Literature
Autumn 2011
Writers of the Edwardian Age
SHAKESPEARE’S MEASURE
The course will involve a detailed analysis and discussion of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. The play comes from Shakespeare’s middle period and is often characterised as a dark comedy or problem play and linked with All’s Well, The Merchant of Venice, Troilus & Cressida and Hamlet.
The course will investigate various aspects of the play: its literary and historical sources; its language and structure as poetic drama; its definition as a problem play and its modern (20/21st century) reputation; the contrast and interplay of court and underworld in its plotting; and its central themes: virtue and vice; Puritanism, power and sexuality; love, mercy and justice.
Recommended Reading
I suggest the New Penguin Shakespeare edition. But there are no major textual variants so if you already have an Arden, Oxford or other recent edition that will more than suffice.
Day: Thursday Time: 10.30am – 12.30pm
Dates: 6 October 2011 – 24 November 2011.
Venue:
Vestry Room,
St Peter’s House,
Oxford Road,
Manchester
M13 9GH.
| Price | Concessions |
Minimum No. | Maximum No. |
|---|---|---|---|
£60 |
n/a |
8 |
16 |
Send booking to (preferably at least one month before the start of the course) to:
Barry Wood
12 St Brannock’s Road, Chorlton, Manchester, M21 0UP.
Email: barrywood42@hotmail.com
Writers of the Edwardian Age
The years between the death of Queen Victoria and the outbreak of the First World War are often referred to as the golden age. A 'long garden party', it ended catastrophically. Its literature suggests a turbulent struggle between old and new, presaging the changes that were to come. We shall discuss the writers, their lives and times as well as looking in detail at four texts (three novels and a memoir).
Recommended Reading:
Father & Son by Edmund Gosse
The History of Mr Polly by H.G.Wells
A Man of Property by John Galsworthy
The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers
Day: Tuesdays Time: 1.30-3.30 pm
10 sessions, starting 11 October 2011 - 13 December 2011
Venue:
Friends' Meeting House,
6 Mount Street,
Manchester
M2 5NS
| Price | Concessions |
Minimum No. | Maximum No. |
|---|---|---|---|
£80 |
n/a |
9 |
20 |
Send booking to:
Beech Court, Beech Hall Drive, Tytherington, Macclesfield, SK10 2EF
email: creinam@tiscali.co.uk phone: 01625 - 511581
Novel Discussion Group
This is a discussion group concentrating on twenty-first century novels. We will discuss an eclectic mix, following up on previous themes (such as real people in fiction) and comments about looking at writers from further afield. Also, some favourite writers are back and others are given a second chance......
Oct 15th, 2011: The Long Song (2010) Andrea Levy
Nov 12th, 2011: afternoon session: 1.30-3.30
Adios Hemingway, (2005), Leonardo Padua Fuentes (translated by John King)
Dec 17th, 2011: The Secret Scripture, (2008), Sebastian Barry
Jan 14th, 2012: The Manuscript (2001) Eva Zeller (translated by Nadia Lawrence)
Feb 18th, 2012: On Beauty, (2005) Zadie Smith
Mar 19th: afternoon session 1.30-3.30
Empress Orchid (2004) Anchee Min
Day: Saturday Time: 10.30 am-12.30 pm, but, please note in November and March, the sessions will be in the afternoon between 1.30-3.30
6 sessions, starting 15 October 2011 - 17 March 2011
Venue:
Friends' Meeting House,
6 Mount Street,
Manchester
M2 5NS
| Price | Concessions |
Minimum No. | Maximum No. |
|---|---|---|---|
£70 |
n/a |
10 |
20 |
Send booking to:
Beech Court, Beech Hall Drive, Tytherington, Macclesfield, SK10 2EF
email: creinam@tiscali.co.uk phone: 01625 - 511581