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Expanding literary knowledge for applying for English at Oxbridge

Hi - I am looking at applying to Oxbridge to study English and was wondering if any students there (or with an offer) could give advice as to what they did to expand their literary knowledge before applying - I don't just mean reading widely, but would you recommend, for example, going to see as many plays as possible, visiting Haworth etc? This is mainly because I want to be able to write about things I have done in my personal statement that show enthusiasm and interest. Or is this a complete waste of time and I should simply just read as much as possible? (although I may still go to the theatre anyway :yes:

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Also, as someone who has only recently decided on english, I perhaps haven't read as much as I could have done over the last few years as I was heavily involved in extra curricular music - I've read a lot, but for example I don't know everyone of Shakespeare's plays inside out. Will my lack of being as widely read hinder me?
Thankyou for any help, it is much appreciated.

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Reply 1

hobnob

DaisySavage

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If you want to... :dontknow:

I can't imagine you'll be more likely to be offered a place because your PS mentions you've been to Haworth, though.

Also, as someone who has only recently decided on english, I perhaps haven't read as much as I could have done over the last few years as I was heavily involved in extra curricular music - I've read a lot, but for example I don't know everyone of Shakespeare's plays inside out. Will my lack of being as widely read hinder me?
Thankyou for any help, it is much appreciated.

They're not going to test you by throwing trivia-style questions about Act II, Scene 1 of Pericles at you, if that's what you mean. If you have catching up to do in terms of your reading, you'll have to do it eventually, of course (though not necessarily before you even apply), but during the application stage it's not so much about quantity as about quality. You need to demonstrate your aptness for and interest in the subject, and for that, how you read is more important than what you've already read. I.e. being able to talk intelligently about Hamlet and being able to see connections to other texts you've read is likely to get you further than having read Timon of Athens and King John but not being able to say very much about them. It's your call, really, but I don't think there's much point in force-feeding yourself lots of texts just for the sake of being able to say "I've read that too".

Reply 2

DaisySavage

That is really helpful - I thought that would be the reply and it is encouraging to hear. Thanks very much.

Reply 3

Rubaiyat

read a range of periods like harry potter.

Reply 4

Andy the Anarchist

Some introductory stuff on literary criticism is always good

Reply 5

Crunchy

I would suggest reading a little bit of everything. So maybe try some Renaissance stuff, as well as vicotorian + modernism works. That way you get to develop your interest in literature gradually, and later read more of what you want to. So if you come to realise Keats or Wordsworth are not for you, then you don't have to read them! Something that I thought was important was to read poetry and plays too! :smile:

Reply 6

andyroo_g

What is Haworth? :frown:

Reply 7

hobnob

andyroo_g

What is Haworth? :frown:

Haworth House. Where the Brontës lived. They have a museum there.

Reply 8

andyroo_g

hobnob

Haworth House. Where the Brontës lived. They have a museum there.

Ah right OK. Thanks.

I googled but to no avail - furniture makers and things.

Reply 9

hobnob

andyroo_g

Ah right OK. Thanks.

I googled but to no avail - furniture makers and things.

This is one of the cases where wikipedia will give you better results than Google. :wink:

Reply 10

andyroo_g

hobnob

This is one of the cases where wikipedia will give you better results than Google. :wink:

Ah right. Sounds a bit dull.

I do like Branwell though.

Reply 11

User182034

You should have an area of special interest that you can talk in detail about, but don't go overboard and only read around your specialist topic! They also need to see you have read and can make connections between texts. Although shakespeare is a big literary writer he isn't the be all and end all-i studied my first play of his at 16 and am just studying my 3rd of his plays. If you can talk about one of his works in detail it's better than knowing the plot line of each one! Also think carefully about the topic you submit for your written work-i was told by my 6th form they probably wouldn't refer to it at interview but it turned out my interviewer had a special interest in that area so i could've really come unstuck if i hadn't known it inside out. Also, read things outside typical plays-i'm half way through blood brothers at the moment and it's great! As for theory, i've found 'a very short introduction to literary theory' is an interesting discussion.

Reply 12

Mask Of Sanity

hobnob

Haworth House. Where the Brontës lived. They have a museum there.

Ridiculously boring when we visited.
I had much more fun running around in the fields.

Reply 13

andyroo_g

It's not like a literary Hajj is it? Should I have gone?

Reply 14

Mask Of Sanity

andyroo_g

It's not like a literary Hajj is it? Should I have gone?

Hah. Haworth?
Not even close. :tongue:

Although, the constant smell of manure was very inspiring.
But, the handrails were quite interesting as was the rug in the museum.

Reply 15

andyroo_g

Mask Of Sanity

Hah. Haworth?
Not even close. :tongue:

Although, the constant smell of manure was very inspiring.

Phewwww, at least I know what it is now.

Have you been to Stratford upon Avon?

Reply 16

Dionysia

Try and visit some literary festivals - London, Cheltenham or Hay-on-Wye - if you're set on visiting places - choose some interesting talks to go to and then weave that into your PS by linking it to certain periods/genres/texts you've read and found interesting. Definitely expand your reading beyond the A-level syllabus. I'd say that rather than reading everything, focus more on a few texts that you've chosen, as hobnob says. I chose a few on which to concentrate, read around the genre/context a bit and then focussed very closely on certain texts, and it worked for me. Good luck!

Reply 17

Mask Of Sanity

andyroo_g

Phewwww, at least I know what it is now.

Have you been to Stratford upon Avon?

No, I can't say I have.
Any good?

Reply 18

andyroo_g

Mask Of Sanity

No, I can't say I have.
Any good?

I've not been - just wondered how it compared.

I can't see how that sort of trip really has any merit -you're not going to find anything out you can't out of a book, and it's not as if you're going to stumble on some sort of fountain of inspiration there, considering the writers have been dead for yonks.

Reply 19

ShinyButtons

Hey

I didn't get an offer but I thought maybe you could learn from my mistakes...

I would recommend:
'The Poetry Handbook' by John Lennard
'Practical Criticism' by I.A. Richards (spesh if you're applying to Cambridge)
'An Introduction to Literary Theory' (spesh if you've studied combined and don't know many critics)

The two biggest mistakes I made were arguing historical context wasn't all that important when studying literature (a lot of an English course is looking at history!) and cramming right up until the interview... much better to be relaxed and natural and able to think straight :smile: