The Gaisford Prize is a prize awarded by the Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford for a composition in

Classical Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archa ...

Verse and Prose by an undergraduate student. The prize was founded in 1855 in memory of Dr Thomas Gaisford (1779–1855). The prizes now also include the Gaisford Essay Prize and the Gaisford Dissertation Prize.

History

Dr Thomas Gaisford, Dean of Christ Church, Regius Professor of Greek in the University of Oxford for more than forty years (1811–1855), died on 2 June 1855. Ten days later, at a meeting held in Christ Church on 12 June, it was resolved to establish a prize in his honour, to be called the Gaisford Prize, and to raise for that purpose £1,000 by public subscription, the interest to be applied "to reward a successful prizeman or prizemen, under such regulations as shall be approved by

Convocation A convocation (from the Latin ''wikt:convocare, convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a specia ...

". The prizes were first awarded in 1857. There have been four categories of Gaisford Prize. The two original categories were: * Gaisford Prize for Greek Verse. It ceased being awarded for a period after 1975, but had been revived by 1995.Oxford University Gazette, 23 June 1995
at ox.ac.uk, accessed 19 March 2024 * Gaisford Prize for Greek Prose. By the late 1980s it was awarded based on

Honour Moderations Honour Moderations (or ''Mods'') are a set of examinations at the University of Oxford at the end of the first part of some degree courses (e.g., Greats or '' Literae Humaniores''). Honour Moderations candidates have a class awarded (hence the ...

exams. By 2003 the Schedule to the University's ''Statutes and Regulations'' provided for a different two prizes, which remained in the Schedule as of 2024: * Gaisford Essay Prize for Greek Language and Literature, available to undergraduates * Gaisford Dissertation Prize for Greek or Latin Language and Literature, available to graduates The 1857–1876 winners of the Greek Prose Prize were listed alongside winners of the

Newdigate Prize Sir Roger Newdigate's Prize, more commonly the Newdigate Prize, is awarded by the University of Oxford for the Best Composition in English verse by an undergraduate student. It was founded in 1806 as a memorial to Sir Roger Newdigate (1719–1 ...

on the wrapper of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

's published Newdigate-winning poem ''Ravenna'' (1878).

Winners of the Gaisford Prize for Greek Verse

*1857: Joseph Henry Warner (Balliol) for Homeric verse: Milton's ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...

'' 6.56-98. *1858: Reginald Broughton (Balliol) for comic iambics: Shakespeare's '' Henry IV, Part I'', Act 2 Sc. 4. *1859: George Rankine Luke (Balliol) for hexameter verse: '' Morte D'Arthur.'' *1860: Chaloner William Chute (Balliol) for tragic iambic verse: Shakespeare's ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'', Act 4, Sc. 4. *1861:

James Bryce James Bryce may refer to: * James Bryce (geologist) (1806–1877), Irish naturalist and geologist * James Bryce (footballer) (1884–1916), Scottish footballer * James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce (1838–1922), British jurist, historian and politicia ...

(Trinity) for Theocritean verse: ''The May Queen: a Greek idyll'' (from

Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's ...

). *1862: Robert William Raper (Trinity) for comic iambic verse: Shakespeare's '' Henry IV, Part II'', Act 4, Sc. 3. *1863: Charles John Pearson for Homeric verse: ''Paradise Lost'' 6.824-877. *1864:

Evelyn Abbott Evelyn Abbott (; 10 March 1843 – 3 September 1901) was an English writer and classical scholar. He is best known for his book ''History of Greece'', which includes a sceptical viewpoint of Homer's ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey''. He is also very w ...

(Balliol) for tragic iambic verse: Shakespeare's ''

Pericles Pericles (; ; –429 BC) was a Greek statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Ancient Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, and was acclaimed ...

'', Act 5, Sc. 1. *1865: Ernest James Myers (Balliol and Wadham) for a Theocritean idyll: ''Ægon et Milo, qui ad Olympicum certamen profecti erant, domum redeuntes, inter se loquuntur''. *1866: George Nutt (New College) for comic iambics: ''Henry IV, Part II'', Act 1. Sc. 2. *1867
Alexander James Montgomerie Bell
(Balliol) for Homeric hexameters: ''Necryomanteia sive

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

Poeta apud Inferos''. *1868: Richard Lewis Nettleship (Balliol) for tragic iambics: Shelley's ''Prometheus Unbound'', Act 2, Sc. 4. *1869: John Arthur Godley (Balliol) for Theocritean verse: Shakespeare's ''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' (), also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in British Iron Age, Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concer ...

