Interrogate power, gender and resistance through dystopian fiction, Shakespeare, Milton and Ibsen – the curriculum chosen by AGS students.
This course sharpens critical thinking, debate and essay-writing skills, and builds the analytical confidence prized by universities and employers in law, journalism, politics and the creative industries.
'Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life.’
Fernando Pessoa
​Are you interested in...
How writers use fiction to critique power, control and society
Exploring gender, marriage and identity across four centuries of writing
Debating texts through feminist, political and historical lenses
Comparing dystopian visions of the future to our own world
Close, detailed analysis of language, form and structure
Developing your own sustained, well-argued critical voice
Dystopian Fiction
Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale alongside a comparative dystopian text – exploring surveillance, control, and resistance.
Shakespeare and Gender, Power and Marriage
‘The Taming of the Shrew’ – courtship, control and the battle of the sexes in Shakespeare's comic and social world.
Milton and Ibsen: Authority, Autonomy and Temptation
‘Paradise Lost’ (Books 1 & 2) - epic poetry exploring free will, temptation and authority, as Satan, Adam and Eve fall from grace.
‘A Doll's House’ - gender roles, autonomy and social expectation in 19th-century drama, as Nora fights for independence within the constraints of marriage and respectability.
Non-examination assessment: independent critical study
Two pieces of coursework on three texts of your own choosing (post-1900, including one text published after 2000): a close reading or re-creative writing task, plus a comparative essay exploring connections, context and interpretation.
ASSESSMENT
Paper 1: Drama and Poetry pre-1900 (written exam, 40%)
Paper 2: Comparative and Contextual Study — Dystopia (written exam, 40%)
Non-exam assessment: independent critical study, comparing two texts (20%)
SUBJECT EXPERTS​
Ms Oakley, Subject Lead
Ms Oakley has experience teaching Higher and Advanced Higher Literature, and gained a distinction in Critical Explorations of Literature through additional Open University study. She values literature as a vehicle for political thought, empathy and new ways of examining the world around us.
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Mrs Cale loves the depth of critical thinking and range of perspectives A Level Literature demands. She is particularly interested in the presentation of gender, having studied texts through a feminist lens and explored heteronormativity in children’s literature for her dissertation, alongside a specialism in American literature.
Miss Davies has a proven track record of ten years of success teaching A Level Literature. She specialised in Bildungsroman through a feminist lens; renaissance drama like Shakespeare, Marlow, Webster, modern mythological retellings and female characters in novels over time.
Study visits and
enrichment opportunities
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The Bard Abroad, Padua & Verona, Italy contextual study deepening understanding of The Taming of the Shrew, exploring patriarchy, marriage and social hierarchy through place and performance - TBC
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Theatre Trip / Globe Workshop, London: live Shakespeare performance developing interpretation skills, with a focus on gender and power
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Imperial War Museum, London: supports study of dystopian texts, exploring propaganda, control and power
ENGLISH LITERATURE CAN LEAD TO A CAREER IN:
Law
Journalism and publishing
Politics and policy
Teaching
Marketing, advertising and PR
Creative writing and the arts