Year 1
There are three compulsory modules in Year 1 – Introduction to Drama, Introduction to the Novel, and Introduction to Poetry – each of which introduces you to representative works in the major literary genres. There are also three optional modules, from which you may select one, two or all three. These offer the possibility to study important influences on English literature (Classical and Biblical Backgrounds to English Literature) and early literature (Romance and the Literature of Chivalry; Epic and Literature of Legend).
This year will focus on advancing skills of critical analysis and argument you have already acquired at A level, critical skills in the close reading and analysis of texts, such as the awareness of formal and aesthetic dimensions of literature and of the affective power of language, and on the introduction of more advanced concepts and theories relating to literature.
Compulsory modules:
- Introduction to Drama
- Introduction to the Novel
- Introduction to Poetry.
Examples of optional modules:
Up to three of the following (or up to two open modules offered by other departments):
- Romance and the Literature of Chivalry
- Epic and Literature of Legend
- Ancient Worlds
Year 2
Year 2 builds on the knowledge and skills developed in first year by broadening the range of literary texts and periods with which you will engage. You will study a substantial number of authors, topics and texts and gain awareness of the range and variety of approaches to literary study. The second year also develops your ability to articulate knowledge and understanding of concepts and theories relating to literature, as well as your powers of critical argument and command of written English. You will develop your capacity for autonomous learning and independence of thought by, for example, exploring, selecting from, and drawing together in an appropriate way, specific texts and topics chosen from a wide syllabus.
You must take the modules Theory and Practice of Literary Criticism and Shakespeare in Year 2 and choose up to three lecture modules and a seminar module. Some lecture modules cover historical periods, such as Renaissance Literature and Victorian Literature, while others focus on key literary figures, themes or language, such as Shakespeare, Chaucer, American Poetry, Old English, Old Norse, and Old French.
Compulsory modules:
- Shakespeare
- Theory and Practice of Literary Criticism
- Examples of optional lecture modules (taught by weekly lectures and four one-hour tutorials):
- Chaucer
- Old English
- Old Norse
- Old French
- Renaissance Literature
- Victorian Literature
- Literature of the Modern Period
- American Poetry.
Examples of optional seminar modules (taught by fortnightly two-hour seminars):
- Jane Austen
- Arthurian Literature
- Germanic Myth and Legend
- Toni Morrison: Texts and Contexts
- The Brontës
- Evelyn Waugh
- Shakespeare’s History Plays
- Romantic Plays and Players.
Year 3
In the final year you will be able to demonstrate a comprehensive and detailed knowledge of the subject, together with mature awareness of the variety of ideas relating to it. You will be able to demonstrate an ability to make connections and comparisons within your extensive range of reading. You will have developed the ability to interpret different ideas and values represented in literature, to test the ideas of others and to pursue ideas of your own. You will have acquired mature critical skills in the close reading and analysis of texts, confident powers of critical argument and a developed command of written English. You will appreciate the importance of scholarly standards of presentation and of writing accurately, clearly and effectively.
The final year includes a compulsory 12,000-word Dissertation on a subject of your choice related to English literature. The Dissertation involves guided research on a self-formulated question, the gathering and processing of relevant information and materials, and results in work of sustained argumentative and analytic power.
In addition to the Dissertation, you may choose up to three lecture modules and up to two ‘Special Topics’, which develop the skills introduced in seminar modules at Level 2.
