Hamlet at Hertford: the report

21 July 2016

Just after the end of term, ten students from state schools took part in the English strand of the inaugural Hertford Access Summer School. Now, from Phoebe Hobbs – one of the participants, we have the first report on how they found studying Hamlet with our fellows in English. Phoebe writes: Professor Emma Smith introduced us to the complex and macabre world Hamlet inhabits, where we discussed the role of Ophelia, the agency or perhaps lack thereof she is given in the play… Dr Catherine Redford and Dr David Dwan helped us interrogate the text from different angles, from the feminist reading to the Freudian. There was also ice-cream and the Meadows to enjoy, a spectacular view of the Bodleian, the bookshops and the Hertford Bridge.

 I came into Hertford College thinking The Prince an indecisive fool, and came out regarding him as a brilliant philosopher, all in the space of one week.