Rachael Hodgson, Murray Edwards

Biographical Information

I completed my BA in English at Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, followed by a Masters in Medieval Languages and Literatures from the University of York, with funding from their Research Preparation Masters Scholarship. My doctoral research is funded by the Judith E Wilson Studentship.

Research Interests

I work largely on the apophatic writing of the Middle Ages, with a particular focus on The Cloud of Unknowing and Marguerite Porete's Mirror of Simple Souls. I am particularly interested in the various figurative techniques within these texts, and the way in which these authors (and their interlocutors) theorise and invite theorisation of those techniques within an apophatic tradition which often problematises the figurative. I have a broader interest, therefore, in the theorisation of figurative modes including metaphor, ekphrasis and personification in medieval texts, alongside the broader contemplative tradition. 

Selected Publications

Presentations

Cambridge English Graduate Flash Forum: The Medieval Apophatic: Metaphor on the Boundary 

Leeds IMC Practical Theory and Theoretical Practice: Conceptualising Criticism in the works of the Cloud author

University of Lausanne "Reconfiguring the Apophatic Tradition" The Cloud author as literary and contemplative theorist: metaphor as an instrument of apophaticism in The Cloud of Unknowing. 

Public Engagement

Cambridge Festival, 2025: How To Think Like a Medieval Writer