Gresham College provides outstanding educational talks and videos for the public free of charge. There are over 2,500 videos available on our website. Your support will help us to encourage people's love of learning for many years to come.
In the line, 'The Western wave was aflame', the 'Western wave' refers to the sea. But is it this simple? What do forms of substitution, synecdoche for example, lend to this magnificent and shadowy poem?
Can a scientific theory ever be confirmed? Must a scientific theory be falsifiable? Theories such as that of the multiverse and string theory will be considered.
'When well-appareled April on the heel / Of limping winter treads'. A calendar month cannot dress, nor can a season walk. This lecture will explore the magic of personification in Shakespeare's poetry.
This lecture will explain why Scott’s romanticised representations of Scotland were such a hit, and how his enduring legacy has helped or hindered Scotland as it seeks to define its place in Britain today.
In the first three minutes after the beginning of the universe, all of the stuff that we and the Earth are made of were created and the universe attained its huge size, homogeneity and isotropy.
Dickens' use of exaggeration is key to his style. But its use has myriad effects from making a character's disposition unmissable, to adding whimsy and humour.
Narrative, the way a tale is told, is less straightforward than we might suppose. Austen handled irony brilliantly and systematically exploited new ways of narrating, including free indirect discourse. This lecture explores why Austen's way of narrating are so compelling.