The (Christmas) Eve of St Agnes

Tomorrow, we'll be building on our study of Keats by diving headlong into the juicy long narrative of The Eve of St Agnes. We'll read this in the light of our study of La Belle Dame Sans Merci, looking to compare the two to establish characteristic features of Keats' style, themes and techniques. It's a lovely poem- the following link might help you to revise and review it: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/st_agnes.html - it is quite lengthy, so we won't be able to cover every aspect in class and you'll need to consolidate our work with independent review- we'll discuss the detail of this together.

See you then!

Mr Boulter

All the rest is silence...

So now we've finished the play and you are considering your coursework titles and some historical and cultural context to do with the genre of revenge tragedy and Shakespeare's sources for Hamlet. We have also spent some time talking about different interpretations, and ways in which we might discuss the tragic elements of the play.

Now it's over to you. Over Christmas, you will need to prepare your thoughts for the writing of the coursework essay you will start in January. It would be helpful if you were to read up on some ideas about the context and interpretation of the play. An obvious starting point is the introduction to the Cambridge edition you have been using. But the internet also has some very interesting and very accessible material which you would enjoy and find interesting. Here are some suggestions.

1. THE RSC (ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY) - HAMLET SITE
http://www.rsc.org.uk/hamlet/home/home.html.
This is an excellent and well-illustrated site, full of interesting and accessible material, good for browsing. The followings sections are useful:
• About tragedy – background on Shakespeare’s ideas of tragedy, mainly ideas we’ve already covered but good revision
• About the play – background on Shakespeare’s sources and the staging of the play – some of the things we’ve done, but also some interesting other material
• The current production – interesting sections on interpreting Hamlet for the theatre
• Learning – very good material on historical context, madness, how old is Hamlet? Also interesting things on language and staging issues
• Teachers – very good sections on purgatory, and the texts of Hamlet (‘which edition?’)
• More about Shakespeare – very good background material, especially section on players and playhouses

2. SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE – GLOBELINK
Globelink has a Hamlet site - http://www.globelink.org/resourcecentre/hamlet2000/ - with some interesting material based on the Globe Theatre’s 2000 production - pictures, interviews and character notes. There is also an excellent section with background material on Shakespeare’s theatre: http://www.globelink.org/abouttheglobe

3. UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA INTERNET SHAKESPEARE EDITIONS - HAMLET SITE
http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/plays/Ham.html contains an excellent and very accessible section on different interpretations and contexts – under the heading Life and Times – good for browsing. It also has some excellent reproductions of the original printed versions of the play in the section Book Facsimiles. The Links sections contains a selection of contemporary scholarship on Hamlet – not for the fainthearted!

4. BRITISH LIBRARY SHAKESPEARE SITE
Pictures of manuscripts and explanation of the different versions of Hamlet also at the British Library site: http://www.bl.uk/treasures/shakespeare/homepage.html. Lots of other historical information and some historical recordings of actors performing speeches from the plays. But beware: this is quite a specialised site.

5: BRANAGH FILM SITE
Huge amount of information about the Branagh film at:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/6261/hamlet.html

And of course you can use Google to find a variety of other stuff.

Then there is reading. If you're intrigued by Shakespeare and would like to know more, why not try Bill Bryson's very popular book 'Shakespeare', or Ben Crystal's 'Shakespeare on Toast'. On a more serious note, these are quite accessible scholarly books about Shakespeare:

Peter Ackroyd: Shakespeare the Biography
Jonathan Bate: the Genius of Shakespeare
Stanley Wells: Shakespeare and Co
Frank Kermode: Shakespeare's Language
James Shapiro: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare
Germaine Greer: Shakespeare's Wife

All are available in paperback, and we have one or two of them in the English dept.

Mr Snapper





Happy browsing!

