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2
WELCOME TO A-LEVEL LITERATURE – YOU HAVE CHOSEN AN AMAZING A-
LEVEL!
Why choose English A-Level?
English Literature is considered a facilitating subject by universities because it teaches you critical
thinking skills as well as giving you the
opportunity to be creative. It trains you how to
write analytically and in an evaluative manner. It
links brilliantly with many other subjects such as
history, drama, classics and art. It is also really
enjoyable as it gives you the chance to read a
diverse array of literature including prose,
poetry and drama from a range of eras and in a
plethora of genres.
How is A-Level different to GCSE?
Studying Literature at A-Level requires you to look much more deeply at texts. You will not just be
exploring texts in terms of how characters or themes are presented, but also considering them in
more complex ways: from critical points of view; through different kinds of contexts and how these
inform your understanding of texts; in terms of their genre and how authors present their ideas.
Likewise, whilst the focus at GCSE may have been on language, A-Level enables you to examine more
complex authorial methods including structural features, elements of genre and dramatic
techniques.
A-Level will also require you to work more independently. The more you read around your texts and
research the texts you study, the more confident you will become as a literature student. However,
most excitingly, you will have the opportunity to study a range of engaging, diverse and exciting
texts and even choose one of your own to write about for coursework!
What will I be studying?
AQA SPECIFICATION B:
MODULE ONE: TRAGEDY: 2 hour 30 min exam: 40%
You will study one of the following Shakespeare plays:
‘Othello’ OR
‘King Lear’
You will study two of the following:
‘The Great Gatsby’ by F Scott Fitzgerald
‘Tess of the ‘D’Urbervilles’ by Thomas Hardy
‘Death of a Salesman’ by Arthur Miller
‘Richard II’ by William Shakespeare
An anthology of poetry
A selection of poems by Keats
3
MODULE TWO: POLITICAL AND SOCIAL PROTEST WRITING: 3 hour exam: 40 %
You will study one of the following:
‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’ by William Blake
A selection of poems by Tony Harrison
You will study two of the following:
‘Harvest’ by Jim Crace
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood
‘Henry IV Part I’ by William Shakespeare
‘A Doll’s House’ by Henrik Ibsen
‘Hard Times’ by Charles Dickens
‘The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini
MODULE THREE: TWO PIECES OF COURSEWORK EACH 1500 WORDS: 20%
1. Study of a selection of poetry e.g. Derek Walcott or Philip Larkin
2. Study of a novel of your choice
You will write about the poems and novel from a critical point of view e.g. feminist or Marxist
This booklet is intended to give you a taste of what studying literature at A-Level will be like, as well
as help you to prepare for your studies in September and hopefully get you enthused about some of
the exciting topics you will be covering. Try to work through as many of the tasks as you can. (You
will need to be logged onto your Queens’ School account to access many of the weblinks).
4
“Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.” Mel Brooks
“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light”
Plato
“Show me a hero and I’ll write you a tragedy” F. Scott Fitzgerald
TASK ONE:
Make a list of the key differences between tragedy and comedy
5
DEFINING TRAGEDY:
The first great literary criticism was written by Aristotle
(384 BC-322 BC) in his ‘Poetics’. He defined tragedy as
‘the imitation of an action that is serious, complete and
of a certain magnitude.’ He stated that it should excite
the emotions of ‘pity and fear’ in the audience and be
about a character who is ‘renowned and of superior
attainments’, who suffers a ‘reversal of fortunes’. The
tragic hero is neither completely good nor evil, but
someone with whom the audience can identify. His
disastrous end results from a mistaken action, which in
turn arises from a tragic flaw such as hubris or error of
judgement. Often the tragic hero’s suffering is greater
than his error, which creates pity from the audience
because the audience recognise we could make the same
mistake. He believed the most important aspect of
tragedy was the plot followed by character and that the
purpose of a tragedy was to enlighten the audience or
deliver a didactic message and leave them with a sense
of catharsis so they felt purged of emotion and cleansed,
having achieved a greater understanding of the ways of
gods and men.