'', Act 4, Sc. 2. *1870: Walter Sumner Gibson (Balliol) for comic iambic verse: ''Henry IV, Part II'', Act 5, Sc. 1. *1871: Edward Byron Nicholson (Trinity, and Bodley's librarian) for heroic hexameters: ''Ἄστρων νυκτέρων ὁμήγυρις''. *1872: Thomas Agar (Christ Church) for tragic iambic verse: Byron's ''

Manfred ''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of Gothic fiction. Byr ...

'', Act 1, "The Spirits I have raised..." *1873: Alfred Joshua Butler for Homeric verse: ''Paradise Lost'' 4.634-705. *1874: Edward Maclaine Field (Trinity) for comic iambics: ''Henry IV, Part I'', Act 5 Sc. 4. *1875: Thomas Herbert Warren (Balliol and Magdalen) for an idyll: ''The Ruins of Athens''. *1876: Arthur Elam Haigh (Corpus Christi) for tragic iambics: Shakespeare's ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

'', Act 1, Sc. 2. *1877: Sidney Graves Hamilton (Balliol and Hertford) for Homeric hexameters: ''Paradise Lost'' 4.223-287. *1878: Alfred Denis Godley (Balliol) for comic iambics: the Hampshire farmer's address in ''Rejected Addresses''. *1879: Alfred Temple Roberts (Magdalen) for idyllic hexameters: Milton's ''

Lycidas "Lycidas" () is a poem by John Milton, written in 1637 as a pastoral elegy. It first appeared in a 1638 collection of elegies, ''Justa Edouardo King Naufrago'', dedicated to the memory of Edward King, a friend of Milton at Cambridge who drown ...

'' 5.132. *1880: Ernest Alfred Upcott (Balliol) for tragic iambics: ''Paradise Lost'' 4.32-113. *1881: Christopher Cookson (Corpus Christi) for idyllic hexameter's: Matthew Arnold's '' Thyrsis''. *1882: William Ross Hardie (Balliol) for comic iambics: Shakespeare's ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'', Act 2, Sc. 5 *1883: Cecil Henry St Leger RussellFoster, ''op. cit'': "Russell, Cecil Henry St. Leger, born at

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, 18 April 1862 ; is. Richard, arm. TRINITY, matric. 15 Oct., 81, aged 19 (from Lancing coll.), scholar 81–5, B.A. 86, M.A. 88 (HONOURS: 2 classical mods. 82, Latin verse 82, Greek verse 83, Greek prose 84, 2 classics 85); a master at Clifton coll." (Trinity) for Homeric hexameters: ''The Death of Zohrab and Rustum''. *1884: Harry Hammond House (Corpus Christi) for iambics: ''Henry IV, Part II'', Act 1, Sc. 1. *1885: John Undershell Powell (St. John's) for idyllic hexameters" Shelley's ''

Adonaïs ''Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats, Author of Endymion, Hyperion, etc.'' () is a pastoral elegy written by Percy Bysshe Shelley for John Keats in 1821, and widely regarded as one of Shelley's best and best-known works.Gilbert Murray George Gilbert Aimé Murray (2 January 1866 – 20 May 1957) was an Australian-born British classical scholar and public intellectual, with connections in many spheres. He was an outstanding scholar of the language and culture of Ancient Greec ...

(St. John's) for comic iambics: ''Henry IV, Part II'', Act 3, Sc. 2. *1887: Frederick William Hall (Trinity) for Homeric hexameters: ''Paradise Lost'' 6.746-785. *1888: Frank Fletcher (Balliol) for tragic iambics: Shelley's ''Cenci'', Act 5, Sc. 4. *1889: René Louis Alphonse Du Pontet (Trinity) for hexameters on Columbus. *1890:

William Martin Geldart William Martin Geldart CBE (7 June 1870 – 12 February 1922) was a British jurist. A classical scholar of Balliol College, Oxford, he went on to become Vinerian Professor of English Law at Oxford and a leading jurist of his day. Biography So ...

(Balliol) for comic iambics: ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

'', Act 2, Sc. 3. *1891: William Frederick Lofthouse (Trinity) for idyllic hexameters: 'Country Cousins at the Jubilee' (''Et quæ tanta fuit Romam tibi causa vivendi''). *1892: Wilfred Ormrod Bailey (Trinity) for tragic iambics: Milton's ''Samson Agonistes'' 1570–1660. *1893: Herbert Sidebotham (Balliol) for idyllic hexameters: ''Lycidas'' 15–84. *1894: George Stuart Robertson (New College) for comic iambic verse: ''Henry IV, Part II'', Act 2, Sc. 2. *1895: Frank Lloyd Edwards (New College) for tragic iambic verse: Matthew Arnold's '' Merope''. *1896: Edward L. D. Cole (Balliol) for hexameters: Virgil's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

'' 2.162-249. *1897: W. F. Nicholson (Balliol) for Theocritean hexameters: Thomson's '' Castle of Indolence'' 1.2-12. *1898: James Alexander Webster (Magdalen) for iambic verse: Marlowe's ''

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

'', Act 5, Sc. 1. *1899:

Harold Trevor Baker Harold Trevor Baker (22 January 1877 – 12 July 1960) was a British scholar, barrister, and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician. Early life Baker was born on Portsea Island, the son of Louisa and John Baker (Portsmouth MP), Sir John Baker, ...

