In this episode, we review 12 essential quotations from Lord of the Flies, ahead of your Paper 2 English Literature exam!

Featured quotations:

1. Jack: “We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages.” — Ch2
2. Roger: “Roger stooped… threw it to miss.” — Ch4
3. Roger/civilisation: “Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life.” — Ch4
4. Jack: “The mask was a thing on its own…” — Ch4
5. Simon: “Maybe there is a beast… maybe it’s only us.” — Ch5
6. Narrator: “The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away.” — Ch5
7. Jack: “Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong—we hunt!” — Ch5
8. Narrator: “The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering.” — Ch7
9. Lord of the Flies: “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!” — Ch8
10. Narrator: “At once the crowd surged after it… screamed, struck, bit, tore.” — Ch9
11. Narrator: “The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist.” — Ch11
12. Narrator: “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy.” — Ch12

In this episode, we explore one of the most central themes in Lord of the Flies: the tension between civilisation and savagery. Given the centrality of this theme, today's short, accessible episode is essential revision ahead of your Paper 2 English Literature exam!

In this episode, I explore the theme of family in A Christmas Carol. From Scrooge's early experiences as a 'solitary child' to the Cratchits at Christmas, this episode is designed to support your revision of an under-assessed area of the text. Best of luck for the 11th May Paper 1!

In this episode, we examine gender in Macbeth. Moving beyond simplistic statements like 'masculinity is presented as violent' and 'femininity is weakness', we look at gender across the play, from Macbeth, to Lady Macbeth and Macduff.

Listen to this episode to support your revision and understanding of the play ahead of your Paper 1 exam on Monday 11th May!

In this episode, we look at the debates around smartphones, social media access and young people. Our new series, The Knowledge, is designed to give you the key information needed for topics that might come up as the focus for English Language Paper 2, Question 5. This episode is designed to be listened to alongside the supporting listening sheet - ask for this from your class teacher.

In this episode, we explore four models of kingship and leadership in Macbeth: Duncan, Macbeth, Edward and Confessor and Malcolm. With detailed quotation analysis and comment, this episode covers a topic yet-to-be assessed in the exam. Make sure you use this episode to revise such a central theme!

In this final episode on minor characters in Macbeth, we turn our attention to King Duncan. Kind, generous and benevolent, certainly - but also naïve and far too trusting in a corrupt world. Use this episode, and the previous two, to ensure you have a good understanding of characters many students wrongly overlook.

In the second episode on minor characters in Macbeth, we turn our attention to Banquo, Macbeth's foil and moral counterpoint. However, is Banquo as straightforward as he first appears? Are there criticisms we can make of Banquo, especially around moral inaction? From his first meeting of the witches, to his ghostly reappearance at the banquet, listen to this episode to learn all you need to know about Banquo ahead of your exam on the 11th May!

This is the first in a series of three short episodes on the 'minor' (but still very important!) characters in Macbeth. We're starting with Macduff, the man responsible for Macbeth's death at the very end of the play, but who plays a subtly important role throughout. The episode covers a series of key quotations, along with detailed analytical comment and links back to the play's central themes of ambition, deception, morality and masculinity.

This episode explores Golding’s central message that human beings possess an innate capacity for evil and that civilisation is fragile. We examine how the island functions as a “laboratory” to test human nature, tracking the breakdown of order through symbols like the fire and the conch, and the rise of savagery through Jack’s leadership. We analyse the Beast as a representation of internal human darkness, before considering the ending, where Ralph’s “loss of innocence” reveals a deeper realisation about humanity - one that carries a profound emotional and psychological cost.