Mr Snapper

Green Eggs and Hamlet

For Dr Seuss fans - just found this on the internet (unknwn author):

Green Eggs and Hamlet

I ask to be or not to be.
That is the question I ask of me.
This sullied life, it makes me shudder.
My uncle's boffing dear sweet mother.
Would I, could I take me life?
Could I, should I end this strife?
Should I jump out of a plane?
Or throw myself before a train?
Should I from a cliff just leap?
Could I put myself to sleep?
Shoot myself ot take some poison?
Maybe try self immolation?
To shudder off this mortal coil,
I could stab myself with a fencing foil.
Slash my wrists while in the bath?
Would it end my angst and wrath?
To sleep, to drea, now there's the rub.
I could drop a toaster in my tub.
Would all be glad if I were dead?
Could I perhaps kill them instead?
This line of thought takes consideration-
For I'm the king of procrastination.

Other funnies that are definitely worth looking at:

Alternative ending for Hamlet in the style of Scooby Doo - http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/97/May/scoobyham.html
Skinhead Hamlet (by Richard Curtis) - http://sub-zero.mit.edu/bakunin/hamlet.html
(NB - Skinhead Hamlet comes with a bad language warning...)

Mr Snapper

He that made us with such large discourse ... gave us not that capability and god-like reason to fust in us unused

So I am expecting to see your 'god-like reason' applied carefully to the task I set you on Wednesday - to brainstorm (or mind-map, or whatever...) some initial basic ideas on the eight potential coursework titles I gave you last week. Work due in on Friday, and that means Friday!

Looks like I have competition on the blog-post title front...

Mr Snapper

A (Pre)view from the Bridge

As you can see, I'm really getting the hang of this imaginative blog-titling lark, and look forward to hearing your admiring acknowledgement on Monday. I would also like to preview with you our next area of study, which will be centred on the poetry of John Keats. This is part of the Narrative unit- if you were interested in a bit of pre-reading, google La Belle Dame Sans Merci, which is the first text we'll concentrate on.

Our main focus will be on narrative, but we shall learn much about Keats and poetry more generally; it's quite challenging but highly rewarding literature to study, in my view.

Anyway, we'll discuss in more detail on Monday- I do need essays in from people on or before then though please!

Mr Boulter

All My (Les)Sons - I did one!

Hi,
In today's lesson, Ellie kindly allowed us to use her (very promising) essay to assess in the light of the assessment criteria. I hope that this was a useful exercise, and promoted thought from you all about how you can craft your essays to meet the expectations of the criteria most effectively. To summarise, some of the key points that came out of the lesson were about the importance of having a clear and straightforward structure to your responses- this can often be helped by having a clear and straightforward title. Furthermore, we considered the importance of writing developed, clear points, which analyse the evidence in detail. There is a tendency at this level to try to include too many points, resulting in a rather jumbled and incoherent response. Instead, rememeber the ideas about writing a 'lot about a little'.
I need to see a first draft from the rest of you by Monday- email it to me beforehand or bring it to the lesson please. Those of you who have chosen not to submit an essay title to me as requested on a previous post will have to write your essay without the opportunity to discuss the title with me. This is not helpful for you, and I'd remind you of the importance of responding to requests made in class or on the blog.
Anyway, have a great weekend,
Mr Boulter

Writing at AS Level

Hi all,
I've had a couple of requests for a bit more explicit guidance on essay writing. As a result, on Monday we'll go through this, using the Assessment Objectives as a guide, but aiming to leave the lesson with a better understanding of the features of excellent essay writing at this level. I've put a presentation together which it may be worth you having a look at if you get a chance on Monday morning- it's on the VLe and can be reached here: http://www.school-portal.co.uk/GroupHomepage.asp?GroupID=432976 - if this doesn't work, find the English section and it will be straightforward to follow the links from there.
We'll talk this through, and then assess our own writing so far in the light of this knowledge. It does strike me that a common barrier to successful writing is simply that the student hasn't gone back and re-read the text in detail, putting in the creative effort necessary to come up with the ideas they need- this is a stage which is often undervalued at GCSE, resulting in a degree of floundering at A Level- we'll discuss in the lesson and see if you think that work in this area would help you.
Anyhoo, that's it for now- see you in the morning!
Mr Boulter

Friday's lesson

Morning all,

Unfortunately I'm on a course in Stoke today- many apologies- and I'd like you to do the following:
- make sure that you've watched the BBC resources on All My Sons
- Read the articles about All My Sons from emagazine (log on details for this are below)

By Monday, you need to have written at least 800 words of your essay. To be honest, I'd advise you just to write the whole thing- we'll have a good look at them together before you hand it in as an official first draft, so don't feel under pressure to get it perfect at this stage.

