English Literature

Course summary

A level English Literature explores the art of storytelling and the ways in which it examines many of life’s fundamental themes: love, prejudice, loneliness, perseverance and inequality to name but a few. English Literature students learn to become critical thinkers by applying different lenses and critical theories to the texts studied as you consider varying interpretations. The subject requires students to read independently, perhaps considering how a text may be explored from a feminist, psychoanalytical or Marxist perspective. The specification for English Literature provides the opportunity for wider reading through the two-year course. Paper 1: The theme studied is ‘Love Through The Ages’ which invites you to compare human relationships across different time periods. In Year 12, it offers the chance to explore a classic novel such as ‘The Great Gatsby’, a Shakespeare play such as ‘Othello’, a poetry anthology and unseen poetry. Paper 2: In Year 13, you will study modern literature including a novel such as ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, as well as a play, such as ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ and a collection of modern poetry, such as ‘Feminine Gospels’. The study of these texts is imbued with consideration of the social and historical contexts which have influenced the writers, for example, the exploration of Tennessee Williams’s commentary on the American Dream in the play. You will be taught a pre-1900 text on the theme of ‘Outsiders and Disturbed Minds’ and have a free choice of your own text to study and use to write a critically comparative response on the given theme.