English Literature AS
Congratulations! You have chosen to study English Literature at A level!
In order to prepare yourself for the challenges that lie ahead, please
complete the following written task over the holiday and make sure
that you bring it to your first lesson.
1) Write a 500 word essay exploring ‘How does Byron present the
beauty of love in ‘She walks in Beauty’?
Essay must include:
 Analysis of how meaning is conveyed (through language, form
and structure)
 How it reflects the context of the time
George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824)
She Walks in Beauty
1
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
2
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
3
And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
Please find attached a reading list for English Literature – don’t worry
we don’t expect you read all of them but a good hearty novel would be
a smart place to begin.
READING LIST
Must buy and read:
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott-Fitzgerald (Ideally Penguin Modern Classics)
Othello - Shakespeare (ISBN-10: 1107615593)
A Streetcar Named Desire – Tennessee Williams (ISBN-10: 0141190272)
You could also read:
Poetry:
Any poetry connected with relationships e.g: Larkin, Donne, Wyatt,
Marvell, Blake, Byron, Rossetti, Hardy, Keats, Yeats, Shakespeare
Carol Ann Duffy - Feminine Gospels
Owen Sheers – Skirrid Hill
Prose:
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest - Ken Kesey
Spies – Michael Frayn
The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy
The Color Purple – Alice Walker
Oranges are not the only fruit – Jeanette Winterson
A Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
Drama:
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – Tennessee Williams
All my Sons – Arthur Miller
Any play by Oscar Wilde