Category: English 4: British Literature

Jane Austen Biography

This brief Jane Austen biography by David Cody is likely to whet your appetite for learning more about Jane Austen and her works. 

Faerie Queene Introductory Materials

This introduction to The Faerie Queene will help you to understand the time period when it was written, meet the author Edmund Spenser, and interpret the text’s allegory and verse structure. By Dr. George...

Study of The Faerie Queene

Study of The Faerie Queene By Dr. George Armstrong Wauchope, Professor of English, South Carolina College A Romantic Epic Influence of the New Learning Interpretation of the Allegory The Spenserian Stanza Versification Diction and...

Una and the Lion from Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene- {{PD-US}} – published in the US before 1923 and public domain in the US.

Spenser Timeline

What happened during Faerie Queene author Edmund Spenser’s life? This Spenser timeline covers the years from Spenser’s birth in 1552 to his death in 1599.

Edmund Spenser

Edmund Spenser Biography

The Life of Edmund Spenser Author of The Faerie Queene Spenser biography Dr. George Armstrong Wauchope, Professor of English, South Carolina College Birth and early years Edmund Spenser was born in London near the...

The Protestant Reformation by Steven Kreis

The Protestant Reformation Lecture 3: From The History Guide by Dr. Steven Kreis Arise, O Lord, and judge Thy cause. A wild boar has invaded Thy vineyard. Arise, O Peter, and consider the case...

Everyone wanted to meet Lord Byron after the publication of his poem "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage," which made him a celebrity.

Lord Byron Biography

Overview of Byron’s life Parents and birth Raised by his mother First love Pigots and poetry Out on his own Criticism and triumph House of Lords Travels across Europe Return to England “Childe Harold”...

Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English poet

Elizabeth Barrett Browning Biography (1911)

Family history and upbringing Meeting other poets Health troubles Praise and correspondence Browning’s courtship A secret wedding Published poetry Politics and posterity “God took her” Overview of married life and poetry Sources Family history...

Robert Browning Biography (1911)

Robert Browning Biography Family background Early career & personality First major poems (Paracelsus and Sordello) Dramatic works Expanding poetic repertoire Marriage Browning’s masterpiece: The Ring and the Book Growing fame Later writings Beliefs (religious...

Madrigal music was popular in the Renaissance.

The Nightingale English Madrigal

The madrigal, a polyphonic musical composition usually sung a capella, was a type of secular Renaissance music that would have been familiar to writers such as Edmund Spenser. Madrigals usually feature the words of...

Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf Resources

Virginia Woolf Resources Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) was a Modernist writer who used the stream-of-consciousness technique, as seen in her novel To the Lighthouse. Here are a selection of resources you may find helpful in...

1995 Pride and Prejudice Fan Trailer

I recommend the 1995 BBC/A&E version of Pride and Prejudice, with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. It incorporates much of Austen’s incomparable dialogue and remains generally faithful to the novel. Below, this brief “trailer”...

Thomas Tallis Medieval Music

Thomas Tallis (c. 1505 – 1585) is an English Renaissance composer of choral music. He is considered one of England’s greatest composers, and served at court as a composer, organist, and performer for several monarchs...

King Lear video excerpt

When studying a play, you should always watch it rather than just reading the text. Better still, watch more than one version, then try acting out a few scenes with your family or class....

King Lear Video of Stage Performance

This King Lear stage clip includes the first 15 minutes of Trinity Theatre Company’s production of “King Lear”, directed by Francesca Gilpin and starring Michael Elliot in the title role. You can follow along...

Lycidas by John Milton

English poet John Milton wrote this pastoral elegy in mourning for a childhood friend. It is saturated throughout with classical allusions, so it’s best to read it with a Dictionary of Allusions close at...

On His Blindness - they also serve . . . who wait.

On His Blindness by John Milton

On His Blindness by John Milton When I consider how my light is spent Ere half my days in this dark world and wide, And that one talent which is death to hide Lodg’d...

Gratefulnesse by George Herbert

Gratefulnesse by George Herbert Thou that hast giv’n so much to me, Give one thing more, a gratefull heart. See how thy beggar works on thee By art. He makes thy gifts occasion more,...

Easter Wings by George Herbert 1633

Easter Wings by George Herbert

Easter Wings by George Herbert Easter Wings Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store, Though foolishly he lost the same, Decaying more and more, Till he became Most poore: With thee Oh let...

Level E4 Resource Updates

British Literature Updates Due to the ever-changing nature of the Internet, online resources sometimes move unexpectedly to new addresses. Here are the most recent updates for Level 4: British Literature. Remember, you can always type...

The Hippopotamus by T S Eliot

The Hippopotamus by T. S. Eliot This odd little quatrain poem was written by Eliot before his conversion to the Christian faith. Similiter et omnes revereantur Diaconos, ut mandatum Jesu Christi; et Episcopum, ut...

God’s Grandeur by Gerard Manley Hopkins

God’s Grandeur by Gerard Manley Hopkins You may find it helpful to listen to Richard Austin’s excellent recitation of this poem. THE world is charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out,...

Surprised by Joy by William Wordsworth

Surprised by Joy by William Wordsworth Surprised by joy, impatient as the wind, I turned to share the transport, — oh, with whom? But thee, deep buried in the silent tomb, That spot which...