“The Rhyming Peasant” John Clare
John Clare, the ‘rhyming peasant’: poetry of dwelling and displacement in the late Romantic period. We shall explore Clare’s unique voice in English poetry through a reading of select poems about nature and his local environment in the first half … More details …
Reading Paintings: the Dutch Golden Age
The 1600s saw some remarkable developments in painting, with the rise of the portrait and the still life. This course traces the changing tastes of the day, with a special focus on the links between art and social history, including … More details …
Caravaggio and his legacy
One of the masters of the Baroque, Caravaggio redefined the visual image and changed painting forever. His legacy will be examined through the work of many different painters from the Baroque to the present day – the day’s key word … More details …
‘A Man who used to notice such things’: the poetry of Thomas Hardy
Concentrating on Claire Tomalin’s selection (Poems of Thomas Hardy) we shall consider the themes into which Hardy’s poems are grouped and discuss individual poems in more detail.
More details ...Period Instrument Performance (3)
Original instruments make their way into “modern” music. The influence of the past on the present is seen in Stravinsky, Schoenberg and composers such as Pärt and Tavener, leading to synthesis and the way forward in the 21st century.
More details ...Shakespeare – his life and work
Explore Shakespeare via his life, poems and plays. There will be a case study of Hamlet – see “To be or not to be” performed in a variety of films; compare famous paintings of Ophelia; and find out why “the … More details …
Hitchcock Part 2 – the Hollywood Years
The day will look at the films Hitchcock made following his arrival in Hollywood in 1939, with an emphasis on his output in the 1950s and 1960s. In discussion on extracts we will focus on Hitchcock’s themes, style and working … More details …
Sociology and society
An introduction to the world of Sociology and society in the twenty-first century and what makes us who we are.
More details ...Coleridge and his circle in Somerset
This course will explore the emerging Romantic sensibility and the poetry and politics of the 1790s. The focus is on Coleridge, particularly the inspiration he drew from the local landscape and from his friendship with Dorothy and William Wordsworth during … More details …