(New College) for comic iambic verse: Ben Jonson's ''

Every Man in His Humour ''Every Man in His Humour'' is a 1598 play by the English playwright Ben Jonson. The play belongs to the subgenre of "humours comedy", in which each major character is dominated by an over-riding humour or obsession. First performance All th ...

'', Act 1, Sc. 4. *1900: Julius Victor Scholderer (Trinity) for hexameters: R.L. Stevenson's '' Rahéro''. *1901: Frederick Lewisohn (Trinity) for Theocritean verse: Milton's ''

Comus In Greek mythology, Comus (; , ''Kōmos'') is the god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances. Cup-bearer of the god Dionysus, he was represented as a winged youth or a child-like satyr. His mythology occurs only in later antiquity. Duri ...

'' 244–330. *1902: Edward William Macleay Grigg (New College) for iambic verse: ''Richard III'', Act 1, Sc. 2. *1903: H. L. Henderson (Christ Church) for comic iambics: ''Henry IV, Part II'', Act 3, Sc. 2. *1904: Cyril Charles Martindale (Pope's Hall

Campion Hall Campion Hall is one of the four permanent private halls of the University of Oxford in England. A Catholic hall, it is run by the Society of Jesus and named after Edmund Campion, a martyr and fellow of St John's College, Oxford. The hall is lo ...

]) for hexameters: Virgil's ''Georgics'' 4.450-547. *1905: F. A. B. Newman (University College, Oxford, Univ) for Theocritean hexameters: Spenser's ''Shepherd's Calendar: Aegloga Sexta''. *1906: Leslie Whitaker Hunter (New College) for elegiac verse: Tennyson's '' Lotos-Eaters''. *1907: William Alexander Bain (Christ Church) for tragic iambics: Byron's ''

Marino Faliero Marino Faliero (, c. 1274 – 17 April 1355) was the 55th Doge of Venice from 1354 until his execution for attempting a Coup d'état, coup d'etat in 1355. Origin and family Marino Faliero was born the son of Jacopo Faliero and Bettiola of t ...

'', Act 4, Sc. 2. *1908: Ronald Arbuthnott Knox (Balliol) for Theocritean hexameters: Robert Browning's ''

Pippa Passes ''Pippa Passes'' is a verse drama by Robert Browning. It was published in 1841 as the first volume of his ''Bells and Pomegranates'' series, in a low-priced two-column edition for sixpence, and republished in his collected ''Poems'' of 1849, w ...

'' III. 'Evening: Talk By the Way'. *1909: Algernon E. F. Spencer (Christ Church) for comic iambics: Sheridan's ''

School for Scandal ''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling S ...

'', Act 4, Sc. 1. *1910:

Roderick McKenzie Roderick McKenzie (1852 – 9 October 1934) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Buller and Motueka, in the South Island. He was a member of the Liberal Party. Biography Early life and career He was born in Ross-shire, Scotland in 1852 ...

(Trinity) for Homeric hexameters: Virgil's ''Aeneid'' 2.268-385. *1911:

Edgar Lobel Edgar Lobel (24 December 1888 – 7 July 1982) was a Romanian-British classicist and papyrologist who is best known for his four decades overseeing the publication of the literary texts among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri and for his edition of Sappho a ...

(Balliol) for tragic iambics: Racine's ''

Esther Esther (; ), originally Hadassah (; ), is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. According to the biblical narrative, which is set in the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus falls in love with Esther and ma ...

'' 3.1-3. *1912: Thomas Farrant Higham for Theocritean hexameters: George Meredith's ''Love in the Valley'' 1–9. *1913: George Dunn (Corpus Christi) for elegiacs: Pope's ''Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady''. *1914: Frank Newton Tribe for tragic iambics: Browning's ''Strafford'', Act 5, Sc. 2, lines 268-end. *1915: Reuben Cohen for comic iambics: Oliver Goldsmith's ''

She Stoops to Conquer ''She Stoops to Conquer'' is a comedy by Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in London in 1773. The play is a favourite for study by English literature and theatre classes in the English-speaking world. It is one of the few plays ...

'', Act 2. *1916:

Godfrey Rolles Driver Sir Godfrey Rolles Driver (20 August 1892 – 22 April 1975), known as G. R. Driver, was an English Orientalist noted for his studies of Semitic languages and Assyriology. His father was considered the "most distinguished British Hebraist ...

