Character

Code School Level Credits Semesters
ENGL4320 English 4 N/A April Full Year UK, Full Year UK, January Full Year UK
Code
ENGL4320
School
English
Level
4
Credits
N/A
Semesters
April Full Year UK, Full Year UK, January Full Year UK

Summary

Character is a key element not only in literary fiction but also in poetry, drama and other multimedia genres. What is a character in an imagined, fictional or represented world? How do literary texts create characterisation in the mind of a reader? How can it be that some fictional people engage readers emotionally, ethically and ideologically in a highly engaged and immersive way (and others don’t)? These are key questions both for critical literary theory and for a literary linguistic account of the literary work and literary reading. This pod draws on narratological, literary linguistic, and cognitive poetic insights into the interaction of text and reader to explore character and characterisation.

Target Students

Students registered on the School of English online masters scheme.

Assessment

Assessed by end of designated period

Educational Aims

This module comprises an optional component in the following pathways: Applied English, English Literature, Literary Linguistics, and Modern and Contemporary Literature. As such, it contributes in its specific aims to the programme-level coverage of these pathways.

Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate a critical theoretical understanding of the concept of character in literature.

Apply a theoretical approach to an example of character or characterisation in a literary work. 

Articulate an understanding of the textual patterns by which a literary work can be explored for its characterisation.

Demonstrate knowledge and skills acquired to the appropriate disciplinary and professional standard.

Assimilate and present subject-specific material in an appropriate format (assessed within the ‘Assessment Portfolio’ 1, 2 or 3).

Conveners

View in Curriculum Catalogue
Last updated 07/01/2025.