CIE questions for study break...

Hi girls,


By now you will have noticed that I have not posted or made available any of the Cambridge papers.  That's because I did a double-check on my intentions, and contacted Cambridge to see if my plans were even legal.  They weren't.

SO.  If you'd like further practice papers you'll have to come see me!  Otherwise, I suggest re-attempting papers from earlier in the year, particularly the ones that you felt good about at the time yet did not score as highly on.

Hope you're getting a little bit of rest.


- T. Marcus

In-class self-evaluation

Hi everyone,


SO.  While it's fresh in your head I'd like you to do something for me.  Get alone somewhere with a pen, a notepad, your Bible and a device that can read this blog page.

• What did you struggle with in terms of your attitude and systems?
• How did you do managing your time for planning & writing?  Why?
• What did you find challenging regarding the question content?

This is where your Bible comes in...

• What do you need to do in order to improve in the above-mentioned areas?

Obviously you'll have your own ideas on that, yet I also encourage you to pray about it.  Ask God for a scripture He wants you to focus on during the study leading up to prelims, and ask Him for another you can be speaking over yourself during the exams themselves.

Keep going!  If you need to make a time to ask me any specific questions, please do so- slots are filling up!


- T. Marcus

Man for All Seasons, first essay

Hi ladies,


The presentation and consequences of religious faith.
Without religious faith, what would Henry's argument have been?  So we see that our argument need not be limited to those that have religious faith, only the choices and consequences created by its existence.

How is it presented?

• As an excuse
• As ineffective / weak / willing to compromise
• As a cause for problems, socially, nationally and personally
• As a guide
• As hypocritical / ironically Machiavellian (a means to an end)
• A position of power and politics
• The foundation for moral principle

Who are the characters that present it most tellingly?

• Roper - the zealot
• Wolsey - the "man of God" who seems not to really believe in God
• More - the man of integrity who believes God will guide each one to guide themselves and thus create a better nation
• Henry - who believes in the parts of the Bible that are convenient for him
• Cromwell - who has no faith
• The author's opinion - (page xiii) "the religion was very reactionary" and "'Religion' and 'economy' are abstractions which describe the way men live."

Other areas of exploration:

• Chapuys
• Spanish / English tension
• Self-inflicted demotion of status (More leaving office of Chancellor)
• Selfhood ultimately based on faith
• Inconvenience of faith- simultaneous influence, moral 

I'm sure there's more. (Hah!)

But this is a good start.

- T. Marcus

Holiday Task!

Hi everyone!


Wow, what a term!  Well done, everyone- keep it up!

To the right is a PDF version of the passage based question for term break.   This will be due on the first day back!

Summary of study break tasks (include generous helpings of chocolate as you see fit):

• Revise notes for ALL texts
• Read A Man for All Seasons
• Begin notes on AMFAS, and look at links on blog
• Respond to passage based essay (print if needed!)

Have fun.  Any questions, feel free to study harder and THEN ask me.  :D

Enjoy your break!


- T. Marcus

In-class essay...

Hi everyone,


Following on with the question from today, remember there are new links in the tab on the right.

Also, if you haven't already done so, have a look through this link from Shmoop to consider further thoughts on themes from the text.

If you'd like to begin tomorrow with a short in-class discussion, then bring questions you'd like to ask!  Otherwise we'll just get straight into it.

Enjoy.


- Marcus

Passage based approaches

Step one is ticking all the boxes for your planning.  As far as that approach goes, I'm calling it "squeezing an accordion".

First and foremost, identify the key concerns of the question.  If you don't know what the task is asking, you will have difficulty responding to it!  For our accordion analogy, this is like figuring out the keys to press before squeezing.

Then do this:
1.  Start 'overview'.

• What is the main point of it?  What happens here, and what happens as a result of this moment?
• What is the excerpt's importance / place in the overall text?
• What is the overall tone?

2.  Narrow your focus - Identify contributing factors.  What built this into what it is?
   a) Think of the structure of the passage - what are its main elements?

• Example - Description.  Dialogue.  Thoughts.  Setting.

   b) Consider conflict & tension.

