English Literature

Course summary

Studying A-level English Literature invites you to explore life’s most fascinating topics. From love to loss, melancholy to madness and everything in between; English Literature is a passport, and the journey is human experience. You’ll begin your literary adventure in Ancient Greece, exploring the origins of classical tragedy in its original form. From there you will journey to the Renaissance times to study the master at work, William Shakespeare and finally, you will arrive in the 1940’s to determine how classical tragedy has evolved in the modern age. But your time in the 20th and 21st centuries won’t end there! At the end of your first year, you will analyse a range of contemporary poems and explore how English Literature is the perfect vehicle to examine and discuss the complexities of everyday experience. In your second year, you will immerse yourself in the world of literature’s first ‘mad scientist’, Doctor Frankenstein and go onto explore the extraordinary setting of the dystopian Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale. You will discover how these nightmarish places are created and identify the prophetic nature of both these classic tales. You will end your literary investigations in the fantastical world of Christina Rossetti, where gender roles and class exploitation are cleverly disguised by the fairy-tale genre. Year 12 A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams is a modern domestic tragedy, charting the tragic downfall of Blanche DuBois; a vulnerable southern belle trapped in a cruel post-war society. In this module, we determine whether Blanche is a victim of the vicious new world or the architect of her own downfall. Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a supernatural tragedy which explores the psychological impact of love and loss on the young mind. We will determine what it really means to be mad. Poems of the Decade is an anthology of 20th and 21st century poetry and during this module we will determine what topics can really be considered worthy enough for poetry. Themes such as gang culture, eating disorders and the teenage experience abound. Year 13 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is literature’s first ever Sci-Fi novel. During this module, we will determine how Shelley depicts the first ever ‘mad scientist’ at work and question whether we are born evil or made evil? The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood is fast becoming one of the most prophetic tales in modern western culture. We will explore whether America has been on a crash course towards Christian Extremism since Atwood published the tale in 1980 and explore the effects of such extremism on the female experience. Selected Poetry of Christina Rossetti is a fascinating anthology of tales which explore the rights of women and lower classes in Victorian Britain. Rossetti cleverly distorts her worlds; allowing for fundamental issues such as feminism to be depicted in educational and entertaining ways.