In terms of titles, some of you still haven't told me what your title is. You are making life difficult for yourself with this. However, my general advice, particularly after the discussions we had on Monday, is that to keep it simple is not a bad thing at all. An essay which assesses the extent to which Joe Keller can be seen as a tragic hero has the potential to achieve full marks- don't feel that you have to provide a more complicated title in order to hit the higher grades.

Anyway, apologies for my absence once again, and I look forward to receiving your essays on Monday.
Have a great weekend,

Mr Boulter

Poetry Contest

Hi all,

Thought this might be of interest to any budding poets- http://www.towerpoetry.org.uk/prize/index.html - you have to write a poem on the theme of Doubt - anyone fancy it? You can win £3000!
Mr Boulter

The Play's the Thing...

Dear All

Just a reminder that your commentaries are due in on Monday (17th!). And if you haven't emailed me about anything yet, please do mail me just so I have your address. I'll update you all on the plans for theatre trips which I outlined earlier this week, and about the after-school sessions for watching the rest of the Hamlet video.

Next week, we'll finish Act 3, and then talk about the highlights of Acts 4 and 5, but now that I've covered all the basic ground - language, characterisation, interpretation, dramatic effect, etc - with you, the main responsibility for reading those acts is yours. So the following week we'll move back to broad ideas about tragedy and how they relate to Hamlet, in preparation for your coursework which we'll start at the end of the month. After you've handed in the work on Monday, you need to read Acts 4 and 5 by Monday 24th November.

See you soon

Mr Snapper

e-magazine log on details

Hi Year 12,
Just to let you know, we've subscribed to emagazine, which is a publication aimed specifically at KS5 Literature students and has much of interest for you. In order to access it, you need to go to:
www.emagazine.org.uk
Our username is: emagazine6
password: y37k42

There are some good articles in there at the moment, and loads that you can browse through. This sort of wider reading comes highly recommended; on occasion we'll direct you to read particular articles, but it would be great for you to show your independence by having a browse through yourself. Remember that it's your responsibility to find interest in the subject- reading widely is one of the best ways you can help yourself to achieve this.
Have fun
Mr Boulter
ps- we also get a paper version- see me if you want a copy.

Homework and Titles

Hi all,
Just to clarify the work you need to complete at home this week- I'd ask you to confirm your title by emailing it to me on tbo@cheney.oxon.sch.uk. You then need to continue to work on planning and thinking about your response, as we were doing in class on Monday. By Monday, I'd like you to have produced a written plan of some substance, ie a document which shows your key points, which pieces of textual evidence and quotation you are going to use, and what you intend to say about the evidence. This should take a considerable amount of time to produce and needs hard work!
Have a good week,
Mr Boulter

Words, Words, Words....

Hello All

So we covered some very important issues in this week's lessons.

First, we talked out some technical issues to do with essay writing - spelling, punctuation (especially apostrophes), word choice, and the use of spelling and grammar checkers; and plagiarism, attribution, referencing and the use of the internet. Second, I talked about the need to show awareness of the issue of interpretation when you write. Yes, what you write should be a 'personal' response, but it must be a knowledgeable, informed personal response which shows awareness of alternative interpretations and the broader contexts in which we make judgements about works of literature - such as knowledge of social and historical context, and awareness of the writer's craft. Third, we explored in more detail than we have done so far the way in which Shakespeare uses language for particular effects. We looked at three short passages from Act 2 in which Shakespeare uses a variety of techniques (extended metaphor, irony, rhetorical structures, etc) to suggest certain aspects of character and relationships.

For homework, I've asked you to write up these ideas about language by writing three short commentaries on the way Shakespeare uses language in these three passages in order to create particualr effects. This is to give you practice, and to build your confidence, in deploying terminology and ideas about language and the craft of the writer as part of a discussion of interpretation.

