How about a journey in English literature and arts?
In this theme, you’ll find several research papers and essays. Though I wrote many of them as assignments during my university curriculum, I have continued exploring British culture since I got my degree. Indeed, I like searching for information, digging into history books, biographies or literature criticism when needed, and learning so many things during the process. As a student, I also very much enjoyed using my imagination to write two pieces of flash fiction and translating a poem in free verse.
I do hope you’ll enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them. Feel free to download and/or use parts of these essays for your own research work but beware of plagiarism: do not forget to indicate your references as soon as you quote, reformulate, or cite any part or idea written in these essays.
England & Portugal: a long-standing alliance
When we visit Portugal and the United Kingdom today, it seems quite absurd to compare the one with the other: geography, climate, culture, architecture, food… everything looks so different. And… Continue reading England & Portugal: a long-standing alliance
The Shelleys in Florence
“We are now on the point of leaving [Livorno] for Florence, where we have taken pleasant apartments for six months, which brings us to the first of April, the season… Continue reading The Shelleys in Florence
Lord Byron, the first European superstar…
… or “mad, bad and dangerous to know”, as Lady Caroline Lamb—one of his lovers—described him? Last April marked the bicentenary of Lord Byron’s death in Missolonghi, Greece, where the… Continue reading Lord Byron, the first European superstar…
Science & Art in Britain’s “Modern” History
Why do we feel sometimes that there is a gap between the sciences and the humanities? Or that science seems to struggle to be integrated into the cultural sphere on… Continue reading Science & Art in Britain’s “Modern” History
An excursion to Stratford-upon-Avon…
or a short but intense immersion into “Shakespeareland”! A touristic circus for some, a place of pilgrimage for the Bard’s fans, I found that Stratford was worth the trip, especially… Continue reading An excursion to Stratford-upon-Avon…
Keats, a Regency poet
When one thinks about Regency England, a writer comes immediately to one’s mind: Jane Austen, whose novels describe the life of country gentlefolk during that period. And yet, the growing,… Continue reading Keats, a Regency poet
My own Shakespeare
…or rather, a modest introduction to Shakespeare’s world! More than four centuries after they were created, why haven’t Shakespeare’s plays lost their magic on us? According to Harold Bloom and… Continue reading My own Shakespeare
Essay on ‘To Autumn’
Composed after a walk in the countryside, Keats’s ode ‘To Autumn’ is regarded as “one of the most nearly perfect poems in English”. How did John Keats reach such a… Continue reading Essay on ‘To Autumn’
Mediaeval literature in today’s world
To what extent is a knowledge of mediaeval literature relevant to “modern” literature (from the 19th century onwards) or else to our “modern” civilisation? The revival of interest in mediaeval… Continue reading Mediaeval literature in today’s world
Gulliver & The Man in the Moone
Real or imagined? The non-fictional and the fictional in Francis Godwin’s The Man in the Moone (1638) and Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726). In these works of fiction, the characters… Continue reading Gulliver & The Man in the Moone
Jane Eyre: from feminism to translation…
I read this great classic of British literature, which belongs to the World Literature canon, from a feminist perspective. Interestingly, three of its translations in French, published at various periods,… Continue reading Jane Eyre: from feminism to translation…
Poetry: lost in translation?
Is the translation of a poem from English to French like ‘Mission Impossible’? When I studied the English language at university, several classes were devoted to translating texts from English… Continue reading Poetry: lost in translation?
What’s the link between…
… Claude Monet’s painting The Thames at Westminster, William Wordsworth’s poem ‘Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802’, and Charles Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist, “The expedition” chapter 21? For this… Continue reading What’s the link between…
A wealth of lectures…
How about watching a wealth of choice — and free! —lectures and programmes on the internet about the following subjects: Nature, British Romantic poets, Pre-Raphaelite painters, and Shakespeare’s influence on… Continue reading A wealth of lectures…
Two pieces of creative writing
First, as a mandatory assignment—to assess our writing skill in English during the last year of Bachelor (“Licence” in French universities)—our teacher asked us to compose a story (flash fiction)… Continue reading Two pieces of creative writing
Illustration on top of this page: View of the Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge, from the Backs (own photo)
The eternal student - anglophile version 