During this course students will experience reading some of the most celebrated writers of prose, poetry and drama across 700 years of literature written in English, as well as writers still working today. Students will study the many ways in which writers craft their work, as well as how writers are influenced by the times and cultures they emerge from and how their work can be read in a multitude of different ways. Students will learn to read texts in more depth and to become a more confident and assured writer yourself. Students will understand how English literature continues to reflect the concerns of our world and how it has influenced wider culture. In addition, students will be introduced to the world of literary criticism, considering how others view major works of literature. The core content of the course will involve exploring the genre of tragedy through poetry, prose and drama, looking in detail at works by William Shakespeare, Thomas Hardy and Arthur Miller.