Thinking AloudEnglish Blog

So, where do all the important characters go? Romeo’s parents.  When their son is busy running around with the boys, getting married at 16, killing his rival, and being banished from the city, where are Lord and Lady Montague?  Busy with dinner plans?  

If you (or your teenager) are studying Edexcel A Level after the summer, you might be tackling the full Romantics selection - or just Keats.  For AQA, OCR, or IB, one or more of these revolutionary poets are likely to appear.  These long holidays offer the perfect opportunity to deepen understanding without cracking open another anthology... just yet.

There are some decisions in life that require deep contemplation.  Applying for a job.  Choosing a partner.  Picking your Desert Island Discs.  And then, there’s naming a puppy. 

Rejection: the gut-punch every writer faces.  History is full of books dismissed before becoming literary classics. 

For those of us in the business of literature, St Patrick's day is a chance to celebrate Ireland’s unrivalled literary legacy.

Reading a book or watching a film and a dog appears, steel yourself. It is most likely about to be devastating shorthand for human despair.

There’s nothing quite like a Francis Bacon exhibition to remind you that life is equal parts grotesque, tragic, and utterly captivating. 

Because here’s the thing: good literature essays demand a belief in your argument.

Let’s be honest - securing those top grades at A Level or IB English Lit isn’t about your child nodding earnestly at Hamlet.

Exam season - it’s just over for another year.  Thank goodness, we can all breathe a sigh of relief.