- A level (OCR)
- 2 years
English Literature is an A level for students who enjoy reading and sharing their views on literature with like-minded individuals. Independence of thought is at the heart of learning, and there is nothing more important than the regular seminars where you’ll present your prepared interpretations of the texts and will be challenged to support them in discussion forums.
Texts include Shakespeare’s great tragedies and other drama written before the 20th century. Poetry texts range from before and after the 20th century – and a selection of prose fiction is clustered around exciting and stimulating themes such as dystopia, the Gothic, women in literature or the immigrant experience.
You will not only become expert at close textual exploration, but you will also become conversant in the socio, cultural and political conditions in which each writer is working - and how this affects what they produce. Meanings change across time however - so you will investigate how current contemporary interpretation may be different, but equally valid.
The classroom and the library are the central learning environments, but there are also a series of theatre visits, external conferences and other cultural events that will support your learning across the course.
This subject is for you:
if you are a regular and voracious reader with a passion for literature. You will have a willingness to pitch your ideas and defend against different viewpoints, as well as accepting, after considered thought, that there can be legitimate alternatives.
Assessment
20% coursework
80% exam