reader, transporting the reader to another world. ...Less