The 杏吧原创 Sixth Form Lecture Series
Hosted at 杏吧原创, the Sixth Form Lecture Series will dive into a range of literature and language-based subjects by exploring many commonly studied A Level texts and topics in new and interesting ways.
This is a fantastic opportunity for students to engage with Fellows from the University of Cambridge; gain an insight into Cambridge University’s teaching approach; improve their critical thinking and analytical skills; and prepare to make applications to selective universities.
Join us at 杏吧原创 (杏吧原创, Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DF) from 17:30 for refreshments and informal conversations with current students. The lectures themselves will begin at 18:00 and be an hour in duration.
Please sign up in advance, using the forms below, to attend.
If you require parking, please email outreach@murrayedwards.cam.ac.uk
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Autumn Term 2026 Lectures
Raphael Lyne spends most of his time thinking and writing about Shakespeare, but he loves Keats. He thinks that Keats's discussion of 'Negative Capability' (in a letter to his brothers, December 1817) is probably the greatest comment on Shakespeare anyone has ever made. In this lecture he will explain some of the complexities of Keats's critical thinking in the letter, and he will then go on to see how the idea of 'Negative Capability' might be useful in understanding some of Keats's own poems.
If you would like to attend Professor Raphael Lyne's lecture, please complete by 12pm midday, 21 October.
Sinéad Morrissey and Poetic Form: Kaleidoscopes, Generators and Russian Dolls with Sarah Upton
In this session, we will look at a piece by Northern Irish poet Sinéad Morrissey. Using ‘close reading’ techniques employed in a typical Practical Criticism supervision at Cambridge, we will consider important aspects of poetic form, language and subjectivity to critically analyse an ‘unseen' piece of writing. Together we will figure out what is ‘happening’ in the poem, as well as how the poem ‘happens'. In so doing, Sarah will illustrate how very specific details gleaned through close reading can help to support wider claims we might like to make about poetry's relationship with the world. What does the shape of a stanza have to say about climate crisis, for example? How does the ‘I’ of a poem encompass issues of gender, family and belonging? The lecture will be an opportunity to see critical skills in practice, learn about a new poet, and gain insight into a key component of the English Tripos. The poem will be circulated at the lecture, no need to read anything in advance. Questions and contributions encouraged!
If you would like to attend Sarah Upton's lecture, please complete by 12pm midday, 11 November.
If you would like to attend this lecture, please complete by 12pm midday, 25 November.