English Literature

This A-Level enables you to articulate creative and informed responses to literary texts. You will analyse how the structure, form and language of a text shapes its meaning. Engaging critically with a wide range of literary works, you will closely analyse and interpret drama, prose and poetry, exploring connections across texts and their significance. Modules include Poetry, Prose and Drama.

Modules

Poetry

You will study a range of contemporary poems from the collection Poems of the Decade: An Anthology of the Forward Books of Poetry 2002–2011. You will spend a short session on each of a selection of poems, exploring key themes and concepts across the collection.

Drama

In the first year and examination, you will study A Streetcar Named Desire, focusing on the use of literary and dramatic devices and the shaping of meanings in your chosen play, as well as studying the social and historical context in which it was produced.

Prose

You will explore two novels in this unit, focusing on the key theme of Science vs the Supernatural. You will be expected to independently read two novels - Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, exploring connections between the texts and questioning how representation of the conflict between the scientific and supernatural worldviews changes over time.

In your second year you will follow a similar assessment structure, with the addition of a coursework component – an individual project comparing two different prose texts. You will also add to your knowledge of a) poetry, by exploring the poems of John Keats; b) drama, through study of Shakespeare’s Othello and c) prose through independent wider reading.

Modern, specialist language rooms
Trips to China, France and Spain
Theatre visits including The Crucible and foreign language cinema
Visiting speakers from universities, including renowned linguists, writers and former students
Only college outside London to work with Arts Emergency - a charity providing students with access to Arts and Humanities professionals
Enrichment including Creative Writing, Japanese Language and Culture, Italian
University visits to Manchester and Huddersfield
Support and extension classes
External examiners are part of the team who pass on their expertise

This course provides you with the opportunity to progress on to Higher Education, employment or further training. Our students have progressed to:

English Literature at Durham University

English Literature and History at Lancaster University

English at Manchester Metropolitan University

English Language and English Literature at the University of Manchester

Media Studies and the University of Huddersfield

English Language at Sheffield Hallam University

English and Creative Writing at the University of Salford

English Literature at Keele University

English Literature at the University of Wales, Bangor

Drama and Creative Writing at the University of Salford

English Literature at Liverpool John Moores University