J. A. Emerton, 'Driver, Sir Godfrey Rolles (1892–1975)', in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 (New College) for A.H. Clough's ''Amour de Voyage'' rinted 1919 *1920: John Blackburne Poynton for Browning's ''Balaustion's Adventure'', lines 11-139. *1921: Asher Hyman for hexameters: from Virgil's 4th ''Georgic'', lines 425–527. *1922: Robert Graham Cockrane Levens for Shakespeare's ''

Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'', Act 3, Sc. 1. *1923: Cedric A. L. Cliffe for Racine's ''

Athalie ''Athalie'' (, sometimes translated ''Athalia'') is a 1691 play, the final tragedy of Jean Racine, and has been described as the masterpiece of "one of the greatest literary artists known" and the "ripest work" of Racine's genius. Charles August ...

'', Act 2, Sc. 5. *1924: Edmond Patrick Charles Cotter for Tennyson's ''

Godiva Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. She is mainly remembere ...

''. *1925: Henri Nicolas de Villiers for iambics: Byron's ''

Cain Cain is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He was a farmer who gave an offering of his crops to God. How ...

'', Act 3. *1927:

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roma ...

(Oriel) for Homeric hexameters: a passage of Morris's ''

The Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs ''The Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs'' (1876) is an epic poem of over 10,000 lines by William Morris that tells the tragic story, drawn from the Volsunga Saga and the Elder Edda, of the Norse hero Sigmund, his s ...

''. *1928: Denys Lionel Page for Greek tragic iambics: John Masefield's ''

Pompey the Great Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...

'', Act 2, Sc. 1. *1929: Noël Kilpatrick Hutton for 'The Sad Shepherd', from Yeats's "The Wild Swans at Coole". *1930: Brian Davidson for a translation of Addison's '' Cato'', 4.4-5.1. *1931: John Saye Wingfield Twistleton-Wykeham-Fiennes for comic verse:

W.S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most fam ...

's ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

, or The Town of Titipu''. *1932: Archibald David Manisty Ross for 'The Story of Glam', from ''The Saga of Grettir the Strong''. *1933: Thomas Hunter Steen Wyllie for the 'Prologue in Heaven' from Goethe's ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

''. *1934: (William) Spencer Barrett (Christ Church) for Congreve's '' Mourning Bride''. *1935: A. T. G. Holmes for Tennyson's ''Tithonus''. *1937: H. Thomson for Sheridan's ''The Rivals'', Act 3, Sc. 1. *1938:

Christopher Montague Woodhouse Christopher Montague Woodhouse, 5th Baron Terrington, (11 May 1917 – 13 February 2001), known as C. M. Woodhouse, was a British army SOE officer, MI6 intelligence officer and Conservative politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) fo ...

(New College) for Pope's ''Sappho to Phaon'' 2.179-end. *1939:

Kenneth Dover Sir Kenneth James Dover, (11 March 1920 – 7 March 2010) was a distinguished British classical scholar and academic. He was president of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, from 1976 to 1986. In addition, he was president of the British Academy f ...

(Balliol) for lines from Racine's ''

Phèdre ''Phèdre'' (; originally ''Phèdre et Hippolyte'') is a French dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677 at the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris. Composition and premiere With ...

'', Act 1, Sc. 1, lines 1–133. *1995: No prize awarded (but honourably mentioned: Martin Revermann of Corpus Christi). *1996: Jeremy GrantOxford University Gazette, 25 July 1996
at ox.ac.uk, accessed 14 August 2008 (Worcester). *1998: No prize awarded (but honourably mentioned: Letizia Palladini of Balliol).
at ox.ac.uk, accessed 14 August 2008 *1999: Luke Pitcher
at ox.ac.uk, accessed 14 August 2008 (Somerville). *2000: Laura Bender
at ox.ac.uk, accessed 14 August 2008 (Magdalen). *2016: Andrew Jones (Queen's) for tragic trimeter:

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

4.9-38. *2018: Joost Botman'Academic prizes for Queen's students'
at ox.ac.uk, accessed 12 October 2018 (Queen's) & Phillip Bone'Exeter students win Classics prizes'
at ox.ac.uk, accessed 12 October 2018 (Exeter) for tragic and comic trimeter respectively: a passage from Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale. *2019: Jason WebberExonian Wins Gaisford Prize for Greek Vers

at ox.ac.uk, accessed 18 May 2021 (Exeter) for tragic trimeter: a passage from Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. *2020: Nicholas Stone (Christ Church) for tragicomic trimeter: a passage from Wordsworth's 'The Brothers Poem'. *2021: Benjamin Goodrick (Trinity) for tragic trimeter: a passage from Shakespeare's Richard the Third. *2022: Althea Sovani (Somerville) *2023: David Dunn (Balliol) for tragic trimeter: a passage from

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe ( ; Baptism, baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the English Renaissance theatre, Eli ...

