English Literature

Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Watch Romeo and Juliet (1996). Baz Luhrmann's explosive update of the Shakespeare tragedy starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. A pair of 'star-...

Macbeth (2010)

This film of Macbeth is based on Chichester Festival's 2007 production of the play starring Patrick Stewart in the title role. It was filmed at Welbeck Abbey ...

A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016)

Russell T Davies' adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy, from 2016. In the tyrannical court of Athens, dictator Theseus plans his wedding to Hi...

Romeo & Juliet (2013)

Adaptation of Shakespeare's play about two young, tragic lovers torn apart by the feuding rivalry between their respective families in Medieval Verona.

Culture in Quarantine: Shakespeare | Macbeth

Shakespeare’s darkest psychological thriller. Returning home from battle, the victorious Macbeth meets three witches on the heat...

Culture in Quarantine: Shakespeare | Romeo and Juliet

What if your first true love was someone you’d been told to hate? Ripped apart by the bitter divisions of their parents...

The Tempest (2010)

Adaptation of Shakespeare's play: Prospera is banished from Milan by her brother and finds herself stranded on an island with her daughter, where she wait...

Gnomeo and Juliet (2011)

Animated film about two garden gnomes (voiced by James McAvoy and Emily Blunt) from rivalling families, who fall in love but must keep their romance...

ShakespeaRe-told | Macbeth

Retelling of Shakespeare plays: when three binmen tell Joe Macbeth he's to become the owner of the restaurant where they work, the head chef, spur...

Culture in Quarantine: Shakespeare | The Tempest

With a spirit of the supernatural, The Tempest is a story of forgiveness, generosity and enlightenments set on a remote and ...

Culture in Quarantine: Shakespeare | Othello

Othello is the greatest general of his age but he is also an outsider whose victories have created enemies of his own. As they p...

The Merchant of Venice (2004)

An adaptation of Shakespeare's play about a Jewish moneylender who seeks to forfeit a literal pound of flesh from his Christian nemesis. Starri...

ShakespeaRe-told | Much Ado About Nothing

Retelling of Shakespeare plays: a romantic comedy set in a south coast regional TV newsroom, charting the relationship between ex-l...

The Tragedy of Macbeth

Yaël Farber directs James McArdle as Macbeth and Saoirse Ronan as Lady Macbeth in the Almeida's Olivier Award-nominated production about a couple's sp...

Culture in Quarantine: Shakespeare | Much Ado About Nothing

Autumn 1918: a group of soldiers return from the trenches, and the world-weary Benedick and his friend Claudio fi...

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Romeo and Juliet

A 1978 BBC production of the classic Shakespeare tragic tale of two star-crossed lovers in 14th-century Verona. This was th...

Hamlet (2017)

Hamlet captures the Almeida Theatre's 2017 acclaimed production of William Shakespeare's great play, recorded as-live in its West End transfer on the stage of ...

Much Ado About Nothing (2022)

A new Royal Shakespeare Company production for 2022 of one of Shakespeare's best-loved romantic comedies, filmed in Stratford-upon-Avon. In a c...

Play of the Month | Macbeth

Shakespeare's classic tragedy, broadcast as part of the Play of the Month drama strand.

The BBC Television Shakespeare | Macbeth

A 1983 BBC television presentation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. This was broadcast as part of the 37-play BBC Television Shakespeare pr...

A Christmas Carol (2009)

Animation based on Charles Dickens's classic novel. Cold-hearted, penny-pinching Ebeneezer Scrooge is taken on an eye-opening journey by three ghost...

Oliver Twist (2007)

Timothy Spall and Tom Hardy star in a 2007 adaptation of Charles Dickens's much-loved tale of a young orphan boy.

Ian Rankin Investigates: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Writer Ian Rankin investigates The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, tracing Robert Louis Stevenson's story back to event...

Great Expectations (2011)

Sarah Phelps' lavish three part adaptation of the classic Dickens tale of a life changed in a heartbeat. Starring Gillian Anderson, Douglas Booth, ...

The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002)

Richard Roxburgh and Ian Hart head an all-star cast as Holmes and Watson in Allan Cubitt's dramatisation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's cla...

A Christmas Carol (2019)

Misanthropic businessman Ebenezer Scrooge refuses to let his workers celebrate Christmas.

Great Expectations (2011) | Episode 2

Pip starts his new life as a gentleman in London, quickly acquiring expensive tastes and mounting debts.

Charles Dickens and the Invention of Christmas

Griff Rhys Jones reveals how Dickens created the idea of a traditional family Christmas through one of his best-known books, A...

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Adapted from the story by Robert Louis Stevenson, and starring Lisa Harrow and Ian Bannen.

Performance | A Doll's House

Henrik Ibsen's classic play directed by David Thacker, starring Juliet Stephenson and Trevor Eve.

