AS LITERATURE - 1000 WORD INTRODUCTIONS

Introductions should –

put the essay title into your own words

state the poem and the extract you are going to write on

give a brief summary of the plot of the poem / extract

identify one or two main topics or themes in the poem / extract - these will be the topics you will structure your essay around

list a few of the main literary / poetic techniques the poem / extract uses

put the poem / extract into context - if you are writing on an extract briefly summerise the other parts of the poem you are not writing about, put the poem into the context of Birthday Letters be very concise, only refer to what is relevant.

There is a lot to pack into this introduction. You might want to leave it till after you have written the main 6 - 8 analytical paragraphs. But you must be concise

AS LL - HOMEWORK FEEDBACK

Here are some general feedback comments based on the work you have handed in. You should come back to this post or take a copy of it and read itr carefully the next time I ask you to write formal academic paragraphs.

• Avoid descriptive writing. The only section of the paragraph where you can describe is where you introduce a quotation. This should not be longer than a medium size sentence.

 

• Your comments must be filled with analytical points. That means identifying a language or literay feature and comment on its effect on us as readers, an audience or other characters.

 

• Don't use singular personal pronouns ['me' or 'I']in your writing. Instead use a formal academic register. Instead use collective personal pronouns such as ['we' or 'our']. Another feature of an academic register is the avoidance of cliches, slang, colloquial or hackneyed expressions. Do not use these in your writing.

 

• Your paragraphs are often far too long. You will not get marks for writing long drawn out, thin or flabby patragraphs. Be concise in your writing. Write what you want to communicate in the fullest but shortest way. Don't repeat yourself. And don't wander off the subject.

 

• Comment only on what is in the quotation. Avoid making assumptions that are not made explicit in the quotation you are using.

 

• Always write with a wide margin on every page.

 

• Only use one quotation as evidence for a point you want to make. 

Here is the paragraph we worked on together at the end of the last lesson

For most of the play Blanche hides her face from Mitch. She does this because she does not want him to see how old and unattractive she is. In scene 9 Mitch realises what she has been doing and turns on a bright light, “So I can take a look at you good and plain!” This is an exclamative and imperative sentence. It communicates Mitch’s anger at being lied to all summer and it shows Mitch’s power as he demands to see what Blanche actually looks like. The post modifiers ‘good and plain’ emphasise the importance this is for Mitch. Despite his anger we understand and feel sympathetic towards Mitch here.

AS LITERATURE - FEEDBACK AND HOMEWORK TASK

HOMEWORK FEEDBACK

Write shorter much more concise paragraphs. You can do this if you avoid repeating the same ideas.

Write analytical paragraphs not descriptive paragraphs.

Select quotations that enable you to write about the literary features of the quotation.

HOMEWORK DEADLINES

For the group I share with Kay this work must be handed in on Wednesday 20 November.

For the group I share with Jerome this must be handed in on Thursday 21 November.

HOMEWORK TASK

Choose three of the themes or topics on the post linked here and write a summary response on each of the three themes or topics.

Ask yourself the question, what does the play Equus have to say about these three topics or themes? Or how are your chosen topics presented in the play Equus?

Identify at least three quotations from the play to support each of the three summary responses you have made. And comment on the quotation.

*The three themes or topics you choose may include a topic that you will write your 2000 word comparative coursework essay on.

A2 LITERATURE - HOMEWORK

For the class I share with Jon this work is due in on Wednesday 13 November
For the class I share with Clare this work is due in on Friday 15 November
 
Write four analytical paragraphs on the presentation of women in King Lear.
 

• You must comment on the quotations you use
• Refer to literary features
• And the effect on an audience
• Refer to Cordelia and Goneril and Regan
• Refer to the differences between Cordelia and her other sisters
• If you can refer to the differences between Goneril and Regan
• Include contextual references to the status and role of women within Jacobean society
• You will need to do a little research to do this properly

AS LITERATURE - HOMEWORK THE 59TH BEAR PARAGRAPHS

HOMKEWORK TASK & DEADLINE

This work is due in on Monday 11 November - for the classes I share with Stephen and Jamie. I strongly recommend that before you write the paragraphs you should read the poem several times carefully and slowly. Choose quotations with a 40 line extract already discussed. Read the feedback posts already posted to this blog relevant to Hughes. Also read the posts on what an analytical paragraph is and how to structure the paragraph. You should also read the post on key literary terms. 

Write three paragraphs on the poem The 59th Bear.

One paragraph should be about the presentation of Plath through the poem.

One paragraph should be about the presentation of the 59th bear.

And the third paragraph should be about what you think the poem tells us about their relationship.

AS LITERATURE - FEEDBACK ON RELATIONSHIP PARAGRAPHS

Here are some general feedback points on the homework I've just marked. There is also a follow up exercise.

• Write simple topic sentences rather than complex and abstract topic sentences. These tend to be general, vague and are often confusing

• Identify quotations that enable you to comment on literary / language features

• Always comment on the effect of these features on a reader - do we feel sympathetic to one character rather than another? Do we feel anger or pity or another emotion?

• Make sure you put your quotations into the context of the poem / collection

• Read carefully what the poem you are writing about is actually saying - don't rush towards symbolism or representation immediately. Think carefully about the literal meaning of the poem or quotation first. There may be symbolism in the poem but there may not be.

