English Literature
Course Description
This course is a traditional A Level and relies on written rather than practical methods.
Coursework is 20% of the course with exam texts making up the rest (80%) Coursework is a comparison of two prose texts of the student’s choice – with teacher supervision.
The course has three other modules.
1) Drama - this is 30% of the course and the two exam texts are Othello and A Streetcar Named Desire. We read both plays in class with students taking on roles (role play) and acting out the texts. Othello is the A2 text and students also need to study a Shakespearean Critical Anthology alongside this text.
2) Prose - this is Unit 2 and revolves around the theme of Science and Society. In the exam (worth 20%) students have to compare “Frankenstein” and “Never Let Me Go.” Preparation for this exam includes close reading and analysis, completion of a reading diary and a variety of group and paired work, not to mention whole class discussion of key linking themes. This is initially taught in year 1.
3) Poetry - In Year 1 students study in class twenty modern poems and in the exam (30%) they have to compare a named poem with an unseen text. The key methods are Form, Language, Imagery, Rhyme, Tone. For the A2 year students have to study 30 Metaphysical Poems and compare in the exam a named poem to another poem of their choice from the collection based on a key linking theme.
