Cambridge students examined on Amy Winehouse song

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - They might not be Shakespeare or Wordsworth but lyrics by soul singer Amy Winehouse have been included in a Cambridge University literature exam for the first time.

Final year English students were asked to compare a song by the troubled singer with verses from Elizabethan poet and explorer Sir Walter Raleigh.

On Wednesday the university defended its decision to include lyrics from the 24 year-old's hit single "Love is a Losing Game" in the exams, while critics accused it of dumbing down.

On the same day last week that the song, from Winehouse's breakthrough release "Back to Black", won a prestigious Ivor Novello award, students were being asked to compare it to the 16th-century poet's work "As You Came from the Holy Land".

They could also write about Bob Dylan's "Boots Of Spanish Leather" or Billie Holiday's "Fine And Mellow" during the practical criticism exam.

"The OED (Oxford English Dictionary) defines 'lyric' as 'Of or pertaining to the lyre; adapted to the lyre, meant to be sung,'" the exam question stated.

It also quotes Ruskin's maxim: "lyric poetry is the expression by the poet of his own feelings."

Cambridge officials said students were then asked to compare Raleigh's poem, written in 1592, with one or two of the designated songs while making reference to the "diverse senses of lyric".

Nick Seaton, of the Campaign for Real Education group, criticized the university for "dumbing down" their exams.

"It seems the examiners are trying to be trendy rather than ensure that the exam covers traditional classical literature," he told the Daily Mail newspaper.

But a Cambridge University spokesman said while unusual, it showed academics were in touch with modern society.

"The purpose of the whole paper is to test students' ability to interpret unseen texts," he said.

(Editing by Stephen Addison and Paul Casciato)