Free English literature PowerPoint presentations for teachers and students, created by teachers from around the world. There are 56 presentations below, grouped by topic and covering set texts for KS3 and GCSE, poetry, Shakespeare and drama. Click a title to download the slides, then edit them to suit your lessons.
Shakespeare PowerPoints
Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, the sonnets, and Shakespeare’s life and language.
- Macbeth
- Macbeth: openings
- Romeo and Juliet
- Romeo and Juliet: key quotes
- Romeo and Juliet: quotes
- Romeo and Juliet: Acts I to V
- Shakespeare’s life
- Shakespeare’s language
- Shakespeare’s sonnets
- Unlocking themes in Macbeth
19th-century novel PowerPoints
A Christmas Carol, Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice.
- A Christmas Carol
- Jane Eyre
- Pride and Prejudice
- Pride and Prejudice: characters revealed
- Pride and Prejudice: Jane Austen
- Pride and Prejudice: literary terms
Modern novels and drama PowerPoints
Animal Farm, Of Mice and Men, Lord of the Flies, The Crucible, To Kill a Mockingbird and more.
- Animal Farm: a brief history of communism in Russia
- Animal Farm
- Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution
- Animal Farm: introduction
- Anthem by Ayn Rand
- Lord of the Flies
- Of Mice and Men
- Of Mice and Men: loneliness and isolation
- Of Mice and Men: themes of violence
- Of Mice and Men: the American Dream
- Of Mice and Men: exam questions
- The Ideal Society
- The Crucible
- To Kill a Mockingbird
Short story PowerPoints
Classic short stories by Ray Bradbury, Frank Stockton and Edgar Allan Poe.
Back to topicsPoetry PowerPoints
Poetic devices, rhyme and meter, poetry terms and how to analyse a poem.
- Pencil poem
- Poetry Terms
- The Sound of Poetry
- Poetry
- Poetry and Art
- Poetry 2
- Poetry 3
- Fall in love with poems
- Poetic Devices
- Poetry explication
- Viva la Poetry: observation lesson
- Rhyme and meter
- The Raven
Drama and classical literature PowerPoints
Greek theatre, drama conventions, myths and Dante.
Back to topicsYounger readers PowerPoints
Holes, The Trumpet of the Swan and introductions to literature for younger classes.
- Reading to children: children’s literature
- Holes: letter to Stanley’s mum
- Holes: reply to Stanley’s letter
- Leprechauns
- The Trumpet of the Swan
- What is literature?
Tips for teaching English with PowerPoint
- Start with context. A few slides on the writer and the time the text was written help students understand themes and characters.
- Model close reading. Put a short extract on screen and annotate it live, showing how to pick out language and its effect.
- Use short, flexible quotations. Build a bank of key quotes for each text that students can use for several themes.
- Plan essays together. Show how to turn a question into a clear argument, then let students plan their own.
- Mix in drama. Hot seating, freeze frames and reading aloud bring plays and novels to life between slides.
- Link to exam questions. Finish with a real past paper question so students see how the text is examined.
Past papers and more free resources
Practise with free GCSE English Language and Literature past papers for every exam board at Exam Paper Depot, or see our history PowerPoints and classical studies PowerPoints for context on many set texts.