English

The course

Part I of the English Tripos is taken after two years. Undergraduates from across the University prepare for this hurdle in a variety of different ways: here at Pembroke, students are encouraged to encounter English literary history in a more or less chronological fashion, starting with Medieval and Renaissance studies in the first two terms, proceeding to Shakespeare studies in the third and then studying the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century papers in the second year.

Undergraduates write a weekly essay, for which supervisions are usually in pairs. In addition, there is a weekly class in practical criticism, a close-reading exercise, and classes to complement the period papers.

Supervision is also arranged as necessary for a foreign language for a paper in Part I. Many undergraduates in Pembroke have a foreign language A-level, but some do not and the amount of teaching they receive reflects their needs to bring a language up to standard. The paper includes some prescribed texts. Undergraduates may choose to substitute the foreign language paper with a paper in Old or Early Middle English (taught from scratch), a paper exploring some aspects of literary language, or to learn Italian from scatch.

Study for Part II occupies the third and final year of the undergraduate course, and is designed to build on Part I. Two papers are compulsory, on Practical Criticism and Tragedy (to include Shakespearean and Greek tragedy); in addition, undergraduates combine work on two options drawn from a variety of topics with the writing of a dissertation on a literary subject of their choice.

Pembroke English

The College has five English Fellows with research and teaching interests in English. Dr Katrin Ettenhuber, Director of Studies for Part I, is primarily interested in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century literature. Dr Mark Wormald, who is Director of Studies for Part II, and Dr Alex Houen both specialise in literature of the nineteenth and twentieth century and in contemporary writing. Dr Mina Gorji, works on eighteenth-century writing and on Romantic literature and culture. Dr Jo Bellis, Guggeheim Research Fellow, works on medieval and Renaissance literature. Dr Kenneth Clarke, Keith Sykes Research Fellow in Italian, contributes to undergraduate supervisions in Medieval literature and literary criticism.

All these Fellows teach fairly broadly, going beyond their specialised areas of study. We are also lucky to have two Emeritus Fellows, Professor Howard Erskine-Hill and Mr Colin Wilcockson, who contribute to undergraduate supervision. Between us, we do our best to ensure that a Pembroke undergraduate's experience of the subject is rich and varied: we are all dedicated to ensuring that our students find the course as rewarding as it is stretching.

We encourage undergraduates who are interested in creative writing to pursue this and, from time to time, Pembroke undergraduates have won the University's creative writing prize as a result of their submission of (optional) material in Tripos examinations. We are aware of being in a college where (as undergraduates or Fellows) Edmund Spenser, Thomas Gray, Christopher Smart and Ted Hughes have lived. A volume of poetry written by Pembroke Fellows and students over the 650 years of the College's existence was published in 1998. There is an active College Poetry Society, in which undergraduates write, read and discuss their own poems; the best are published in The Pem, an arts magazine.

We also maintain ties with our more recent English alumni; a Pembroke lecture given by Stephen Greenblatt, one of the world's foremost authorities on Shakespeare, can be found on www.pem.cam.ac.uk/about/news/viewnews.html

Admissions

Between ten and twelve undergraduates read English at Pembroke each year, reflecting the quality of the applicants. It is one of the largest arts subject in the College. The College has a strong academic record in the subject; our Tripos results have in recent years usually been among the best in the University. The ratio of applicants to places in recent years has been between five and six to one - a measure of the College's reputation in the subject.

The admissions process consists of two or three interviews and a written test on the day of the interview. Nearly all candidates will be taking English Literature (or English Language and Literature) at A-level. No other A-level subjects are stipulated or deemed inappropriate. The interviews will invariably revolve around discussions of texts familiar to the candidate, and it is important to be able to talk about several. Candidates are encouraged to explore across a variety of genres and periods. The majority of texts studied at Part I were composed before 1850, and candidates are advised to acquaint themselves with some earlier forms of literature. Many of these texts are now easily accessible: The Norton of Anthology of Poetry offers a wide selection of texts, from Beowulf to Carol Ann Duffy, for instance. The written test will typically present two short literary texts for commentary and comparison. We are keen to assess the clarity and sharpness of candidates' writing when confronted with passages that may well be unfamiliar to them. Candidates' performance in the test will be given equal weight to their performance in any single interview.

We don't expect you to have previous knowledge of any of the texts you will be asked to write or talk about over the course of the day. The exercises we set are not designed as a test of technical knowledge; rather, we want to get a sense of your ability to think, reason, and develop clear lines of argument. For a quick training session in literary criticism, you might like to visit "Converse", the literary website of the Cambridge English Faculty, which provides sample readings of poetry and useful tips on how to hone your close reading skills. "The Virtual Classroom", also hosted by the English Faculty website, offers literary exercises and quizzes, as well as a sample class on Medieval literature. "Converse" and "The Virtual Classroom" can be accessed via the web resources section of the English Faculty home page at www.english.cam.ac.uk/resouces.htm

Several of the undergraduates reading English at Pembroke take a year off after completing school before coming up to university, and the College is happy for this to be the case, although understanding that it is not always possible or desirable.

Further inquiries should be addressed to Dr Katrin Ettenhuber or Dr Mark Wormald at Pembroke.

See also the University Prospectus entry for English.

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