Peter Savery, Girton
Course: English
Supervisor: Dr David Hillman
Dissertation Title: <p>Ben Jonson and the Natural World</p>
Biographical Information
As an undergraduate I studied History and English (with First Class honours) at Pembroke College, Oxford, followed by an MPhil (with Distinction) in Renaissance English Literature at Cambridge. I am now continuing at Cambridge for the PhD. My research is generously funded by the Pamela Thayer Scholarship at Girton College.
Research Interests
My PhD thesis attempts to offer the first sustained ecocritical reading of the Renaissance dramatist and poet Ben Jonson. While certain texts of Jonson’s – in particular ‘To Penshurst’ – have attracted ecological readings in the past, the environmental engagements of Jonson’s work more broadly remain understudied compared to Shakespeare, Spenser, or Milton. My work aims to redress this imbalance, adding to our already rich understanding of Jonson a fresh appreciation for his ecological consciousness.