NCH DEGREE FRESHERS READING LIST Welcome to English at NCH. We hope that you will spend a wonderful three years exploring literature with us.

Transcription

1 ! 1! NCH DEGREE FRESHERS READING LIST 2016 Welcome to English at NCH We hope that you will spend a wonderful three years exploring literature with us. Here is a reading list, from which to try to get as much as possible read before Michaelmas term begins. It can be very hard to get enough reading of literature done during term time, when you will also be occupied by reading criticism, writing essays, attending lectures and tutorials, and doing everything else that students do. You may well already feel that you have a preference for reading prose, poetry, or drama, or for works of a certain period, but try to hold yourself appreciatively open to everything that is unfamiliar; that is part of the point of doing an English degree. It always makes sense to familiarise yourself with the basic biographical facts of an author whose work you are reading before you start; try the Oxford Companion to English Literature (see below) for a brief biography, for example. Whilst reading, or once you have finished, write up in note form everything you remember: characters names, plots, and points of interest. The editions below, where given, are suggestions. Do not worry if you cannot find/afford to buy them all. For a first read, if necessary, read an online version; it is better that you have read an edition, than none at all. Hints for selection if time is short: The reading listed below pertains to all three of the English courses which you will be studying this year. You might want to place more emphasis on what will be taught next term (Michaelmas), rather than what will be taught in the New Year (Hilary) but do bear in mind that the Christmas vacation is only a few weeks long, so you may well want to do some reading for Hilary term too, if possible. Bear in mind that plays and poems can more easily be read during term-time itself than can novels, simply because of their respective lengths. It is therefore a good idea to get make sure that you have got some novels read, before you start a year of study. Happy Reading! If you have any queries about reading, before you arrive in September, feel free to me on: catherine.brown@nchlondon.ac.uk Dr. Catherine Brown, on behalf of the English Faculty of NCH LITERATURE (studied in Michaelmas Term) 1. A novel by Charlotte or Emily Brontë

2 ! 2! 2. A novel by Elizabeth Gaskell (I suggest Mary Barton or North and South) 3. A novel by Charles Dickens 4. George Eliot, Middlemarch 5. Tennyson, In Memoriam A.H.H. 6. Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray 7. Christina Rossetti, Goblin Market (available as an 80p book from Penguin, 2015) 8. A novel by one Victorian novelist not named above for example, Thackeray (Vanity Fair), Henry James (The Portrait of a Lady), Thomas Hardy (Tess of the d Urbervilles) Beyond this, read as widely as you can, particularly in the author (who may not be named above) who interests you most. LITERATURE (studied in Hilary Term) 1. Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (1719). If you like Defoe, try either Moll Flanders or Roxana as well 2. Jonathan Swift, Gulliver s Travels (1726) 3. Samuel Johnson, Rasselas (1759) 4. William Wordsworth, The Prelude (1805 version) Try the first two books and if you get on with it read the whole poem 5. Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey (1799) and Sense and Sensibility (1811). If you have already read those novels, read another novel by Austen 6. Read around in a good anthology of poetry from the period, looking out for poems by Pope, Swift, Johnson, Thomson, and Goldsmith as well as the Romantic period poets. CRITICISM (studied throughout Michaelmas and Hilary Terms) We instead suggest that, while doing your summer reading, you think about the ways in which the ideas presented in these theoretical and rhetorical handbooks listed below might be useful in analysing the primary literary texts you are reading for the other courses. Required reading (to be read before you start term): 1. Barry, P. Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2009) third edition A simple, clear, but intelligent introduction to a wide range of literary theories. 2. Nowottny, W. The Language Poets Use (London:The Athlone Press, 1965) second edition

3 ! 3! Nowottny's book is not easy going at all times, but so very much worth it for her clear analysis of how poetic language is related to natural language. You should look particularly at those sections in which she reads specific poems. Recommended reading (to be read either before or during term): Culler, J. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2000) new edition A short introduction to issues and debates rather than schools of theory, except in a brief glossary at the back. It has a colloquial manner, and would be good to read early on in the course. Eagleton, T. Literary Theory: An Introduction (Oxford: Blackwell, 2008) rev.edn. The 'breakthrough' volume that first introduced literary theory of the 1960s and '70s to a whole generation of literary critics. This edition is updated with new, important materials, including a discussion of the more recent movement away from theory. Empson, W. Seven Types of Ambiguity (New York: New Directions, 1947) rev. edn. A classic of literary theory, first published in 1930, and an essential reference point for close (and nuanced, sensitive, intelligent) reading. Vickers, B. Classical Rhetoric in English Poetry (Carbondale, IL.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1999) rev. edn. An overview of the uses of rhetoric up until the end of the eighteenth century. Reference books to buy An English dictionary. Collins and the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary are both good (you will have access to the full Oxford English Dictionary online once you have started as a student). Abrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. (Kentucky: Heinle Languages, 2008) ninth (international) edition Bear in mind that you may need to use the index to locate certain words. For example, there are no entries for metaphor or metonymy, but the index indicates that both are under figurative language. Culler, J.A., The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (London: 1999) This is the more zesty and idiosyncratic of the two books. Birch, Dinah, ed., The Oxford Companion to English Literature, 7 th edn (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009)

