Why 'A German Classic'?

'A German Classic' was launched in 2017 thanks to a generous donation by Jonathan Gaisman, QC. It is designed to celebrate a different literary classic each year and encourage in-depth study by creating a wide range of resources that open up different perspectives on the concerns at the heart of the work. The links to interviews and discussions, articles and performances remain available on our website to inspire ongoing interest in these works beyond the year of the competition.

The Oxford German Network is grateful to Jonathan Gaisman, whose generous donation has made this prize possible. Now a distinguished QC, Jonathan Gaisman first encountered the German language as a schoolboy, and this sparked an enthusiasm for German literature that has stayed with him ever since. Click here to read his account of how he was inspired by German literature as a schoolboy and as a university student. To find out more about Jonathan Gaisman and his interest in German, click here for a longer interview with him. He there also talks about his fascination with Faust, Part I, the German Classic by Goethe which we featured in 2017.

Previous rounds of the German Classic Prize

Have a look at the resources we prepared for previous rounds of 'A German Classic' on Goethe's Faust, Schiller's Maria Stuart, Hoffmann's Der Sandmann, Mann's Der Tod in Venedig or Kleist's Die Verlobung in St. Domingo. The grand prize ceremony for the first round of the essay competition was held in the Bodleian Library's Blackwell Hall in Oxford on 19th June 2018. At the ceremony, Jonathan Gaisman gave a speech to introduce the prize and outlined its aims, by highlighting how important it is to engage with German literature - and how fun that can be. For more information about the inaugral prize ceremony, including comments from the prize-winners, see here. To see the report from our second ceremony in 2019, see here.

A German Classic 2021:
Heinrich von Kleist, Die Verlobung in St. Domingo

Foto © H.-P.Haack

This year’s edition of the German Classic Prize is now closed and we are pleased to announce the following prizes:

First Prize (£500):     Anna Cumming (Emmanuel College)
Second Prize (£300):    Alexander Archer (Eton College)
Third Prize (£100):     Alastair McLelland (Wyke College)

The essays by Rufus Hall (King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys), Kate de Putter (Tunbridge Wells Girls Grammar School), and Sam Woodroff (Dr Challoner's Grammar School) were awarded Highly Commended by the judges, and the essays by Amelia Bell (The Sixth Form College, Colchester) and Alexander Strigo (Dulwich College) were awarded Commended by the judges.

More than 150 students signed up to receive our competition study packs this year, which led to over 50 essay submissions from across the school sector. Not only are these numbers encouraging, but the quality of the essays was also impressive. Head Judge Professor Ritchie Robertson commented that the essays were of a particularly high standard this year and contained many insightful observations about Kleist’s story, which made for very engaging reading. Congratulations to all the winners and to all the entrants!

'A German Classic', Oxford German Network's essay competition for sixth formers, was created through the generous sponsorship of Jonathan Gaisman, QC, and aims to stimulate interest in great German writers and influential literary works in German. As in the past, we'll continue to make the resources on Die Verlobung in St. Domingo prepared for the competition freely accessible on our website. This year we recorded a series of four video podcasts with a number of professors and students at Oxford. Together with our earlier videos, they have already gathered more than 15,000 views on YouTube. You can access these and other materials here.

If you have any questions, please email the Prize Coordinator, Dr Karolina Watroba, at germanclassic@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk.

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German Classics Prize

A German Classic 2021: Heinrich von Kleist, Die Verlobung in St. Domingo

A German Classic 2021:
Heinrich von Kleist, Die Verlobung in St. Domingo