Tuesday 24 May 2016
Monday 23 May 2016
Language in the Tempest:
Search all quotes from the The Tempest with the word 'strange' (or any other word/theme)
You can also search other Shakespeare plays...
Language in the Tempest: 'strange' and 'delicate'
More innovative language - plus some innovative productions with pictures (ooh!) you might want to note down:
You can also search other Shakespeare plays...
Language in the Tempest: 'strange' and 'delicate'
More innovative language - plus some innovative productions with pictures (ooh!) you might want to note down:
Huxley vs Orwell: Dystopia dressed as Utopia
Interesting article and radio programme suggests that Brave New World by Aldous Huxley was a more accurate vision of a dystopian future because it realised that we would willingly embrace our own enslavement - as it would come with mind-altering drugs and sexual 'freedom'.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4TQhTRDcHw1V0YhbtL600BJ/sex-drugs-and-aldous-huxley?intc_type=singletheme&intc_location=avs&intc_campaign=dangerousvisions&intc_linkname=article_huxley_contentcard2
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4TQhTRDcHw1V0YhbtL600BJ/sex-drugs-and-aldous-huxley?intc_type=singletheme&intc_location=avs&intc_campaign=dangerousvisions&intc_linkname=article_huxley_contentcard2
Thursday 19 May 2016
Useful paragraph structure if you're stuck
What's your point?
Where's your proof?
What's the most telling detail in that
evidence?
What's the dramatic impact?
Why was that an important idea at the
time?
Which critics/stagings agree/disagree
with you?
So you're saying...
Tuesday 17 May 2016
Essays from another exam board...
... how many of these points would you be able to make?
AO2: aspects of dramatic form and genre, e.g. melodrama, comedy and tragedy, social realism; structure, e.g. crisis– climax–resolution, forward-moving action with 'flashback' (Blanche's discovery of her young husband's homosexuality and his subsequent suicide); setting in the Elysian Fields quarter of New Orleans; naturalistic effects: the use of music (the 'Negro' Blue Piano, the Polish Varsouviana), sound (thunder, passing train) and lighting (described in meticulous detail in the stage directions); dialogue (Stanley's is colloquial, working-class and assertive while Stella's is higher register but sensible and down-to-earth); action (Stanley can be violent, clumsy, impetuous, but also tender and always passionate, while Stella answers his passion in equal measure and in behaviour that bespeaks a wife who, motivated by self-interest as well as by love, will unquestioningly stand by her man).
To address AO3 students will need to show how the marriage of Stanley and Stella is embedded in a specific historical context, i.e. that of America immediately after the Second World War. The essential nature of that marriage is also determined by their differing class backgrounds and values. During the war Stanley served as an NCO in the US Army; now a civilian, he is employed as a commercial traveller at the same engineering 'plant' as Mitch with whom he plays poker and goes bowling. Stella, like Blanche, is a product of a bygone colonial era; she made her way to New Orleans during the war where she met Stanley and the two fell in love. In determining the inconceivability or otherwise of their relationship, students will want to take account of the tremendous social and cultural disruption which the war brought about, making their meeting a possibility against the odds.
Candidates could also explore the roles of men and women within marriage, so connecting with the representation of one of the central issues of modern literature. They may cite examples of the differences between the social backgrounds and personalities of Stanley and Stella. He is working-class, 'common', from a European immigrant family, an arrogant, assertive alpha male; insensitive, coarse, bestial, capable of raping his sister-in-law while she is a guest under his own roof. She is refined but from a ruinously decadent aristocratic family, submissive, loyal, rejoicing in her new motherhood, protective towards her sister but unwilling to accept the accusation of rape. They are both sexually passionate (which leads to some 'stormy' scenes), but also capable of showing tenderness towards each other, of giving and taking pleasure; both are needy and self-centred, both are materialistic.
