British & Irish Literature

When the decision was made by Britain's Channel 4 to film a TV adaptation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, the result was a gloriously irreverent, deliciously colorful production in which the twins Viola and Sebastian-Parminder Nagra and Ronny Jhutti-are re-imagined as shipwrecked asylum seekers adrift in a surreal contemporary London. In this fascinating four-part series, the people who made it all happen explain how it was done. Clips from the movie are included throughout. 4-part series, 25 minutes each.

As the landscape of the New World awakened England's imagination, so did a new landscape of words-in the English of William Shakespeare and the King James Bible. This classic PBS program describes the spread of English to North America and explains how Shakespeare's prodigious vocabulary filled the language with startling new words, phrases, and constructions. Recording strong echoes of Shakespearean English in the little villages lying near Stratford, the program also describes the making of the Authorized Version of the Bible-the only great work of literature ever created by committee-and examines the linguistic dissent perpetrated by the Puritans. (59 minutes)

A scholarly program that reaches out to students of The Canterbury Tales to relate its characters and themes to everyday life in late-14th-century England. Period art of exceptional richness is combined with location photography that retraces the April pilgrimage to Archbishop Becket's shrine at Canterbury; excerpts are read from various tales; and the famous beginning is heard in Middle English. Written by Velma B. Richmond, produced by the University of California, Berkeley. (29 minutes)

Few stories of the French Revolution can match the vividness of A Tale of Two Cities. This video/CD-ROM combination offers penetrating insights into Dickens' memorable novel of love and sacrifice.

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times...." Dickens' tragic tale of love, friendship, and sacrifice begins against the backdrop of the French Revolution. Using affecting dramatizations of key passages, Dickens experts Professor Margaret Reynolds and Professor John Rignall analyze the many nuances and themes of this work. Topics discussed include dualism in characterization and plot; the impact of the ideas of the French Revolution; the rights of women in 18th-century England and France; and society's ambiguous attitude toward violence. Dickens' dual personality is revealed in the characters of Sidney Carton and Charles Darnay. Although Dickens takes aim at both aristocratic tyranny and revolutionary excess, it is the latter that is precisely conveyed by the character Madame Defarge. The work's lasting importance is analyzed within the context of its emphasis on the irreplaceable value of each human life. (30 minutes)"

This four-part series explores the poetic landscape from the time of Shakespeare's sonnets to the 9/11 attacks using original manuscripts, archival materials, and stirring readings by leading contemporary poets. Discussing and reading selections are Patience Agbabi, Michael Donaghy, W. N. Herbert, John Kinsella, Clare Pollard, and Owen Sheers. 4-part series, 25 minutes each.

This indispensable two-part series-guaranteed to generate enthusiasm-allows theater and drama students a glimpse of the world behind the theater curtain. 2-part series, 25 minutes each.

As arrogant and brash as he was talented and innovative, Ben Jonson lived a life as rife with drama as any of his many plays. He was jailed more than once for staging dramas that satirized the powers that be, and nearly had his ears and nose mutilated after collaborating on a play that lampooned King James I. Friend and colleague of Shakespeare, he is considered by many to have been the first poet laureate of England. This program examines how Jonson's poetry, masques, and plays brought a level of humor, intellect, and formal discipline to English letters that had rarely been seen before. Excerpts from The Alchemist; Every Man in His Humor; Volpone, or the Fox; and Jonson's poetry are included. (22 minutes)

Beowulf, The Finnesburgh Fragment, The Battle of Maldon, The Dream of the Rood. This video/CD-ROM combination scrutinizes the best of the surviving poetry of the Anglo-Saxon Age.

Beowulf is the oldest written epic in English literature. In this program, Dr. Robert DiNapoli-teaching fellow in Old and Middle English at the University of Birmingham, England-and Professor John Burrow of Bristol University examine the symbolism and the influence of Christianity in Beowulf and other masterpieces of English and Germanic poetry. The Wanderer, The Seafarer, The Dream of the Rood, and The Battle of Maldon are also analyzed. The program is an indispensable aid in teaching this watershed period in Western literature. (31 minutes)

With the intensity and commitment of an ancient Norse warrior, Benjamin Bagby brings the epic poem Beowulf to incandescent life. This program documents Bagby's brilliant iteration of the saga before a live audience in Helsingborg, Sweden-demonstrating the spellbinding qualities of both the poem and the performer. Reciting the entire 1,062-line Grendel story in the original Old English and accompanying himself on an authentic Anglo-Saxon harp, Bagby offers viewers an in-depth, richly textured look at the tale as it would have enthralled listeners 1,000 years ago. Modern English subtitles included. This edition features Bagby's complete performance. Extended bonus material is also included (DVD only): a video study guide with Oral Tradition editor John Miles Foley; a panel discussion with noted Anglo-Saxonists Thomas Cable, Mark Amodio, and Foley; and an in-depth interview with Bagby. (99 minutes + 80 minutes of bonus material)

Through the character Jane, orphan and governess, Charlotte Bronte introduced a style of heroine that markedly departed from the previous norm in Victorian literature. In this program, Dr. Tom Winnifrith-Bronte expert and author of The Brontes-and Dr. Sally Poulson of the University of Warwick discuss a variety of topics, including whether Jane Eyre is feminist literature, the theme of the Gothic novel, the Victorian education system, and 19th-century social structure. In addition, they compare and contrast the author with her shy and intense heroine to determine how much of the novel is autobiographical. (31 minutes)

Touted as one of the first major feminist writers, Charlotte Perkins Gilman spent her life fighting to liberate women from the yoke of domesticity. This is a stunning BBC dramatization of Gilman's autobiographical account of a woman driven to madness by the repressive mores of Victorian culture. Stephen Dillon as the husband, John, and Julia Watson as the despondent heroine give stellar performances in this production directed by the BBC's John Clive. (76 minutes)

How important is the opening line of a book? Does a writer always have to know what is going to happen next? Where should the line be drawn between historic fact and historical fiction? And what are the particular challenges of writing a biography? Drawing on the expertise of Edvard Radzinsky, Fay Weldon, Anson Cameron, John Lanchester, Nicholas Shakespeare, and other respected authors, this program answers each question with candor and wit-and judging from the authors' responses, there are as many ways to approach storywriting as there are writers. (27 minutes)

This six-part series, filmed on location in Stratford-upon-Avon, comes from the Emmy Award-winning Cromwell Production team. Programs feature commentary by several noted Shakespearean scholars and include performances of key scenes of the most popular tragedies by some of the best Stratford actors. Expert analysis accompanies each key scene, to provide an outstanding educational resource for the study of plot, character, and the universal truths embodied in these enduring dramas. 6-part series, 29-33 minutes each.