Regardless of the approach you take (see previous reply) I think there are some other categories that I'd throw out there for consideration:
Regionality: -British Isles Literature -American English Literature -Canadian English Literature -Other Primarily English-speaking countries I have not listed (Austrailian, New Zealand, India, etc)
Of course there are many sub-regions that bear consideration such as Canadian Prairie Fiction vs Canadian Maritime Fiction, New England Fiction vs Mid-West Fiction not to mention the important differences between Irish, Scottish, and Welsh Fiction one from each other.
I would consider great non-English works that have made their way into English Literature as well, Tolstoy, Hugo, Kuroshima.
Time period is also an important factor, having read a lot of Shakespeare is good but what about Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson? Have you read only modern or post-modern writers? What coverage has been given to Romantics, Victorian, Colonial and pre-WWII literature?
no subject
Regionality:
-British Isles Literature
-American English Literature
-Canadian English Literature
-Other Primarily English-speaking countries I have not listed (Austrailian, New Zealand, India, etc)
Of course there are many sub-regions that bear consideration such as Canadian Prairie Fiction vs Canadian Maritime Fiction, New England Fiction vs Mid-West Fiction not to mention the important differences between Irish, Scottish, and Welsh Fiction one from each other.
I would consider great non-English works that have made their way into English Literature as well, Tolstoy, Hugo, Kuroshima.
Time period is also an important factor, having read a lot of Shakespeare is good but what about Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson? Have you read only modern or post-modern writers? What coverage has been given to Romantics, Victorian, Colonial and pre-WWII literature?
This is where I'd start.