Now watch the following video that explains a little more about Aristotle’s theories on
tragedy:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1edvw0KY3bq3xMpVeVsti_557Ta9noEwA
6
KEY TERMS:
KEY TERM DEFINITION
ANAGNORISIS Before his death, the protagonist will have a moment of recognition where he realises that he has done wrong and gain in self-knowledge and in understanding of the world around him particularly in relation to the gods and morality. However, this occurs too late to save him, which often exacerbates the tragic nature of his death. The moment of recognition may result in a movement from ignorance to knowledge or produce love or hate.
ANTAGONIST OR VILLAIN
The thing or individual that brings about the downfall of the tragic protagonist. Sometimes this can be the tragic hero themselves
CATHARSIS The effect on the audience is a purging of emotion drawing out feelings of pity and fear that bring a new sense of clarity.
CHORUS The individual/s who comment on the action and often directs the audience’s response to events
FATAL ERROR OR HAMARTIA
The tragic mistake made by the tragic protagonist that often leads to their downfall
FORESHADOWING Where the author hints towards something happening in the future giving the audience an insight that the characters may not have
HUBRIS Excessive pride, which is often seen as the reason for this error of judgement (hamartia)
MEGALOPSYCHIA Greatness of soul
MYOPIA Blindness to the truth
PATHOS A feeling of pity or sadness for the characters involved in the tragedy
PERIPETEIA The tragedy should focus on the tragic protagonist’s downfall from high status to loss creating a reversal of fortunes (peripeteia)
PROTAGONIST OR TRAGIC HERO
The central character or hero on whose downfall the play focuses
TRAGIC FLAW A deep-seated weakness in an individual’s character such as pride or ambition that often leads to their hamartia
TRAGIC INEVITABILITY
There is frequently a sense that the tragic events are inevitable and that once the protagonist has set in motion a course of events, they cannot be changed. There are also often hints or examples of foreshadowing that forewarn the audience, often through choral figures, of the events to come. As a result, they appear to be FATED and thus that the tragic heroes demise is beyond his control.
7
Now watch the following video that explains a little more about how tragedies work:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kJutNReEVu3VKzvZeSj9f9JRfEXSshU5/view?usp=sharing
TASK TWO:
Now write your own definition of what makes a tragedy using at least
four of the key terms from the above table.
THE ORIGINS OF TRAGEDY
The tragic form originated in Ancient Greece. The main tragedies were performed once a year at the
festival of Dionysus, (the God of wine, fertility and festivity). They were performed as part of a
competition over a three day period. Three different playwrights would perform three separate
tragedies, followed by a Satyr (a kind of comedy) all in one day then on the next day the second and
on the third the last. There was then a democratic vote as to which tragic playwright was the best.
Many of these plays have since been lost, but some still survive and have continued to form the basis
of our understanding of tragedy and influence modern tragedies. The most notable tragic playwrights
were Euripides, Aescyhlus and Sophocles.
However, these tragedies were very different to the ones you might see today: they were performed
by three actors and one chorus made up of between 12 to 15 individuals; they wore elaborate
costumes and masks; they often included divine intervention from the gods; the main characters were
often kings, heroes or even divine beings; violent events such as murders occurred off stage and were
then reported; stage props and effects were limited.
Later playwrights, such as Shakespeare, were incredibly influenced by these classical tragedies and
Shakespeare would have studied Latin and ancient Greek as part of his schooling. In fact, many of his
plays draw on ancient myths and history such as ‘Antony and Cleopatra’, ‘Titus Andronicus’ and
‘Coriolanus’. However, Shakespeare did not completely conform to these ancient tragic models: he
used many more characters on stage; his characters are often psychologically more complex; the
events he portrays frequently occur over a long period of time; he did not generally use a chorus; the
gods do not physically intervene or appear on stage as a rule; violent scenes literally occur before the
eyes of the audience; he used complex plots and even sub-plots; he used more stage effects and
multiple settings.