's ''

Tamburlaine ''Tamburlaine the Great'' is a play in two parts by Christopher Marlowe. It is loosely based on the life of the Central Asian emperor Timur (Tamerlane/Timur the Lame, d. 1405). Written in 1587 or 1588, the play is a milestone in English liter ...

Winners of the Gaisford Prize for Greek Prose

*1857: Robert Dobie Wilson (Balliol) for ''Empedocles, Dialogues Græcus''. *1858: George Rankine Luke (Balliol) for ''Nicias, sive De superstitione''. *1859:

Henry Nettleship Henry Nettleship (5 May 1839 – 10 July 1893) was an English classical scholar. Life Nettleship was born at Kettering, and was educated at Lancing College, Durham School and Charterhouse schools, and gained a scholarship for entry to Corpus Chr ...

(Corpus Christi and Lincoln) for ''Pygmaeorum Civitas''. *1860:

(Trinity and Oriel) for ''The Plague of London'', in the style of Herodotus or Plato. *1861:

Charles Bigg Charles Bigg (12 September 1840, Higher Broughton, near Manchester – 15 July 1908, Oxford) was a Church of England clergyman, theologian and church historian. Life Bigg was educated at Manchester Grammar School and Corpus Christi College, Oxfor ...

(Corpus Christi and Christ Church) for ''Milo, sive de Gymnastica''. *1862: Charles John Pearson (Corpus Christi) for ''Timæus Novus, sive De Geologia: Dialogus Platonicus''. *1863: Augustine Ley (Christ Church) for ''Marco Polo: Narratio ad Examplar Herodoteum''. *1864: A Platonic Dialogue, ''Socrates apud inferos more suo Atheniensum principes reipublicæ interrogat''. ot awarded.*1865: William Henry Simcox (Queen's) for ''Sancti Ludovici mors, res gestæ, ingenium'', after Thucydides. *1866: Francis de Paravicini (Balliol and Christ Church) for ''Cratylus, sive de hominum sermonis origine''. *1867:

William Wallace Sir William Wallace (, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of St ...

(Balliol and later Merton) for ''The Aztecs'' in Herodotean style. *1868: Alfred Goodwin (Balliol) for '' Ἀμαζόνες ἀντιάνειραι'', a Platonic dialogue. *1869: Robert Lowes Clarke (Balliol) for ''The Reign of Terror'', in the style of Thucydides. *1870: John Arthur Godley (Balliol) for '' Φειδίας ἢ περὶ ἀνδριαντοποιΐας: a Platonic dialogue''. *1871: George Edward Jeans (Pembroke and Hertford) for ''Iceland: in Herodotean prose'' * 1872: Alfred Joshua Butler (Trinity and Brasenose) for ''Ullane sint reconditioris doctrinæ vestigia apud Homerum reperienda?'' *1873: William Wardlaw Waddell (Balliol) for ''The

Siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

of Londonderry'', in the style of Thucydides. *1874:

o Candidate O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), p ...

A Platonic dialogue, ''"Esse aliquid manes". De spectris et simulacris mortuorum quid revera sentiendum sit.'' *1875: Edward Maclaine Field (Trinity) for ''The Sources of the Nile. Prose in the Style of Herodotus'' (''Viator Anglus Nili fontes explorans quæ viderit narrat.''). *1876: George Spencer Bower (New College) for a Platonic dialogue, ''Socrates Aristophanes Sophocles de Arte Poetarum inter se colloquuntur''. *1877: Arthur Elam Haigh for ''The Popish Plot'', in the style of Thucydides. *1878: Philip Edward Raynor (New College) for a Platonic dialogue, '' Ἀναξίμανδρος ἢ περὶ ζῴων γενέσεως.'' *1879:

David Samuel Margoliouth David Samuel Margoliouth, FBA (; 17 October 1858, in London – 22 March 1940, in London) was an English orientalist. He was briefly active as a priest in the Church of England. He was Laudian Professor of Arabic at the University of Oxford ...

(New College) for ''Japanorum reipublicæ conversio''. *1880: William Yorke Fausset (Balliol) for a Platonic dialogue, ''De Œconomia quam vocant Politica''. *1881: Richard Edmund Mitcheson (St. John's) for ''Speeches in accusation and defence of

Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first governor-gener ...

