Module One
UNSEEN PROSE TEXTS
Introduction
This module should be read in conjunction with the Programme of Study.
The Programme of Study lists the topics that are in the module and gives you the relevant page references for your textbooks. This module aims to give you more direction as you work through the various topics. It will aim to highlight the most important items in the topic, as well as areas that need particular care. It will also point you towards the resources you should be using.
Remember to double-check the syllabus to make sure you cover all the items that you need to.
Module Overview
For English Literature AS and A Level, you will be dealing with three different kinds of text: prose, poetry and drama. In Paper 2, you will answer one question in Section B from a choice of two unseen texts. One of these may be prose. This first module introduces you to the key conventions to look out for when studying prose texts. This will prepare you to break down any piece of unseen prose in order to write about it analytically. It will also be a good grounding for studying your set prose text, the novel Atonement, in Modules Two and Three.
Prose is language written in its ordinary form, i.e. without any special metrical structure (as we often find in poetry). It is the form in which novels and short stories are written. It can be formal or informal and varies hugely in terms of style from text to text. It is the form of language in which we think, speak and usually write.
Topics
Topic One (1.1): Introduction to Prose and Prose Forms
Topic Two (1.2): Characters and Characterisation
Topic Six (1.6): The Scope of the Novel
Topic Seven (1.7): Analysing Language – Word Classes, Grammar and Lexis
Topic Eight (1.8): Analysing Language – Metaphorical Devices
Topic Nine (1.9): Analysing Language – Phonological Devices (Sound Effects)
Topic Ten (1.10): Analysing Language – Rhetorical and Structural Devices