Shakespeare’s tragedies were not only immensely popular during his lifetime with many performed
hundreds of times, but continue to be enduringly popular and influential on modern theatre.
However, in the twentieth century, playwrights frequently became more interested in what Arthur
Miller called the life of the ‘common man’ with dramas such as ‘Death of a Salesman’ or Tennessee
Williams’ ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ portraying the suffering and downfall of normal individuals and
employing far more realistic events, settings and characters.
8
TASK THREE:
Watch this summary of Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’. What makes the play a
tragedy? Write at least one paragraph explaining your view.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1WogHnRO7UKDyWd-HPXccUQtdE8N21cq3
TASK FOUR:
Read this extract from ‘Macbeth’ and label anything that could be
considered tragic.
MACBETH
I have almost forgot the taste of fears;
The time has been, my senses would have cool'd
To hear a night-shriek; and my fell of hair
Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir
As life were in't: I have supp'd full with horrors;
Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts
Cannot once start me.
Re-enter SEYTON
Wherefore was that cry?
SEYTON
The queen, my lord, is dead.
MACBETH
She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
1. What evidence is
there of the tragic
protagonist’s
hamartia?
2. In what ways could
this be read as a
moment of
anagnorisis?
3. What about this
extract generates a
sense of pathos?
4. In what ways does
this extract reveal
Macbeth to be a
typical tragic hero?
9
WHY DO WE STUDY SHAKESPEARE?
He wrote plays that are enormously rewarding to act and direct
His characters are endlessly interesting and impossible to reduce to a simple formula
His language, though now difficult, is subtle, richly varied, and eloquent
The plots of his plays still speak to the experiences of the modern world, (think of the teen
movies ‘Ten Things I Hate About You’ from ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ and ‘Get Over It’
based on ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’)
His plays survive translation and are performed around the world
His comedies are incredibly funny (and often very rude)
They teach us important life lessons
They can have an enormous emotional impact on audiences
Many modern texts refer to Shakespeare’s writing
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Twelfth Night
“We are such stuff as dreams are made of, and our little life is
rounded with a sleep” The Tempest
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts”” As You Like It
10
He is just an amazingly good writer
Shakespearean Context:
Shakespeare lived a fascinating life at a particularly interesting and evolving period of time. As part
of your literary studies, you will be expected to include some contextual knowledge in your
responses and knowing something about Shakespeare’s biography, theatre and the social and
political world in which he existed, will also help you understand his works. There are an array of
resources on the internet that can help you to research Shakespeare’s life and times:
www.shakespearehelp.com: A detailed listing of resource material on Shakespeare, his
life, times and plays, particularly useful for advanced learners
www.shakespeare.org.uk: The charity that cares for Shakespeare related sites in
Stratford-upon-Avon, (his birthplace) and includes lots of biographical information
www.internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/intro/index.html: Publishes a range of
resources related to Shakespeare’s life and times
www.folger.edu/shakespeare-kids: Provides information on Shakespeare’s life and times
and much more
www.bardweb.net/index.html: Collects links from all over the web to help you find
information about Shakespeare
www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/: Provides full Shakespeare texts together with side by
side translations
TASK FIVE:
Watch this video and then write at least two paragraphs explaining why
you think studying Shakespeare is still worthwhile today.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1--cbj5KdpB0SOEsIgCNxbjkLK6ntxYCu
TASK SIX:
Have a look at some of the above resources and then have a go at
completing the following quiz:
https://forms.gle/KkoRPMaHHYu7HKtW8
11
Watching your favourite texts come alive in front of
your eyes beats no other experience. The characters,
the drama…
The Globe Theatre – London
This replica of the Shakespeare's 16th century theatre, reconstructed just 200 yards from
its original site, is the brainchild of American actor and director Sam Wanamaker. Built in
wood and thatch, using techniques from 400 years ago, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
opened in 1996. Although it is not an exact replica, it is close, and plays are performed in
the open-air, rain or shine. The thrust stage, and the fact that cheap standing tickets are
available for every performance, create a raucous relationship between actor and
audience that makes it unlike any other London Theatre. Visitors can also tour the theatre
and spend time at the adjacent Shakespeare's Globe Exhibition and in January 2013 the
Globe expanded to include an indoor candlelit Jacobean theatre, the Sam Wanamaker
Playhouse, next door.