''. *1882: William Ross Hardie for a Platonic dialogue, ''Δημηγορία, Τίς ἐστιν ἡ ποιητική'' (''Inter Rhetoricam et Poeticam quid intersit''). *1883: William Edward Long (Magdlalen) for ''The Wandering Jew'', in the style of Herodotus. *1884: Cecil Henry St Leger Russell (Trinity) for ''The Athenian state: a platonic dialogue''. *1885:

Walter Ashburner Walter Ashburner (1864 – February 1936) was an American-born British classical and legal scholar. He was Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research u ...

(Balliol and Merton) for ''The Spanish Armada'' in the style of Thucydides. *1886: Michael Henry Mansel Wood (Trinity) for ''Prometheus sive De hominum natura et origine'', a Platonic dialogue. *1887:

Gilbert Murray George Gilbert Aimé Murray (2 January 1866 – 20 May 1957) was an Australian-born British classical scholar and public intellectual, with connections in many spheres. He was an outstanding scholar of the language and culture of Ancient Greec ...

(St. John's) for ''

Mesolonghi Missolonghi or Mesolongi (, ) is a municipality of 32,048 people (according to the 2021 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis Mesolongiou (). Missolon ...

Capta'' (in the ''Historical Register'' (1900) as ''Missolonghi Capta''). *1888:

Frederick William Hall Frederick William Hall, (21 February 1885 – 24 April 1915) was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forc ...

(Trinity) for ''Πότερον ἐὰν ἀπόληται τὸ κακὸν οὐδὲ πεινῆν ἔτι ἔστι ἢ διψῆν, ἤ τι ἄλλο τῶν τοιούτων...'' (or ''De origine Mali''). *1889: Reginald Carter (Balliol) for ''The Battle of Inkermann'', in the style of Thucydides. *1890:

Henry Stuart Jones Sir Henry Stuart Jones, FBA (15 May 1867 – 29 June 1939) was a British academic. He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford; he obtained a First in Classical Moderations in 1888 and a First in Literae Humaniores ('Greats', a combination of ph ...

(Balliol) for ''Δάμων ἢ περὶ μουσικῆς'' or ''De origine et vi artis musicæ''. *1891: Julian James Cotton (Corpus Christi) for ''The Story of

Husain Husain, a variant spelling of Hussein, is a common Arabic name, especially among Muslims because of the status of Husayn ibn Ali Husayn ibn Ali (; 11 January 626 – 10 October 680 Common Era, CE) was a social, political and religious leader ...

and the Mohurram Celebration in the East''. *1892: Philip Herbert Hanson (Balliol) for '' Νικίας: Τῆς ἄνω ὁδοῦ ἀεὶ ἐσόμεθα''. *1893: Wilfred Ormrod Bailey (Trinity) for ''A supposed speech of Abraham Lincoln on the occasion of his second election to the presidency of the United States'', in the style of Thucydides. *1894: Herbert Sidebotham for '' Ἀριστοφάνης ἢ περὶ τοῦ γελοίου''. *1895: George Stuart Robertson (New College) for ''Herodotus in Britain''. *1896: Prose in the manner of Socrates: ''A Defence of Despotism''. ot awarded.*1897: Edward Launcelot Davey Cole (Balliol) for ''

Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication '' Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ...

'Of the Principles of Poetry' and the 'Lyrical Ballads'.'' *1898: Ernest Ely Genner (Balliol) for ''On the Causes and Conditions of Naval Supremacy''. *1899: Frederick Herbert Williamson (Balliol) for ''The Principle of Isolation in British Foreign Policy''. *1900 Heathcote William Garrod (Balliol) for ''Erasmus on the Renascence of Literature''. *1902: James McLean Watson (Oriel) for ''Relations Between a Mother Country and her Colonies''. *1903: Robert William Chapman (Oriel) for ''Advantages of an Academy of Letters''. *1904: William Moir Calder (Christ Church) for ''The Possibility of a Federal Union of the English-Speaking Peoples''. *1905: Thomas Williams Phillips (Jesus) for ''Imperatores Divus Iulius et Napoleon de rebus a se domi militiaeque gestis apud inferos colloquuntur''. *1906: Hugh McKinnon Wood (Balliol) for '' Διογένης ἢ περὶ παρρησίας''. *1907: John Davidson Beazley (Balliol) for ''Herodotus at the Zoo''. *1908: Leslie Whitaker Hunter (New College) for ''Warren Hastings' Defence of his Administration in India''. *1909: George Douglas Brooks (Worcester) for ''The Relation between Art and Morality''. *1911: George Leicester Marriott (Exeter) for ''A Dialogue Between Socrates, Agathon and Aristophanes, τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀνδρὸς εἶναι κωμῳδίαν καὶ τραγῳδίαν ἐπίστασθαι ποιεῖν''. *1912: Cecil John Ellingham for ''Πορφυρίων Δίης Τύραννος''. *1913:

