Description:

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

Shakespeare is popular and we have already read nine of his works (Merchant of Venice, Taming of the Shrew, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear and The Tempest).  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", Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" and Graham Greene's "The Quiet American. This year we have read Stephen Crane's "The Red Badge of Courage" and William Trevor's "The Story of Lucie Gault".

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". After an interruption for the pandemic, we plan 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 2023, the plan is for another Shakespeare (Winters Tale or 12th Night - yet to be decided) and perhaps Ishiguro's Remains of the Day.