Oundle School
English Departmental Events
Why is it called the Clare Society?
For reports on recent events, click here.
Upcoming Events:
Tuesday 11 March: Clare Society: Professor Jonathan Bate.
Professor Bate, the editor of the recent RSC Complete Works of Shakespeare
and author of The Genius of Shakespeare will speak about the literary
contexts of Shakespeare's writing.
1st to 6th April, 2008
U6th Form English trip
to New York.
19-21 April, 2008
L6th Form study trip to Bronte Country.
The Bronte trip is a chance for L6th pupils who do not have other commitments
on Field Weekend to visit Haworth and the surrounding area. As well as taking
in the delights of the finest curry house in Bradford and Saltaire (World
Heritage Site) the pupils will visit the Bronte Parsonage Museum. The graveyard
and location of the parsonage are important when looking to understand the
creativity of this remarkable family. Guides at the museum give an insightful
lecture on the family's history, countering some ideas of the Bronte myth.
The displays in the museum are intriguing, not least Charlotte's dresses and
shoes which demonstrate her diminutive stature. A surprisingly level walk
out to the ruins at Within Heights gives pupils a strong impression of the
rugged beauty of the area of moorland now known as "Bronte Country".
This is also close to the birthplace of Ted Hughes, and the villages which
appear in his poetry.
Saltaire, the factory and model village of Titus Salt, is a fascinating example
of Victorian imagination and social conditioning Salt was in many ways the
Bill Gates of his generation and the manner in which he ran his business was
remarkable. He housed his workers in a beautiful village and provided a wide
range of amenities and benefits for them: indeed, his workers' life expectancy
was nearly 3 times that of those who worked in other factories in Bradford.
And yet many preferred not to work for him. The tour provides an insight into
the views of the wealthy and the conditions of the poor in industrialised
Victorian Britain.
On our return we visit Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall. Both have appeared
in recent film adaptations of 19th century novels, and like Eliza Bennet,
pupils can visit the gardens and rooms of these impressive buildings. Haddon
Hall was the (rather grand) Thornfield in the BBC's 2006 adaptation of 'Jane
Eyre' and was featured in the recent 'Pride and Prejudice' starring Kiera
Knightley.
25th April 2008 Clare Society: Michael Benenson.
Michael Benenson will lead a revision discussion on a selection of poems by
TS Eliot.
Thursday 1st May 2008. Clare Society: Shakespeare Revision.
Dr Paul Edmondson will lead a series of revision lectures on the A level Shakespeare
texts.
John Clare (1793-1864) was a local poet whose poetry
of landscape and rural life was greatly appreciated in the 19th Century. In
a manner similar to how Robert Burns was received, the public appreciated
the clarity and lack of pretension in his poetic style. He was born and lived
most of his life in Helpston, a village between Peterborough and Stamford.
He once stayed the night in the Rose and Crown when he was part of a local
militia. A link to his poetry is on the Recommended
Poetry page and the School Library holds some first editions of his poetry.
Recent Events:
22nd April
Pupils studying English A level were fortunate enough to invited to watch
a drama master-class lead by Sir Ian McKellan in the CLR. Sir Ian McKellan
coached 4 Oundelians who performed sonnets and then answered questions about
Shakespeare, his career and his life.
19- 21st April
A group of 6th form pupils visted Bronte Country. The party attended a lecture
on the lives of the Brontes at the Parsonage museum and were shown some rare
papers and possessions from the collection which are not on public display.
The guided tour of Saltaire gave pupils an interesting insight into industrial
Britain in the 19th century. The group also visited Within Heights, Sylvia
Plath's grave and Haddon Hall (Thornifield in the recent BBC adaptation of
Jane Eyre).
1st -6th April
A party 20 Sixth Form pupils and 3 members of the department visited New York
and Long Island during the Easter break.
Perhaps the high point of the trip was the after hours visit to the New York
Public Library where Doctor Isaac Gewirtz, curator of the Berg collection,
gave a private viewing of a selection of rare manuscripts and first editions.
