English Literature

Course summary

We study a range of poetry and prose texts, some belonging to the English literary canon, such as Hamlet and Paradise Lost, and other more modern texts including American literature from 1880-1940 and coursework texts that bring us right up to the present day. We are mainly concerned with the ideas in the texts, including how they are conveyed through the writers’ decisions, how they relate to aspects of social, historical and literary context, and how literary critics and theatrical productions have interpreted these ideas over the years.