• You must quote from the poem using the same layout in the poem. However if you are quoting from two lines then the quotation is probably too long. Here is an example of a two line quotation that is quite long but acceptable.

'...the African
Black edges to everything, frightened you.'

Here are some comments to make about this quotation

• the noun 'edges' is premodified by 'African' and 'Black' - African connotations include mysterious, unknown, exotic, wild, uncivilized and primitive. 
• the noun 'black' has similar connotations to 'African' but one could add, evil, death, burnt, fear
• 'edges' and 'everything' are alliterative - this maybe used to create emphasis 
• this quotation forms part of a declarative sentence addressed to Plath herself. 

Here is an example paragraph that uses this quotation and some of the bullet point comments above

Hughes presents Plath as fearful of Spain. In the poem You Hated Spain Plath is terrified by the strangeness and 'otherness' of the country. The culture and way of life is so different from her native country America. He writes that Plath was scared of   
                    '...the African
                    Black edges to everything, frightened you.'
In the 1950's Africa was seen as a dangerous and wild mysterious continent. It was exotic, still perceived as uncivilized and primitive. The noun 'Black' had many negative associations also. Death and evil were often connected to the colour black.

Here are some quotations from the poem you could use in your paragraph about the presentation of the 59th bear.

'Bears waited
welcoming committees - at every parking
Lifting their teddy bear ears...'

'Everywhere people were entertaining 
Bears and bears were entertaining people.'

'Each evening
Bears raided the campgrounds. Camera stars
They performed at the sunken trash-bins.'

'We lay
Decoding every variety of sound
as he battered and squelched, crushed and scraped...'

'He was actually there
Hiding beside our tent! His breathing,
Heavy after the night's gourmandizing.'

AS LITERATURE - THE 59TH BEAR

Here are some youtube clips to help put the poem into context.

Click here for a link to a Yogi Bear cartoon

Click here for a Disney bear

Click here to hear a performance of the song 'If you go down to the woods today.'

Click here to see bears in Yellowstone National Park

and here

IB ENGLISH YR 2 - SOME KEY TERMS

Here are some key literary, rhetorical and language terms you should be familiar with when analysing a text. As continue work on paper 1 exam you should refer back to this table. You can also use the glossary on this blog. Click here to go to that page.

Literature		Rhetoric
Imagery	Phonology
Simile Metaphor - metaphorical - extended Personification Oxymoron Symbolism	Rhyme Rhythm Alliteration Assonance Onomatopoeia	Repetition Hyperbole List of three Lists Direct address Comparative pair Contrasting pair
Language
Grammar	Lexis	Register	Syntax
Nouns -Concrete -Abstract -Pronoun -Proper noun   Adjectives Verbs	Words High / low frequency   Denotation Connotation   Monosyllabic Polysyllabic   Lexical fields	Formal / Informal / technical	Sentence structures Simple Compound Complex   Declarative Interrogative Imperative Exclamative
Literary	features
Narrator	Setting	Genre	General
First person Second person Third person   Past, present, future tense   Monologue Dialogue   Subjective Objective	Location Interior Exterior   Time Season Weather Elements Senses	Poetry – free verse   Descriptive writing -Superlatives -Comparatives   Narrative – story telling   Reflective writing   Autobiography   Elegy	Conflict   Structure - dialectic - Freytag

A2 LL - HALF TERM HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES

Here are the tasks for you to work on over half term. We will be moving very quickly through the rest of the material in the anthology so you must be familiar with this work before we study it in class.

TASK

Reread the Heaney poems we have studied this half term and edit and make further notes on the relevant key topics referred to at the bottom of this page.

TASK

Read through the Plath poems in the anthology and make notes on the poems.

• What is the plot of each poem
• Identify the key topics that link to each poem
• consider the main language and literary features Plath uses in these poems

TASK

Read the following three stories by James Joyce. I'll produce a hard copy of them next half term. Read them with reference to the topics below and make some brief notes comparing these with those you have written on Heaney and are writing about Plath.

Click here to read An Encounter

Click here to read Araby

and click here to read Eveline

You may also want to read The Sisters but we won't have time to study it in class.

Click here to read The Sisters

KEY TOPICS

Childhood, isolation, settings, personal relationships, narrative voice, nature, vivid experiences

Here are some key language and literary terms to help you in your comparative analysis.

Literature		Rhetoric
Imagery	Phonology
Simile Metaphor - metaphorical - extended Personification Oxymoron Symbolism	Rhyme Rhythm Alliteration Assonance Onomatopoeia	Repetition Hyperbole List of three Lists Direct address Comparative pair Contrasting pair
Language
Grammar	Lexis	Register	Syntax
Nouns -Concrete -Abstract -Pronoun -Proper noun Adjectives Verbs	Words High / low frequency Denotation Connotation Monosyllabic Polysyllabic Lexical fields	Formal / Informal / technical	Sentence structures Simple Compound Complex Declarative Interrogative Imperative Exclamative
Literary	features
Narrator	Setting	Genre	General
First person Second person Third person Past, present, future tense Monologue Dialogue Subjective Objective	Location Interior Exterior Time Season Weather Elements Senses	Poetry – free verse Descriptive writing -Superlatives -Comparatives Narrative – story telling Reflective writing Autobiography Elegy

Bring your notes and annotations to the lesson with you on Wednesday 6 November for me to check your work