English Reading List

The first-year English course

The first-year English course at Oxford is mostly divided between Early Medieval English Literature and the literatures of the Victorian period and of the 20th and 21st centuries. Early Medieval English is taught throughout all three terms; the period 1830–1910 is taught in the first term (Michaelmas) and the modern period in the second term (Hilary). The teaching of these subjects is done by a mixture of tutorials and classes here in Balliol; and there is a complementary programme of lectures and seminars offered by the University English Faculty, and you are encouraged to take full advantage of that. You will also be taking an introductory course (‘Paper 1’) which is taught by a series of compulsory Faculty lectures as well as by classes and tutorials in College.

You will be assessed on all this work by a number of examinations, called Prelims, which you will sit at the end of the third term (Trinity), as well as by a Portfolio for Paper 1 submitted during Trinity. This is a Pass/Fail examination, with the possibility of Distinction. Your performance in Prelims does not count towards your final degree, which is entirely based on your performance in exams and coursework during your third year. You will also be set some College examinations (Collections) at the beginning of Hilary and Trinity Terms: these do not count towards your degree either, but are just a way for your tutors to keep an eye on your progress.

Preparing for your course

You have a busy year ahead of you, and it will simply not be possible to read large amounts during term-time: it is very important that you are properly prepared for the course when you come up to Oxford. This page suggests the directions that your preliminary reading might most usefully take. Remember that cheap second-hand books can often be purchased online at abe​books​.co​.uk and other on-line booksellers.

Joint schools

If you are set to study English and Modern Languages or History and English, you will be sitting two examinations in English (single honours students sit four). Paper 1 – the introduction to language and literature – is compulsory; the other is for you to choose: either Victorian literature or twentieth century literature or Early Medieval English literature. Students tend to choose either Early Medieval or Modern as the timetabling makes it rather challenging to fit in Victorian literature; but talk to us if you want to explore that possibility. You should aim to read a generous selection of the texts listed below as you need to make an informed decision about which of these papers to sit in Prelims. Joint schools students are warmly welcome to attend classes on the period they are not going to offer in Prelims.

If you would like any further guidance about what to read or which editions to use, please feel free to contact us.

Extract Handbook for Prelims 2

Introduction to English Language and Literature

This paper comes in two parts: 1A (which you will study in Hilary term) is about language and 1B (which you will study first, in Michaelmas) is about approaches to the study of literature—a sort of ‘literary theory’ paper, but we will be approaching it in a practical way with close readings and critical appreciations of text as well as sampling some of the leading critical voices. There is no particular preparation required for this paper: I shall distribute texts for our classes once you are here. If you have time on your hands, however, you could look at Jonathan Culler’s Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press) which would introduce you to some of the major questions.

The English Faculty Library’s Guide to Prelims 1 contains direct links to a range of online and bibliographic tools. The College, Faculty, and University libraries offer access to many useful resources that are too expensive to warrant individual purchase: you can work with them once you arrive.

Advance reading for paper 1A in the second term will be given over the winter vacation. To get a head start, over the summer it is an excellent idea to read an introductory text such as The Stories of English by David Crystal (you may be able to borrow this from your local public library).

If you have any questions about 1B, please contact: seamus.​perry@​balliol.​ox.​ac.​uk and for 1A get in touch with: eleanor.​baker@​conted.​ox.​ac.​uk.

Prelims Paper 2: Early Medieval Literature 650‑1350 (Old and Early Middle English)

Welcome:

Welcome Prelims to Prelims Paper 2: Early Medieval Literature, c. 650‑1350! In this course we will be exploring the very earliest of what we refer to as English Literature. We will explore texts written in Old English (mostly in Michaelmas Term) and in Middle English (mostly in Hilary Term) and read everything from the fantastical feats of heroes of the Viking age, to religious texts of instruction for women destined to live away from society in small cells. This course will offer you a grounding in the two languages of focus alongside building your analytical skills, written expression, and the cultivation of your own unique critical perspectives. 

General Recommended Reading:

The books that I recommend purchasing in advance of the start of term are indicated with an asterisk (*).

