English Literature

Course summary

Salman Rushdie has said that literature “opens the mysterious doors of imagination and understanding” and C.S. Lewis felt that “it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become”. If these metaphors resonate with your own curiosity about the potential magic, meaning and metamorphosis waiting to be discovered between the covers of a book, this course offers the prospect of exploring a variety of novels, poetry and plays written from the 16th Century to the present day – some of which you are free to choose for yourself. English Literature will help you develop a range of key skills: perceptive analysis of the way in which writers craft texts; fluent communication of personal insights; adept assimilation and synthesis of ideas from a wide range of sources. Above all else, it is the chance to indulge your love for reading and share your opinions and enthusiasm with others. A rich and diverse range of literature is presented. Students are required to study a total of eight texts over the full A Level. The selection must include at least: two plays, two novels, two poetry anthologies, three texts published before 1900, one play by Shakespeare and one text published after 2000.