Next week - Act 3.

Mr Snapper

Homework

Hi all, and well done on your performance in the lesson today. By Monday, I'd like you to have decided on which essay title you'd like to commit to. I'd also like you to do some planning and thinking as to the approach you might take. Decisions you need to make include:

- which sections / scenes will be most relevant to your study, and therefore need to be re-read and annotated?

- which quotations or key moments require focus?

- what are the key points that you might include in your essay?

This requires careful thought, reading and planning; in some ways essay writing at this stage is a highly creative exercise, and it can be very exciting to come up with some 'killer' points. My advice is that you don't let yourself be too easily satisfied with your initial thoughts and ideas- there are often radically different interpretations that can be reached, and it's interesting to think about these.

Anyway, have fun and I'll see you on Monday.

Mr Boulter

Hamlet Facebook Edition

Couldn't resist adding this, which a friend has just told me about - Hamlet, the Facebook Edition:

http://www.angelfire.com/art2/antwerplettuce/hamlet.html

Mr Snapper

Once more unto the breach

What with so many missed lessons recently, I haven't blogged for a while, but it's the end of half term, so time to catch up.

Before half term, we did some solid work intended to develop your confidence with Shakespeare's language and with your own skills of interpretation, by rehearsing a reading of parts of Act 2, Scene 2. I then asked you to finish reading Act Two, and to read Act Three, over the holiday, and also to ensure that you understand in detail what happens in the first half of Act Two.

In the coming week, we'll recap the first half of Act Two, and look in more detail at Shakespeare's use of metaphor and other literary devices. Then, we'll discuss the second half of Act Two before we move on to looking at Act Three. The following week, we'll start moving towards the end of the play, and return to the question of tragedy.

Mr Snapper

Friday's lesson

Really sorry about this everyone, but I've got to go to a funeral tomorrow, so won't be in the lesson. I'd like you to leave your essays on my desk if you've handwritten them or (preferably) email me to them at tbo@cheney.oxon.sch.uk if you have them electronically.

For your lesson, I have emailed you the presentation I'd like you to use, which focuses on Act 2 of AMS. I would suggest that someone logs on and displays this on the board, and that you work through it as a group. All the aims are there so it shouldn't cause too many problems.

Have a great half term,

Mr Boulter

Goodbye foot..

that foot was making me feel sick...much better to have a lovely pretty flower... Just a quick reminder that I need your essays in on Fri- see below for details.

Lesson Review

Hi all,

OK- it's been a few days since I posted, so let's have a catch-up with what we're doing at the moment. Friday's lesson revolved around the essay that we discussed, and which you will be writing next week. The title is as follows:

‘Joe Keller is presented as a callous character who refuses to take responsibility for his actions.’
To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Some things to keep in mind about this title are that it is deliberately dissimilar to the approach we'll take to our coursework task, which will have a more explicit focus on tragedy (see previous post). Instead, this is an attempt to write in a real A-Level style, with a focus on clear communication and language, structure and form. These are covered by AO1 and AO2 (have a look at the syllabus for a more detailed explanation of this).

We discussed the idea of writing an essay focused on Miller's presentation of Joe, rather than treating Joe as if he was a real person- a common mistake early in the A Level course. We also considered the use of dramatic devices and the importance of writing about the text as a play to be performed, rather than just a story. This leads to focus on elements such as stage directions, stage set, props, entrances and exits, dramatic tension, dramatic irony, delivery of individual lines etc.

Furthermore, an interesting discussion took place about the word 'callous' and the different interpretations that could drawn from it; this illustrated the importance of analysing the key words of the question in detail and coming to a clear understanding of this before starting to plan and write the essay.