Exploring different interpretations, the requirements of AO5 are met if students conduct a debate around the notion of the Kowalskis' marriage being 'inconceivable'. If they accept the proposition set up in the task they may focus on some of the following: Stella's previous life in Belle Rêve; the differences between them as seen in their respective values, speech and actions; Blanche's difficulty in understanding the attraction they have for each other. In addition, they might like to consider Williams's themes (the 'ambiguous nature of sexuality, the betrayal of faith, the corruption of modern America, the over-arching battle of artistic sensitivity against physical materialism') and whether or not the relationship between Stanley and Stella ties in with those themes. Some candidates may decide that Stella's migration from Belle Rêve to the Elysian Fields is not entirely plausible. If they do not accept the 'view' of inconceivability, they will probably focus on the magnetic attraction that the two characters experience for each other which is sexual, powerful and undeniable; the presentation of Stanley as physically attractive, but also persuasive and manipulative; the presentation of Stella's 'narcotized tranquility', her tolerance of Stanley's brutish behaviour and his weaknesses.
Question 8: A Streetcar Named Desire
Examine the view that A Streetcar Named Desire fails because the relationship between Stella and Stanley is 'inconceivable'.
Possible content
Students might choose to write about the following and thereby addressAO2: aspects of dramatic form and genre, e.g. melodrama, comedy and tragedy, social realism; structure, e.g. crisis– climax–resolution, forward-moving action with 'flashback' (Blanche's discovery of her young husband's homosexuality and his subsequent suicide); setting in the Elysian Fields quarter of New Orleans; naturalistic effects: the use of music (the 'Negro' Blue Piano, the Polish Varsouviana), sound (thunder, passing train) and lighting (described in meticulous detail in the stage directions); dialogue (Stanley's is colloquial, working-class and assertive while Stella's is higher register but sensible and down-to-earth); action (Stanley can be violent, clumsy, impetuous, but also tender and always passionate, while Stella answers his passion in equal measure and in behaviour that bespeaks a wife who, motivated by self-interest as well as by love, will unquestioningly stand by her man).
To address AO3 students will need to show how the marriage of Stanley and Stella is embedded in a specific historical context, i.e. that of America immediately after the Second World War. The essential nature of that marriage is also determined by their differing class backgrounds and values. During the war Stanley served as an NCO in the US Army; now a civilian, he is employed as a commercial traveller at the same engineering 'plant' as Mitch with whom he plays poker and goes bowling. Stella, like Blanche, is a product of a bygone colonial era; she made her way to New Orleans during the war where she met Stanley and the two fell in love. In determining the inconceivability or otherwise of their relationship, students will want to take account of the tremendous social and cultural disruption which the war brought about, making their meeting a possibility against the odds.
Candidates could also explore the roles of men and women within marriage, so connecting with the representation of one of the central issues of modern literature. They may cite examples of the differences between the social backgrounds and personalities of Stanley and Stella. He is working-class, 'common', from a European immigrant family, an arrogant, assertive alpha male; insensitive, coarse, bestial, capable of raping his sister-in-law while she is a guest under his own roof. She is refined but from a ruinously decadent aristocratic family, submissive, loyal, rejoicing in her new motherhood, protective towards her sister but unwilling to accept the accusation of rape. They are both sexually passionate (which leads to some 'stormy' scenes), but also capable of showing tenderness towards each other, of giving and taking pleasure; both are needy and self-centred, both are materialistic.
Exploring different interpretations, the requirements of AO5 are met if students conduct a debate around the notion of the Kowalskis' marriage being 'inconceivable'. If they accept the proposition set up in the task they may focus on some of the following: Stella's previous life in Belle Rêve; the differences between them as seen in their respective values, speech and actions; Blanche's difficulty in understanding the attraction they have for each other. In addition, they might like to consider Williams's themes (the 'ambiguous nature of sexuality, the betrayal of faith, the corruption of modern America, the over-arching battle of artistic sensitivity against physical materialism') and whether or not the relationship between Stanley and Stella ties in with those themes. Some candidates may decide that Stella's migration from Belle Rêve to the Elysian Fields is not entirely plausible. If they do not accept the 'view' of inconceivability, they will probably focus on the magnetic attraction that the two characters experience for each other which is sexual, powerful and undeniable; the presentation of Stanley as physically attractive, but also persuasive and manipulative; the presentation of Stella's 'narcotized tranquility', her tolerance of Stanley's brutish behaviour and his weaknesses.
