GCSE English Literature
Explore set texts across AQA, Edexcel, OCR GW, Cambridge International and Eduqas (WJEC). Structured by Shakespeare, 19th-Century Novels, Modern Texts, and Poetry.
AQA GCSE English Literature Set Texts
Shakespeare
- Macbeth
- Romeo and Juliet
- The Tempest
- Much Ado About Nothing
- The Merchant of Venice
- Julius Caesar
19th-Century Novel
- The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Cherry Hill Tuition UK
Modern Texts
- An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley
- Blood Brothers (musical version) by Willy Russell
- The History Boys by Alan Bennett
- DNA by Dennis Kelly
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (play script) by Simon Stephens
- A Taste of Honey by Shelagh Delaney
AQA
Poetry
- AQA Anthology: Telling Tales
- Unseen poetry from the 20th and 21st centuries
Edexcel GCSE English Literature Set Texts
Shakespeare
- Macbeth
- Romeo and Juliet
- The Tempest
- Much Ado About Nothing
- The Merchant of Venice
- Twelfth Night
19th-Century Novel
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
- Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Pearson Qualifications
Modern Texts
- An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley
- Blood Brothers (musical version) by Willy Russell
- The History Boys by Alan Bennett
- DNA by Dennis Kelly
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (play script) by Simon Stephens
- A Taste of Honey by Shelagh Delaney
Pearson Schools and FE Colleges
Poetry
- Edexcel Poetry Anthology
- Unseen poetry from the 20th and 21st centuries
Eduqas (WJEC) GCSE English Literature Set Texts
Shakespeare
- Macbeth
- Romeo and Juliet
- The Tempest
- Much Ado About Nothing
- The Merchant of Venice
- Twelfth Night
Eduqas
19th-Century Novel
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
- Silas Marner by George Eliot
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
- The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Eduqas
Modern Texts
- An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley
- Blood Brothers (musical version) by Willy Russell
- The History Boys by Alan Bennett
- DNA by Dennis Kelly
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (play script) by Simon Stephens
- A Taste of Honey by Shelagh Delaney
Eduqas
Poetry
- Eduqas Poetry Anthology
- Unseen poetry from the 20th and 21st centuries
Eduqas
AQA A-Level English Literature Set Texts
Paper 1: Love Through the Ages
- Shakespeare
- Othello
- King Lear
- Richard II
- Pre-1900 Poetry
- Songs of Innocence and Experience — William Blake
- Prose
- The Great Gatsby — F. Scott Fitzgerald
Paper 2: Texts in Shared Contexts
- Modern Times
- Atonement — Ian McEwan
- A Streetcar Named Desire — Tennessee Williams
- The Remains of the Day — Kazuo Ishiguro
Non-Exam Assessment (NEA)
Independent Critical Study: A comparative study of two texts, at least one of which must be pre-1900.
Edexcel A-Level English Literature Set Texts
Paper 1: Drama and Poetry Pre-1900
- Shakespeare
- Othello
- King Lear
- Richard II
- Pre-1900 Poetry
- Songs of Innocence and Experience — William Blake
Paper 2: Comparative and Contextual Study
- Prose
- The Great Gatsby — F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Remains of the Day — Kazuo Ishiguro
- Drama
- A Streetcar Named Desire — Tennessee Williams
Non-Exam Assessment (NEA)
Independent Critical Study: A comparative study of two texts, at least one of which must be pre-1900.
Eduqas (WJEC) A-Level English Literature Set Texts
Component 1: Poetry and Prose
- Pre-1900 Poetry
- Songs of Innocence and Experience — William Blake
- Prose
- The Remains of the Day — Kazuo Ishiguro
- Wide Sargasso Sea — Jean Rhys
Component 2: Poetry and Drama
- Pre-1900 Poetry
- Songs of Innocence and Experience — William Blake
- Drama
- A Streetcar Named Desire — Tennessee Williams
- Doctor Faustus — Christopher Marlowe
Component 3: Literary and Non-Literary Texts
- Prose
- The Remains of the Day — Kazuo Ishiguro
- Non-Literary
- In Cold Blood — Truman Capote
OCR A-Level English Literature (H472) Set Texts
Component 01: Drama and Poetry Pre-1900
- Shakespeare
- Othello
- King Lear
- The Taming of the Shrew
- Pre-1900 Drama
- A Doll's House — Henrik Ibsen
- The Duchess of Malfi — John Webster
- She Stoops to Conquer — Oliver Goldsmith
- Pre-1900 Poetry
- The Merchant's Prologue and Tale — Geoffrey Chaucer
- Paradise Lost (Books 9 & 10) — John Milton
- Maud — Alfred Lord Tennyson
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge — Selected Poems
Component 02: Comparative and Contextual Study
- American Literature 1880–1940
- The Great Gatsby — F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Grapes of Wrath — John Steinbeck
- The Gothic
- Frankenstein — Mary Shelley
- Dracula — Bram Stoker
- Dystopia
- Brave New World — Aldous Huxley
- 1984 — George Orwell
- Women in Literature
- Jane Eyre — Charlotte Brontë
- The Handmaid's Tale — Margaret Atwood
- The Immigrant Experience
- Brick Lane — Monica Ali
- Americanah — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Component 03: Literature Post-1900 (NEA)
Students independently study three texts: one prose, one poetry, and one drama. At least one text must be first published or performed after 2000, and at least one must be first published or performed in 1900 or later.
AS & A Level English Literature – Additional Set Texts
AS Level (Paper 1 & Paper 2)
- Drama (Pre-1900)
- A Doll's House — Henrik Ibsen
- The Duchess of Malfi — John Webster
- She Stoops to Conquer — Oliver Goldsmith
- Poetry (Pre-1900)
- Songs of Innocence and of Experience — William Blake
- Paradise Lost (Books 9 & 10) — John Milton
- Maud — Alfred Lord Tennyson
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge — Selected Poems
- Prose & Unseen
- An Experiment with an Air Pump — Shelagh Stephenson
- Unseen prose extract analysis
A Level (Paper 3 & Paper 4)
- Poetry (Pre-1900)
- Songs of Innocence and of Experience — William Blake
- Selected Poems — John Donne
- Selected Poems — Walt Whitman
- Selected Poems — Sylvia Plath
- Prose
- Dubliners — James Joyce
- Beloved — Toni Morrison
- Wide Sargasso Sea — Jean Rhys
- Native Guard — Natasha Trethewey