Great Expectations (2011) | Episode 3

Pip wants nothing to do with Magwitch and rushes to confront Miss Havisham. At Satis House he learns that Estella may be lost to him.

A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story

An opportunity to see Mark Gatiss's astonishing theatrical production of Dickens's classic winter ghost story, A Christmas Carol, directed f...

Frankenstein (2012)

Heart-breaking modern myth of obsession, pride and the need for love. Two part dramatisation starring Jamie Parker as Frankenstein.

Oliver Twist (2007) | Omnibus 2

Sikes escapes back to London with a badly wounded Oliver where the child is nursed by Nancy.

Detective | The Speckled Band

Rupert Davies as Maigret introduces Sherlock Holmes, played by Douglas Wilmer, in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Speckled Band, adapted by Giles ...

Ian Rankin Investigates: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde | Introduction to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Ian Rankin introduces Robert Louis Stevenson's novel 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll an...

Great Expectations (2012)

With the help of a generous stranger, the poor orphan Pip tries everything to win the heart of the rich, cold-blooded Estella.

Oliver Twist (2009)

A mysterious woman is found lying in the street outside a workhouse in Victorian London. She dies just a few moments after giving birth to a son, Oliver ...

Sherlock | Series 1

A war hero, invalided home from Afghanistan, meets a strange but charismatic genius who is looking for a flatmate - it is London in 2010, and Dr Watson a...

Dracula (2006)

Dramatisation of Bram Stoker's novel about Transylvanian count Dracula, with Marc Warren as Dracula and David Suchet as Van Helsing.

An Inspector Calls (2015)

Watch An Inspector Calls (2015). The mysterious 'Inspector Goole' interrupts a wealthy family's family party to tell them a young woman died of sui...

An Inspector Calls (1984)

This program is a compilation of the three-part play originally transmitted in 1981. With Bernard Hepton, Nigel Davenport and Margaret Tyzack.

Animal Farm (1955)

An animated version of George Orwell's classic allegorical novel about the totalitarian aftermath of a barnyard revolution.

Journey's End (2017)

Raleigh, a naive and idealistic young officer, arrives at the Western Front and asks to be posted to the company of his old schoolfriend Captain Stanhope.

In Context | An Inspector Calls

The social and cultural background to ''An Inspector Calls'', explored through archive footage, readings and personal accounts.

The Great Gatsby (2013)

The sumptuous life of enigmatic American millionaire Jay Gatsby, viewed through the eyes of neighbour Nick Carraway. Directed by Baz Luhrmann and sta...

An Inspector Calls (2015) | Inspector Goole refuses to leave

The scene from 'An Inspector Calls' in which Inspector Goole refuses to leave.

Saturday Drama | JB Priestley - An Inspector Calls

An affluent family's celebration is disrupted by a police inspector's visit over a factory worker's suicide. Stars Toby Jo...

The Diary of Anne Frank (2009)

Shortly after her 13th birthday, a young girl and her family living in wartime Amsterdam go into hiding from the Nazis, under strict rules of ...

English File | Priestley Shorts

This programme focuses on key scenes from JB Priestley's An Inspector Calls from the point of view of designer, performer and director.

JB Priestley - An Inspector Calls

As the Birlings celebrate daughter Sheila’s engagement, an unexpected visitor sparks family turmoil. Stars Bob Peck. Dramatised by John Foley.

GCSE Bitesize Revision | An Inspector Calls

GCSE English Literature video shorts to support students studying An Inspector Calls.

In Context | The moral of 'An Inspector Calls'

A discussion of the morals that J. B. Priestly leaves for the audience of 'An Inspector Calls'.

English File | In Context Animal Farm

A historical background to George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' being studied for English Lit GCSE.

In Context | Women in 'An Inspector Calls'

An investigation of the social and political context behind the female character in J. B. Priestly's 'An Inspector Calls'.

An Inspector Calls (2015) | Inspector Gooles arrival at the Birling home

In a film adaption of 'An Inspector Calls', Inspector Goole arrives as the Birling household.

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

A cockney flower girl is trained by a professor of phonetics to pass as a duchess. Stars Alistair McGowan and Morgana Robinson.

The Story of the Ghost Story

A look at the history of the ghost story, from tradition and folklore via the Gothic novel to the present, offering insights into the work of so...

The Diary of Anne Frank (2009) | Episode 2

It is October 1942, and the two families are worried when a plumber is called to fix their broken toilet. Meanwhile, Anne adjusts ...

In Context | Animal Farm' - historical context

A discussion of the historical context of George Orwell's 'Animal Farm', including the influence of the British attitude to St...

PSHE | Stone Cold

Drama illustrating the stark realities of homelessness.

