AS LITERATURE - JANE EYRE - READING

AS ENGLISH LITERATURE

JANE EYRE - TIMING

There are about 18 weeks to the English Literature exam. Subtract 3 weeks for holidays and 3 weeks revision. The exam is on 16 May 2014 am. It is a 2 HOUR EXAM – 1 HOUR PER QUESTION. This part of the course is CLOSED BOOK. There are 38 chapters in Jane Eyre. That means 38 chapters 10 weeks. Therefore we need to cover 4 chapters a week at least two chapters a lesson.

CHAPTER	WEEK BEGINNING
1	6 January 2014
2
3
4
5	13 January
6
7
8
9	20 January
10
11
12
13	27 January
14
15
16
17	3 February
18
19
20
21	10 February
22
23
24
25	24 February
26
27
28
29	3 March
30
31
32
33	10 March
34
35
36
37	17 March
38

Class Preparation

It is vital - now that you have completed your first reading of the novel - that you follow this up with a second more in depth and informed reading. Here are five new questions that you must use in preparation for each lesson.

You must prepare for each lesson by rereading the relevant chapters to be covered in the lesson. You must also consider some – the most relevant - of the following questions.

·         How does the setting contribute to your appreciation of the novel?

·         In what way is the social, political and biographical context of the novel being addressed?

·         How do these chapters fit into the novel as a whole?

·         How are the main characters of the novel constructed?

·         What do you notice about the writing style used throughout the novel?

·         What different strategies does Bronte use to create her narrator?

·         What does your prepared reading tell you about these key themes; love, independence, roles of women, roles of men, social class and religion?

·         How is morality discussed throughout the novel? Consider human rights, slavery, adultery?

·         What are the conventions of the genre of romantic novel?

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all of you!

Did you see the fireworks?

or Charlie Brooker's 2013 Wipe?

A2 LL

I expect that you will write a first draft of the 2500 word essay.

The top priority is to write a series of comparative analytical paragraphs.

The second priority is to write an introduction. You may find it easier writing this after you have written the comparative analytical paragraphs.

Read over the blog posts I've written on this task.

You may find some support by checking moodle and the AQA website.

IMPORTANT LINKS

I expect that you will have read all the poems from the Songs listed on this blog. Click here for a link to that list.

I expect that you have read The Rivals by the start of the next term. Read the play making notes and annotations making reference to the comparative topics listed elsewhere on this blog.

I expect you to have read the Introductions to the editions I've recommended on the two texts.

You must also read the background and context material I've directed you all to. Click here for a link to a really good document published by OCR on The Song. And click here for a similar document on The Rivals.

I also suggest you go to the OCR website a read over the past questions for F663. Click here for a link to the relevant pages on the website.

Another really important link is to the OCR website showing examples of F331 comparison essays. These essays do not address Sheridan and Blake but helpfully show the structure of comparison essays, the ways students write paragraphs and the way students integrate the variety of assessment objectives. Click here for this link. These essays include helpful commentaries by the examiner and also give an indication of grades.

AS LITERATURE - 2000 WORD ESSAY - DICKINSON LINK

The first draft essay is due in the week beginning 3 February  and the final deadline is 10 March.
Click here for a link to all the Emily Dickinson poems we will be studying after the 2000 word coursework has been completed.

AS LL- CHRISTMAS HOMEWORK

DEADLINE

This work should be handed in to me in class on Wednesday 9 January at 1.40.

TASKS

Reading Task - you do not need to hand in any written work for this task but bring your books in. I'd like to see your notes and annotations.

Complete reading Spies by Michael Frayn and make notes on the topics already posted on this blog. Click here for a link to the post.

You must answer one question below and spend no longer than 50 minutes answering the question.
 
We have discussed and planned the first question of the homework so it should not be a too difficult task for you to complete.

Question 1

Imagine a brief dialogue between Eunice and Blanche at the end of Scene Three where Blanche returns to Eunice’s after her conversation with Mitch. Stella has returned to the apartment with Stanley.

Give careful consideration to the language choices, form and style in order to convey a sense of a spontaneous dialogue between Eunice and Blanche. Also give a sense of the voices attitudes and assumptions of Blanche and Eunice.

Question 2

Imagine that as a result of Blanche’s meeting with Mitch in scene 9 a police officer comes to the apartment to see what the problem is. Write a brief dialogue between Blanche and the policeman where Blanche discusses some of the problems she is facing.

