A2 ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS THROUGH INDEPENDENT STUDY
INTRODUCTIONS – SOME BASIC NOTES
Here are some notes to guide you in writing your introduction.
FEATURE
|
EXAMPLE
| |
1
|
Immediately address the essay topic. Define the topic specifically for both of your writers.
|
For example if you are writing about settings then explain the rural farmland setting of Seamus Heaney. Whereas Frost’s setting is the urban setting of Dublin.
|
2
|
Assert a main comparative or contrasting point between the two writers.
|
For example – Heaney describes the physical landscape of the countryside as a way of evoking and creating a strong sense of place. However Frost uses the rural setting of farmland to tell his readers about an aspect of being human.
|
3
|
You could introduce the texts you are going to write on in your essay. Avoid quotations from the texts in your introduction.
|
For example – the poem Stopping by Woods describes the thoughts of a man on an isolated winter road between village and home.
|
4
|
Include relevant biographical details that led to the production of these texts.
|
For example – ‘the poem Daddy is difficult to read without also thinking about Plath’s own relationship with her father who died when she was eight years old.’
|
5
|
Include relevant contextual features of your writers and the cultural forces that led to the production of these texts.
|
For example ‘Plath draws on the recent events of the second world war especially the holocaust for inspiration and imagery.’
|
6
|
Comment on the specific genre or sub genres used by the writers you’ve chosen
|
Frost’s poetry ranges from short formal ballad to long narrative poems that are dramatic monologues.
|
7
|
Summerise the main language features used by each of the writers.
|
Both Heaney and Plath use extreme imagery in their poetry and draw on quite disturbing even shocking images. Heaney is highly descriptive whereas Plath is offers brief impressions of place.
|
