Course Outline

Component 1 - Poetry

Pre-1900 Poetry: Christina Rossetti

Post-1900 Poetry: Philip Larkin and Carol Ann Duffy

Component 2 - Drama

Shakespeare: Hamlet
Comparing two plays: A Streetcar Named Desire (Tennessee Williams) and The Duchess of Malfi (John Webster)

Component 3 - Unseen Texts

Unseen Poetry
Unseen Prose

Component 4 - Non-Exam Assessment (NEA - Coursework)

Comparing a pre-2000 novel - The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood) and a post-2000 novel of your choice (see the
list of suggestions at the end of this pdf!)

Useful Websites
● Eduqas https://www.eduqas.co.uk/qualifications/english-literature-as-a-level/#tab_keydocuments Your exam
board website. Here, you’ll find a breakdown of the exam specifications and student resources.
● British Library https://www.bl.uk/discovering-literature This ‘Discovering Literature’ collection brings to life the
social, political and cultural context in which key works of literature were written. Enjoy digitised treasures from
the collection, newly commissioned articles and short documentary films.
● The Victorian Web https://victorianweb.org/ Here, you’ll find a wealth of information about the Victorian
period, a major era of study in English Literature A-level - from social and political issues to science, religion and
the arts, it’s all here!
● BBC iPlayer - Literature https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/group/literature Watch BBC productions about various
areas of literature, including Mary Beard’s interview with Margaret Atwood, author of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’!
● BBC Culture - Literature https://www.bbc.com/culture/tags/literature Get the BBC’s take on all things
literature.
● BBC News - Literature https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/c008ql15dzdt All of the latest news in the world of
literature.
● Literature.org https://www.literature.org/authors/ Read (for free!) all of the classics by prominent authors
such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Jane Austen, H.G. Wells and the Bronte sisters.
● ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-literature-740531 A thought-provoking article about why
literature matters!
Tasks To Complete

COMPULSORY READING: Post-2000 Novel

In A-Level English Literature you will be able to choose your own Post-2000 novel to compare to Margaret Atwood’s ‘The
Handmaid’s Tale’ for your coursework.

Research all of the novels below then choose the three you’re most interested in and read them! This will give you some
different options to go with when it comes to your coursework.

The Power, Naomi Alderman

A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Evaristo
The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak
The Road, Cormac McCarthy
The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker
The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead
The End We Start From, Megan Hunter

This task is compulsory and you will be required to bring in copies of the three novels you have read and will be
completing a task based on them in the first term of the course.

‘PICK N MIX TASKS’: Choose at least two tasks from below and complete them. Bring
what you have done with you on your first day of the course.

Literary Theory Read your favourite book OR a book you have been
wanting to read (maybe one of the coursework options
above!) through a particular literary lens - think of this as
‘reading through someone else’s eyes’.

How might this reader view the plot, the context, the
actual craft of the writing?

You could consider these literary lenses to get you

started:

- A feminist lens
- Someone who is interested in psychology
- Consider the historical period in which the book was
written and read it through the lens of a reader living in
that era.

Record your ideas in a mind map, bullet point list, poster

or other format of your choice.
 Literary Time Periods Understanding literary time periods is paramount to
engaging fully with English Literature. Understanding the
time period in which a writer was crafting a text, and the
literary and artistic influences surrounding them, can
change your interpretation of a text entirely and open up
new avenues for thought and discussion.

Conduct your own research on the literary periods below

- try to understand the key elements, significant /
recurrent themes, prominent writers and prominent
literary works of the time:

Renaissance, Romantic, Victorian, Modernism,

Postmodernism

Record your ideas in a mind map, bullet point list, poster

or other format of your choice.

Get lost in the world of TED! Get lost in the world of TED! Explore their huge range of
literature-related content here:

https://www.ted.com/topics/literature

Record what you learn in a mind map, bullet point list,

poster or other format of your choice.

Listen to some literature podcasts Find some podcast inspo here:

https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2021/01/the-best-lit
erary-podcasts-for-book-lovers

The Great Books Podcast is highly recommended and the

History of Literature Podcast here
https://www.historyofliterature.com/ offers some
valuable insight into literature over time.

Record what you learn in a mind map, bullet point list,

poster or other format of your choice.