Listen to a narration of Mother, Any Distance recited by a professional actor. Very useful for students to listen to and to play in class. Courtesy of Audiopi

This audio tutorial examines the structure and form of Jekyll and Hyde and why this is important in light of your GCSE. We also ask the questions of what makes a narrator un/reliable and how are the letters used to help progress/complicate the narrative? The plot of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is delivered through multiple narratives, making it both compelling and sometimes confusing. The tutorial introduces the concept of the unreliable narrator and highlights the multiple narrative perspectives of the novella. It examines the mixture of first person and unidentified narrative voices, supernatural content, lack of trust, suspense etc. It defines the epistolary form and the Gothic and discusses the circulation of ‘truth’ through content of letters, the will and cheques, relating to concepts of evidence in detective fiction.

This audio tutorial narrates and examines both the Follower by Seamus Heaney and Before You Were Mine by Carol Ann Duffy especially exploring how are parent/child relationships are presented differently? It gives a detailed review of the content of the poems and the language used including the use of imagery and lexical choices. It will also look at the structure and form.

Here we pose and answer key questions about the characters of the boys in The History Boys. What are Posner, Dakin, Scripps and Rudge’s roles? How do their characters develop? Are the other four boys’ characters established and the boys’ relationships with Hector and Irwin. It discusses Posner’s homosexuality, Dakin's confidence, how Scripps is religious and Rudge being the least intelligent. It also analyses how future jobs show life progression, whilst the other boys are not very established characters which is reflected in future professions.

This audio tutorial narrates and then examines 2 of the key poems within the AQA Love and Relationships poetry cluster, Mother, Any Distance and Walking Away. It looks at how poets create a sense of distance. It will examine the content of the poems, the language – place and distance / nature / the everyday and finally the structure and form.

This audio tutorial looks at the key themes The History Boys. How does each teacher represent contrasting educational philosophies? We examine how Hector, Irwin and Mrs Lintott teach and how the boys respond to their different methods of teaching. How is the theme of history explored in the play? We examine how time jumps around in the play and discussions about historical events. Does Bennett give a bleak view of sex and sexuality? How relationships and love are described and affect the characters and the role of Mrs Lintott in an all male dominated play.

Here we pose and answer key questions regarding the context of The History Boys including What contexts are there in the play, how does Bennett’s personal context affect the play and what contexts does Bennett use and to what effect? The contexts include social context: class, female to male ratios, 1980s England, Leeds and educational institutions. Literary context: comedy, naturalistic and realistic drama, epic theatre, meta-theatrical and wider literary context: songs, films and poetry

Welcome to our introduction to Frankenstein. This is a great resource for those who wish to listen and learn about Frankenstein, especially for those teaching and taking English Literature GCSE. In this introductory podcast we at the genre of Frankenstein and explores Gothic Horror, Science Fiction and Romanticism. It looks at how it was originally conceived as part of a ‘ghost story content’ between friends, how we define Gothic Horror and what is ‘The Modern Prometheus’? The podcast can be played at the start of a lesson or students can listen to it before a class to prepare them. It is also a great revision tool.

This audio tutorial looks at the what are the main events during the History Boys and, importantly, what is the purpose of these events in the play? It also examines what conventions of theatre does Bennett use and why, it considers the different time frames in the play, the juxtaposition of key events to create effect and how characters address the audience directly.

What is each teacher’s role in the play? What does each character represent? We examine the relationships between teachers and boys and analyse the different teachers including Irwin, Hector, Mrs Lintott and the Headmaster. We look at how each represent a different philosophy of education.

This audio tutorial looks at the major themes of Jekyll and Hyde, including primitivism and violence, rationality and science, respectability and the creation of the ‘other’ through language and physical descriptions. It explores the difference between public and private selves, not only the duality of persons but also spaces – the city, private rooms, public streets, laboratory. Finally it looks at critical responses to the novella, including a few key quotes regarding ‘Monster theory’, Gothic fiction and detective fiction.

A detailed podcast on the character of Darcy, helping you understand the different complexities of the of Darcy.

This podcast examines the characters of Wickham and Lydia and what they symbolise in Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice

This audio tutorial introduces The History Boys, asks why it is considered such a great play and what genres does it fit into?

This audio tutorial examines the main characters of Jekyll and Hyde. It looks at the allegorical function of characters, including the opposition of private and public selves; reputation and civility; materialism vs mysticism; science and rationalism; corruption and the supernatural. It analyses Utterson as embodiment of Victorian ideals of upper class, masculinity, control, suppression and order. Dr Lanyon as a minor plot character, but key in terms of character opposition to Dr Jekyll regarding materialism/rationality vs. Mysticism/sensation. Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde analysis including the function of the doppelganger motif: contrast, duality, sadism, urban life, scientific advancement, the Other, civility etc.

Detailed analysis of 2 of the poems in the AQA Love and Relationships cluster. Great for students and teachers to listen to to gain an in-depth understanding of these poems.

In this tutorial we will examine the major themes within Frankenstein, including Knowledge and (Self?) Discovery. We look at the dangers of knowledge & Frankenstein’s downfall. Secondly we have The Sublime. We ask the question what is the sublime and look at Romanticism and the influence of nature. Thirdly there is Isolationism/Secrets - Frankenstein is obsessed with unlocking life’s secrets. The reality of the monster's appearance forces him into isolation. And finally, in relation to the subtitle Monstrosity and The Enlightenment, we ask questions about what it means to be monstrous, including the fact that the monster is educated, compassionate, and eloquent, but prejudices about appearance make him a monster and explore the meaning behind the full name of the novel ‘Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus. Frankenstein is punished for trying to further knowledge, just as Prometheus was punished for bringing fire. Light represents knowledge in the book. Illuminating the dark, unexplored places. We explore tensions of Enlightenment science contesting divine beings and religion.

Welcome to the first of our audio tutorials on The Strange Case Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Here we give a brief introduction to the novella, examine what genres does it fit into, what are the key themes and why is it a worthwhile book. We introduce the author Robert Louis Stevenson, examine the genres involved including Gothic, Detective and Victorian Sensation Fiction and summarise the themes of Duality, Identity, Science, Religion, the Other, Animalism and Public vs. Private. We also look at the critical response to the book and ongoing adaptations.

In this podcast, part of the Frankenstein series by Audiopi we are introduced to the main characters, including Victor Frankenstein, The Monster, Robert Walton and Elizabeth, Frankenstein's wife. With Frankenstein we examine the similarities with other Gothic Horror characters, such as Dr Jekyll, and how he begins the book as an ‘innocent’ but is ultimately destroyed by his exploration of forces beyond humanity. Additionally, we analyse his pursuance of education and individual gain. We look at the child and parent relationship with the monster has with Frankenstein, the orphanage and interaction with child characters, the monster's appearance versus reality and vengefulness versus compassion. We discuss Robert Walton and how he serves to deliver the tale of both Frankenstein and the Monster and how he also represents ‘Young Victor’ pursuing new knowledge. We also look at the importance of Elizabeth as a background character.

This podcasts examines the characters of Charlotte and Mr Collins in Pride and Prejudice and what they symbolise in Pride and Prejudice.