Myth Reading Group
Thursday 17 May
12.00-1.30pm in Room 4.204
We are very pleased to announce that Cristina Salcedo González (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) continues our Summer term discussion of Trees & Forests with a session on the motif of the garden in poems by A. Swinburne & D. Greenwell

“Underworld Garden” by Fanta Bunny (June 23, 2015) on Pinterest
In this meeting of the Myth Reading Group, we will discuss Algernon Swinburne’s and Dora Greenwell’s engagement with the myth of Persephone through an analysis of the motif of the garden, which takes central stage in both accounts. In the session we will consider how the authors’ outlined images of the garden challenge the dominant representation of the motif within Western literary tradition, offering a re-interpretation of the myth as social commentary.
Readings include A. Swinburne’s “The Garden of Proserpine” (1866) and D. Greenwell’s “The Garden of Proserpine” (1869) [set texts], and “Hymn to Proserpine (After the Proclamation in Rome of the Christian Faith)” (1866) by A. Swinburne, & “Demeter and Cora” (1876) by D. Greenwell [further reading].
ALL WELCOME