This module will provide you with an engaging and diverse selection of literary works first published in the period from 1570 to 1818. Towards the beginning and near the end of your period of study, you'll focus on two globally recognised writers in English: the playwright William Shakespeare and the novelist Jane Austen. In your literary journey from Shakespeare to Austen, you will be introduced to a selection of writers, both famous and less well-known, in a wide range of literary genres and modes. You'll encounter both tragic and comic drama, along with epic poetry, poems of love, sex, seduction and antiquarian poetry from the Celtic nations.
You will also read a diverse selection of writing in prose, including letters and autobiographical writing, as well as literature derived from oral traditions and sources. Independent study is woven into the module teaching material. You'll be offered four different independent study options at the end of each week, encouraging you to discover, choose and develop your own interests in the literature of the period.
The two hundred and fifty years covered by this module saw the rise of printing and the novel, the establishment of copyright and circulating libraries, the professionalisation of authorship, the suppression and re-establishment of playhouses, and new modes of literary production. In order to understand these changes, a strand through the study material will guide you through many of the set works from the perspectives of book history, especially the production, readership, and reception of literary works. Teaching material will develop your understanding of the influence of the oral tradition on printed books, such as that of Irish, Scottish and Welsh songs on Romantic period lyric poetry, as well as tracing the impact of imported forms and modes on English writers, e.g. the Italian Petrarchan sonnet on Donne.
In addition to Shakespeare and Austen, the featured authors you'll encounter include Kyd, Spenser, Donne, Rochester, Wycherley, Molière, Montagu, Haywood, Swift, Coleridge, Chatterton, Brooke, Blake, Scott, MacPherson, Morganwg, and Rousseau. The majority of set works are originally written in English, but there are two works in translation from French, Molière’s Tartuffe (1664) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions (1782-89), and one from Arabic, the anonymously written The Arabian Nights’ Entertainment (1704, 1706).
This module is divided into three books, with all material arranged chronologically.
Book 1: Shakespeare and his Contemporaries provides you with a solid grounding in the main Renaissance genres of drama and poetry. You'll study three Shakespeare plays – the comedy, As You Like It (1599) and the tragedies Julius Caesar (1599) and Hamlet (1602-3). You'll study Thomas Kyd’s earlier and hugely influential revenge tragedy, The Spanish Tragedy (1587). You'll be introduced to key Pan-European poetic forms that flourished in English literature during this period. These are epic poetry, seen through selections from Spenser’s The Faerie Queene (1590-96) and the Petrarchan sonnet in English, examined primarily through the poems of John Donne.
Book 2: Restoration and Enlightenment offers you a representative sample of the incredible literary diversity that typified English literature from the mid-17th to the mid-18th centuries. Beginning with the poetry of sex and seduction in the seventeenth century, the tradition of erotic verse is shown through a selection of works. Two near contemporaneous satirical plays follow. The celebrated Restoration English comedy Wycherley’s The Country Wife (1675) is juxtaposed with Molière’s biting satire on hypocrisy, Tartuffe (1664).
The remaining chapters demonstrate the explosive rise of new prose literary forms in this period of expanding international trade and discovery. You'll study Jonathan Swift’s scathing political and philosophical satire Gulliver’s Travels (1726, 1735), while two prose works, the first English translation of The Arabian Nights’ Entertainment (1706) and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s Turkish Embassy Letters (1763), will demonstrate the establishment of new literary genres (the oriental tale and travel writing), and the growing British fascination with the East.
Book 3: Austen and Romantic Writing begins with selections from the first modern autobiography and a central text of European Romanticism, Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions (1782-89). Antiquarian poetry in the Romantic period follows as you examine the relationship between this form of poetry and oral forms like ballads with the rise of national sentiment in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales through poems from the most important antiquarian collections of the period.
The remaining four chapters of Austen and Romantic Writing closely guide you through two novels by Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Persuasion (1818). Austen and Romantic Writing showcases emblematic writers and literature from the period by paying particular attention to the rise of national literatures, the presence of the past, the concept of authorship, and the relationship between the writer and the wider world in the Romantic period.