Give careful consideration to the language choices, form and style in order to convey a sense of a spontaneous dialogue between Blanche and the police officer. Also give a sense of the voices attitudes and assumptions of Blanche.

AS LITERATURE - 2000 COMPARATIVE PARAGRAPH

Here is a template structure for a comparative essay. It's a bit complicated so take some time to read this structure carefully. 

Each paragraph must contain two quotations - one from Spies and one from Equus. These quotations must be comparative or contrasting with each other.

Focus your comments on the similarities or differences between the different presentations of the topic between the texts.

See below for an example comparative paragraph

1 Make a point - a topic sentence
2 Expand on the point / Introduce the quotation
3 Quote a short phrase or word
4 Make between 2 and 4 comments on the quotation

Here are some comments you can make: Choose 2 - 4 of these per paragraph.

1 Comment on how the quotation supports the point you made in the topic sentence
2 Identify a key language, genre or literary feature used in the quotation
3 Comment on the purpose or the effect of the feature
4 Comment on the attitudes / tone / voice expressed in the quotation
5 Comment on the meaning or symbolic meaning of key words in the quotation
6 Make a contextual point - either refer to society or to criticism of the text
7 Make a theoretical perspective point

Write a bridge or connecting word or phrase and then

5 Introduce a quotation from the comparative text
6 Quote a short word or phrase
7 Make between 2 and 4 comments on the quotation

Here are some comments you can make:

1 Comment on how the quotation supports the point you made in the topic sentence
2 Identify a key language, genre or literary feature used in the quotation
3 Comment on the purpose or the effect of the feature
4 Comment on the attitudes / tone / voice expressed in the quotation
5 Comment on the meaning or symbolic meaning of key words in the quotation
6 Make a contextual point - either refer to society or to criticism of the text
7 Make a theoretical perspective point
8 Write a comparative or contrasting observation between the two texts.

AS LITERATURE - A 2000 WORD EXAMPLE COMPARATIVE PARAGRAPH

Below is a comparative analytical paragraph. The paragraph uses literary analytical frameworks and lingustic framesworks. However there are no references to the form of the poems here - just the language. As you read it try and identify the different parts of the paragraph structure. It is slightly different from the structure I've given in an earlier post.

One word of warning with this example. It is quite a long paragraph - about 250 words. I think you should aim to write 160 - 180 words per comparative paragraph.
Both Betjeman and Plath present horses in their poetry. In Pot Pourri Betjeman is horse riding. This is a symbol of upper class life style. In his poem we can imagine him riding to the home of the woman he loves 'over your boundary now, I wash my face in a bird bath' . Although on horseback he's not really interested in the horse at all. He's interested in where the horse can take him. The poem is a love poem. The two declarative statements above are addressed to his lover. This is done using the second person personal pronoun 'your'. The noun 'boundary' is interesting. He has not used a more practical lexis like fence or wall. Instead he uses a noun that suggests a large expansive property. It may even have sexual connotations. This is very different for Plath. For her, horses are powerful and elemental creatures that embody the power of nature. In the poem Ariel Plath too is riding a horse. She writes about the horese as 'God's lioness,/ How one we grow'. Here she relates the horse to 'God' this powerful emotive pronoun creates a shocking and vivid image in the mind of the reader. The noun 'lioness' conjures ideas of empowered female, wildness, uncontrollable power and energy. And in the line 'How one we grow', the horse embodies power and energy from the natural world that she herself seeks to draw from.

AS LITERATURE 2000 WORD CHRISTMAS HOMEWORK

DEADLINE

Homework is due for the class I share with Kay on Monday 6 January in class and for the class I share with Jerome on Thursday 9 January in class.

TASK

Similar to the work you have already done on topics and Equus, I now want you to write on the same three topics on the novel Spies - up to and including chapter 8. Identify key quotations to support the points you make. If you can make some comparative points between Equus and Spies, feel free to make them. This will be very helpful to you when it comes to writing the essay.

AS LITERATURE - EQUUS TOPICS SOME FEEDBACK

The play redefines sex. It elevates sex to the highest expression of what it is to be human. This definition of sex is in strong contrast to the two extreme views of sex presented by Alan's parents. For example, Dora's moral sex - a gift of God given to a husband and wife exclusively. And Frank's physical, shameful and voyeuristic sexual experience at the cinema. These two views of sex represent the contemporary way in which sex is perceived in society.