• Who is present?
• What are the major moments of conflict in this passage, and what is the progression of conflict within the scene?
• What caused these conflicts?  (Language, tone, action, description, etc)

   c) Before & After

• What happens directly before and directly after this passage?
• Have we seen a situation like this before?  Will we again?
• If the event does repeat, what is different about it?  What is the same?  What does this suggest?

   d) X-factors

• These are stand-out aspects of the text that are unique in some way.  It might include shifts in time, narrator voice, a particular contrast, or some other anomaly.

Anything that you isolate, remember that it is only useful for your essay if it is relevant to the key concerns of the question.


3.   Widen focus again - gain perspective!
   a) What is the symbolism / message we may derive from applying the following?

• Consider context - historical & modern
• Consider reader / audience response
• Possible interpretations / moments of ambiguity
• Think about critical comments; then evaluate how well you think they apply.

I admit, this is a lot to juggle.  Still, even if it is not always occurring to us to ask ourselves these questions, I bet right now you're able to answer most or all of them without breaking too much of a sweat.  At the very least, you can think of what areas of study you'd need to brush up on to make your answer!

Most of this should be stuff you figure out through annotation.  Once you've got all this, the next step is to put your thoughts into written form.

The Essay Itself-

• Start with your overview comment.
• Select your best evidence.
• Order your points so they flow logically toward the symbolism / message you discerned.
• Journey your reader to your conclusion; YOU are in your head, but you're the only person there.

Further writing tips:

1. Pray.
2. Breathe.
3. Accuracy in grammar is your friend; so are full and complete sentences.
4. Avoid vague / open-ended statements.  Have a point.  Make it.
5. Never repeat.
6. Never repeat.
7. Repeating is not useful.
8. Saying the same thing in different words does not assist; it antagonises your audience.
9. If you keep discussing the same material or referring to an earlier point, it will not add to your marks.
10. Finally, under no circumstances should you employ repetition.  It just makes you sound silly.

I trust this makes sense.  Hope the long post wasn't too much of a bother.


- T. Marcus

House of Mirth - bonus round!

Hi ladies,



I figured we'd do at least one more House of Mirth essay while we slam into Antony & Cleopatra.  So here it is.


In what ways and with what effects does the novel deal with freedom and reputation?


LOTS to look into there.  Have fun.



- T. Marcus

Next essay - House of Mirth

Hi girls,


I thought it would be rude, having just given you Antony & Cleopatra a few days ago, to turn around and demand an essay on it.

That being the case, we have another one to round out our expression on The House of Mirth.  Take these seriously; you need to know how to respond to the novel text, as it is our only one!

• Pay particular attention to the sections of our course book that deal with answering passage-based questions.
• Remember to construct an argument: make an overall judgement of what is being expressed, relate it to how this is a commentary on social groups, and on society as a whole.
• Be a lawyer; have multiple sources of evidence, and do not leave stones unturned in the provided passage.
• Use the advice from the Examiner Report.

And away we go.  :)


Read the following passage, starting near the bottom of page 140:
   From the line "He paused, flushed by his diatribe..."
   To the end line at the bottom of page 141, "...and the angry streaks on Trenor's face might have been raised by an actual lash."

Comment closely on the presentation of the confrontation in the passage.


See me if you have any questions!


- T. Marcus

Term 2! Yay!!

Hi girls,


Your essay task, due Wednesday, is:

In what ways and with what effects does Wharton present the uncivilisation of manners?


Be planning!  We will discuss planning this upcoming week.


As for the Examiner Report-

Major concerns of Paper 3:

• Make sure you can assess the effects of poet's techniques.
• Know the genre of your poems, as well as the usual conventions/techniques of each genre
• Be able to comment on the effects, tones and most frequent focuses of each genre
• Notice the sounds - alliterative and assonant.  Harsh?  Melodic?  Smooth?  'Sing-song'?
• Internal rhyme and content/narrator; the combination of these may create the feeling of an additional layer to the song (if it is lyrical / pastoral poetry), very like a harmony.  What is the function of harmony in a song?
• When considering theme, consider at the levels of character, yet also at the varying levels of society: values, morals, status, power, religion, relationship, and of course any moral lessons, or any contextual links to the author's life.
• In wider essay questions, consider the relevance of the quote/statement/question as it would apply to different stages of the book.
• Passage responses should include awareness of character motive/desire.
• In passage responses, evaluate the language & sentence structure.

