Critique of English Literature in the UK Curriculum

This essay delves into the significance of English Literature within the British curriculum, tracing its origins and evolution from Anglo-Saxon times to the modern era. It examines the historical incorporation of English literature into the curriculum, exploring its initial purpose and how it has transformed over time. The essay analyzes the subject's purpose, highlighting how it has served as a means of cultural transmission and the development of critical thinking skills. Furthermore, it discusses the shift from solely British writers to the inclusion of world literature and evaluates the balance between imparting knowledge and potentially influencing ideology. The essay concludes by assessing the relevance of English literature in the lives of students, the skills gained, and the subject's continued importance in contemporary education, including the role of universities and the skills developed through the study of English literature, and its importance in the curriculum.

Running head: ENGLISH ESSAY
ENGLISH ESSAY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1
ENGLISH ESSAY
The paper seeks to understand the value of English Literature as a vast corpus that
carries a heavy weight in the British curriculum. English literature does not only cover the
enormous writings that have been contributed by several writers starting from the Anglo-
Saxon age to modern and post modern but also encourages the world literature to incorporate
and enhance the original essence of the literature. English literature has expanded from the
very first day of its existence from the time of Beowulf came into being indicating the
introduction of English literature. The paper is mainly divided into four specific parts. The
first concentrates on origin of the subject and how it became an integral part of the
curriculum. Then it goes on describing the purpose of the subject that it has been serving
through ages and is still serving is there in the next segment while the last part is focusing on
how successfully it is providing knowledge to children.
Origin of English literature
Romans had dispersed from Britain in the 5th century only however, English literature
had always kept its door wide open to invite and incorporate new vocabularies and new
words from foreign languages such as Greek, Roman, Latin and Scandinavian. Bede who has
thought of making English language to be easier and convenient for layman to be used in
colloquial term and manner written down a book called “Historia ecclesiastical gentis
Anglorum” (Carter and McRae 2016). It officially became the very first piece of English
literature that helped the common men to participate and embrace the language of the
academics since they could sense the elevation of their language into something extraordinary
through the discovery of this book. The epic poems by Bede, Caedmon and Cynewulf had
been the greatest contributors to have introduced war as a incredible genre of literature that is
not only enjoyed vastly by the readers but also helped England in achieving the status of
national epic.

2
ENGLISH ESSAY
Then comes the Medieval Age where Geoffrey Chaucer marked this age with his
name only because that age is symbolized by the remarkable publication of the grand and the
prolific piece of literature that is “The Canterbury Tales”. It is a collection of multiple tales
that draws a connection between three different layers of society to indicate the
discriminating attitude of society that has been existing from the beginning. The curriculum
has been structured in a way where starting from elegiac poems to epic poems from Anglo-
Saxon age to elements of Chaucer has been included to show the gradual difference in the
style of presenting literature. One brilliant thing that cannot be missed out here is the gradual
increase in the range of literature from only poem to adapting with prose style with little
efforts. Although “The Canterbury Tales” is written and composed in a verse form yet the
intention of the piece is to convey certain messages through story telling technique (Fowler
2017). This age also shifted to four kinds of plays that were severely performed in the
occasions and on streets on festivals. There were several cycles in the Mystery, Miracle,
Morality and Interludes and they were performed on different purposes that naturally made
space in the curriculum to be shown how drama became a stronger part of literature to
communicate with people in a faster way.
This has been more or less the initiation of English literature that slowly emerged into
Elizabethan age along with the coming of university wits where Lyly, Greene. Thomas Kyd,
Christopher Marlowe graduated from renowned universities with degree in the language and
started writing on their own to show the world what English literature should ideally look
like. The era was visited by the amazing William Shakespeare who is considered to be the
greatest of all time. His tragedies are discussed till now and will always remain at the core of
English literature. A student of English literature cannot complete his course of academics
without studying Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello or King Lear or comedies like As You Like It,