http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/theatre/whats-on
Royal Shakespeare Company
Stratford-upon-Avon is a beautiful town and is full of a rich history and is the 16th century
birthplace of Shakespeare. You can explore the history behind Shakespeare’s writing then
go and watch a performance of one of his plays.
Definitely worth a visit and would really enhance your study and appreciation of the Great
Bard!
http://www.shakespeare.org.uk/home.html https://www.rsc.org.uk/whats-
on/?from=mdd
12
What are critical theories?
A critical or literary theory is about a way of looking at literature beyond the typical plot, theme,
character study that you have covered at GCSE. Your critical perspective is the view you bring to the
literature you read, which will be influenced by your background, life experience and other things
that you have read. Just as different people will experience the same event differently, different
people will approach the same literary text differently. One person might empathise with a
character’s behaviour and feelings, whilst another maybe horrified by them. Rather than insisting
that one view is the best or the ‘correct’ way of seeing things, literary theory acknowledges that
there are different ways of reading texts and different LENSES through which we can interpret them.
Looking at texts through alternative lenses, is exciting because it encourages us to interpret texts in
innovative and interesting ways that we might not have otherwise considered.
At A-Level, these are some of the critical perspectives that you might consider (although there are
many others):
FEMINIST CRITICAL THEORY:
Feminist critics look at the way in which patriarchal, (male dominated) society has presented
women as marginal, other or oppressed. They look at the ways in which literature perpetuates
and is influenced by gender stereotypes and how gender assumptions are conveyed and
subverted in literature. They explore how feminist writers have been silenced and male voices
and writers allowed to dominate, prioritising male voices and values over female ones. They
consider the power dynamics between men and women in literature and the different language
used by both.
MARXIST CRITICAL THEORY:
Based on the theories of Karl Marx, Marxist critics evaluate how those who control the means of
production, (such as the factory owners), control society. They consider the unfair economic and
political advantages those in power have over those who do not. They examine the ways in
which literature is influenced by the class and cultural values of the writer and the manner in
which the working class are frequently silenced, oppressed and objectified. They are concerned
with class conflicts and explaining how economic, class and ideological determinants influence
literature.
13
POST-COLONIAL CRITICAL THEORY:
These critics are concerned with the way in which literature written by individuals not from a
white European or Northern American background, has been ignored or seen as lesser. They
explore the unconsciously racist nature of some literature and particularly the impact of
colonialism and imperialism on literature. They examine how different groups are presented in
literature and the way in which non-white groups are often presented as disempowered,
oppressed and other. They explore the relationship between the powerful and powerless based
on race, ethnicity and the ways in which writers from the colonies have explored their own
cultural background and identities as a counter history to that of the colonisers.
NARRATIVE CRITICAL THEORY:
This is concerned with the ways in which stories are constructed and told particularly in terms of
structure, form, perspective and setting. They investigate the methods used by authors in depth
beyond simply language and poetic devices and consider the use of narrative gaps and silences
within a text and what meanings can be read into these.
THE LITERARY CANON:
The literary canon is the group of authors and texts that are considered by academics and
historians to be worthy of study. They are the kind of texts studied in schools and on university
syllabi. Critics exploring the canon, question why these texts have been chosen and prioritised
over others and the potentially bias values on which these choices are based. They explore why
some texts are considered more valuable than others and examine the historical biases including
race, class and gender that have led to these assumptions.
