AS LIT - DICKINSON TIMED ESSAY FEEDBACK

'The Brain has Corridors - surpassing
Material Place - '

Discuss ways in which Dickinson explores the inner life in poem 670, One need not be a Chamber - to be Haunted -'.

In your answer, explore the effects of language, imagery and verse form, and consider how this poem relates to other poems by Dickinson that you have studied.

30 marks

Comments from the exam board

In answers on ‘One need not be a Chamber – to be Haunted’, there was some tendency to paraphrase rather than to comment; one examiner described this approach as offering a ‘translation’ of the poem, and candidates should be advised that taking this approach in a sustained way will limit the marks they can achieve. Examiners also found weaker answers ‘padded out’ with speculative biographical material about the poet’s own mental health and reclusive life. Generally, however, there was good understanding of the way in which Dickinson takes conventional Gothic references such as a ghost, an assassin and an abbey and suggests a much more terrifying internal image. Other popular areas for discussion included the use of dashes as a marker of uncertainty and the division between body and mind at the end of the poem. At the top end, solid, detailed contextual knowledge really helped to develop sophisticated readings of the poem, and there were some notably impressive interpretations of the encounter with the self as a struggle with Puritan religious identity. The mention of the ‘Revolver’ in the final stanza did inspire candidates to look to ‘My Life has stood’ but often the link made was not very fruitful. More successful links were made with ‘I felt a Funeral, in my Brain’ and ‘I heard a Fly buzz – when I died’.

Click here for a link to the mark scheme - scroll down to section A

Comments from me

• Don't waste time in the exam re-writing the exam question out. Just jot down the number of the question.
• Make sure you summarise the overall plot and structure of the poem in your introduction. But be careful not to allow this to dominate your essay. Make a reference to a comparative poem and make reference to a contextual point. This might be biographical. Make these points relevant to the essay title. You could complete this introduction by summarising the core poetic features of the poem that you will be considering in detail in the essay. And perhaps refer generally to how they affect readers.
• In an introduction, I think especially for Dickinson, it's a good idea to make detailed observations about the form of the poem. Make sure you link it to the essay title and the effects of these features on a reader.
• Your essay should be a series of paragraphs analysing the poem as it develops - at least stanza by stanza.
• Dickinson may be writing about personal experience but the poem is not personal. Dickinson universalises or objectifies the experience described. It's about human experience not personal.
• Be specific and detailed in your analysis - avoid making general and descriptive overview comments.
• I think better essays are those that work through the poem stanza by stanza. I think this is easier. Another essay structure might be to consider the most important points first and work your way down. This may be a more complex and therefore perhaps confusing structure to use.
• I think expanding on the term Gothic is helpful. Identify it as a genre of writing combing love, nature, a focus on mystery and the unknown. Mention Edgar Allan Poe and Shelly's Frankenstein as important influences on Dickinson.

AS LIT - DICKINSON AN ESSAY TITLE

Discuss the ways in which Dickinson explores death in poem 712, ‘Because I could not stop for Death -’

In your answer, explore the effects of language, imagery and verse form; consider how this poem relates to other poems by Dickinson that you have studied.
30 marks


712 

Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.

We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility – 

We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun – 

Or rather – He passed us –
The Dews drew quivering and chill –
For only Gossamer, my Gown –
My Tippet – only Tulle – 

We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground –
The Roof was scarcely visible –
The Cornice – in the Ground – 

Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity –

AS ENGLISH LIT - A DICKINSON QUESTION

Discuss the ways in which Dickinson presents a view of immortality in ‘Behind Me – dips Eternity’

In your answer, explore the effects of language, imagery and verse form, and consider how this poem relates to other poems by Dickinson that you have studied.

721

Behind Me -- dips Eternity --
Before Me -- Immortality --
Myself -- the Term between --
Death but the Drift of Eastern Gray,
Dissolving into Dawn away,
Before the West begin --

'Tis Kingdoms -- afterward -- they say --
In perfect -- pauseless Monarchy --
Whose Prince -- is Son of None --
Himself -- His Dateless Dynasty --
Himself -- Himself diversify --
In Duplicate divine --

'Tis Miracle before Me -- then --
'Tis Miracle behind -- between --
A Crescent in the Sea --
With Midnight to the North of Her --
And Midnight to the South of Her --
And Maelstrom -- in the Sky –

Click here for a link to the mark scheme for this unit. Scroll down to section a

AS LIT - EMILY DICKINSON 712 Because I could not stop for death

The poem

Because I could not stop for Death--
He kindly stopped for me--
The Carriage held but just Ourselves--
And Immortality.

We slowly drove--He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labour and my leisure too,
For His Civility--

We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess--in the Ring--
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain--
We passed the Setting Sun--

Or rather--He passed us--
The Dews drew quivering and chill--
For only Gossamer, my Gown--
My Tippet--only Tulle--

We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground--
The Roof was scarcely visible--
The Cornice--in the Ground--

Since then--'tis Centuries--and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity--

This poem engages with the topic of death. And is linked thematically to 465.

