Experiencing English Literature

Book excerpt: What does it mean to experience a work of literature? What role does response play in the creation of literary meaning? And what matters – really matters – in the teaching of English Literature? In this book, Andrew Atherton offers a powerful and timely account of the vital role that student response plays in the English Literature classroom. This text is deeply immersed in the disciplinary traditions and legacies of what it has meant to experience English Literature, both for its teachers and students. As the English teaching community try to move beyond exam-driven responses, highly restrictive essay structures and explicit teaching of interpretation, this innovative text helps teachers to encourage responses from students that are more authentic and co-constructed. It contains dedicated chapters for teaching novels, plays and poetry as well as generative writing, sentence-level analysis and essay structure. Each chapter is furnished with a wealth of ideas, routines and activities, all ready to be embedded directly into the classroom. This book will play a key role in this continuing rejuvenation of an experience of English Literature that places a premium on student response and how to shape it. Experiencing English Literature remains actionable and practical, written first and foremost for teachers. It will be essential reading for any KS3/4/5 teacher of English Literature as well as Senior Leaders seeking to better understand the disciplinary traditions of English Literature.