UCL English 2016 First-year reading list

Hi,

I'm Jack Redfern, the publicities officer for UCL English Society, going into my 3rd year.

Congratulations on your offer! Now, for the reading list, first bit of advice is don't panic. No-one will turn up on day one having read everything on it, and no-one will turn up being able to speak fluent Old English. The courses tend to proceed chronologically, so reading the first book on the list is a good start to getting ahead - however, if you see a later book that you really want to get a start on, go ahead and devour it. You will study all the texts on the Narrative Texts course. The Intellectual and Cultural Sources course, on the other hand, is arranged so you will study a selection of works from across the list in depth, and only touch on others. Don't exhaust yourself trying to read everything before September - there will be plenty of time to read when you're here. The Medieval Language course is split into Middle English in the first half of the year, and Old English in the second half. You will find Middle English much easier than you might first expect, and the course is very gentle. As for Old English, there are countless introductory lectures to help you understand the language, but if you want to get a head start then Peter Baker's Introduction to Old English is a brilliant first port of call. Finally, don't feel the need to go out and buy new copies of the exact editions listed on the reading list. If you want to have your own copy of everything, that's great, but if you can't afford to buy a new library or simply don't want to, then there's no need to worry. The library at UCL will have all the editions you need, and as long you turn up to your seminars with something resembling the text you won't be penalised. I've been using my mum's old copy of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight for two years.The one exception to this rule is when you are studying something in translation. In that case, while you may study your own edition outside of class, you are advised to bring the suggested edition to seminars and tutorials. That way, everyone is studying the same translation of the original text. I hope this was helpful - if you have any further questions you can contact me on here, on Twitter at @UCLEnglishSoc, and on Facebook at /UCLEnglishSociety. Happy reading!