3
ENGLISH ESSAY
Comedy of Errors and many more (Eaglestone 2017). The very existence of Shakespearean
plays paved its way to the curriculum because they are the essentials of English drama.
The purpose of English literature
The incorporation of English literature was always important because this language
was not only used by the native of England. The language started spreading its wide wings in
the entire Europe and the language seemed to be easier and more convenient than any other
language in the whole western world. Therefore the language received an utter importance
throughout the western region of the earth. It has to be understood that it is not the language
that was given more importance but also the written work in this language received a
worldwide attention and acclamation from every corner of the earth. The language became so
overpowering and sometimes intimidating because of its adaptability yet the power of
distinguishing that it became a language of the elite. However, language being the mediator
of conveying expression has to be common to interact otherwise it is pointless to
communicate. Hence, this became the easiest language to communicate therefore in the
curriculum this literature had been started giving the most importance so that it could
maintain the worldwide appeal throughout.
The purpose of literature of English is to encourage and put into the enthusiasm the
native English speaking people un their work field that can be easily done by the amazing
writings of English writers that are not only lucid but accentuates the weight of the
vocabulary. It is undeniably true that encountering English literature signifies meeting with
new expressions everyday. English literature was considered to be a bridge that could
possibly fill the gap between lack of vocabulary and extraordinary communication. In order
to understand the language to its bones it is important to know the literature to its core. The
purpose of adding the literature into the curriculum can be best understood by the fact that it

4
ENGLISH ESSAY
has a huge container of new worlds that have been created by thousand of writers. The
readers and the students are enticed with the manmade world that cannot be left in the corner
to be wasted. It surely was the purpose of including the literature into the structure because it
is important for the readers to experience the newer and the fantastic worlds that do not exist
on the realistic plane.
The literature was a key to the escape from the reality and simultaneously a reality
check at some points. The literature has been so fascinating and so overwhelming and it has
such a huge encompassing area that readers might get lost. It surely had been the intention of
the authorities to have added English literature in the curriculum to make the students
experience many new ideas and innovative genres. This literature is equipped with more than
a specific number of genres that have huge access to ghosts, souls, spirits, cannibals,
supernaturalism, realism, post structuralism, nihilism, modernism, deconstruction, cannon
division and many countless genres that have a huge series of things to offer. Since English
literature opens the door to different fragments of lives students are able to know a Christabel
from Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the concept of “stream of consciousness” coined by Henry
James, a Lydia Languish from R. B. Sheridan and also a Godot from Samuel Beckett and a J.
Alfred Prufrock from T. S. Eliot it seems to be very inviting and digressing (Street 2016).
Therefore the students are allowed to roam around freely in the world of Edward the Second
from Elizabethan age to Heath Cliff from a Victorian age. It shows how incorporating
English literature is evoking the understanding of life in a different way is added in the
curriculum.
The current purpose of English literature
It has to be understood that purpose might not change through time yet the
expectation from the literature and the way it had been perceived before is still not in the

5
ENGLISH ESSAY
same way treated in the curriculum. Previously the syllabus had British writers only that were
taught according to the syllabus while the structure had to be changed in order to introduce
the readers and the students with the taste and flavor of world literature through translated
works. For example, the works of O Henry, Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes and Robert Frost who
belonged to American citizenship would have to be completely ignored if the syllabus had
incorporated the British writers only. In fact there would have been no opportunity to know
the works of Leo Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Anton Chekov if the students had no access to
Russian language. It has to be remembered that English literature is that open gate through
which multiple literatures have entered and penetrated the hearts of many students who have
been enjoying the essence of literature as a whole since the time of changing the pattern. It is
certainly a good and expected change that helped the students to know more things that have
been happening around the world.
The purpose changes along with time since the language is constantly evolving
everyday. The language is getting stronger and mending in different ways. The colloquial
language is so different from that of the erudite language that is found in the writings of
Joseph Conrad and James Joyce that the new literature is defined in a newer way that shows
how the evolving language is a contributing factor of evolving of English literature of
something new and unexpected in the genre of literature. One important aspect that should be
considered to be very important with respect to change in purpose along with time is that the
language that had been in use in a large form in Old English literature sometimes becomes so
difficult that it does not seem to be comprehending at all (Renier 2016). However, it has to be
acknowledged that the language is different now therefore the style of writing the stories and
conveying them to the readers and students has to be addressed in a modern and adjustable
way so that it becomes convincing and easy for the readers to accept.
Educating students with English literature

