Module B: Critical Study of Literature
What this module asks
Module B demands close, integrated knowledge of one prescribed text: its language, structure, form, and the critical conversations surrounding it. You must demonstrate that the text sustains multiple readings and that your interpretation is built from textual evidence.
Concepts you must command
- Close reading: syntax, diction, imagery, prosody, stagecraft, narration.
- Structural unity: how beginnings, turning points and endings generate meaning.
- Textual integrity: coherence of form and content; the text as an integrated artefact.
- Critical reception: how readings have changed across time and what assumptions drive them.
- Interpretive plurality: competing readings, and your own defensible position.
Traps in questions
- Retelling plot. Narrative summary is not analysis; select evidence for argument.
- Quotation dumping. Integrate short quotations into your syntax and unpack them.
- Single-reading certainty. Questions often invite you to test an interpretation; engage with alternatives.
- Ignoring the whole text. A strong response shows awareness of structure beyond the set scenes.
- Unsupported evaluative adjectives. 'Powerful' and 'timeless' mean nothing without evidence.
Rule of thumb
Use the claim–evidence–unpacking–significance sequence. Worked example: if arguing that a text complicates heroic identity, cite a moment where the protagonist's language falters, analyse the broken syntax, then explain what this reveals about the text's scepticism toward heroic convention.
Practical habit
Maintain a quotation bank organised by theme and technique, each entry paired with two sentences of analysis. Practise writing one paragraph that acknowledges a counter-reading before resolving it.