The study of literature affords fascinating insights into the human condition with the opportunity to test and debate the many different readings that each text throws up. At A Level you will be exploring your independent response, sharing and discussing your interpretations with others alongside consideration of the writer’s craft and the application of critical ideas and theories which may yield different and potentially challenging interpretations. Genre study is at the heart of this course. Across the two years, you will study texts (Shakespearean & Modern drama & C19th poetry) connected through the mainstream literary genre of Tragedy, alongside texts (C20th & C21st prose & C19th poetry) which are grouped as having elements of the more modern genre of Crime Writing. This genre, which is heavily influenced by culture, is continually evolving in interesting ways. Year 1: In the first year you will begin your exploration of Aspects of Tragedy and Elements of Crime Writing looking at how authors shape meaning within their texts and how the texts can be interpreted by readers now. In the Summer Term, you will begin the Non-Exam Assessment (NEA), which provides the opportunity to read independently and explore your chosen texts (prose & poetry) in the light of different critical approaches (including Marxist, Feminist, Post-Colonial, Ecocritical, and Narrative) that you will study. Year 2: Alongside completing the NEA, you will study further texts, including unseen extracts, connected through the genres of Tragedy or Crime Writing. You will build upon the skills developed in the first year and continue to develop critical readings of a wider range of texts.