A.L. Hendriks and The Migrant

Hi everyone,

Arthur Lemière Hendriks produced this poem as part of one of his anthologies, To Speak Simply.

I think.  Finding out that much took me around half an hour.

The truth is, if you go looking for information about the man's career, it's not really going to yield much in terms of usefulness towards making sense out of this poem.  Mr. Sir noticed something incredibly simple, and that was Hendrik's actual global movements and the migration waves Jamaica has experienced in the last 50-100 years.

Considering the title of the poem, that suddenly seemed like an obvious research avenue.  Duh.

SO.  Here's a link I found that does a pretty good job of staying focused on summing up the migratory patterns and influences of Jamaica throughout its history from pre-to-post-colonial status, right through to more modern statistics in the 1990's and early 2000's.

And since Wiki is the globally acknowledged source of all reliable truth (not), it is with mixed feelings that I suggest this link.  It gave fantastic background information on the history of political factors that contributed to much of the main metaphor we discussed in class.

It is also interesting to note that the main character described is a female; the first link I gave you in this post has a section titled "The Feminization of Jamaican Migration" which you may or may not find adds further insight into your awareness of the meanings being expressed.  (My first thoughts: Do the females represent a majority or minority?  Whichever it is, what other social groups may we infer might be represented as part of the people waiting in line to migrate?)

Hope this helps.


- T. Marcus

P.S.   Once again, Mr. Sir is your friend.

Claude McKay and The White House

Hi everyone,

There does not seem to be any one site that fully tells the story of McKay.  The best I can work together for you is a few pages that tell different parts you can piece together.  Try your own searches, but be careful; I found one page that claims McKay left the US around 1920s "never to return", which is not true.

To the right is a good link on McKay himself, though this link from Poetry Foundation is also informational.  Make sure to look up the Harlem Renaissance (also in link to the right, though feel free to skim a few pages of your own searches).

For further reference, there are also links which explain the various sonnet forms.  You will need to have a strong understanding of how to tell the difference between sonnet forms, as each style carries its own meanings and associations.  Remember: "The first eight lines, called the octave, presents an argument or question after which there is a turning point or volta. The question or argument is then answered by the sestet, the last six lines."

Finally, here is a student analysis that I thought was pretty insightful and may yield some strong observations.

Let me know if you have any questions!


- T. Marcus

P.S. -    Mr. Sir is a genius.  If you do not look at his analysis, you are a pudding head.

P.P.S. - That said, I do not fully agree with him all the time.  For example, the poem is only a Shakespearean sonnet by way of the rhyming pattern, and even that has been altered.

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