Major concerns of Paper 4:

• In passage-based, avoid 'line-by-line' commentary; structure a logical argument that journeys your readers to your overall observation through close critical analysis.
• In passage-based, deal with the whole passage.
• Recognise which material is directly relevant and which material is best used as supporting / secondary evidence - stay focused on the concerns of the question!
• Stay focused on language, structure and form. Think about syntax and author choices, and remember to explain effects rather than simply identifying techniques.
• Be controlled; you won't be able to say everything, so choose your best points and make sure you're being strategic about structuring your response.
• Be clear.  Journey the reader.
• Know what / where / or who the main concerns of the text revolves around.

This is what stood out to me upon my first reading.  You may have found more!  In either case, how are we addressing these in our writing?

Apply that to your planning for the next essay!

Have fun,


- T. Marcus

Study break - essay, and Examiner report pdf

Hi ladies,


Your essay task is below, but I want to explain how to read the examiner report. (In link to the right)

The report covers several regions throughout the world, so the first code (9695) is the AS English Literature paper code and the next (31) is broken down as paper 3, region 1.  Therefore, reports on 9695/31, 9695/32 and 9695/33 are all good reading for us.  Eventually we'll also want to read the reports for 9695/41, 42, etc., but we haven't covered any of that as yet.

Last year's novel was A Passage to India, so there won't be any specific notes on The House of Mirth. Still, we can see what the head examiner had to say about student approaches to tasks.  In all cases, whether poetry or prose, question (a) is a wider essay question and question (b) is passage-based.  Take note accordingly to how the examiner critiqued students in either question set.  Be ready to ask me about anything you didn't understand when we return in Term 2.

Essay task for study break:

"The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth"

Discuss the importance of this passage from Ecclesiastes, from which the book takes its title, to Wharton's presentation of New York society.

Remember that your overview observations will still require plenty of specific quotes.  Using these helps focus our analyses.  Slow down, be patient, address the question.  Consider what the author uses, not simply how the story progresses.

Have fun!

- T. Marcus

Wharton and links

So we know Edith Wharton wrote her book originally as a series of entries for a magazine known as Scribner's.  Here is what Wiki will tell you about the magazine, and here is the digital copy of its articles.  (Wharton's entries featured in 1905 from January to November, so scan the 4th link down) (Oddly, the book itself was printed a month earlier, on 14th October 1905.  Go figure.)

Off to the side I've added some further links to study notes on House of Mirth, along with a great downloadable PDF on "Lily's dilemma: Opposing principles in the House of Mirth".  Look at online or download and print as you see fit.  :)

- T. Marcus

The 'how to' of responding to poetry questions - Part 1

Hi ladies,


I think we need to talk about the 'in what ways' questions.

There are three implied areas of investigation here.

1. Attitudes toward / of topic
2. Similarities / echoes of topic (atmosphere)
3. Implications of intended reader response

In the first one, we're looking at how the poet is trying to express the feeling / theme / topic itself.  This should involve noting the effects of multiple language features expressing the mood of the content.

In the second, you should explore how the concrete aspects of the poem's structure echo or mimic the message / content.

Finally, we look at historical context and speaker voice - are they being sarcastic?  Zealous?  Somber and reflective?  Does this tone of voice contrast or support the message of the text?

Obviously we do not repeat points.  If you find more than one aspect of the poem that makes the same point, group them into a single paragraph.  Use the BEST points, not EVERY point - and provide evidence.

Let me know if you have any questions on this.


- T. Marcus

Home stretch!

Hi ladies,


Wow, 32 poems down!  Woohoo!!!

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, then at the bottom of this post I've included the 2nd half of Whitney's A Farewell to the Reader.  Could yield interesting study notes and help you enjoy the poem more.

Otherwise, this post is generally filled with a variety of helpful information links on some of the last several poems we've explored.  If you'd like help on specific topics for any particular poem, please let me know so I can flesh out this blog!

Here is a helpful biography for A Farewell to the Reader's author, Isabella Whitney.  Additionally, I found an insightful essay surrounding the historical context of Whitney and flower printings.  I particularly liked this quote:

"...needlework slips [sewing prints & patterns of flowers] were imprinted with the memory, even the politics of those who once worked [created / used] them."

Interesting, considering that Whitney's A Farewell to the Reader is set in a metaphorical flower garden.