Set texts and handbooks:

  • Kevin Crossley-Holland, The Anglo-Saxon World (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009). *
  • Bruce Mitchell and Fred C. Robinson, A Guide to Old English, 8th edn. (Oxford: Wiley- Blackwell, 2012). *
  • John Burrow and Thorlac Turville-Petre, A Book of Middle English, 3rd edn. (Oxford: Wiley & Sons., 2005). *
  • Elaine Treharne, Old and Middle English, c.890‑c.1450: An Anthology, 3rd edn. (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010). *
  • Peter Baker, Introduction to Old English (Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012). *
  • Ronald B. Herzman, Graham Drake, and Eve Salisbury, Four Romance of England (Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, 1999) – available on Bodleian SOLO in full.
  • Robert Hasenfratz, Ancrene Wisse (Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, 2000) – available on Bodleian SOLO

Useful online resources:

Summer Vacation Work

Over the summer vacation I recommend reading some translations and adaptions of Old English literature or consuming media set in the early medieval period so that you get a feel for central themes and concerns. You are welcome to pick and choose whichever recommendations suit your interests: 

Translations and Cultural Overviews:

  • Kevin Crossley-Holland, The Anglo-Saxon World (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009).
  • Richard North and Joe Allard, Beowulf & Other Stories: A New Introduction to Old English, Old Icelandic and Anglo-Norman Literatures, 2nd edn.(Edinburgh: Pearson, 2012). This textbook contains lots of fascinating introductory chapters to the literature of the early medieval world.
  • John Blair, The Anglo-Saxon Age: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).
  • Eleanor Parker, Winters in the World: A Journey Through the Anglo-Saxon Year (London: Reaktion Books, 2022).
  • Seamus Heaney, Beowulf (London: Faber & Faber, 1999)

Adaptions/Rewritings:

*Please note, this media is inspired by early medieval culture, and is no replacement for reading or understanding its sources*

  • William Golding, The Spire (London: Faber & Faber, 1964)
  • Paul Kingsnorth, The Wake (London: Unbound, 2015)
  • Amy Jeffs, Storyland: A New Mythology of Britain (London: Riverrun, 2021)
  • Maria Dahvana Headley, The Mere Wife (London: Scribe, 2018)
  • Benjamin Myers, Cuddy (London: Bloomsbury, 2023)
  • The Last Kingdom (available on Netflix)
  • The poetry of Laura Varnam (available here: Beowulf | Dr Laura Varnam (word​press​.com))

Getting Started with Old English:

To get started with our Old English language and grammar learning, please read Chapter 3 ‘Basic Grammar: A Review’ in Peter Baker’s Introduction to Old English.

If you have any concerns or would simply like to get in touch, please email me at eleanor.​baker@​conted.​ox.​ac.​uk — I would be delighted to hear from you. 

Victorian and Modern Literature

You should aim to read many of the major texts before coming to Oxford. Take notes as you read, focusing on language, style, and form, to aid your essay-writing during term. For each of the period papers you should expect to study (and write an essay on) about four authors or subjects (such as a genre — ‘elegy’ or ‘nonsense poetry’ — or a literary grouping — ‘Pre-Raphaelite poetry’ or ‘Poetry of the 1930s’). We like to give our students the opportunity to write about what enthuses them: we do not aim to be prescriptive, but advice and more specific guidance about reading is always on hand.

It is an excellent idea to have some sense of the larger shape of the history of literature in English, and you could have no better introduction to the poetry than Christopher Ricks’s Oxford Book of English Verse, which ranges from medieval lyrics to the end of the twentieth century. Don’t try and read it systematically: just browse. Ricks’s introductory essay, ‘Of English Verse’, is a suggestive account of the line of great poet-critics that is one of the characteristics of the English critical tradition.

Victorian Literature

Daniel Karlin’s Penguin Book of Victorian Verse is excellent if you want a general anthology of the period. But the poems I will advise you to read are widely available, many on-line; and all the novels we will be looking at are in Penguin or Oxford World’s Classics paperbacks.

There is a small number of major authors that I would like everyone to know before coming up to Oxford so we have those texts in common. Here it is:

  • Alfred Tennyson (1809−1892), “Mariana”, “In Memoriam”, “Maud”
  • Charles Dickens (1812−1870), Hard Times
  • Emily Bronte (1818 — 1848), Wuthering Heights
  • Walt Whitman (1819−1892), “Song of Myself” from Leaves of Grass
  • Frederick Douglass (?1818–1895), Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
  • George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) (1819−1880), Middlemarch
  • Matthew Arnold (1822−1888), “Dover Beach”, “To Marguerite — Continued”
  • Christina Rossetti (1830−1894), “Goblin Market”
  • Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844−1889), “Binsey Poplars”, “The Windhover”, “Pied Beauty”
  • Joseph Conrad (1857−1924), Heart of Darkness

Modern Literature

You will have enough to be getting on with, I am sure; but if you want to try something in anticipation of the modern paper which we are studying Hilary term you might try some of the following: E.M.Forster, Howards End; James Joyce, Dubliners; Katherine Mansfield, Bliss and Other Stories, Virginia Woolfe, To The Lighthouse; James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room.

Seamus Perry and Eleanor Baker July 2024