English Literature

Course summary

English Literature offers students the chance to excel by analysing and understanding different genres and links between books and plays. From dystopian fiction to romantic poetry, you will explore literary texts from a range of periods and make connections between them. You will explore the extent to which writers’ choices have been shaped by contemporary debates and literary conventions. You will study: Unit 1: Drama (30%): William Shakespeare – Othello, Tennessee Williams – A Streetcar Named Desire Unit 2: Prose (20%): Mary Shelley – Frankenstein, Margaret Atwood – The Handmaid’s Tale Unit 3: Poetry (30%): Post-2000 Poetry, Romantic Poetry Unit 4: Coursework (20%): One extended comparative essay referring to two texts