Difficult words

Immortality - is eternal life, the ability to live forever.

Civility - formal politeness and courtesy in behaviour or speech.

Gossamer -  very light, sheer, gauze-like fabric

Tippet - is a scarf-like narrow piece of clothing, worn over the shoulders

Tulle -  is a lightweight, very fine netting, which is often starched

Cornice - is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns a building or furniture element

Eternity - Eternity is endless time

A brief summary of the poem

A poem with a single extended metaphor in which the speaker of the poem is invited into a horse drawn carriage by death. Death is personified as a civil gentleman. There is the suggestion of a romantic encounter. The journey is slow. It continues through sunset, appears to go on through the night. Eventually the journey arrives at a grave - presented here as a house. The narrative perspective shifts in the last stanza. We become aware that the journey the speaker reports has taken place hundreds of years ago. The narrator seems to be recollecting the journey the narrator took the day she died. The journey is from life to death.

We become aware that the journey is a symbolic one. The journey takes place outside the physical limitations of time. The journey includes two details. The first refers to children  - symbolic of new life. And the second refers to fields ready for harvest - symbolic of old age and approaching death. Finally the poem records the arrival at a house buried in the ground - this is symbolic of a grave.

AS LIT - EMILY DICKINSON 501 This world is not conclusion

The poem

This World is not Conclusion.
A Species stands beyond—
Invisible, as Music—
But positive, as Sound—
It beckons, and it baffles—
Philosophy—don't know—
And through a Riddle, at the last—
Sagacity, must go—
To guess it, puzzles scholars—
To gain it, Men have borne
Contempt of Generations
And Crucifixion, shown—
Faith slips—and laughs, and rallies—
Blushes, if any see—
Plucks at a twig of Evidence—
And asks a Vane, the way—
Much Gesture, from the Pulpit—
Strong Hallelujahs roll—
Narcotics cannot still the Tooth
That nibbles at the soul—

This poem is linked to poems about immortality and can be linked to the poem 721 Behind Me - dips Eternity -

Meaning of difficult words

Sagacity - insight / wisdom

Vane -  thin, flat or curved object that is attached to a wheel and that moves when air or water pushes it, or perhaps a reference to a weather vane - an object that is usually put on the top of a roof and that has an arrow that turns as the wind blows to show the direction of the wind

Pulpit - a raised platform where a priest or minister stands when leading a worship service

Hallelujah - a shout or song of praise or thanks to God

Narcotics - a drug (as opium or morphine) that in moderate doses dulls the senses, relieves pain, and induces profound sleep but in excessive doses causes stupor, coma, or convulsions

A brief summary of the poem

The poem begins with a strong assertion that death is not final. Beyond death existence continues intangible to the senses of the living. It invites us to participate in it but it is confusing - difficult to comprehend for mortals. There have been many human attempts to understand this state beyond life such as philosophy, wisdom and religion. Throughout history people have sought understanding but this has lead to death on occasion - self sacrifice and martyrdom are referred to directly. These questions about immortality  are challenging and provocative to faith and certainty. We are desperate to know the answer and use every piece of evidence to try and make sense of the situation. The church offers strong guidance in sermons and song. But we are left unsatisfied - intellectual speculations are perceived as distractions at trying to understand the concept. Doubt continues to undermine the assertions and empty gestures presented to us through faith. So the poem begins with strong assertions and ends with doubt.

AS LIT - EXAMPLE ESSAYS ON JANE EYRE AND EMILY DICKINSON WITH COMMENTS

Click here for a link to the OCR website. This document shows example scripts with marginal comments concerning the Assessment Objectives and final examiner comments at the end of each essay.

You'll need to scroll down the page to find the relevant essays on Jane Eyre and Emily Dickinson.

Hope you find this helpful.

AS LIT - EMILY DICKINSON 510 It was not Death, for I stood up

The poem

It was not Death, for I stood up,
And all the Dead, lie down—
It was not Night, for all the Bells
Put out their Tongues, for Noon.

It was not Frost, for on my Flesh
I felt Sirocos—crawl—
Nor Fire—for just my Marble feet
Could keep a Chancel, cool—

And yet, it tasted, like them all,
The Figures I have seen
Set orderly, for Burial,
Reminded me, of mine—

As if my life were shaven,
And fitted to a frame,
And could not breathe without a key,
And 'twas like Midnight, some—

When everything that ticked—has stopped—
And Space stares all around—
Or Grisly frosts—first Autumn morns,
Repeal the Beating Ground—

But, most, like Chaos—Stopless—cool—
Without a Chance, or Spar—
Or even a Report of Land—
To justify—Despair.

The poem is linked to other poems primarily about extreme emotional or mental distress or trauma such as poem 258, 280, 341, 670, 1400

Difficult words

Sirocos - is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and reaches hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe.


