Specification A
English Lit: AQA A Level Othello, topic 11.1.1
Approaching AQA English Literature: Specification A
The specification encourages the exploration of texts in a number of different ways.
English Literature A
- English Literature A’s historicist approach to the study of literature rests upon reading texts within a shared context.
- Working from the belief that no text exists in isolation but is the product of the time in which it was produced, English Literature A encourages students to explore the relationships that exist between texts and the contexts within which they are written, received and understood.
English Literature A cont.
- Studying texts within a shared context enables students to investigate and connect them, drawing out patterns of similarity and difference using a variety of reading strategies and perspectives.
- English Literature A encourages the process of making autonomous meaning, encouraging students to debate and challenge the interpretations of other readers as they develop their own informed personal responses.
Exploring texts
- The specification encourages the exploration of texts in a number of different ways:
- The study of a literary theme over time.
- The study of various texts, both singly and comparatively, chosen from a list of core set texts and a list of chosen comparative texts.
- Writing about texts in a number of different ways.
Exploring texts cont.
- The study of literature through engaging with two of the main historicist perspectives:
- The diachronic (reading texts written across widely different time periods that explore the same theme).
- The synchronic (reading texts written within a narrower and clearly defined time period).
- You will be reading Othello in a diachronic context.
Test yourself on Specification A
In which context will you be reading Othello?
How does English Literature A encourage you to approach texts?
In what ways does English Literature A encourage you to explore texts?