Literary theory is an important way of studying texts because it enables us to see texts and
ways of reading from more than one point of view and acknowledge that there is often
more than one story at work. Watch this video:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=101B8c8UjoSlk1tDSIhksncGMDUKSZiQG
14
The title is Gaelic and translates to ‘I am Ireland’. The poem begins by describing how the speaker feels the reality of her nation’s history has been corrupted through the written word into a romanticised and inaccurate version of the truth. She then goes on to describe the reality through the example of the prostitute in the garrison and the woman forced to emigrate with her child. It finally describes the pain of the loss of language and therefore identity, which has meant that the native Irish have had to adopt a foreign tongue, which means they can no longer accurately relay their history. It was written in 1968.
TASK SEVEN:
Read the following poem by Eavan Boland, an Irish female poet, and
consider how you could interpret the text from each of the 5 literary
theories mentioned above.
Mise Eire
I won’t go back to it –
my nation displaced
into old dactyls,
oaths made
by the animal tallows
of the candle –
land of the Gulf Stream,
the small farm,
the scalded memory,
the songs
that bandage up the history,
the words
that make a rhythm of the crime
where time is time past.
A palsy of regrets.
No. I won’t go back.
My roots are brutal:
Pto.
15
I am the woman –
a sloven’s mix
of silk at the wrists,
a sort of dove-strut
in the precincts of the garrison –
who practises
the quick frictions,
the rictus of delight
and gets cambric for it,
rice coloured silks.
I am the woman
in the gansy-coat
on board the ‘Mary Belle’,
in the huddling cold,
holding her half-dead baby to her
as the wind shifts East
and North over the dirty
water of the wharf
mingling the immigrant
guttural with the vowels
of homesickness who neither
knows nor cares that
a new language
is a kind of scar
and heals after a while
into a passable imitation
of what went before.
TASK EIGHT:
Choose a poem of your own that you think you could read in an
interesting way from one of the five critical perspectives and write at
least two paragraphs explaining how the poem can be interpreted from
this point of view.
16
What is political and social protest writing?
Political and social protest writing are texts that have ideas associated with power and
powerlessness at their core whether in a private, domestic setting or in wider society. They often
foreground issues associated with oppression and domination as a result of race, class, gender,
education, ethnicity, cultural background or economic status. As a result, they are also often
interested in ideas about rebellion and fighting back against repression and constraints or giving
voice to the voiceless. They can be written in any form or genre and set in any time period including
the future, but often comment on the society from which the writer is constructing their text. These
are some of the key issues that they examine or include:
GOVERNMENT AND STATE POWER
CONTROL & RESTRAINT
DEFIANCE
FREEDOM & SLAVERY
GENDER IMBALANCES
CORRUPTION
THE LAW
REVOLUTION
DISENFRANCHISEMENT/
ENFRANCHISEMENT
WAR & CONFLICT
INVASION
OPPRESSION
GIVING A VOICE TO THE VOICELESS
RACIAL AND ETHNIC IMBALANCES
MORALITY/ IMMORALITY
LITERATURE BREAKING THE RULES
REBELLION
PROTEST
THE CLASS SYSTEM
CONSPIRACY
JUSTICE
EXTREMISM
BREAKING BOUNDARIES
NOSTALGIA
SOCIAL ORGANISATIONS
TYRANNY
SOCIO-ECONOMICS AND CAPITALISM
POWER & AUTHORITY
POVERTY
CONSPIRACY
DEPRIVATION OF LANGUAGE
THE PUBLIC AND THE PERSONAL
DEMOCRACY
INSTITUTIONS INCLUDING RELIGION
EQUALIY/ INEQUALITY
POLICE
SURVEILLANCE
SECRECY
CENSORSHIP
VIOLENCE
TASK NINE:
Choose one of the following short stories. Read it through carefully
and then write at least one side of A4 explaining some of the political
and social protest issues that the text raises. Don’t simply write a list.