The Hunger Games (2012)

As punishment for a failed rebellion, the 12 districts of Panem must offer up two tributes – a boy and a girl to fight to the death in the annual Hun...

The Woman in Black (2012)

A young solicitor travels to a remote village where he discovers that the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals. Starring Dan...

Noughts + Crosses (2020) | Series 1

London, Albion; Sephy, the Cross daughter of powerful Home Secretary Kamal Hadley, and Callum, the Nought son of their housekeeper Meggi...

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)

The tale of an unlikely friendship between Bruno (Asa Butterfield), the son of a Nazi commandant, and Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), a Jewish b...

Coraline (2009)

Dark children's animation about a bored and lonely 11-year-old who discovers a fantastical parallel world that seems to be perfect but soon takes a twisted t...

Drama on 3 | A View from the Bridge

Martin Jarvis directs Miller's award-winning 1955 drama, with a US cast including Alfred Molina, Jane Kaczmarek, Melissa Benoist and Hect...

My Name Is Leon

Leon, a mixed-race boy, and Jake, his white baby brother, are separated after their mother has a breakdown. Leon is determined to find him and gets unexpecte...

A Monster Calls

Adaptation of the Patrick Ness novel. As 12-year-old Conor struggles to deal with his mother's illness, he is woken from a recurring nightmare by the visitat...

English File | A View from the Bridge

Arthur Miller's play of love, jealousy and betrayal on the New York waterfront. The Corbone family are Italian immigrants living in Bro...

Play for Today | Our Day Out

Drama from 1976, written by Willy Russell. One coach, 30 kids - and their teachers - set out from Liverpool to North Wales. As the volatile mixt...

The Sally Lockhart Mysteries | The Ruby in the Smoke

Drama adapted from Philip Pullman's novel. Sally Lockhart strikes a man dead with simple words sent to her from her fath...

Lord of the Flies (2026)

Piggy finds something that proves useful to the group but is hurt when his new friend breaks a promise.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

Katniss Everdeen finds herself cast back into the arena when the Panem authorities announce a Quarter Quell, where former champions wi...

Drama on 3 | Leave Taking

Enid lives in Deptford with her two teenage daughters. When she takes them to the local ‘obeah' woman for some traditional Caribbean soul healing, ...

The Crucible (1981)

Play by Arthur Miller set in Massachusetts 1692. The village of Salem is about to be engulfed in the terror and hysteria of a witchunt.

Noughts + Crosses (2020) | S01E02

Callum and Sephy take desperate measures to find somewhere they can be alone together, but Lekan suspects Sephy is hiding something from h...

To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)

Award-winning adaptation of Harper Lee's novel set in 1930s Alabama. Lawyer Atticus Finch defends a black man accused of raping a white woman. H...

English File | 03: A View from the Bridge

Arthur Miller's play of love, jealousy and betrayal on the New York waterfront. The Corbone family are Italian immigrants living in...

Schindler's List (1993)

Wheeler-dealer Oskar Schindler exploits the German confinement of Jews to build a business, but the cruelty of Nazi officers, including the vicious A...

Wilfred Owen: A Remembrance Tale

Jeremy Paxman tells the tragic story of World War One poet Wilfred Owen. At a time of jingoism and wartime propaganda, one Shropshire lad wa...

Poetry: Between the Lines - The Romantics

Presented by rapper Akala, this programme explores the poetry of the Romantic period through the work of Wordsworth, Byron, Blake, ...

The Poetry of War | English File

The story of WW1 through drama, poetry and archive, focusing on three poets: Wilfred Owen, Rupert Brooke and Siegfried Sassoon. Aimed at 14-...

War Poetry | Culture Fix

Examining poetry that has helped to shape our view of war, and traces its origins back through Tennyson's 'Charge of the Light Brigade' to Homer's c...

The Romantics

Peter Ackroyd reveals how the radical ideas of liberty that inspired the French Revolution opened up a world of possibility for British writers such as Blake a...

The Canterbury Tales (1998)

The animated version of Geoffrey Chaucer's poem 'Canterbury Tales'. The pilgrims hold a storytelling competition.

Gods and Monsters: Homer's Odyssey

Simon Armitage undertakes his own Greek adventure, following in the footsteps of one of his personal heroes, Odysseus, at the same time wo...

English File | Roots And Water 1: Poetry from other cultures and traditions

Interviews with various poets about their cultural backgrounds. Featuring poet Imtiaz Dharker in ...

Poetry: Between the Lines - The Romantics | Percy Bysshe Shelley - Ozymandias

Hip-Hop star, Akala meets the poet, Hannah Lowe, to explore Shelley’s poem ‘Ozymandias’ and how...

Poetry: Between the Lines - The Romantics | William Blake's 'London'

Akala presents a reading and discussion of 'London' from Blake's Songs of Experience.

