stack of books

In this section of our web site, we try to give you a taste of some of the many approaches to literary criticism which are practised in the Cambridge English Faculty. We hope that our virtual classes will help you enjoy your reading more and introduce you to some new ways of thinking about literary texts. We hope in particular that A Level students will find the classes helpful in building on the knowledge and critical skills that they already possess, and that teachers in schools and other institutions of higher education will find them a useful resource. As this is an experimental attempt to use electronic media in a traditionally bookish subject, we would very much appreciate your feedback. Also, much of the material presented here can be viewed in a different format, along with a large number of further resources for the study of English, at the Converse site for A Levels.

These virtual classes are designed to become progressively more advanced as you work your way through them. If you find them too simple to begin with then simply go on to the next level.

 

The Glossary

On the following pages, some of the terms used in discussing analyisis are hyperlinks with a dashed line beneath them. If you hold your mouse pointer over these words, you will see a simplified definition of the term. Following the hyperlink takes you to that term's full definition in the glossary.