4 ! 4! An excellent reference guide, including short biographies of authors, and plot summaries of major works. In addition, any of the following would be good investments, in approximate order of importance: Makaryk, Irena R. ed., Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory: Approaches, Scholars, Terms (Toronto, Buffalo, London: University of Toronto Press, 1993) The best reference companion to literary theory. Preminger, Alex, and T.V.F. Brogan, eds, The New Princeton Encyclopaedia of Poetry and Poetics (Princeton, 1993), Companions to poetry do not come more hard-core and comprehensive than this one. Eagleton, T. How to Read a Poem (Oxford: Blackwell, 2007) Like most of Eagleton s writing, this is vigorous and engaging. It argues for the important of paying close attention to form in reading. It is an accessible introduction to the ideas behind close reading. Tambling, J. What is Literary Language? (Milton Keynes and Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1988) This is a basic introduction to literary language and rhetoric, and includes exercises (close readings of poetry) and a glossary. It includes a section on the differences between British and American close reading (from p. 19), and a brief section on Russian formalism (p. 27). Walder, D. (ed.) Literature in the Modern World: Critical Essays and Documents. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003) second revised edition This is an anthology of Anglophone perspectives on literary study from the 1920s, including critics such as T.S. Eliot and Virginia Woolf, and with more of an emphasis on modernism than postmodernism. It is a useful introduction to theory before theory (i.e. pre-1970s).

5 ENGLISH MINOR READING! CRITICISM (studied throughout Michaelmas and Hilary Terms) Whilst reading these books, we suggest that you think about the ways in which the ideas presented in them could be useful in analysing the literary texts with which you are already familiar. Required reading (to be read before you start term): 1. Barry, P. Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2009) third edition A simple, clear, but intelligent introduction to a wide range of literary theories. 2. Nowottny, W. The Language Poets Use (London:The Athlone Press, 1965) second edition Nowottny's book is not easy going at all times, but so very much worth it for her clear analysis of how poetic language is related to natural language. You should look particularly at those sections in which she reads specific poems. Recommended reading (to be read either before or during term): Culler, J. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2000) new edition A short introduction to issues and debates rather than schools of theory, except in a brief glossary at the back. It has a colloquial manner, and would be good to read early on in the course. Eagleton, T. Literary Theory: An Introduction (Oxford: Blackwell, 2008) rev.edn. The 'breakthrough' volume that first introduced literary theory of the 1960s and '70s to a whole generation of literary critics. This edition is updated with new, important materials, including a discussion of the more recent movement away from theory. Empson, W. Seven Types of Ambiguity (New York: New Directions, 1947) rev. edn. A classic of literary theory, first published in 1930, and an essential reference point for close (and nuanced, sensitive, intelligent) reading. Vickers, B. Classical Rhetoric in English Poetry (Carbondale, IL.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1999) rev. edn. An overview of the uses of rhetoric up until the end of the eighteenth century.

6 Reference books to buy for English An English dictionary. Collins and the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary are both good (you will have access to the full Oxford English Dictionary online once you have started as a student). Abrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. (Kentucky: Heinle Languages, 2008) ninth (international) edition Bear in mind that you may need to use the index to locate certain words. For example, there are no entries for metaphor or metonymy, but the index indicates that both are under figurative language. Culler, J.A., The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (London: 1999) This is the more zesty and idiosyncratic of the two books. Birch, Dinah, ed., The Oxford Companion to English Literature, 7 th edn (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009) An excellent reference guide, including short biographies of authors, and plot summaries of major works. In addition, any of the following would be good investments, in approximate order of importance: Makaryk, Irena R. ed., Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory: Approaches, Scholars, Terms (Toronto, Buffalo, London: University of Toronto Press, 1993) The best reference companion to literary theory. Preminger, Alex, and T.V.F. Brogan, eds, The New Princeton Encyclopaedia of Poetry and Poetics (Princeton, 1993), Companions to poetry do not come more hard-core and comprehensive than this one. Eagleton, T. How to Read a Poem (Oxford: Blackwell, 2007) Like most of Eagleton s writing, this is vigorous and engaging. It argues for the important of paying close attention to form in reading. It is an accessible introduction to the ideas behind close reading. Tambling, J. What is Literary Language? (Milton Keynes and Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1988) This is a basic introduction to literary language and rhetoric, and includes exercises (close readings of poetry) and a glossary. It includes a section on the differences between British and American close reading (from p. 19), and a brief section on Russian formalism (p. 27). Walder, D. (ed.) Literature in the Modern World: Critical Essays and Documents. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003) second revised edition This is an anthology of Anglophone perspectives on literary study from the 1920s, including critics such as T.S. Eliot and Virginia Woolf, and with more of an emphasis on modernism than postmodernism. It is a useful introduction to theory before theory (i.e. pre-1970s).

7 Happy Reading! If you have any queries about your English reading before you arrive in September, feel free to me on: Dr. Catherine Brown, on behalf of the English Faculty of NCH!