English

The study of English Literature will see you read, analyse and think critically and creatively towards different texts including works of poetry, prose, drama and even non-fiction.

Within the study of English Literature, you may concentrate on a particular period (e.g. the Romantics; twentieth-century modernism), allowing you to think about how different works written about the same time relate to one another, and to larger movements in the thought and sensibility of the culture at that time. Other elements may focus on particular modes of writing (e.g. the novel; or tragedy; or satire; or science fiction) rather than particular periods. Most courses will offer ample opportunities to work on English literature written outside the British Isles.

Furthermore, the study of English encourages close attention to how language works: tone, imagery, syntax, rhythm, allusion and so on.

Whilst many may work in teaching, publishing, marketing, the media and the arts, an English degree provides a good springboard for most graduate-level careers. Many English graduates go on to work, for example, in business and finance, in the public sector, in senior-level administration, or in the law.

Almost all universities will be looking for you to have English Literature at A Level or equivalent. Some may accept English Literature & Language as a substitute for this. Other essay based subjects will be complementary but not compulsory.