Alan presents another extreme. Sex as the meaning and purpose to life. He does not think this thought, he feels it. The intense pleasure he felt on Trojan at the beach was so strong he wants to live to experience that same pleasure again and again. He is prepared to sacrifice everything for that experience.

For Alan he is trying to recreate the intense pleasure he experienced on top of the horse on the beach. I think this experience took place before he began to masturbate. As a result the impact of this experience was so profound it affected hi sexual development, his expectations and attitudes and assumptions around sex. His father never spoke to Alan about sex. His mother told him a very one sided biased view of what sex is.

One key aspect of Alan's desire is based on self sacrifice. It is the horses willing subservience and suffering that Alan finds so exciting - we would call it erotic but it barely describes what he is experiencing. This willing self sacrifice is linked to Christ and is evidence of LOVE. Jesus love for humanity and the horse's service to humanity is evidence of love.

In this essay your task is to focus on comparing and contrasting abstract concepts between Equus and Spies. You are not required to analyse quotations in the same way as you have be doing for the 1000 word coursework essay. Although some marks are allocated to this analysis in this essay. Quotes should be used as evidence for the different ways themes are presented in the texts. The majority of marks are allocated to this treatment of the text.

AS LITERATURE - 1000 WORD UPDATE

The final 1000 word coursework essay deadline is 20 January.

The last opportunity to hand in a first draft essay to me is 13 December.

I will not be marking any drafts handed in after the end of this week unless there is a medical certificate or letter from a doctor.

The first draft essay deadline was the 29 November over 2 weeks ago.

The last feedback session for the group I share with Stephen will be Thursday
19 December and the last feedback session for the group I share with Jamie will be Friday 20 December.

The lesson with Stephen's group is cancelled this week. Therefore I will give these essays back on Monday for those students that have handed their essays in to me already.

I'm still waiting for essays from Fyela, Ben and Amber.

AS LL- PRODUCTION TASK

Imagine that Stella is writing a news letter to a close friend at the end of scene 4. Write the opening paragraphs of the letter.

Give careful consideration to the language choices, form and style in order to convey a sense of the Stella’s voice at this point in the play.

A2 LL - AN ESSAY STRUCTURE

A2 ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

ELLA 4 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS THROUGH INDEPENDENT STUDY

AN ESSAY STRUCTURE

For this example I’ve imagined writing an essay on comparing the presentation of settings between Seamus Heaney’s Death of a Naturalist and Personal Helicon comparing with the short story An Encounter by James Joyce. I will use two extracts from An Encounter

STRUCTURE A

PARA	POEM / TEXT	POET / WRITER	ANALYSIS / COMPARISON
	Introduction
Para 1	Text 1 [Death of a Naturalist]	Poet 1 [Seamus Heaney]	Analysis of text 1 link to essay topic
Para 2	Text 1 [Death of a Naturalist]	Poet 1 [Seamus Heaney]	Analysis of text 1 to essay topic link to essay topic
Para 3	Text 1 [Death of a Naturalist]	Poet 1 [Seamus Heaney]	Analysis of text 1 link to essay topic
Para 4	Text 2 Extract 1 [An Encounter]	Writer 2 [James Joyce]	Analysis of text 2 and comparison with text 1 link to essay topic
Para 5	Text 2 Extract 1 [An Encounter]	Writer 2 [James Joyce]	Analysis of text 2 and comparison with text 1 link to essay topic
Para 6	Text 2 Extract 1 [An Encounter]	Writer 2 [James Joyce]	Analysis of text 2 and comparison with text 1 link to essay topic
Para 7	Text 3 [Personal Helicon]	Poet 1 [Seamus Heaney]	Analysis of text 3 and comparison with poem 2 link to essay topic
Para 8	Text 3 [Personal Helicon]	Poet 1 [Seamus Heaney]	Analysis of text 3 and comparison with text 2 link to essay topic
Para 9	Text 3 [Personal Helicon]	Poet 1 [Seamus Heaney]	Analysis of text 3 and comparison with text 2 link to essay topic
Para 10	Text 4 Extract 2 [An Encounter]	Writer 2 [James Joyce]	Analysis of text 4 and comparison with text 3 and 1 link to essay topic
Para 11	Text 4 Extract 2 [An Encounter]	Writer 2 [James Joyce]	Analysis of text 4 and comparison with text 3 and 1 link to essay topic
Para 12	Text 4 Extract 2 [An Encounter]	Writer 2 [James Joyce]	Analysis of text 4 and comparison with text 3 and 1 link to essay topic
	Conclusion