(New College) for ''Στάσεως ἐν Βρεταννοῖς γενομένης, λέγει μὲν ὁ προστάτης τοῦ δήμου, ἀντιλέγει δὲ ὁ στρατηγός...'' *1914: Harry Samuels for ''Crates, sive De vita simplici'', a dialogue. *1915: Robert Walter Theodore Gordon Scott for ''Panama''. *1921: Christian James Fordyce (Balliol) for ''Herodotus in Ireland: being part of the third book of his account of Britain''. *1922: William Francis Ross Hardie (Balliol) for ''A Lucianic dialogue between Socrates in Hades and certain men of the present day''. *1923: Basil Edward Butler for ''

Ἡράκλειτος Heraclitus (; ; ) was an ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from the city of Ephesus, which was then part of the Persian Empire. He exerts a wide influence on Western philosophy, both ancient and modern, through the works of such authors ...

, a translation of a passage from Prof. Eddington's Romanes

lecture A lecture (from ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history, background, theo ...

(1922)''. *1926:

(Oriel) for a section of

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...

's ''

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

'' into

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

nic prose.Millar, Fergus, Hannah M. Cotton, & Guy M. Rogers, ''Rome, the Greek World, and the East''
page 401
online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 14 August 2008 *1927:

Colin Hardie Colin Graham Hardie (16 February 1906 – 17 October 1998) was a British classicist and academic. From 1933 to 1936, he was Director of the British School at Rome. From 1936 to 1973, he was a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, and a tutor in cl ...

(Balliol). *1930: Peter J. McGowen for a translation of

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

's '' The First Step'', chapter 7. *1931: John Langshaw Austin (Balliol). *1932: Humphry Gilbert Bohun Lynch (Merton) for a translation of the ''

Areopagitica ''Areopagitica; A speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc'd Printing, to the Parlament of England'' is a 1644 prose polemic by the English poet, scholar, and polemical author John Milton opposing licensing. ''Areopagitica'' is ...

''. *1933: Arthur Frederick Hall for ''Boswell's Life of Johnson'' (Everyman Edition, vol. 1, pp. 272–275) in the style of Lucian. *1934: W.H. Walsh for ''Envoys from Russia and Japan seek alliance with Chinese Republic''. *1936: John Godfrey Griffith for a translation of Tolstoy's ''

Thou Shalt Not Kill Thou shalt not kill ( LXX, KJV; ), You shall not murder ( NIV, ) or Do not murder ( CSB), is a moral imperative included as one of the Ten Commandments in the Torah. The imperative not to kill is in the context of ''unlawful'' killing resulti ...

''. *1937:

Henry Arthur Pears Fisher Sir Henry Arthur Pears Fisher (20 January 1918 – 10 April 2005) was an English lawyer who served as a judge of the High Court of England and Wales and as President of Wolfson College, Oxford. Early life and education Fisher was born at The ...

for Burke's ''Letters on a Regicide Peace''. *1938: Vincent Turner for ''

A.E. Housman Alfred Edward Housman (; 26 March 1859 – 30 April 1936) was an English classical scholar and poet. He showed early promise as a student at the University of Oxford, but he failed his final examination in '' literae humaniores'' and took emplo ...

's Introductory Lecture (1892)''. *1939: David Penistan Simpson for ''Characters in the Style of

Theophrastus Theophrastus (; ; c. 371 – c. 287 BC) was an ancient Greek Philosophy, philosopher and Natural history, naturalist. A native of Eresos in Lesbos, he was Aristotle's close colleague and successor as head of the Lyceum (classical), Lyceum, the ...

: the Snob, the Prig, and the Pedant''. *1948: John Francis Bligh for ''Thomas Erskine's Speech in Defence of Mr. John Frost, 1793''. *1952:

Jeremy Morse Sir Christopher Jeremy Morse KCMG (10 December 1928 – 4 February 2016) was an English banker, cruciverbalist and chess composer who was Chancellor of the University of Bristol from 1989 to 2003, and was chairman of Lloyds Bank. Early life ...

*1981:

Armand D'Angour Armand D'Angour (born 23 November 1958) is a British classical scholar and classical musician, Professor of Classics at Oxford University and Fellow and Tutor in Classics at Jesus College, Oxford. His research embraces a wide range of areas acro ...

(Merton). *1995: Deborah W. Rooke (Regent's Park). *1996: Holger Gzella (Worcester). *1997: Martin Revermann (Corpus Christi). *1998: Sinead Willis (New College). *1999: Letizia Poli-Palladini (Balliol). *2000: Luke Pitcher (Somerville). *2002: Oliver Thomas (New College). *2009: Christopher White (Magdalen). *2019: Lucas Jones (Magdalen). *2020: Jason WebberOxford University Gazette, 25 June 2020
at ox.ac.uk, accessed 20 May 2021 (Magdalen). *2021: Nicholas StoneOxford University Gazette, 17 June 2021 at ox.ac.uk, accessed 17 June 2021 (Christ Church). *2022: Lucas Barron (Magdalen). *2023: Althea Sovani (Somerville). *2024: Aron Szocs (Harris Manchester).

