English Literature

Course summary

If you enjoy reading and talking about books, then you are likely to enjoy English Literature in the Sixth Form. The course at A Level is based on discussion and analysis, leading you to develop your philosophical awareness of texts and the ability to argue confidently to support them. Stimulating class discussion, extensive reading and the development of your critical responses are the key features of English Literature A Level. It can be combined with any other A Level, because of its emphasis on clear, analytical communication in both the written and spoken forms. The OCR A Level course is an exciting one, with opportunities to study texts taken from over 600 years of writing in English, including writers from other countries. You will learn about the history of literature and acquire a sense of how different texts relate to others in their own time and earlier periods. You will also look at how books are written and influenced by a social and political context, as well as a literary one. At A Level, you will study five texts for examination, and four for coursework (of which you would write about three). We aim to cover a range of different periods and genres with the texts we choose, so that you can encounter the early 20th-century poetry of T.S. Eliot alongside the 20th-century American poet, Sylvia Plath. Every student will study ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ by John Webster or ‘Edward II’ by Christopher Marlowe and Books IX and X of ‘Paradise Lost’ by John Milton and ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare. The texts we choose are demanding; they will challenge you as readers and require you to read with ever greater degrees of independence. It is important to read widely and independently throughout the course: English Literature A Level includes comparative and contextual studies of either the representation of women in fiction or American Literature from 1880 to 1940. This presents students with a great opportunity to develop their historical and philosophical knowledge, as well as their practical critical abilities. There is also an opportunity to submit a piece of your creative writing as part of the final coursework portfolio (although this is optional, not compulsory