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Oxford English Students and Applicants

Reply 80

jollyrogera

I was joking, of course they don't "expect" you to read any particular books, which is why I linked to their actual requirements. Sadly it seems nobody got it/ it really wasn't that funny. :frown:

Me too, me too!

Reply 81

ITISCLARISSAHESAID

ok so at first i was excited about this but i now need to read half of paradise lost before monday :| think i'm going to be camped out in the library tomorrow

Reply 82

alecangeltess

7

I'm going to faiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil.

Reply 83

Eliastor

I ask because, being an American, I've read quite a bit of my own country's literature. The authors I mentioned were Fitzgerald, Shakespeare, Joyce and Wolfe. I find it hard to believe that they discount Robert Byrne, Joyce, Faulkner or Wilde just because they weren't "English English."

Reply 84

*pitseleh*

20

jollyrogera

I was joking, of course they don't "expect" you to read any particular books, which is why I linked to their actual requirements. Sadly it seems nobody got it/ it really wasn't that funny. :frown:

Ahh sorry.. like hobnob says, maybe you should have exaggerated a bit more. :p:

Or maybe I shouldn't post things on TSR at ridiculous hours of the morning when incredibly sleep-deprived.

One of the two.

Reply 85

*pitseleh*

20

Eliastor

I ask because, being an American, I've read quite a bit of my own country's literature. The authors I mentioned were Fitzgerald, Shakespeare, Joyce and Wolfe. I find it hard to believe that they discount Robert Byrne, Joyce, Faulkner or Wilde just because they weren't "English English."

No-one said they discount all authors who aren't "English English", just that the focus tends to be on literature of English origin. I'm telling you this as someone in their second year on the course, who would dearly love to be able to study more non-English literature; unfortunately, the fact remains that there's not an awful lot of scope for that in an Oxford English degree. Those non-English authors who can be studied usually either have some connection to England, or are deemed so massively important that they can't be overlooked.

That said, Joyce and Wilde do get covered; my tutor is actually a Wilde expert, as it goes. Not heard of anyone doing Faulkner, and I'm not sure whether you meant Robert Burns (the Scottish poet) as opposed to Robert Byrne (the American novelist); the former can be covered, but the latter is too modern to be covered on any of the regular papers, even if he were English.

Hope that helps clear things up a bit. :smile:

Reply 86

hobnob

14

*pitseleh*

No-one said they discount all authors who aren't "English English", just that the focus tends to be on literature of English origin. I'm telling you this as someone in their second year on the course, who would dearly love to be able to study more non-English literature; unfortunately, the fact remains that there's not an awful lot of scope for that in an Oxford English degree. Those non-English authors who can be studied usually either have some connection to England, or are deemed so massively important that they can't be overlooked.

That said, Joyce and Wilde do get covered; my tutor is actually a Wilde expert, as it goes. Not heard of anyone doing Faulkner, and I'm not sure whether you meant Robert Burns (the Scottish poet) as opposed to Robert Byrne (the American novelist); the former can be covered, but the latter is too modern to be covered on any of the regular papers, even if he were English.

Hope that helps clear things up a bit. :smile:

You can do Faulkner for Paper 7, though (and probably as part of the Paper 8 American literature option as well).

Reply 87

jollyrogera

6

omniamorsposcit

I got it/found it funny :smile:

If people are looking for a book that might help them out then the Bible's always a good start. Although it's probably a little late to be starting that one now...

This is actually a good point (if you're being serious) because so much English literature has allusions to the Bible. Still don't want to read it though!

Reply 88

MSB

17

omniamorsposcit

I got it/found it funny :smile:

If people are looking for a book that might help them out then the Bible's always a good start. Although it's probably a little late to be starting that one now...

If people are looking for books that might help them out, I can think of a good reading list.

Reply 89

Eliastor

Just to put my fears to rest, could an English applicant let me know if the list of works I'm prepared to discuss demonstrates the kind of reading an Oxford tutor wouldn't have a problem with?

