Literature Courses

Improve your literary understanding and analysis with top universities and get to know the literary greats with our literature online courses on Austen, Shakespeare, Burns, Wordsworth, Wilde and more.

Improve your writing skills or learn more about the literary greats, with our writing and literature online courses.

Degrees
1 Degree

Discover online degrees from leading universities. Develop your knowledge with an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

The University of Newcastle Australia

Bachelor of Arts

Enrich your mind, diversify your skills and safeguard your future with our new work-ready arts degree at the University of Newcastle (UON).

Find out more

ExpertTracks
1 ExpertTracks

A series of courses designed to help you specialise your skills. Start a free seven-day trial, subscribe to keep learning at your own pace, and cancel your subscription whenever you like.

British Council

Exploring English: Language and Culture

Improve your English language skills while discovering key aspects of British culture, from Shakespeare to live music, and more.

3 courses

13 weeks

Introductory

Find out more

Courses
26 Courses

Learn new skills, pursue your interests or advance your career with our short online courses.

The University of Edinburgh

How to Read a Novel

4.7 (114 reviews)

Get underneath the skin of a novel by understanding some of the main building blocks of modern fiction.

4 weeks

2 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
University of York

Poetry: How to Read a Poem

4.5 (164 reviews)

Discover what poetry can tell us about human emotion and learn key ideas and techniques for understanding and interpreting verse.

4 weeks

4 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
Coventry University, The Alan Turing Institute & Macmillan Education

Understanding English Dictionaries

4.8 (17 reviews)

Explore English dictionaries, from how they are compiled, the different types, to the latest lexicographic research.

6 weeks

6 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
The Open University

Start Writing Fiction

4.7 (381 reviews)

Get started with your own fiction writing, focusing on the central skill of creating characters, with this hands-on course.

8 weeks

3 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
The University of Glasgow

Robert Burns: Poems, Songs and Legacy

4.7 (76 reviews)

Dig deeper into the life and works of Robert Burns, with this free University of Glasgow course.

3 weeks

4 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
British Council

Shakespeare

4.8 (284 reviews)

Explore Shakespeare’s life, discover famous Shakespeare plays, and improve your English language skills with the British Council.

6 weeks

3 hrs per week

Find out more
UEA (University of East Anglia)

An Introduction to Screenwriting

4.8 (456 reviews)

Discover the key principles of screenwriting and improve your creative writing skills in this course for aspiring screenwriters.

2 weeks

3 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
The University of Newcastle Australia
New

Classic Detective Fiction

Develop detailed knowledge of one of the most popular and widely read literary sub-genres of crime fiction

3 weeks

3 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

Find out more
Show more Literature courses 

Learn flexibly online, for free

Explore the works of some of the world’s greatest writers and improve your own writing skills with short online literature courses, in-depth programs, or full postgraduate degrees. Start learning for free on desktop, tablet, or mobile.

Upgrade or buy Unlimited for extra benefits

Upgrade your course for ongoing access to the course content, tests, and the chance to gain a Certificate of Achievement. Buy Unlimited for access to hundreds of short courses in a year and the ability to keep access to courses you gain a certificate on.

Boost your career

Get ahead in your literary career with educators and experts from leading universities and organisations. Network with and learn from others all over the world.

Meet the people who love FutureLearn

"It was a fantastic course to do. I learnt new things that I wanted to know. It also helped me in understanding Shakespeare a lot and also in my studies."

Monika

"A clear, concise and beautifully structured course. The video content is informative and lively, and the screenwriters are refreshingly down to earth in the way they talk about their processes. I am going to write a beat sheet, plough through a first draft without spending hours polishing each scene and I'm going to use some of the resources the course suggests. Thanks very much."

Mychaela