Critical essays
The Tempest and Post-colonialism (Sara)
Body and Spirit, Stage and Sexuality (esp pages 687 - 692) (Asma)
Ariel and Allegory (everyone)
From a 1909 edition of the Tempest: differences between Ariel and Caliban (Anisah)
Power and Gender: Sycorax's absence in the Tempest (Isabelle)
What dreams may come: self-reflection and identity in The Tempest (Sophia)
Prospero's Mirages of Power Struggle and Conscience - Lauren Gifford (Eloise)
Context on James 1 (not critical) (Kadife)
Magic, Books and the Supernatural in The Tempest (Ellie)
Germaine Greer's chapter on the Tempest: re-read. (Rosa)
Body and Spirit, Stage and Sexuality (esp pages 687 - 692) (Asma)
Ariel and Allegory (everyone)
From a 1909 edition of the Tempest: differences between Ariel and Caliban (Anisah)
Power and Gender: Sycorax's absence in the Tempest (Isabelle)
What dreams may come: self-reflection and identity in The Tempest (Sophia)
Prospero's Mirages of Power Struggle and Conscience - Lauren Gifford (Eloise)
Context on James 1 (not critical) (Kadife)
Magic, Books and the Supernatural in The Tempest (Ellie)
Germaine Greer's chapter on the Tempest: re-read. (Rosa)
Wednesday 11 May 2016
Arthur Miller: Tragedy and the Common Man
February 27, 1949
Tragedy and the Common Man by ARTHUR MILLER
I believe that the
common man is as good a subject for tragedy as kings were.
We feel tragedy
when we meet a character who is ready to lay down his life to secure one thing:
his sense of personal dignity.
The struggle
inside all tragedy is that of the individual attempting to gain his
"rightful" position in his society.
Only the passive,
only those who accept their lot in life without fighting back, are
"flawless." (Like most of us.)
Our biggest fear
is being torn away from our chosen image of what and who we are in this world. It
is the common man who knows this fear best.
The tragic
struggle demonstrates the indestructible will of man to achieve his humanity.
Thursday 5 May 2016
Poetry: lifesaving videos
2 a day between now and the exam?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN402fjKty8&list=PLaIevfqn6i7BMS3NefTsPg04ww95cGtF-&index=4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN402fjKty8&list=PLaIevfqn6i7BMS3NefTsPg04ww95cGtF-&index=4
Mercy and forgiveness in another Shakespeare play...
Laura Carmichael as Portia from 'The Merchant of Venice', begging Shylock to show mercy:
How far does Prospero measure up to Portia's ideal of a 'merciful' figure?
Here's the speech written down:
The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
‘T is mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown:
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That, in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of thy plea;
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence ‘gainst the merchant there.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
‘T is mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown:
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That, in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of thy plea;
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence ‘gainst the merchant there.
Tuesday 3 May 2016
A04 + 3 - did Shakespeare have syphillis?
An
article which reviews two new books on Shakespeare. One of these books suggests
Shakespeare may have been syphilitic later in his life.
It then goes on to
consider how this may have influenced Shakespeare's attitude towards sex in his
later plays. Perhaps it could be linked to an interpretation of Prospero's
'Hymen's lamps' - the stress placed on Ferdinand and Miranda not sleeping
together.
The link is below - the
second part of the article is where the writer discusses the syphilis claim.
Could be an interesting
and unusual piece of Ao4 and Ao3.
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