Summer Bridging Unit- English Literature

In order to prepare for the OCR English Literature A Level, the following tasks have been set for you to complete over the summer. These activities will correspond with the texts and assessment criteria that you will need to be familiar with to achieve highly in this qualification.

Please complete all of the set tasks, and attempt the stretch and challenge! This project will be due in on your first English Literature lesson in September. If you have any problems or questions about this project, please contact Miss Kelly by email: [email protected]

1. Read the following two novels: Margaret Atwood – The Handmaid’s Tale George Orwell – Nineteen Eighty-Four

2. Create a short presentation focused on the novels of your chosen category. The presentation should include at least 4 slides and cover the following topics: • Plot summary of both novels • Exploration of the context your novels were written in • Important quotes from both novels. (consider organising around theme or character) You must analyse at least 5 per novel. • Links between both novels (similarities or differences)

3. From the following list, choose three poems by Christina Rossetti:

• Song: When I am dead, my dearest • Remember • From the Antique (‘It’s a weary life, it is, she said’) • Echo • Shut Out • In the Round Tower at Jhansi (Indian Mutiny) • A Birthday • Maude Clare • Up-hill • No, thank you, John • Good Friday (‘Am I a stone and not a sheep?’) • Goblin Market • Twice • Winter: My Secret • Soeur Louise de la Miséricorde Write a response to the following essay question of between 600-800 words. Use the three poems you have selected from the list in your response.

Rossetti is consumed with divine love. To what extent do you agree?

4. Read and learn key terminology from the glossary booklet provided.

5. Watch at least two productions of Hamlet (suggestions below. It’s beneficial to watch as many as possible!) Suggestions:

BBC 2009 Hamlet (David Tennant) Hamlet ( 1948) Laurence Olivier Hamlet (1990) Zeffirelli Hamlet (1996) Kenenth Brannagh Hamlet (2000) Michael Almereyda

Produce a mood board that compares two productions in terms of: • Setting • Costume • Lighting • Movement (proxemics)

Add your own annotations in note form to the moodboard.

Stretch and challenge! Provided below is some of the reading list for this course. It would be of major advantage if you read the texts before beginning the course. An Ideal Husband Oscar Wilde Hamlet William Shakespeare Selected Poems Christina Rossetti (listed above) H G Wells: The Time Machine Aldous Huxley: Brave New World Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451 Anthony Burgess: A Clockwork Orange J G Ballard: The Drowned World Doris Lessing: Memoirs of a Survivor P.D. James: The Children of Men Cormac McCarthy: The Road