Cambridge student wins Keats-Shelley Prize

David Taylor, who is studying for the MPhil in Eighteenth Century and Romantic Literature at Trinity College, Cambridge, won first prize in the essay section for his piece entitled, 'A vacant space, an empty stage: Prometheus Unbound, The Last Man, and the Problem of Dramatic (Re)form'.

The prize is run by the Keats-Shelley Memorial Association, founded in 1903, which owns and runs the Keats-Shelley House in Rome, and also publishes a scholarly journal, 'The Keats-Shelley Review'.

Entries are invited annually in two categories: poems, on a theme chosen by the judges, and essays on any aspect of the work or life of either John Keats or Percy Bysshe Shelley. The competition is open to all.

David was presented with the prize - £1,000 and publication of his essay in 'The Keats-Shelley Review' - by author, director and comedian Stephen Fry, who chaired this year's judging panel, at a ceremony last week at Somerset House in London. The other judges were the poets, Matthew Sweeney and John Hartley-Williams, and the scholar-critics, Professor Peter Kitson and Dr Seamus Perry.

David graduated from the University of St Andrews in June with a First in English. After completing his MPhil, he hopes to continue on to doctoral studies, with research focusing on the politics of the British theatre in the late eighteenth century.

Portrait of John Keats.