Sparknotes also saw fit to make a writeup on this poem.  If you haven't already checked, they may be a good source for the others on our list; I just find they're often a bit too focused on making it 'easy to engage with' and thus sacrifice quite a bit of depth.  But they're getting better.

This link is the one we found with all the other links to information on Thomas Dekker.  Could be very interesting.

But the one I think you'd all be interested in is the question that we came up with respect to Celia: was she Carew's or Jonson's love interest... or both?!?  Well, I think I can say with complete confidence that I still have no idea whatsoever.

However.

Having said that, I did run across a few interesting sites in the search.  This one was especially interesting to me (once you wade past all the visual ads).

Part 2 of A Farewell to the Reader:

And eke that he who ought the Plot,
     wherein they same did grow:
Fume not to see them borne about,
     and wish he did me know.
And say in rage were she a man,
     that with my Flowers doth brag,
She well should pay the price, I wolde
     not leave her worth a rag.
If as I say, no harms do hap,
     but that this well may speed:
My mind is fully satisfied,
     I crave none other mead.
So wishing thee no worse than those,
     of whom I think none ill:
I make an end and thee commend,
     the living Lord until.

• borne - carried; in this case particularly with the sense of being carried openly, publicly
• doth - archaism for 'do'; wasn't sure if changing it would help or not.
• wolde - archaism for 'would'; as it appears at the end of the line, I figured it was best to leave it.
• hap - happen, transpire / occur
• speed - 1) possibly referring to old phrase 'God-speed', or 2) archaism for 'prove successful'
• living Lord until - Return of Christ

- T. Marcus

Shakespeare and Spenser

Hi ladies,


So - by now your heads are bubbling with trying to figure out Shakespeare's sonnets.  He loves to use imagery and any available puns by playing on words and their possible meanings, so watch out for that.  His images usually progress as we saw with sonnet 73.

Meanwhile, Spenser is back!  Here's a link to a great investigation of "The Faerie Queene" - Book 7, Canto 6 and Canto 7.

The first Romantic epic since... Chaucer, I think it was.  At any rate, a huge accomplishment.  Once again Mr. Sir will be very helpful, though he didn't do a lot of background checking into The Faerie Queene itself in terms of its contextual contribution towards this extract.  Still, worth reading his notes.

This is a splendidly written summary of the entire work, which even does a single-sentence breakdown of what each book discusses or represents.


Finally, you could always find it helpful to have further background on Spenser and the poems he wrote (including Faerie Queene).

Enjoy.  :)


- T. Marcus

Chidiock Tichborne - Further information

The poem you know as Written the Night Before His Execution is more classically known as Tichborne's Elegy.

This page has some good information on the poet and general observations about the poem's composition - you have to scroll down to the bottom of the page to find all that.

Still, for this level, I find this link from University of Buckingham to be the most informative and insightful by far.

Let me know if you come across anything else in your research that you think I should add to the blog for your classmates!

- T. Marcus

Next essay!

Hi girls,


Okay, here's the question.  Due Friday 4th March.

‘My verse your virtues rare shall eternise’ (‘Sonnet 75’)

Compare ways in which two poems present the loved one. 

Have fun!


- T. Maracus

Spensers sonnet collection "Amoretti"

Hi girls,


Gradesaver has a few good things to say on Spenser's Amoretti, although when you look at the "Summary and Analysis" section of any particular sonnets, you have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to get the analysis (which I think is the more useful part for you).

Don't worry, it's nowhere NEAR as exhaustive as what we do in class.  Some good thoughts there.

I particularly advise a thorough investigation of Shmoop's page on Sonnet 75, as it will further yield information on both the sonnet and some context of Spenser and his aim in writing it.

Much of this post has already covered the initial findings of the Google search "amoretti spenser", but if you're looking for further information then I recommend going to Poetry Foundation and typing in Edmund Spenser.  They often have quite a lot of information about the background and life of poets.

Hope that helps!


- T. Marcus

Next essay!

Hi everyone,


Okay, your next assignment is another Songs of Ourselves essay!  Joy and rapture!  Assignment is as follows:


Comment closely on ways in which the poem Written the Night Before His Execution presents attitudes to the closeness of death.


Essay is due Friday 27th Feb.

Additionally, on Tuesday I'd like you to have some kind of a plan and perhaps a paragraph or two that you could show me as a starting point.