The Power of Poetry | Robert Browning's 'The Laboratory'

A contemporary dramatisation of Browning's poem, with the poisoning set in a nightclub.

Bright Star (2009)

19th-century drama based on the slow-burning love affair between poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw), cursed by poverty and ill-health, and young seamstress Fan...

Simon Armitage: Writing Poems | ''The Manhunt''

Simon Armitage explores his response to war poetry, 'The Manhunt'.

The Romantics and Us with Simon Schama | Passions of the People

In this episode, Simon explores how Romantic artists created the secular icons of the modern democratic age, ...

Texts in Time: The Way it Was | English File

Using contemporary and pre 20th century texts to examine how to evaluate truth. The Charge of the Light Brigade texts are commen...

The Power of Poetry | The Laboratory

A performance of Robert Browning's dramatic monologue, 'The Laboratory', set in a contemporary nightclub.

English File | Poetry Backpack: The poetry of William Blake

A profile of the life and work of poet William Blake, presented by Nigel Planer. Aimed at GCSE level students.

Simon Schama's John Donne

Simon Schama celebrates the life and work of love poet John Donne, looking at how Donne has transformed English poetry through his emotional honest...

The Romantics and Us with Simon Schama | The Chambers of the Mind

Simon explores how the romantics became the first intrepid explorers of dark recesses of the human mind, lo...

Something to Write Home About: Seamus Heaney

A tribute to Seamus Heaney, exploring his home ground, the boundaries and divisions and 'the possibility of true understanding'.

The Duchess of Malfi: BBC Arts at the Globe

Andrew Marr presents a new production of John Webster's bloody revenge tragedy The Duchess of Malfi (1614) performed in a perfect...

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Simon Armitage goes on a journey to discover the language and landscape of our first great Arthurian romance, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight...

Edward II (1970)

Ian McKellen and Timothy West star in Prospect Theatre Company's 1969 Edinburgh Festival production, recorded at the Piccadilly Theatre, London.

Armando Iannucci in Milton's Heaven and Hell

Armando Iannucci journeys through Milton's life and his great poem Paradise Lost, offering his own passionate and illuminating r...

Omnibus | The Brothers Grimm

Dramatiseed film of lives of The Brothers Grimm, Jacob and Willhelm, compilers of fairy tales, German grammer books and dictionaries.

Paradise Lost

John Milton began writing Paradise Lost in the 1650s. Michael Symmons Roberts' version of this epic poem is a gripping piece of storytelling for today.

Citizens | 03: Antigone

The episode reflects the timeless conflict between personal morals and state power, much like the original play, but set against the backdrop of mode...

Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics | S01E03: Virgil

Natalie Haynes takes a fresh look at the ancient world: Virgil’s link to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. With Edith Hall.

Play of the Month | The School for Scandal

Play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, with Jeremy Brett, Pauline, Collins, Edward Fox, Bernard Lee, Arthur Lowe, Bridget Armstrong, J...

The Mysterious Mr Webster: BBC Arts at the Globe | Light and dark in 'The Duchess of Malfi'

An exploration of the theatre that 'The Duchess of Malfi' was originally performe...

The Mysterious Mr Webster: BBC Arts at the Globe | Death in 'The Duchess of Malfi'

A discussion of death in 'The Duchess of Malfi', with a close focus on Ferdinand's line ''...

The Duchess of Malfi: BBC Arts at the Globe | Antonio introduces the Cardinal, Duke and Duchess

In the opening scenes of 'The Duchess of Malfi', Antonio discusses the charac...

Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics | S04E03: Euripides

Natalie Haynes stands up for Greek playwright Euripides, whose Medea still shocks with its insight into the pos...

Night Waves | Antigone

Antigone defied the rule of law in order to defend the honour of her family. Her drama is being played out on the stage of the National Theatre in a n...

The Mysterious Mr Webster: BBC Arts at the Globe |

Professor James Shapiro goes in search of the mysterious man behind The Duchess of Malfi, the son of a coachmaker who ende...

Stage 2 | The Duchess of Malfi

John Webster's tragedy of corruption, jealousy and intrigue with Aileen Atkins in the title role.

Edward II (1970) | Part 2

Ian McKellen and Timothy West star in Prospect Theatre Company's 1969 Edinburgh Festival production, recorded at the Piccadilly Theatre, London.

Ovid: The Poet and the Emperor

Michael Wood goes in search of the Roman poet Ovid. Metamorphoses made him a superstar but then came scandal and exile. His story is told in h...

The Mysterious Mr Webster: BBC Arts at the Globe | Performing the Duchess

An exploration of the character of the Duchess and the history of how she has been performed.

The Mysterious Mr Webster: BBC Arts at the Globe | The Duchess

A discussion of the character and appearance of the Duchess in 'The Duchess of Malfi'.