This course has had a profound effect on my progression as a writer. There is a much more defined thought process behind my words now, and I have learnt to clarify my language through lessons in what sounds sharp and what doesn’t. I have discovered my passion for the critical analysis of texts through my developed understanding of various literary theories, and it has enabled me to get so much more pleasure from a novel, poem, play or short story. When the course began, I was unsure of how well I would cope with the intensity of the work and the level of intellect that I knew it would involve, but I have proven my talent to myself and its doubters.
The key change in my progression as a writer has been my ‘letting go’ of concerns and worries about how I sounded. I am now happy to indulge my thoughts as I plan a character’s entire life, however relevant to the writing task at hand; I feel as though I have learnt to fully engage with a work of literature now, on a much deeper level than just its surface. As a result, I have noticed that my writing has grown to demonstrate that engagement and my passion.
My appreciation of the English language has also grown. Whilst writing critically, I have grown to love experimenting with new vocabulary – particularly that which I have learnt whilst reading one of the course texts: it feels like a delicious circle of learning. Reading some of the classic works of English literature has established a sense of flair within me, to the extent that I have had to tame it in my everyday speech for fear of sounding foppish. I love to play with language, instilling metaphorical imagery and flights of fanciful thinking has allowed me to not only discuss our course texts, but also emulate them within my own writing.
I feel as though my confidence has grown as a result of the course. I carry with me the sense of my accomplishment and the secret knowledge of my new-found ability to write about and discuss literature to a high degree, and it lifts me. I am proud of my new, learned way of thinking now and take immense pleasure in finding an excuse to use it. The course has given me the talent and its accompanied confidence to express myself articulately, clearly and without fear of ‘being caught out.’
My experiences on this course have been among the happiest in my life. I arrived to it as a under-confident young writer with an interest in books, and I leave it a fully-fledged young person, ready to face any challenge that the world has to throw at me; ready to throw challenges out to any part of the world ready to take them on. A course such as this is designed, on its most basic level, as being an introductory course to the world of English Literature.
However, it does a lot more than that: this course brought me to life and, along with me, my love for writing and analysing books. I am extremely proud of all I have achieved here; I am excited to see what it brings me next.
