English Literature

Welcome! This page is intended to offer materials that will support you ahead of taking up your English Literature degree at university. 

There is no compulsory work here - it is supplementary, aimed at making sure you are in a good position to make a strong start when you return to your studies. 

There is bank of resources for you to peruse: please take some time to have a look through. There is no prescribed order - tackle it however you wish. 

The main thing  you can do to prepare for your course is, of course, to read: as well as the materials here, take a look at the reading lists available for your course. Aim to cover texts from different periods, genres or writers that you are unfamiliar with. You will soon realise how narrow A Level English Literature really is, and the wonders that await you on the next stage of your journey.... 

Being Critical You are a student, but you are also a critic. 

Take a look at the links in the page below, from the University of York library website, to give you some ideas of the expectations of you as a critic.

Becoming an Undergraduate A short introductory course from Queen's University Belfast on stepping up to undergraduate study. And there's a certificate available if you finish all the modules....

Lectures 

As an undergraduate, you will be expected to attend lectures - not all will be directly applicable to your a particular essay, or your module, but they will be delivered by experts whose job it is know this incredibly well. The people have a range of university-style lectures on a variety of topics. (You will have to sign up. It is usually very expensive, but is free during lockdown - get in while you can!) I've started off with Gothic literature, a genre we have taught in the past, but th elist on the left has many other options.) www.massolit.io/subjects/english-literature/gothic-literature

Study Skills 

Offer by the University of Southampton, below is a range of courses about getting up to speed with undergraduate study. 

Approaching Literature Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

If you haven't read this classic novel, you really should - and then consider taking the course below....

Exploring Jacobean Drama The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster

Shakespeare dominates the Early Modern period, but there is plenty of other material to sink your teeth into.....If Macbeth just wasn't bloody enough for you, and Romeo and Juliet too romantic, try this violent, sexually charged Jacobean tragedy. One of the great female tragic protagonists awaits you - as does this follow up material...

Critical Interpretations The Modern and the Post-modern 

Rather than focus on particular texts, your course may look at periods, artistic movements or literary schools. Although you will have touched on some of these different interpretations at A Level, at degree level you will develop a much broader understanding of how interpretations