This collection of resources looks at the simmering debate between science and natural theology raged across the Victorian period and it's influence on literature.

The Elizabethan and Jacobean theatres specialized in new plays which had relatively few performances over a period of a few weeks. There was thus a huge appetite for fresh writing, and hundreds of plays, many now lost, were produced, often collaboratively. In this section of Great Writers Inspire some of these non-Shakespearean plays and authors are introduced through a combination of podcasts, eBooks and supporting materials.

In the Victorian era, Gothic fiction had ceased to be a dominant literary genre. However,the Gothic tropes used earlier in the eighteenth century in texts such as Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho were transported and interwoven into many late-nineteenth century narratives. These tropes included psychological and physical terror; mystery and the supernatural; madness, doubling, and heredity curses. This collection of resources looks at Gothic fiction.

This collection of resources looks at the history of publishing in 19th Century England including magazines, serialized fiction, lending libraries, and the three-volume novel.

This section brings together some resources from the across the Great Writers Inspire site to illustrate how these can be used as a starting point for exploration of or classroom discussion about the the questions 'What is Literature?', and 'Why Does It Matter?'.The 'What is Literature, and Why Does It Matter?' essay introduces a series of topics and questions and gives examples of resources to explore. It is aimed at teachers, students and anyone who is interested in literature who wants to put text into context and be inspired by Great Writers.

This collection of resources looks at the contexts for English Fiction and writing during the First World War.

This collection of resources looks at English poetry from the First World War.

Mythology is a powerful vehicle for teaching students about symbols and the ways people have sought to explain their relationships to nature and to each other. Teachers can use these lessons and works of art to introduce or examine the role of myths in explaining human customs, mysteries about nature, or the reasons why things exist in the world. Lessons include: Pandora's Box; Apollo Pursuing Daphne; Diana and Endymion; The Fall of Phaeton; and The Corinthian Maid.

This is an introductory unit on Greek and Latin roots. There are three lists with accompanying learning tasks.

ePub version of text The First Part of Henry the Fourth, with the Life and Death of Henry Sirnamed Hot-Spvrre by William Shakepeare, 1564-1616.

ePub version of text The Life of Henry the Fift by William Shakepeare, 1564-1616.

ePub version of text The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight by William Shakepeare, 1564-1616.

ePub version of text The first Part of Henry the Sixt by William Shakepeare, 1564-1616.

ePub version of text The third Part of Henry the Sixt, with the death of the Duke of Yorke by William Shakepeare, 1564-1616.

ePub version of text The second Part of Henry the Sixt, with the death of the Good Duke Hvmfrey by William Shakepeare, 1564-1616.

Designed to explore the hero and the heroic in literature, this unit asks students to discuss their ideas of heroism and analyze heroes in literature.

Judith Priestman, curator of the Bodleian library, discusses the World Book Day 2010 exhibition, where a selection of J.R.R. Tolkien's original artwork which was used to illustrate The Hobbit, was on display to the public. This podcast is part of the Literature, Art and Oxford series from Oxford University.

The "Into the Book" web site is designed to help elementary students practice eight reading comprehension strategies through playful interactive activities. The site focuses on eight research-based strategies: Using Prior Knowledge, Making Connections, Questioning, Visualizing, Inferring, Summarizing, Evaluating and Synthesizing. "Behind the Lesson," the teacher area of the site, provides information, lesson plans and other resources for teachers.

The purpose of this course is to explore the foundations of the Humanities and to increase our understanding of the relationship between history and philosophy and how these relate to the issues concerning the human condition. During this course we will learn about some of the many traditions in the humanities, including the foundations of artistic expression. One of my main goals for this course is to demonstrate that every aspect of the humanities (art, history, philosophy, science, etc.) are all inherently related, and that we cannot accurately study one component of society or humanity without having a working understanding of the related components.

Professor Peter McDonald talks to Great Writers Inspire about the Post/Colonial aspects of Joseph Conrad's writing. In this first part, Peter takes Chinua Achebe's 1975 critique of Conrad as a starting point. Achebe deemed Conrad a 'bloody racist', and McDonald considers how Conrad's relationship to language and narrative complicates this. This audio recording is part the Interviews on Great Writers series presented by Oxford University Podcasts.