I am indeed interested in learning about English English literature more than anything else. Even though I've grown up in America, I acknowledge that we didn't have much before Moby Dick, and, being particularly interested in the presentation of themes and ideas, I think that in order to see their evolution over time, you must study the literature of the place which has been producing English literature the longest. If my list of works seems overly American--hey, I'm an American, and it's mostly what we're encouraged to read in school, but I hope my enthusiasm and readiness to study English literature comes across. That said:

Irish:

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - Joyce
Dubliners - Joyce
Molloy - Beckett
The major poems of Yeats

American:

The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald
Look Homeward, Angel - Wolfe

English:

To the Lighthouse - Woolf
Heart of Darkness - Conrad
Oliver Twist - Dickens
Othello - Shakespeare
Macbeth - Shakespeare

Also, my submitted work was on Shakespeare. Take note also that of the texts only Macbeth and The Great Gatsby were assigned.

Reply 90

MSB

17

Why would admissions tutors have "a problem" with any of that?

Reply 91

hobnob

14

Eliastor

Just to put my fears to rest, could an English applicant let me know if the list of works I'm prepared to discuss demonstrates the kind of reading an Oxford tutor wouldn't have a problem with?

I agree with MSB, there's no reason why anyone would have a problem with any of that. None of the titles on that list are wildly exotic as far as I can tell, and you're not the first American applicant they've had, so they're not going to be particularly surprised that you haven't been following the A-level curriculum. :dontknow:

Reply 92

Prince-Myshkin

7

Eliastor

Irish:

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - Joyce
Dubliners - Joyce
Molloy - Beckett
The major poems of Yeats

American:

The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald
Look Homeward, Angel - Wolfe

English:

To the Lighthouse - Woolf
Heart of Darkness - Conrad
Oliver Twist - Dickens
Othello - Shakespeare
Macbeth - Shakespeare

Also, my submitted work was on Shakespeare. Take note also that of the texts only Macbeth and The Great Gatsby were assigned.

if it makes you feel any better, the texts in my PS were...

anna karenin - tolstoy
crime and punishment - dostoyevsky
the idiot - dostoyevsky
notes from underground - dostoyevsky
master and the margerita - bulgakov

the unbearable lightness of being - milan kundera

waiting for godot - beckett

lyrical ballads - coleridge and wordsworth
songs - blake
marriage of heaven and hell - blake
hamlet - shakespeare
heart of darkness - conrad

and conrad is arguably not english lit

really don't think it's too much of an issue :smile:

Reply 93

glittergulch

6

4 I Murder Carrots Fun

Christ Church for me! My friend has decided to have a giant allnight party on Saturday night. Oh well... I can just sort of guess what happens in Dostoevsky... right?

Yesss, another English at Christ Church applicant! I was beginning to think I was the only one...

Reply 94

sentiment

yes it's over! thank god...

Reply 95

chk

Hey guys

Had an english interview at St.Hilda's from Sunday 6th to Tuesday 8th.

My interviews were traumatic haha I don't think anything can prepare you for the "my mind has been wiped blank" experience. I couldn't remember any characters names in any of the novels I'd mentioned in my p.s.

When do we find out if we have an offer/rejection?

Reply 96

hobnob

14

chk

Hey guys

Had an english interview at St.Hilda's from Sunday 6th to Tuesday 8th.

My interviews were traumatic haha I don't think anything can prepare you for the "my mind has been wiped blank" experience. I couldn't remember any characters names in any of the novels I'd mentioned in my p.s.

When do we find out if we have an offer/rejection?

Shortly before Christmas. And it may well have gone better than you thought, so don't spend too much time fretting about it.

Reply 97

eenie_pod

hobnob

Shortly before Christmas. And it may well have gone better than you thought, so don't spend too much time fretting about it.

What?! Really? I thought it was mid-January :frown:

Is this just for Christ Church or every college? I applied to St Edmund Hall.

Reply 98

eenie_pod

Also, will the decision be in letter form or email? I was notified of my interview by email.

Reply 99

hobnob

14

eenie_pod

What?! Really? I thought it was mid-January :frown:

Is this just for Christ Church or every college? I applied to St Edmund Hall.

All Oxford colleges. They aim to let applicants know before Christmas. Obviously a few letters will arrive a bit later than that, but most people hear in late December. It's Cambridge that keeps people waiting until January. :p:

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