Focus on three or four ideas that you think are the most important
and explain how the writers address them
17
1. ‘THE PAPER MENAGERIE’ BY KEN LIU:
LINK TO THE STORY:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13Wj7tyARTlUJaR4kO6PHP7IQv-
QqmeQZ/view
This tells the story of a bi-racial boy named Jack, who has a white
father and a Chinese mother, who immigrated to America. It
explores the ways in which Jack comes to terms with his heritage
and the choices his mother was forced to make as a result of her
early oppression. It is truly heart-breaking!
Audio version: http://podcastle.org/2011/07/12/podcastle-165-the-
paper-menagerie/
OR search ‘The Paper Menagerie’ in your podcast app.
2. ‘DESIREE’S BABY’ BY KATE CHOPIN:
LINK TO THE STORY:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vQ-ZR-
2oItYOlEPCqpyg1H9AjckHkPFc/view?usp=sharing
This tells the story of a woman living in the Southern states of
America whose origins are unknown. However, when a rich landowner
falls in love with her, he does not care. This all changes when their
first child is born and a devastating secret is revealed.
Audio version: https://audioboom.com/posts/1225335-desiree-s-
baby-by-kate-chopin-and-narrated-by-jean-apps-full-short-story
3. ‘THEY’RE MADE OUT OF MEAT!’ BY TERRY BISSON:
LINK TO THE STORY:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19l8c1sUZkAMBm24x6_R4dSFIOkBs
N9xf/view?usp=sharing
An alien’s perspective of life on earth. Really unique!
Audio version:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1vhmaPZ04S4FW1cKvf45uvuGD7N
VGcjl6
18
4. ‘THE YELLOW WALLPAPER’ BY
CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN:
LINK TO THE STORY:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xIfLJVIGMgyGHJBLrEnaoqecMgs0
K5mx/view?usp=sharing
This story is narrated from the point of a view a new mother
struggling with her new baby and the claustrophobic home in which
she finds herself. This is an interesting exploration of the slow
unravelling of a woman, who is denied the right to her own voice or to
be creative by her controlling husband and the terrible consequences
that then ensue.
AUDIO:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Eh58NucEyeSdyKaY51elAfVz0ODS
dQhR/view?usp=sharing
5. ‘THE ZERO METER DIVING TEAM’ BY JIM SHEPARD:
LINK TO THE STORY:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1IDpB6YTSGXW5G1DFw9KMY7rIe
9WDUDb5
The story follows three brothers’ experience of the Chernobyl
disaster. Their father is the director of the Physico-Energy Institute.
Our narrator, Boris, the oldest brother, is the chief engineer of the
Department of Nuclear Energy. However, when disaster strikes the
men are torn between loyalty to state and family tragedy. A heart-
breaking tale of political corruption and personal disaster.
19
TIPS:
Twitter - follow writers and academics who blog about literature
Keep a blog on your reading and what you have found – far easier than carrying around
a big file
Sign up to goodreads (www.goodreads.com) where you can keep a record of your
reading and share reviews with friends
Read a couple of the set texts over the summer – remember that, to be successful, you
will need to read them a few times before the exams in order to have a really good
understanding.
Download the audio book of the text – Listen and read at the same time
Get an understanding of what Marxism, feminism etc. are and how they help our
understanding of literature
Create a profile for one of the authors that you will be studying
Use the recommended reading lists available on the supercurriculum
https://sites.google.com/queens.herts.sch.uk/superenglish/click-me/reading-lists-and-
book-awards and on the Queens’ website http://www.queens.herts.sch.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2019/02/KS5-READING-LIST.pdf to challenge yourself
Use the library – Google books, school library, university libraries, local libraries
Download an app called Pocket (available on Android and Apple devices) – which keeps
all your reading saved in one place
Write a weekly reflection of what you have learnt each week – These notes can build up
to some great revision notes.