Your homework for this weekend then, is to come up with a full plan for this essay. This means that you will have:

- defined your terms- what exactly are you taking 'callous' to mean

- Planned a series of points in support of and against the statement

- Come up with evidence to support these points, ideally with some consideration of dramatic devices as well as the characters' words and actions

- Thought about your own view, in light of the evidence, and know what position you will argue in support of

This is therefore quite a substantial task which will require effort and application. I need to see your ideas written down in some form, which needs to be more than a few quick notes. We'll take some time to discuss your planning on Monday, ready to write the essay in time for Friday.
Finally, we had a very interesting discussion about the brain, and I introduced you to the idea of right brain / left brain thinking. After the lesson, I had another interesting discussion with Mr Lawrence and Mr Nicholls about this, both of whom thought that my explanation had been a bit simplistic and scientifically questionable! They are probably right- if you get a chance, ask them about it and they'll give you some different perspectives.

OK, that's it- have a good weekend!

Mr Boulter

Homework and lesson review

Hi everyone,

Well, in today's lesson we worked through the opening of the play, with a focus on characterisation. We found that Miller's exposition is complex, with some subtle foreshadowing of what is to come, for example in Keller's dishonesty and unwillingness to face the truth, compared with Chris's idealism.

For your homework, I'd like you to complete the following tasks:

- Read the whole of Act 1 again

- Make notes on the character of Chris

- Use the following guidelines to structure your notes, but feel free to make your own observations also:

- What facts have we been told about him?
- What does Miller show us of his personality?
- How does he interact with the other characters?
- Which quotations are most apt for illustrating his character?

You need to choose the form you want to present this in. You might want to make extensive notes- in which case take care to present them carefully and use plenty of detail. Otherwise, you might just write your answers in sentences or make a mindmap if you are more that way inclined. Up to you, but you need to put a good level of effort in, and I need to see what you've produced on Monday in the lesson.

Anyway, that's that- have a great weekend (looks like it will be a sunny one!) and well done on your work this week.

Mr Boulter

Something is Rotten...

Hello all

We seem to be blighted at present by missing lessons for school closures. I just realised that we won't have a lesson tomorrow afternoon because of the open day. So.... if you haven't yet handed in your written work on Act One, could you please either bring it to the office by tomorrow lunchtime (as I won't be in school from 3pm tomorrow till Monday), or send it by email to me at gsn@cheney.oxon.sch.uk. If neither of these is possible, you can give it to me on Monday, but this week would be best. I'm slightly disappointed that not everyone got me their work on time, especially since it's the first major piece of written work.

Next lesson we'll do Act Two. I'd like you all to read Act 2 Scene One in advance, and then we'll read the very long and complicated Act 2 Scene 2 together.

Last lesson, we talked about various possible interpretations of Polonius, Opehelia and Laertes, as well as Hamlet's reactions to the ghost. Some importamt points that arose:

1. Polonius - bumbling old man or something a bit more political / sinister?
2. Laertes - deliberate parallel and contrast with Hamlet?
3. Ophelia - weak and powerless in the face of three powerful men?
4. Hamlet - what explains his strange reactions to the ghost?

We'll talk more later about how interpretations of characters' words and actions can radically affect the way a play is performed and interpreted. We also need to look in more detail at Shakespeare's use of language: although it is very tempting to focus on characters, themes, interpretations, etc, we need to root what we have to say in the actual words Shakespeare uses,and we need to think about conceptions of beauty and elegance in Shakespeare's language, as well as the particular kinds of language he assigns to different characters at different times.

See you soon
Mr Snapper

Lesson Preview

Hi all,


It seems like we've not had a lesson for ages, particularly as we missed one through the INSET day on Friday. I'd just like to clarify our aims for next week and beyond, particularly as the time for coursework is looming closer!


Next week, we will finish reading / listening to All My Sons in class, and begin a more substantial analysis of the play. We need to discuss ways to approach this, and you'll need to choose which option would be best for you to take.

Also, it will be helpful also to come up with some ideas for possible coursework titles, as it will be helpful to have this in mind as we study the detail of the play. The advice from the exam board is that we agree titles which focus on an aspect of the play as a tragedy. An example for AMS might be 'To what extent can Joe Keller be regarded as a typicl tragic hero?'. Alternatively, you might focus on other specific aspects of tragedy, such as endings, along the lines of 'Discuss the extent to which the ending of AMS offer catharsis to the audience.'. You need to decide what you'd prefer to write about, and most of you will attempt different titles.

