English Literature Personal Statement Example 30

Primary school had made me into an excellent forger - at least of my dad's chicken scratch signature - which was present every week, without a doubt, in my reading log. I was far from a prolific reader - mainly because English was my second language, making the activity excruciating. Predictably, with time, this outlook changed. And now I can think of nothing better than experiencing the gratifying intellectual challenge of an English literature degree. Apart from providing a window into different times and cultures - I love literature for the way that one detail possesses the power to transform a text. For example, in class, while studying Ian McEwan's Atonement - I noticed that on the first page, he makes a potential allusion to Shakespeare's The Tempest - which I watched the previous year. Both Briony and Prospero have good intentions yet abuse their powers and manipulate characters around them. The first part of The Tempest is set up like a classic revenge tragedy yet Shakespeare subverts the audience's expectations and delivers a tragicomedy with a lesson on forgiveness - similarly, McEwan uses the epilogue to turn Atonement from a modern to a postmodern novel. Close reading and making connections between texts is something I definitely enjoy about literature.

After hearing about the theory regarding Shakespeare’s questionable authorship, I decided to conduct my own independent research. And while reading Neal Fox's paper on stylometry solidified my opinion - and I don't think Marlowe faked his own death and wrote under the Shakespeare pseudonym for the rest of his life, it was nonetheless interesting to read 'Edward II,' 'The Jew of Malta' and 'Doctor Faustus' and note the stylistic similarities/literary influence that Marlowe had on Shakespeare.

Participating in the Poetry By Heart competition made me appreciate the verbal nature of poetry. The poem I recited was The Night Patrol by Arthur Graeme West - the theme of which evoked an emotional response and propelled me to read war fiction novels like The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. The lyrical writing and soulful characters secured both novels in my heart. The prize for winning the PBH competition was a three-day trip round French and Belgian battlefields. While on the trip, I shared a room with a girl who was an enthusiast of the Romantics. Her enthusiasm encouraged me to pick up a Keats collection. 'When I have fears,' is my favourite sonnet. The iambic pentameter makes it acoustically appealing. The rich metaphors used to describe his multi-layered anxiety are immensely evocative. And the authorial context - makes the poem unforgettable.

I am enthused by the prospect of broadening my range of texts, specifically with modules on classical mythology, the works of John Milton and his contemporaries, and post-colonial literature. I am an analytical and abstract thinker. My other A-levels, Philosophy and Ethics, and Art, have ensured of this. Studying epistemology has also had an influence on my questioning the nature of verisimilitude in literature – which encouraged the focus of my coursework - the usage of the literary device that is the unreliable narrator.

Being part of the student council, as well as working part-time at a garden centre, has helped me develop time management and communication skills. The latter proved exceptionally useful when I extended my passion for literature through volunteering as a teacher's aide in a year 7 English class. Seeing a face light up when I picked up on their 'crazy, awesome plot-twist', or explaining something and stopping the frustrated tears, was extremely rewarding.

During lockdown I took part in the online Sutton Trust Summer School programme - this solidified my desire to expand my knowledge of English literature on a university course. If accepted, upon graduating, I hope to utilise the knowledge I would have acquired to pursue my goal of working as an editor.