- T. Marcus

A Litany in time of Plague

First, spell 'plague' correctly.  Common misspellings include plauge, plaque and plage.  The middle one there is still something to look out for, but nothing that regular floss and a good dentist can't handle.

A few other things we didn't handle in class are found in this article; particularly take note that this was part of a larger work that was meant overall to be a comedy!  What does that suggest about the nature of this poem?  What is being ridiculed?  Additionally, this poem was a song!

Be cautious when looking up this poem - initial results will feature Mr. Sir's site but also a few student analyses including a blog entry and a prezi slideshow.  Look at what they have to say if you like, and be very critical of their conclusions.  Decide how well they have argued (or, in some cases, if they've argued anything at all!)

Have fun.  I'll add more links to the side, but I think this plus your own searches and existing notes should be fine for this moment.

- T. Marcus

Progress...

Hi everyone,


Please make sure to regularly check the tabs on the right for new links!  I will add these as I find them and may not necessarily remember to mention it in class.

Remember to finish reading p6-14 in the course books, and always go back to earlier poetry overview sheets to backfill the sections with the new concepts we learn.  I will be doing a check of your notes at the beginning of each week, so be prompt about filling those sheets in while the information is fresh in your minds.


- T. Marcus

Sonnet 11 - Lady Mary Wroth

Sonnet 11 is - well, a sonnet.  And all that a sonnet form implies.


It is from a collection of poems called Pamphilius to Amphilanthus.  A quick google search will bring up a long list of possible resources.




Wroth was primarily concerned with gender roles throughout this sonnet series, and the series itself is not truly original.  Critics seem widely convinced that the series is based on a work of Sir Philip Sidney's, a collection known as Astrophil and Stella.  On that point, Jennifer Laws writes:

And yet, when I actually read Pamphilia to Amphilanthus, what strikes me is not its similarity to Astrophil and Stella, but its differences, particularly in relation to gender issues. In place of the lively and at times even assertive Stella, there is the passive and victimised Pamphilia who cannot free herself from the perfidious Amphilanthus. Whereas Sidney seems deliberately to break sonnet conventions by creating not so much an idealised representation of remote feminine beauty as a living responsive human being who can act, Wroth allows her woman to remain inactive and helpless, the victim of another's behaviour. And this is in spite of the fact that the woman in Wroth's sequence has become the poet/narrator; no longer an object, she is now the speaking subject. The opportunities one might imagine that this reversal of roles could bring -- either for female wooing or for the scornful rejection of unwanted male attention -- are simply passed by. Pamphilia remains throughout unfulfilled and yet a model of patient constancy.

(Laws, 1996)


One of the Pamphilius to Amphilanthus online resources, written by Richard Bear, has a very informative introduction on Lady Mary Wroth's life and works.  He notes:

Mary Sidney was married in 1604 to Sir Robert Wroth. The match apparently was not a happy one {4}. Her husband ran up massive debts and died in 1614, leaving the young widow to apply to the King for relief from her creditors. She had one child from her marriage, who died at about the age of two, and two "natural" children whose father was William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, her first cousin and very probably the person in her life for whom Amphilanthus is a persona.

(Bear, 1992)


It is important to note that in this sonnet series, Lady Wroth is subtly subverting - though not reversing! - the classical Petrarchan model of a male in passionate romantic pursuit of the female love-interest.

The sequence opens with the dream vision of Pamphilia, whose name means "all-loving," in which she describes the triumph of Venus and Cupid over her heart. The first section of 55 poems reveals Pamphilia's conflicting emotions as she attempts to resolve the struggle between passionate surrender and self-affirmation. The Petrarchan model of the male lover wooing a cold, unpitying lady posed a genuine challenge to Wroth, who could not simply reverse the gender roles. Instead of presenting her female persona in active pursuit of Amphilanthus, whose name means "lover of two," Wroth completely omits the Petrarchan rhetoric of wooing and courtship. She addresses most of the sonnets to Cupid, night, grief, fortune, or time, rather than directly to Amphilanthus, whose name appears only in the title of the sequence.

(Extract from larger article on The Poetry Foundation website.  Useful stuff there.)

Hope this helps!

For further reading on Lady Mary Wroth, see this article by Carolyn Campbell, 2001.

- T. Marcus