Winners of the Gaisford Essay Prize

*1996: Ben Rowland (Balliol). *1997: Nicholas Larkin (Brasenose). *1998: No prize awarded (but honourably mentioned: David Hodgkinson, Balliol). *2007: Sarah Cullinan (Oriel). *2008: Robert Colborn (New College). *2009: Scott Liddle (New College). *2014: Supratik Baralay (Wadham College).

Winners of the Gaisford Dissertation Prize

*1987: Richard Maxwell Gaskin (St Edmund Hall), ''Tragedy and Subjectivity in Virgil’s Aeneid''. *1998: No prize awarded. *1999: Letizia Poli-Palladini (Balliol) and

Tobias Reinhardt Tobias Reinhardt (born 31 August 1971) is a German classical scholar, specialising in Latin literature and ancient philosophy. Since 2008, he has been the Corpus Christi Professor of Latin at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Corpus Christ ...

(Corpus Christi) jointly. *2002: Wolfgang David Cirilo de Melo (jointly), for work on the Latin verb system. *2008: Oliver Thomas (New College and Balliol).Oliver Thomas CV
at users.ox.ac.uk, accessed 16 August 2008 *2014: Thomas Nelson (University). *2015: Ella Grunberger-Kirsh (Exeter). *2017: Timothy Foot (Merton) and Elinor Garnett (Christ Church) jointly.Oxford University Gazette, 6 July 2017
at ox.ac.uk, accessed 8 July 2017 *2019: Dan Byam Shaw (Magdalen) and Sebastian Hyams (Christ Church). *2021: Charles Baker (New College). *2023: Christopher G. Lu (Balliol College). *2024: Alexander Christensen (Blackfriars Hall) and Finn Jarvis (Trinity).

Notable winning entries

John Davidson Beazley's winning entry for the 1907 Greek Prose prize, ''Herodotus at the Zoo'', was reprinted by Blackwell in 1911 and later appeared in a collection of classical parodies produced in Switzerland in 1968. The ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' calls it "an enchanting work". George Stuart Robertson won the prize for Greek Verse in 1894 with a translation of a hundred lines of Shakespeare into comic iambic verse, and the next year he won the prize for Greek Prose and a

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

for hammer throwing. He heard about the

1896 Summer Olympics The 1896 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad () and commonly known as Athens 1896 (), were the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. Organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), wh ...

, the first of the modern era, and later explained "Greek classics were my proper academic field, so I could hardly resist a go at the Olympics, could I?" On arrival in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, he found to his dismay that his discipline of hammer throwing was not to be competed in, so in the spirit of amateurism he entered the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

, the discus and the

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

. In the discus, he recorded the Games' worst ever throw, and in the tennis doubles he lost his only match but nevertheless won a

Bronze Medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

. In a ceremony after the Games, Robertson recited an ode to athletic prowess which he had composed in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

. Between 1953 and 1956, C. G. R. Leach won all four University prizes for composition in classical languages – the Gaisford Greek Verse and Prose prizes, and the Chancellor's Prizes for Latin Verse and Prose – while his brother J. H. C. Leach won three and was runner-up for a fourth.

In fiction

Max Beerbohm Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (24 August 1872 – 20 May 1956) was an English essayist, Parody, parodist and Caricature, caricaturist under the signature Max. He first became known in the 1890s as a dandy and a humorist. He was the theatre crit ...

's satirical tragedy of undergraduate life at Oxford, ''

Zuleika Dobson ''Zuleika Dobson'', full title ''Zuleika Dobson, or, an Oxford love story'', is the only novel by English essayist Max Beerbohm, a satire of undergraduate life at Oxford published in 1911. It includes the famous line "Death cancels all engageme ...

'' (1911), the hero, called the Duke of Dorset,''Or in full'', John Albert Edward Claude Orde Angus Tankerton Tanville-Tankerton, fourteenth Duke of Dorset, Marquis of Dorset, Earl of Grove, Earl of Chastermaine, Viscount Brewsby, Baron Grove, Baron Petstrap, and Baron Wolock has won one of the Prizes:

References

{{reflist, 2

History

Winners of the Gaisford Prize for Greek Verse

Winners of the Gaisford Prize for Greek Prose

Winners of the Gaisford Essay Prize

Winners of the Gaisford Dissertation Prize

Notable winning entries

In fiction

See also

References

See also