6
ENGLISH ESSAY
The last part concentrates on how the degree in English literature in the curriculum of
UK is extremely relevant and important in the lives of the students not only for those who
have done special course on this literature but also the students who have been studying
different subjects (Brown 2016). The literature helps the students to probe deeply into the
method of understanding how a research is done and how to analytically review a text in
order to sense the flavor of the text. The students are also equipped with the skills of
participating in intense debates and analyzing reports and essay that are somehow
contributing in the factors of choosing correct option of career from that of journalism, film
studies or even broadcasting.
There are University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Bolton, York, Lancaster
University, University of Birmingham are some prospectus places where students can apply
for learning English literature. It needs basic 32 points for typically getting admitted
internationally while the minimum of 6.5 score in the IELETS has a probable chance of
getting acceptance from the above mentioned universities (Chou 2016). The modules that are
in use of these particular universities incorporate not only literature from the field of British
but also America. The contemporary fictions and the addition from the popular culture like
that of the poetries and short stories are the intricate parts of English literature curriculum of
UK. This hugeness of the syllabus is not existing merely as a giant figure to look more
intimidated rather it is helping the students to cope up with their communication skills
adapting with the newness of the society that has been facing by the regular people everyday.
English literature is not only acting like a guiding star for the students to sustain in a faster
growing world but also is a father figure that enables the student to get into any field of their
choice if the students have a good grip over the literature and the English language. Therefore
it can be easily said that this literature is not really pulling the students back anyway rather it

7
ENGLISH ESSAY
is spontaneously helping the students to get away with different problems that can be easily
solved with the mastery over English literature.
Since the literature also helps the students to critically examine and evaluate the depth
of a text and it helps to look at life in a broader sense for the people who are inclined towards
English literature. Thinking deeply over a trifling matter and bringing out meaning from even
simpler thing than water is like a superpower to the students who have been pursuing with
English literature and the students who are under the compulsory syllabus of learning English
literature. They are privileged enough to gain the opportunity to look at life in an entirely
different way who are not into the genre of English literature because they are in a way
deprived from the beautiful essence of mystery, authenticity, astonishment and many more
expressions.
Therefore it can be concluded that the paper encompasses especially four areas. The
first part talks about how English literature came into existence in vivid detail while the next
part of the paper moved on to enlighten the readers about how English literature has its own
purpose and function in the curriculum of UK that help the students to know many things that
are not always possible for students from different background. The third part is somehow the
extended part of the former part where the essay focuses on how it has changed its purpose
along with time. The last part deals with how the students are benefited from the English
literature and will be continued to be so.

8
ENGLISH ESSAY
References
Brown, J.D., 2016. Introducing needs analysis and English for specific purposes. Routledge.
Carter, R. and McRae, J., 2016. The Routledge history of literature in English: Britain and
Ireland. Routledge.
Chou, I.C., 2016. Reading for the purpose of responding to literature: EFL students’
perceptions of e-books. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 29(1), pp.1-20.
Eaglestone, R., 2017. Doing English: A guide for literature students. Routledge.
Fowler, D.C., 2017. The Bible in Middle English Literature. University of Washington Press.
Gilakjani, A.P., 2016. English pronunciation instruction: A literature review. International
Journal of Research in English Education, 1(1), pp.1-6.
Renier, G.J., 2016. History: Its purpose and method. Routledge.
Street, B.V., 2016. The Savage in Literature: Representations of'primitive'society in English
fiction 1858-1920. Routledge.