Description:

English is studied through works of literature, short stories, poetry and plays.

Shakespeare is popular and we have already read seven of his works (Merchant of Venice, Taming of the Shrew, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello and Romeo and Juliet) and several sonnets.  We watch theatre and film performances of the plays.

The short story lends itself to this kind of class (James Joyce, Somerset Maugham, Ernest Hemingway, William Trevor).  Other works have included “A Man for All Seasons” by Robert Bolt, Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”, Brian Friel’s "Dancing at Lughnasa”, Dylan Thomas’ “Under Milk Wood”, Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”, Bryson’s “Notes from a Small Island” and Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath".  Last year we read Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" and Graham Greene's "The Quiet American.

Two well-known Luxembourgish authors who write through the medium of the English language, Anne-Marie Reuter and Percy Lallemang, have addressed us and we read some stories from Anne-Marie's book "On the Edge". We are planning literary evenings featuring these authors.

We are currently reading poems from Seamus Heaney's "Death of a Naturalist" (introduced to us by European School teacher Sinéad O'Donovan) and Father Brown short stories by G.K.Chesterton.  In September we will read Shakespeare's King Lear and Stephen Crane's "Red Badge of Courage".