Chancel - the part of a church that contains the altar and seats for the priest and choir


Spar - a stout pole or a stout rounded usually wood or metal piece (as a mast, boom, gaff, or yard) used to support rigging

A brief summary of the poem

"This poem may well be autobiographical, written after the year of Dickinson's terror of 1861....there is a sense that the poet is trying to analyse an experience, which could lead to control over a psychological trauma."  from Selected Poems Emily Dickinson. Edited Jackie Moore. OUP

A poem of definition in which the speaker experiences an intense mental trauma that she tries to describe. She begins by trying to state her experience by what it is not. She states these negatives three times in the opening two stanzas. And then the poem begins a series of positive comparisons such as a funeral, she sees herself trapped, and she is like a corpse in a coffin. She uses natural and elemental language to describe this experience. But these comparisons largely fail. She is left in a disorientating blackness without any firm land, support or guidence. There is just despair.

Some literary techniques

Use of contrasts - the concrete used to describe the abstract

Syntactical paralleism

Synaesthesia

 

AS LITERATURE - JANE EYRE - THE VICTORIAN WEB

Here is a link to a very good website that contains loads of really good links to political, historical, gender and literary texts.

I highly recommend it.

Click here to access The Victorian Web

AS LITERATURE - 2000 WORD ESSAY TITLES

AS LITERATURE
2000 WORD ESSAY TITLES / DEADLINES

Next week on Monday 13 you will confirm with me which essay title you will write your comparative essay on.

During the week beginning Monday 20 January you will show me a detailed plan for your essay.

	TITLE	Y	N	?
1	Compare and contrast the presentation of conformity and or rebellion in Spies and Equus.
2	Compare and contrast the presentation of confinement and or freedom in Spies and Equus.
3	Compare and contrast the presentation of isolation and or community in Spies and Equus.
4	Compare and contrast the theme of secrets in Spies and Equus.
5	Compare and contrast the presentation of male and or female characters in Spies and Equus.
6	Compare and contrast the significance of imagination in Spies and Equus.
7	Compare and contrast the presentation of childhood in Spies and Equus.
8	Compare the presentation of adulthood in Spies and Equus.
9	Compare and contrast the theme of desire in Spies and Equus.
10	Compare and contrast storytelling in Spies and Equus.
11	Compare and contrast the function of settings in Spies and Equus.

 Essay deadlines
 

DEADLINE	DATE
2000 word coursework titles handed out	w/b 6 January 2014
2000 word first draft	w/b 3 February
2000 word final deadline	Monday 10 March

 

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 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 COURSEWORK EXAMPLE ESSAYS AND COMMENTARIES

Click here for a link to read examples of coursework essays and moderated comments.

But be aware that I will remove this post before the Christmas holidays and I do not advise you to read all this material. Instead be selective, read extracts, read the moderators comments on essays.

For students writing the 2000 word coursework essay there is one essay that uses Equus. It is therefore absolutely vital that you do not plagiarise any aspect of this essay. Make absolutely sure you do not quote or adapt any quotations from the essay. And make sure any ideas you use in your essay are completely thought through by you independently before you use them.

Click here for a link to a post about plagiarism.

I'll use selected essays and extracts from this website in class. This will be a guided reading of the material that will prove more helpful I think.

AS LL- SPIES - SOME BACKGROUND

Here are a few video clips to help with background to Spies by Michael Frayn

Click here for a link to a brief video clip of the London Blitz

Click here for a link to a brief news reel article about the Battle of Britain 

Click here for a link to a brief news reel bradcast about Dunkirk

Click here for a short film depicting the dunkirk beach in 1941

Here are some front covers of novels by Enid Blighton. She wrote childhood adventure stories in the 1940's.

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.

AS LITERATURE - 2000 WORD ESSAY - SOME COMPARATIVE TOPICS HALF TERM WORK

AS ENGLISH LITERATURE
F662 LITERATURE POST 1900
POSSIBLE COMPARATIVE ESSAY TOPICS - EQUUS - HALF TERM WORK

Below is a table that includes a number of topics that we can find in Equus.  They are also topics that can be found in the novel Spies.

TASK

Over the half term holiday you should choose at least 3 of these topics and you should define these terms in relation to Equus. For example, answer the question, in what ways does the concept of community relate to the play Equus.

Firstly try and be as detailed and specific as you can in defining the concept in relation to the play. Secondly identify an episode in which this concept is explored and comment on what it actually illustrates about the concept. Thirdly identify a quotation from the episode or scene in which the concept is used. Finally comment on the quotation – its dramatic, literary devices and the effect of these on the reader / audience.

Isolation	Adult world	Rite of passage	Secrets	Female	Confinement
Community	Childhood world	Story telling	Truth	Male	Freedom
		Desire
Conformity	Imagination	Loss of innocence
Rebellion	Reality	Setting

These notes are not to be handed in but I will want to see evidence of them when we meet on Monday 4 November.

The tables in grey are linked through oppositions or contrasts. The tables in white are stand-alone concepts.

And apologies for the poor quality of the table. The white band that crosses the table with 'desire' is supposed to be the same colour as rite of passage, story telling, desire, loss of innocence and setting.

You should by now have begun reading and preparing Spies. I expect that you will have completed the novel by the end of October. Click here for the post about Spies.