23 Things Which Make You An English Lit Student
Becoming Best Friends With Sparknotes(01 of23)
It is twenty minutes before your 9am seminar. You've just realized you know nothing about the Austen/Kafka/Hardy novel you're meant to have read. Cue hysterical scouring of Wikipedia and Sparknotes so that you can gather three vaguely relevant points to rattle off. (credit:sparknotes.com)
Bearing The Awful Seminar Silence(02 of23)
We've all been there. In fact we go through it every single week. The seminar leader has just thrown a question into the mix and no-one knows what to say. It is the hardened ability to not crack four, even five minutes into the dark abyss that is the dreaded Silence. (credit:Getty Images)
The Fear of Plagiarism(03 of23)
Its that age old uncertainty - to reference or not to reference? This usually leads to conferring with your other English Lit friends for reassurance: 'Have a read of this…is it plagiarism? Will I be penalized? WILL I BE BANISHED FROM THE UNI FOREVER?!' (credit:barisonal via Getty Images)
Cool Modules(04 of23)
As one module at Durham University states - it's all about placing the Harry Potter series in its social and cultural and educational context. In other words giggling at the sexual chemistry between Ron and Hermione for 'research'. (credit:PA)
Film Adaptations Always Falling Short(05 of23)
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Less Back Ache(06 of23)
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Avoiding the question "Sooo…are you gonna be an English teacher then?"(07 of23)
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The conviction of your Maths studying friends that English is an absolute doss of a degree.(08 of23)
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Crippling Unemployment Panic(09 of23)
The fear that threatens to overtake you whenever you think about the future. Will anyone hire you? EVER?! Will you be left mooching around your parent's house stinging off their money till the end of time? Terrifying stuff. (credit:Michael Blann via Getty Images)
But reminding yourself that its not all bad - at least you're not doing Geography.(10 of23)
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Let's be honest - there's no right or wrong answer(11 of23)
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But some answers ARE more right than others. (Were there sexual undertones throughout the whole of As I Lay Dying? Really?)(12 of23)
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Long Word Overload(13 of23)
When you have no idea what you're writing about in this life ruiner of an essay so you chuck in loads of words that barely make sense when put together. Pivotally. Essentially. Fundamentally informatively crucial. (credit:Gettystock)
Isms - WHAT DO THEY MEAN?!(14 of23)
Humanism. Determinism. Existentialism. Somebody, please, compile a glossary of all of these terms and then burn it. (credit:Gettystock)
Nursing an irrational hatred for that person in your seminar who actually reads the books every week.(15 of23)
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Feeling Ecstatic That There's A Talker(16 of23)
Some keen bean who genuinely cannot handle the overwhelming silences. A necessary element to any seminar. They're like vegetables - you resent them but you need them to get by. (credit:Gettystock)
Smug Writer Syndrome(17 of23)
They say that everybody can write a book if they put their mind to it. You know this isn't true. Most people couldn't. But YOU could. (credit:Gettystock)
Reading and Writing? Not As Simple As You Think(18 of23)
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Roughly 20 minutes of contact hours mean that actually making the trip onto campus is a big deal. Something that requires a pep talk and at least a morning of mental preparation.(19 of23)
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A Worrying Amount of Free Time(20 of23)
Well, free time that is meant to be dedicated to slogging it in the library. This energy, however, is redirected in much more important, productive ways - watching the whole of Breaking Bad in two weeks for example. Or developing a full on crush purely through a lot of Facebook stalking. (credit:Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Sucking the Fun Out of Reading(21 of23)
You used to read all the time. In fact you only chose to do English because you love reading. And now that you actually have to read for your DEGREE..? You couldn't think of anything worse. (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The Constant Analysing(22 of23)
'The man sat in the chair.' Discuss. Cue breathless explorations of his suspension in an existential crisis, hanging perpetually in a state of emotional paralysis. Maybe the man was just...tired? (credit:andrearoad via Getty Images)
Good, Old Gender(23 of23)
Knowing that, whatever happens, no matter how little you've revised, the theme of gender will always, ALWAYS come up in the exam. Thank god for gender. (credit:Roy Mehta via Getty Images)