Visit some of the recommended literary places to see in London or go to the theatre to
see some of the great plays available (a standing place at The Globe is only £10!)
Listen to TED talks on literature and grammar to widen your understand of the subject.
This enables you to see what other people’s perspectives are. You can listen to them
online or download the app. Follow these links to get you started:
- https://www.ted.com/topics/literature
- http://blog.ed.ted.com/2014/05/29/be-a-better-writer-in-15-minutes-4-ted-ed-
lessons-on-grammar-and-word-choice/
TASK TEN:
If you could choose one novel of your own to study at A-Level, what
would it be and why? Write at least two paragraphs justifying your
choice.
20
A passion for all things literary does not have to be confined to reading. There are a multiplicity of places you could visit to expand your literary and cultural experiences especially living near London! Shakespeare’s Globe: A magnificent reconstruction of Shakespeare’s original theatre. Tours are available daily and they run a range of lectures and talks. £17 for a tour Southbank, London https://www.shakespearesglobe.com/ Sir John Soane’s Museum An historic house near Holborn that houses an amazing collection of artefacts and books from Hogarth’s ‘Rake’s Progress’ to an Egyptian sarcophagus. FREE Holborn, London https://www.soane.org/ The British Library An outstanding collection of books. They regularly run tours, lectures, talks and exhibitions Some free exhibitions; tours - £8.00; talks and events start at £7.00 Near Euston, London https://www.bl.uk/ The British Museum A superb collection of art and artefacts related to history, culture and literature over a vast period of time FREE to visit; exhibitions (many free for under 16s if accompanied by a paying adult) Bloomsbury, London https://www.britishmuseum.org/ The Harry Potter Shop A shop dedicated to all things Harry Potter related FREE Kings Cross, London https://www.harrypotterplatform934.com/
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Sherlock Holmes Museum A museum that gives you the opportunity to step back in time into the world of Holmes and Watson £15 – adults £10 – under 16 Baker Street, London http://www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk/ Keats’ House The former home of the great romantic poet and a museum dedicated to anything related to his life and works Under 17 – Free £6.50 adults Hampstead, London https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/keats-house/Pages/default.aspx Charles Dickens’ Museum One of Dickens’ former homes – it is now a museum dedicated to all things Dickensian Under 16 - £4.50 Adults - £9.50 Bloomsbury, London https://dickensmuseum.com/ Museum of London The Museum of London documents the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times FREE` Barbican, London https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london Women’s Library at the LSE The main library and museum resource on women and the women's movement, concentrating on Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries. FREE Houghton Street, London http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/collections/collection-highlights/the-womens-library
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Many organisations also run events, lectures and exhibitions that are well worth attending. Here are just a few ideas: 1. THE BRITISH LIBRARY: The British Library run a range of events, lectures, exhibitions and workshops some of which are free and cover a plethora of topics related to history, culture, art and literature: https://www.bl.uk/events 2. FOYLES BOOK SHOP: One of the largest and oldest book shops in London, they also run literary events at the cost of only £5 for students: https://www.foyles.co.uk/events-at-foyles 3. KINGS COLLEGE LONDON: The prestigious university offers a number of free lectures on a range of topics: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/events/events-calendar.aspx?type=lecture 4. THE BRITISH ACADEMY: The national body for the humanities and social sciences offer a range of free lectures that you can sign up to: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events 5. THE BRITISH MUSEUM: The prestigious museum offers a number of lectures and tours on a range of topics. Some of these are free, although others can cost more: https://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/events_calendar.aspx 6. WATERSTONES: A number of Waterstones branches, particularly in London, offer book signings and talks, which cost as little as £5.00: https://www.waterstones.com/events 7. CHORLEYWOOD AND GERARD’S CROSS BOOKSHOP: A fantastic pair of book shops that run evening talks, book signings and events at a relatively low cost: https://chilternbookshops.co.uk/events