The party was privileged to see a first folio edition of the plays of William
Shakespeare, one of Keats’ last letters, the original typescript of
T S Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’ complete with Ezra Pound’s
emendations, and further manuscripts by Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Dickens,
the Brontes, Conrad, Whitman and Kerouac. At the J Pierpoint Morgan Library
the group was shown an edition of the Gutenberg Bible, the first printed Bible.
One day of the trip was entirely set aside to explore the context of F Scott
Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby.’ The pupils visitied Long
Island and the house that Fitzgerald had lived in when he began writing the
novel. Some of the oher places visited were the immigration museum on Ellis
Island, the Empire State building, the Rockefeller Center, the Grand Central
Terminus, the Museum of Modern Art and the outstanding Frick Collection of
rare paintings which is housed in the mansion of industrialist Henry Clay
Frick. The group also visited Wall Street and Ground Zero.
11th March
Professor Jonothan Bate CBE spoke to a joint meeting of the Clare Society
and the Senior History Society on the context of Shakespeare. With specific
references to set texts, he argued that political events surrounding the arrival
on the throne of James I influenced the manner in which Shakespeare wrote
his plays and how they were performed. Professor Bate's lecture was highly
informative and engaging. The meeting enabled pupils to see the relationship
between historical context and the plays. Professor Bate answered many questions
from the floor and after the lecture had finished.
6th March
The department celebrated Word Book Day and raised £220 for Book Aid
International.
January 31st
T he Public Speaking Team of Kate Legh (N), Emma Greenlees (D) and Hannah
Gliksten (N) placed second in the area round of the English Speaking Union
Competition hosted by Uppingham School.
They performed both confidently and professionally with Hannah being awarded the prize for the most accomplished speaker. Her address was on the topic "Society is too Age Conscious".
January 31st
Professor Nigel Wood from Loughborough University gave an introduction to
Modernism to the Clare Society. He explained the social and philosophical
developments which encouraged artists to make a change from the past and touched
upon the importance of publishers and how the role of the writer changed.
He gave a clear explanation of a wide range of features of the Modernist movement
and looked at TS Eliot's 'The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock' and Virginia
Woolf 's 'Between the Acts' in light of these. This was an challenging and
insightful presentation which encouraged pupils to see the developments across
their A level texts.
January 27th: Shakespeare Day.
The Second From pupils performed extracts from three Shakespeare
plays. The day was a tremendous success. All of the pupils in the year had
moments on stage in front of a packed and enthusiastic audience in the Stahl
Theatre. Penny Watkins, Head of Dunhurst School, spoke to the pupils and gave
apt and sensitive comments on the plays, as well as congratulating them on
their delivery of some complex and challenging drama. The pupils thoroughly
enjoyed the occasion.
November 15th
The writer, critic and journalist Geoff Dyer addressed the
Clare Society on the subject of 'The Art of Non-Fiction'. As well as reading
and discussing examples of his own work, he also introduced his audience to
the powerful writing of Ryszard Kapuscinski. Mr Dyer was an excellent speaker
and the event was very much enjoyed by all those in attendance.
Tuesday 2nd October. Cymbeline
A small group L6th pupils attended a performance of Cymbeline at Cambridge.
This entertaining production was directed by Trevor Nunn to mark 100 years
of the Marlowe Society.
Thursday 27 September, Clare Society: An introduction to
Poetry.
Mr David Hunt read a variety of poems and emphasised the importance of hearing
poetry. He gave some brief reflections on the nature of poetry and entertained
us with a few pieces on the piano.
Thursday September 13th, 2007. Roald Dahl Day.
To celebrate Roald Dahl Day the authors Philip Ardargh and Andy Stanton gave
an amusing and appropriately irreverent presentation to the Ist and 2nd form.
They spoke about how they became writers and what inspires them to create
such strange and amusing characters.