If you’ve enjoyed Week Two…

In this article, Dr JT Welsch explores further avenues of study if you would like to find out more about form, metre, or close reading.

This week, we’ve discovered a lot about the sonnet. We’ve also explored some of Shakespeare’s sonnets, in particular. Recently, the renowned Shakespearean actor Sir Patrick Stewart, has undertaken to read Shakespeare’s sonnets out loud. If you would like to discover more of Shakespeare’s sonnets, and hear them read (quite wonderfully) – have a look at Sir Patrick Stewart’s Twitter account. Sir Patrick Stewart’s Twitter Account.

If you would like to find out more about metre, and practise your skills with scansion, you can do no better than the interactive website – ‘For Better, For Verse’. This website has a vast range of poems with which you can practise scansion. It is an interactive learning tool, developed by Professor of English at the University of Virginia, Herbert Tucker. You can choose to either show the correct scansion for a poem, or you can have a go yourself! For Better, For Verse Website.

To learn more about the history of the printing press, have a look at this article on the British Library website. It details both the history of the printing press in England, and explores the impact of bringing the printing press to England on culture and society. British Library – William Caxton and the introduction of printing to England.

Finally, if you’ve enjoyed this week, make sure you join us next week when we explore literary conversations.