The link to the exam board's guidance on this is here- look at pages 8 and 9 in particular for this piece. We'll go over all of this in class of course, but it would certainly be beneficial if you were to have a look on your own.
http://www.aqa.org.uk/qual/gce/pdf/AQA-2745-W-SP-10.PDF

One last thing- I've put some useful links onto the blog at the right hand side. We will cover this in class, but it would be well worth you reading Miller's 1049 essay Tragedy and the Common Man , which sets out some of his ideas in terms of tragedy. It's quite abstract in places, so don't worry if it's quite hard to read independently. Nevertheless, it would be an extremely useful piece of independent reading for you- probably best to paste onto Word, print out and read on paper I would have thought. Up to you though.

Right, have a great weekend and I'll see you for some catharsis (or not, we'll have to see) on Monday.

Mr Boulter

Work for Friday

Well, I say 'work'... what I'd like you to do is watch the opening of The Crucible. It's all set up in the PC in room 5; all you have to do is log on and you're away. Any probs, ask Mrs Harte next door. I'd like you to focus on the character of John Proctor, considering the extent to which he conforms to the conventions of the tragic hero as we've discussed.

I won't give you any homework this weekend; if you've not bought All My Sons yet, please ensure that you have it by Monday.

Have a good weekend,

Mr Boulter

"Weary, stale, flat and unprofitable"?

Certainly not a description of our lesson today, I hope, where we watched both the grand, colourful Branagh version of Act 1, Scenes 1 and 2, and the less conventional Ethan Hawke version. You should be getting a sense of how Shakespeare's words come to full life when performed, when they are actually used to communicate. Shakespeare was himself an actor and surely wrote his words with acting very much in mind. You should also be beginning to see how meanings are formed only partially by the writer: the interpretations of readers, actors, audiences, directors etc, also create meanings.

In the previous lesson, we read Scene 2 and talked about the way Claudius is presented as king, and the way a tension between Claudius and Hamlet is set up through Hamlet's use of asides and puns, and his first soliloquy.

Your homework is to make detailed notes on Scenes 1 and 2, and to read Scene 3. Next week too we'll talk about those tragedy questions, and think about how the tragic framework of Hamlet has already been set up in the first two scenes of the play.

Mr Snapper

When the feeling's gone and you can't go on...

Hi there

So it's wall-to-wall tragedy at the moment! We talked a bit about WHY tragedy has been such an important part of culture for so long - what exactly is there to ENJOY about a tragedy? Something that we will need to talk more about later. And I asked you to read the tragedy booklet I gave you and think about the questions on the back page - for discussion next week.

We've also started Hamlet, and we talked a bit about what we expect to LEARN from studying a Shakespeare play in detail. The list we came up with was something like this:

1. How writers (i.e. Shakespeare in this case) use language and structure to convey ideas
2. How literary texts (i.e. Hamlet in this case) give a REPRESENTATION of society and individuals within that society.
3. How readers make INTERPRETATIONS of texts that they read, in this case a complex literary text
4. How the MEANINGS of literary texts might change over time, and in particular how HAMLET might have been understood in Shakespeare's time

As we read through / listen to / watch the play, you will need to keep notes on aspects of all those topics, as well as trying to keep track of the characters and plot of the play. We'll talk more about this next week.

Our discussion on Act One Scene One focused on (1) the war which is being prepared, and what we learn about the relationship between Norway and Denmark, and (2) the Ghost of old Hamlet, and the Christian context in which the ghost is presented, with the image of the cock representing Christ and the Ghost representing the Devil.

Someone also pointed out that it was odd that the characters had Italian names although the play is set in Denmark: a very good point. The references to Rome and Julius Caesar are also part of the Italian / Classical framework of the play. At this point in the Renaissance, the influence of Italy on artists, writers and thinkers in Northern Europe was huge.

