English Literature

Read the greats as well as the voices that history has overlooked. Study close to the beautiful Lake District, home of the Romantic poets, and inspiration for many later writers. From ancient myth to the contemporary graphic novel, you’ll explore a host of different literary forms, develop your critical voice, and discuss your reading and ideas with widely published scholars.

Why Lancaster?

• Study a wide range of genres from both ancient and modern literatures

• Develop your own critical (and even creative-critical) voice

• Enhance your professional skills by getting involved with our student-run literary journals: Cake, Lux, Flash, and Errant

• Be part of Literary Lancaster - a vibrant community of critics and writers

• Enjoy our rich programme of free literary events both on campus and in the city’s historic Castle Quarter

• Benefit from internship opportunities, including residential positions at Wordsworth Grasmere in the heart of the English Lake District

Ancient to contemporary

Literary study at Lancaster offers a rich engagement with the very best of literature, from the classical and medieval to the modern and contemporary. You will have the chance to study all the great names, as well as voices that have been forgotten or overlooked. You’ll also explore a wide range of literary forms—from ancient myth to slave memoir, Gothic fiction to dystopian narrative, and Shakespearean drama to the contemporary graphic novel.

Acts of reading

We believe that reading is not passive but active. It is something that acts upon both the texts that we read and the world in which we live; and neither those texts nor the world are left the same.

We are pioneers in experimental or creative forms of literary criticism, as well as encouraging established forms of literary scholarship, such as archival work, historicism, close reading, and literary theory.

We enable our students to read widely, closely, and deeply, experiencing literature in a host of new and immersive ways.

Literature in the world

At Lancaster, literary study is not just an academic pursuit—it is also an opportunity to connect with history, culture, and the many ways literature shapes our world.

Your studies will not only deepen your understanding of literature but also reveal its connections to other realms such as politics, ecology, philosophy, psychology, theology, and the arts.

You will also have the chance to expand your literary horizons and cultural sensitivity by studying works in translation from other languages, such as Hebrew, Latin, Greek, French, German, Spanish, Palestinian and Egyptian.

Cultural community

We run many special literary events, often in spectacular locations such as Lancaster’s medieval Castle, the awe-inspiring Priory, or the archive-rich Wordsworth Grasmere in the Lake District. These events include:

• Talks from visiting scholars and authors

• A study day in the Lake District

• Social events such as the October Lecture and May Gathering

These events develop a sense of community and help you to establish friendships through your studies. You will also have the opportunity to be involved in organising, marketing and hosting some of these events.

Professional development

If you are interested in writing, publishing, and editing you could choose to get involved in one of our four student-run literary journals: Cake, Flash, Lux and Errant. You might also volunteer to help at Litfest, Lancaster’s annual literature festival which attracts well-known authors from around the world (including some of our own author-tutors).

You could also apply for one of our residential internships at Wordsworth Grasmere.