The second meeting this term of the Auden Society was sensational – not least, because Mrs Sharrock presented on her top three Victorian Sensation novels!  If you want scandal and melodrama, pick up a copy of Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White, Ellen Wood’s East Lynne or Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret!

The evening ‘kicked off’ with an excellent presentation by Lizzie P-R on the (sensational) life of the Metaphysical poet John Donne – a rule-breaker who ignored all the conventions of Renaissance poetry.  Dally A followed with a very insightful and entertaining comparison of the presentation of Pygmalion in Ovid’s Metamorphosis and Carol Ann Duffy’s poem Pygmalion’s Bride, from her collection of poems entitled The World’s Wife (which Dally is studying as part of his English Language and Literature IB studies).

To prove that – at the Auden Society – anything goes, Callum R and Flo O’L presented on the many and varied links they have made in eight weeks of A level study between English Literature and their other chosen A level subjects.  Callum adeptly illustrated how his study of Economics has encouraged him to consider how the economic status of characters in Tennessee William’s Streetcar Named Desire impacts both their relationships and life chances.  Flo made similarly insightful links between her study of English Literature and History of Art, in particular how the context of production and reception inform how we read both literary texts and visual images.

Finally, Mrs. Robinson topped off a sensational evening with an excellent exploration of the Modernist movement in art and literature. Tracing the movement, or, rather, the development of it, Mrs. Robinson’s presentation looked at a trio of artists (Manet, Cezanne, and Braque), each of whom developed the other’s approach to style. The presentation continued the theme from earlier where links were found in abundance between different subjects and made for an informative, but also interesting final talk.

The Auden Society will meet again on Wednesday 9^th December.