We'll be revising Macbeth for the next two weeks in preparation for the Mocks. I'm in the middle of putting together a revision pack for use in class. I'm uploading what I've done so far to the Macbeth page and will update it as soon as I can. Start learning the quotes!!!
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"The sonnet form is ideally suited to the exploration of the universal themes of love, death and the passing of time."
Discuss this view with reference to the Shakespearean sonnets studied by you. Support all points by reference and quotation. We'll be writing in both classes tomorrow (Friday). Either finishing your Mahon essay, or doing the Shakespeare essay above. Shakespeare sample essay (sonnets) is now available via the Paper 2 / Poetry pages. Read it closely - you'll be working on your own on Friday!
Tomorrow (Friday), you'll spend both classes catching up on poetry essays. Essays are due on both Sylvia Plath and Derek Mahon (see below for titles).
Next week, we'll be finishing Shakespeare's sonnets. There'll be a Bishop and a Shakespeare essay to be done. Consider yourself warned! For the two weeks before midterm, we'll revise Macbeth. Focus will be on scene summaries, themes, character analyses and exam questions. Have your copy of the play in with you. Over midterm, you'll have to revise the Comparative and all material for Paper 1 yourself. Mocks start on the Wednesday we come back. We'll be going over exam technique and the layout of the papers on the Monday and Tuesday so that it'll be fresh in your heads going into the exams. Keep on top of the work! A sample essay on Derek Mahon is now available on his page. (Navigate there from 'Paper 2')
Essays due: Sylvia Plath ("It startles me still". Discuss Plath's ability to bring the extraordinary out of the ordinary.) Derek Mahon (In his poetry, Derek Mahon introduces us to many people, each with their own story to tell. Discuss) From now until Christmas, we're going to be working on Poetry Mon-Thurs and will keep working on Paper 1 on Fridays. Poetry books in each day, please!
We'll begin with Sylvia Plath. Her pages have been updated on the site - take a look. Don't forget there is still a Comparative question due ... check the details below. Results soon! 2009 Paper
Q2 (a) Choose a theme from one text you have studied as part of your comparative course and say how it helped maintain your interest in the text. (30) (b) Compare how the theme you have dealt with in part (a) is treated by the authors of two other texts from your comparative course to maintain the reader's interest. Due after the House Exams (week of 3rd December) Literary Genre
“Aspects of narrative contribute to your response to a text.” (a) With reference to one of your chosen texts, identify at least two aspects of narrative and discuss how those aspects contributed to your response to that text. (30) (b) With reference to two other texts, compare how aspects of narrative contributed to your response to these texts. In answer to (b), you may use the aspects of narrative discussed in (a) or any other aspects. (40) (a) I have studied ‘Pompeii’ by Robert Harris. Throughout this thriller-style novel, Harris employs a variety of literary techniques to maintain the reader’s attention, and to develop tension and suspense. I greatly enjoyed thisnovel, and much of my enjoyment was generated by his skilful use of aspects of narrative. One of the main techniques used by Harris is his style of narration. The novel is narrated in the third person. We are not given an insight into any one character through first person narration. This can have the effect of distancing the reader from the characters, making it harder to engage with the novel. However, Harris writes the narration from the point of view of specific characters. Although they do not narrate in the first person, the narration gives us access to their thoughts and private responses. For example, one of the main characters, Ampliatus, portrays himself as a brash, confident business man. He mocks the peasants who are getting more and more worried about the water situation, and looks down on their superstitious responses. But when the novel is narrated from his point of view, we realise that he is extremely concerned about the situation himself, and is clinging to a prophecy he commissioned that claims Pompeii will last for thousands of years. I thought this was a very useful technique. It greatly increased my understanding of the characters whose points of view were followed. My engagement with the text increased, as I felt more invested in these characters. All their complexities made them much more interesting and believable. Harris also uses irony to great effect throughout the novel. From the very title,‘Pompeii’, to the cover artwork, it is clear from the outset that this novel will deal with the obliteration of the town of Pompeii by the ash of Vesuvius’eruption. The story of Pompeii is well-known, and when we hear the name we immediately think of the volcano. As we begin to read, however, it emerges that the characters of the novel are not preparing themselves for a volcanic eruption. In fact, they do not even realise that Vesuvius is a volcano. They believe it to be a normal mountain. Harris plays on this gap in their knowledge by using epigraphs at the start of each chapter, taken from books on volcanology. Each epigraph foreshadows what will happen in terms of Vesuvius in the chapter. The characters remain totally unaware of the impending doom, while the reader gains additional information to help them understand the type of eruption they can expect. Throughout all of this, the Roman characters display huge arrogance and hubris. They believe they are the most advanced nation on earth and that nothing can destroy them. Pompeii itself is in the process of rebuilding after an earthquake, confirming the Roman belief that they can overcome any challenge in the long term. The supreme irony comes in the form of Ampliatus’ prophecy. The wording of the prophecy is very specific. He was told that a thousand years hence, the streets of Pompeii would be thronged with people of every tongue and that even after the Empire had crumbled, what had been built in Pompeii would endure. As modern readers, we recognise what is really being said – by being buried in ash, Pompeii is preserved and is now a tourist attraction. The characters take false hope from this ambiguous prophecy and fail to save themselves. Having more knowledge than the characters allows the reader to feel somewhat superior, and we enjoy knowing what will happen to these arrogant and disagreeable people. (b) With reference to two other texts, compare how aspects of narrative contributed to your response to these texts. The other two texts I have studied are ‘Translations’(T), by Brian Friel, and ‘I’m Not Scared’(INS), directed by Gabriele Salvatores. As a play and a film respectively, these two texts share many aspects of narrative. There are important differences as well. Both