Term 1: Modern Poetry & The Handmaid's Tale
In one half of the course, you will study an anthology of cutting edge modern poetry, covering themes ranging from cannibalism to body image. In the other half, you will be reading 'The Handmaid's Tale', a novel by Booker Prize Winner, Margaret Atwood. This modern classic is set in a dystopian future in which births have declined, and women are assigned roles designed to subjugate them.
The texts are assessed formally through regular essays, marked against exam criteria.
Dystopia
an imagined state or society in which there is great suffering or injustice, typically one that is totalitarian or post-apocalyptic.
Metafiction
Metafiction is a style of prose narrative in which attention is directed to the process of fictive composition.
Epigraph
a short quotation or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter, intended to suggest its theme.
Internal monologue
a narrative technique that exhibits the thoughts passing through the minds of the protagonists
Ambiguous
open to more than one interpretation; not having one obvious meaning.
Allusion
an implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing or to a part of another text.
Develop the individual:
Students are encouraged to develop their own interpretations of texts and consider the ways in which literature shapes our culture.
Create a supportive community:
Students, through reading dystopian fiction, understand the ways leaders exert control and where this is healthy and unhealthy. Discussions around feminism and the subjugation of women allow students to respond personally to the themes within the novel.
Term 2: A Streetcar Named Desire & The Handmaid's Tale
You will read Tennessee Williams' classic play 'A Streetcar Named Desire', packed full of disturbing themes and iconic images. You will also continue reading 'The Handmaid's Tale', exploring themes and ideas in relation to how science and society are treated in the novel.
Essays are set and marked according to the exam criteria.
Plastic Theatre
Plastic Theatre is the use of props, noises and stage directions to convey a blatant parallel with the characters states of mind on stage.
Expressionism
In literature, expressionism is often considered a revolt against realism and naturalism, seeking to achieve a psychological or spiritual reality rather than record external events in logical sequence.
Stagecraft
the technical aspects of theatrical production, which include scenic design, stage machinery, lighting, sound, costume design, and makeup.
Motif
Motif is a literary technique that consists of a repeated element that has symbolic significance to a literary work.
Internal monologue
A form of stream-of-consciousness writing that represents the inner thoughts of a character.
Dystopia
An imagined place where everything is bad
Utopia
An imagined place where everything is perfect
Develop the individual:
Students are encouraged to develop their own interpretations of texts and consider the ways in which literature shapes our culture.
Create a supportive community:
Term 3: A Streetcar Named Desire & Frankenstein
You will continue your study of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'; you will also study Mary Shelley's gothic classic, 'Frankenstein', comparing the treatment of key themes and ideas across 'Frankenstein' and 'The Handmaid's Tale'.
Essays are set and marked according to the exam criteria.
Plastic Theatre
Plastic Theatre is the use of props, noises and stage directions to convey a blatant parallel with the characters states of mind on stage.
Stagecraft
the technical aspects of theatrical production, which include scenic design, stage machinery, lighting, sound, costume design, and makeup.
Motif
Motif is a literary technique that consists of a repeated element that has symbolic significance to a literary work.
Expressionism
In literature, expressionism is often considered a revolt against realism and naturalism, seeking to achieve a psychological or spiritual reality rather than record external events in logical sequence.
Gothic
In the most general terms, Gothic literature can be defined as writing that employs dark and picturesque scenery, startling and melodramatic narrative devices, and an overall atmosphere of exoticism, mystery, fear, and dread.
Sublime
The sublime in literature refers to use of language and description that excites thoughts and emotions beyond ordinary experience.
Uncanny
The strange, eerie or mysterious. In Freudian terms the uncanny (unheimlich) is that which is both foreign or strange yet is at the same time also familiar, producing a peculiarly unsettling experience.
Supernatural
What is above nature, mysterious, inexplicable.
Develop the individual:
Students will learn how to compare texts, developing their synthesis and analysis skills in this unit. Students will also deepen their awareness of how contextual factors influence and shape texts.
Create a supportive community:
Discussion of moral issues helps students explore their own preconceptions and how these can occur, and spread, within society.
Term 4: Prose Comparison and Modern Poetry
You will continue your study of Mary Shelley's gothic classic, 'Frankenstein', comparing the treatment of key themes and ideas across 'Frankenstein' and 'The Handmaid's Tale'. You will also continue your study of modern poetry.
Work is assessed through formal essays marked against exam criteria
Motif
Motif is a literary technique that consists of a repeated element that has symbolic significance to a literary work.
Foreshadowing
a warning or hint of something that will happen later in the play
Allusion
an implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing or to a part of another text.
Symbolism
The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.
Hysteria
exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement
Corruption
the action or effect of making someone or something morally depraved
Reputation
the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something
Develop the individual:
Students are encouraged to develop their own interpretations of texts and consider the ways in which literature shapes our culture.
Create a supportive community:
Students will share ideas and collaborate with one another during this unit.
Term 5: Coursework and exam preparation
You will be guided in exploring a theme across two texts (one assigned and the other of your own choosing), and will write an extended essay analysing the presentation of this theme.
The assigned text is Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible'.
The Coursework is worth 20% of the final grade.
Symbolism
The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.
Foreshadowing
a warning or indication of (a future event)
Reputation
the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something
Corruption
the action or effect of making someone or something morally depraved
Hysteria
exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement
Motif
a dominant or recurring idea in an artistic work
Allusion
an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference
Develop the individual:
Students are encouraged to develop their own interpretations of texts and consider the ways in which literature shapes our culture.
Create a supportive community:
Students will work collaboratively, developing their ideas through group work and discussion.
Term 6: End of year exams and introduction to Y13
As well as completing mock exams on all key texts studied so far, you will begin to study a Shakespeare's 'Othello' and a selection of pre-Twentieth Century poems. You will also be independently working on your coursework.
End of year exams.
Iambic Pentameter
A common meter in poetry consisting of an unrhymed line with five feet or accents, each foot containing an unstressed syllable and a stressed syllable.
Shakespearean Tragedy
Put simply, a play in which the central character has a downfall
hamartia
A fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine. E.g. "Macbeth's hamartia is his ambition and pride."
Tragic Hero
A main character cursed by fate and possessed of a tragic flaw.
soliloquy
an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play.
Develop the individual:
Students are encouraged to develop their own interpretations of texts and consider the ways in which literature shapes our culture.
Collaborative working in class
Create a supportive community:
Students will work collaboratively, developing their ideas through group work and discussion.