Developing your digital and information literacy skills
In order to deepen your understanding of literature from the past, you'll be introduced to a range of key critical concepts and approaches, ranging from the conventions of Renaissance epic to Orientalism and from political satire to the construction of authorship. You'll also develop your digital and information literacy skills through frequent use of relevant online databases and resources, such as Early English Books Online (EEBO), Eighteenth-Century Collections Online (ECCO), the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB), the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and The Reading Experience Database (RED), and you will be encouraged to record and share your independent study through the use of an online learning journal, which will be provided for you.
In addition to critically exploring the set texts through close reading and considered analysis, you will develop your capacity for independent study as you progress through the module. You will enhance your ability to think logically and communicate effectively in written English. Your digital and information literacy skills will be developed through a range of online activities and through assessed work. All of these transferrable skills are highly valued by employers.
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available.
Course work includes:
You'll be provided with three module books and have access to the module website, which includes:
Set books:
You can study this module on its own or use the credits you gain towards an Open University qualification.
A334 is an option module in our:
English literature Shakespeare to Austen starts once a year – in October.
This page describes the module that will start in October 2026.
We expect it to start for the last time in October 2027.
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations, which are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
| Start | End | Register by | England fee |
|---|
| No current presentation |
There may be extra costs on top of the tuition fee, such as set books, a computer and internet access.
If your income is not more than £25,000 or you receive a qualifying benefit, you might be eligible for help with some of these costs after your module has started.
There may be extra costs on top of the tuition fee, such as set books, a computer and internet access.
If your personal income is £25,000 or less, or you’re on certain benefits, you could qualify for a grant and OU top-up funding to cover 100% of your course fees. Apply online at the same time as you register on your module.
For more information on how to apply, visit our Part-Time Fee Grants for students in Scotland page.
The Open University Student Budget Accounts Ltd (OUSBA) offers a convenient 'pay as you go' option to pay your OU fees, which is a secure, quick and easy way to pay. Please note that The Open University works exclusively with OUSBA and is not able to offer you credit facilities from any other provider. All credit is subject to status and proof that you can afford the repayments.
You pay the OU through OUSBA in one of the following ways:
Joint loan applications
If you feel you would be unable to obtain an OUSBA loan on your own due to credit history or affordability issues, OUSBA offers the option to apply for a joint loan application with a third party. For example, your husband, wife, partner, parent, sibling or friend. In such cases, OUSBA will be required to carry out additional affordability checks separately and/or collectively for both joint applicants who will be jointly and severally liable for loan repayments.
As additional affordability checks are required when processing joint loan applications, unfortunately, an instant decision cannot be given. On average, the processing time for a joint loan application is five working days from receipt of the required documentation.
Read more about Open University Student Budget Accounts (OUSBA).
Studying with The Open University can boost your employability. OU courses are recognised and respected by employers for their excellence and the commitment they take to complete. They also value the skills that students learn and can apply in the workplace.
Over 30,000 employers have used the OU to develop staff so far. If the module you’ve chosen is geared towards your job or developing your career, you could approach your employer to see if they will sponsor you by paying some or all of the fees.
You can pay part or all of your tuition fees upfront with a debit or credit card when you register for each module.
We accept American Express, Mastercard, Visa and Visa Electron.
We know that sometimes you may want to combine payment options. For example, you may wish to pay part of your tuition fee with a debit card and pay the remainder in instalments through an Open University Student Budget Account (OUSBA).
We know that sometimes you may want to combine payment options. For example, you may get support from your employer to pay part of your tuition fee and pay the remainder by credit or debit card.
For more information about combining payment options, contact an adviser.
Please note: your permanent address/domicile will affect your fee status and, therefore, the fees you are charged and any financial support available to you. The fee information provided here is valid for modules starting before 31 July 2026. Fees typically increase annually. For further information about the University's fee policy, visit our Fee Rules.