Mr Snapper

Homework and lesson review

Hi all,

Just a quick post to review our findings from today and set your homework. We looked at the end of The Crucible in the lesson, focusing on the character of John Proctor. In particular, we considered the extent to which the character could be said to conform to the conventions of the Greek model of the tragic hero, and compared him to Eddie Carbone from A View from the Bridge. There were some clear elements of crossover here, particularly in identifying features such as hubris (excessive or stubborn pride), an also the sense of agnorisis, in that Proctor seemed to come to an understanding of his own character and weaknesses before his death. It was also striking to note some very similar lines delivered by each character as they defended their honour through protecting their 'name'. We also discussed the idea, however, that Proctor seems less tragic than Eddie in some senses, as he controls his destiny at the end, and in some ways triumphs over the authorities in choosing to die rather than suffer dishonour in the eyes of his community.

For your homework, I'd just like you to complete our task of finding evidence to support the reading of Eddie as a classical tragic hero (see the picture on this post for a reminder of the features we identified, and click on it to make it bigger). If you could find at least one quotation for each, that would be great. Also, if you could get hold of a copy of All My Sons over the weekend, that would be very helpful. http://www.amazon.co.uk/All-My-Sons-Hereford-Plays/dp/0435225782/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221856333&sr=8-2

Right, that's it- apologies for the high death count in this morning's viewing, but this is a tragedy unit after all! Things will get less gruesome (but not necessarily less tragic) from now on!

Mr Boulter

Background Review

Hello Year 12

My turn to post a review here.

We've done a quick whizz through some history, particularly looking at:
1 - the relationship between Shakespeare's Early Modern English, and the Middle English and Old English that came before it
2 - the way that Classical (Latin, Greek, French, generally Southern European) influences began to affect English language and literature after the Norman invasion
3 - the origin of the iambic pentameter in Greek poetry and drama, and the way it replaced Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse
4 - the origin of poetic form - verse, metre, etc - in the oral tradition - stories and songs performed with harps or sung without instruments etc.
5 - the continuing importance of the oral tradition at the time of Shakespeare (before books and printing were commonly available), including the continuing use of verse for drama

You should be able to see how all these things give us a sense of the background to Shakespearean Tragedy. At the end, we touched briefly on the origins of tragedy in Greece, and I asked you for homework to do some initial research into Greek Tragedy. In the coming week, we'll talk about what you've found out, and try to build a picture of some of the main features of Greek Tragedy. We'll also start reading Hamlet. And all this should also be useful in the parallel work you're doing with Mr Boulter.

You'll probably already know that one of the most famous Greek tragedies is Oedipus Rex. You may be interested in the following YouTube film - Oedipus with Vegetables. Those of you who've seen Star Wars with Vegetables already will know that you're in for a treat:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NydKPClhYgM

Have a good weekend. I'll be reading your personal introductions this weekend.

Mr Snapper

Lesson Review and Homework

Hi Year 12,

Just to review what we've covered so far. By now you should have had listened to and discussed the whole of Miller's A View from the Bridge, with a particular focus on the ways that Eddie can be seen to be regarded as a tragic hero. Your task for homework is to investigate the following question:

How might A View from the Bridge be said to display the conventions of Greek tragedy?

I would expect you to present this information either through detailed notes or a mindmap if you learn well through working with images. I suggest that you investigate the generic features of Greek tragedy first and then apply them to the text; putting the whole of the question into Google (or even Ask Jeeves) is unlikely to get you very far. Some particular things to look for would be ideas about hamartia, hubris, and the use of a Chorus.

Please apply yourself fully to this task; enjoyment will only come from doing it to a high standard and exploring the question creatively.

I hope you enjoyed the play, and thank you for the reflections you wrote in the first lesson- very interesting and illuminating!

Mr Boulter

Hello Year 12!

Welcome to your AS blog for 2008 / 9. The purpose of this blog is as follows:

• To give you information such as homework tasks etc
• To encourage us to reflect on our learning, our approaches and achievements
• To provide opportunities for independence and wider study

Your teachers will post on here fairly regularly, and it's important that you check the blog at least twice per week. You can also take the opportunity to leave comments or questions through the comments facility.

I'll post more later, giving the course outlines and key details as explained in your lessons today; it was great to meet you all and we look forward to working with you this year.

Mr Boulter and Mr Snapper