authors use many of the aspects of narrative available to them within their chosen genres to ensure the audience is eager to continue watching. Both texts use foreshadowing to alert the audience to upcoming issues. Foreshadowing allows the audience to be in the right frame of mind to engage with the production. In INS, the opening sequence is full of foreshadowing. Before the dialogue even begins, we are given visual clues about the type of film we will be watching. The camera pans up from a dark, cold and wet underground location. On these underground walls, someone has scratched the phrase ‘I’m not scared’in Italian. Once the camera reaches ground level, the scene changes dramatically to one of apparently idyllic countryside. We are already aware that this is not to be trusted, that there is a dangerous underbelly in this world. Similarly in T, the opening layout of the stage is very important to our understanding of later events. We see an old barn, with old and broken implements lying about. The room is dusty and ‘there is no trace of a woman’s hand.’ Like in INS, this makes us aware of the style of production we are about to see. We know immediately that we are looking at rural Ireland, from at least 150 years ago. The fact that the setting is so rundown lets us know that we are dealing with the poor and the neglected. In common with INS, the opening sequence also contains a contradiction. Jimmy Jack Cassie is reading quietly to himself in Greek, and we are told that he is fluent in both Greek and Latin. However, we are also told that he never washes and wears the same clothes all year round, day and night. The disparity between Jimmy’s education and his social awareness is striking, and we realise immediately that the great degree of learning in this village has not helped to lift them out of poverty or provoked any modernisation. While this contrast is not as sinister as that in INS, it is very effective foreshadowing. We are given vital information to our understanding of the play in both opening sequences. Suspense is used to great effect by both authors. In each text, we are anxious to find out what has happened to key characters. Although both texts contain suspense, it is created somewhat differently as the authors have different techniques available to them. In INS, the final sequence is full of drama and tension. Michele has headed out into the dark to rescue Filippo, and his father is following, intent on shooting Filippo. The music playing in the background during this sequence is very sharp, high-pitched music, that makes the audience uncomfortable. During particularly tense moments, the music stops entirely, and all we can hear are crickets, emphasising the tension Michele is feeling. In T, music is not used in the same way. Although a director could choose to include music at the end of Act Two, it is not indicated in the script. Instead, it is the three act structure that creates the tension. At the end of Act Two, Maire and Yolland are spotted having a romantic conversation which has overcome the language barrier. Sarah, the character who spots them, rushes off stage calling for Manus. At this point, the play breaks for the interval, leaving the audience dying to find out what will happen when Manus discovers the woman he intends to marry spending time alone with a British soldier. By forcing a break in the play, the author is manipulating the audience response. Just at the moment we want to know the outcome, we are made to wait for the play to resume. This option is not available to a film-maker. Instead, Salvatores uses a‘white-out’ to create a similar, albeit shorter, effect. Just after Pino fires the gun at Michele, the screen goes completely white and stays white for five full seconds. At this point, the audience does not know whether Michele has been hit, and if he has, whether the wound is fatal. By delaying in giving us this information, Salvatores increases the suspense, just as Friel did with the interval. In both T and INS, I was totally engrossed in the story and anxious to find out what happened to the main characters. By clever use of foreshadowing and skilful building of tension, the authors have succeeded in creating interesting and exciting texts. Speech, due Monday.
2010 Paper 1, Composition 5 - the graduation speech. Focus on optimism. Absent? This is the sample we're working on in class. Copy into your notes. Wil
Literary Genre “Aspects of narrative contribute to your response to a text.” (a) With reference to one of your chosen texts, identify at least two aspects of narrative and discuss how those aspects contributed to your response to that text. (30) (b) With reference to two other texts, compare how aspects of narrative contributed to your response to these texts. In answer to (b), you may use the aspects of narrative discussed in (a) or any other aspects. (40) (a) I have studied ‘Pompeii’ by Robert Harris. Throughout this thriller-style novel, Harris employs a variety of literary techniques to maintain the reader’s attention, and to develop tension and suspense. I greatly enjoyed thisnovel, and much of my enjoyment was generated by his skilful use of aspects of narrative. One of the main techniques used by Harris is his style of narration. The novel is narrated in the third person. We are not given an insight into any one character through first person narration. This can have the effect of distancing the reader from the characters, making it harder to engage with the novel. However, Harris writes the narration from the point of view of specific characters. Although they do not narrate in the first person, the narration gives us access to their thoughts and private responses. For example, one of the main characters, Ampliatus, portrays himself as a brash, confident business man. He mocks the peasants who are getting more and more worried about the water situation, and looks down on their superstitious responses. But when the novel is narrated from his point of view, we realise that he is extremely concerned about the situation himself, and is clinging to a prophecy he commissioned that claims Pompeii will last for thousands of years. I thought this was a very useful technique. It greatly increased my understanding of the characters whose points of view were followed. My engagement with the text increased, as I felt more invested in these characters. All their complexities made them much more interesting and believable. Harris also uses irony to great effect throughout the novel. From the very title, ‘Pompeii’,to the cover artwork, it is clear from the outset that this novel will deal with the obliteration of the town of Pompeii by the ash of Vesuvius’ eruption. The story of Pompeii is well-known, and when we hear the name we immediately think of the volcano. As we begin to read, however, it emerges that the characters of the novel are not preparing themselves for a volcanic eruption. In fact, they do not even realise that Vesuvius is a volcano. They believe it to be a normal mountain. |