Viewing entries from category: OCR A Level
W.B. Yeats Poetry | The Man and the Echo »
Categories: Courses, A Level, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Yeats, W.B. Yeats, Writing, Poetry Analysis
Context
This poem was written in 1938, just before Yeats’ death.
Structure
The poem is written as a conversation between the man and an echo. It is composed of rhyming couplets which is the simplest rhyme form.
Stanza 1
The word ‘Alt’ is a rocky fissure at Knocknarea, County Sligo. The phrase ‘broad noon has never lit’ suggests a dark, secluded place. This is an alliterative phrase ‘shout a secret to the stone’ ; ‘shout’ suggests a public declaration but by shouting at ‘the stone’ the man keeps his secret while making...
[ read full article ] »W.B. Yeats Poetry | In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markiewicz »
Categories: Courses, A Level, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Yeats, W.B. Yeats, Writing, Poetry Analysis
Context
This poem was written in 1927. The people mentioned in the title are Eva Gore-Booth (1870-1926) and Constance Markiewicz (nee Gore-Booth) (1868-1927). They were childhood friends of Yeats.
Structure
The poem has 3 stanzas with 10 or 12 lines. There is no regular rhyme scheme in the poem which may reflect the fact that Yeats is writing about friends; this is a personal poem and not the place for the formal or structured.
Stanza 1
‘Lissadell’ is a late Georgian house, home of the Gore-Booths, in County Sligo. The description...
[ read full article ] »W.B. Yeats Poetry | Among School Children »
Categories: Courses, A Level, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Yeats, W.B. Yeats, Writing, Poetry Analysis
Context
This poem was written after a visit by Yeats in his capacity as a Senator to St Otteran’s School, Waterford in 1926. The school was run on Montessori principles.
Structure
The poem is 8 stanzas long with 8 lines per stanza. It is also written in ottava rima, a verse form Yeats used in Sailing to Byzantium. The subject matter is appropriate for this verse form – the changing face of man and mortality.
Stanza 1
Yeats walks through the school in the company of Mother Philomena who ran the school. He lists the children’s activities...
[ read full article ] »W.B. Yeats Poetry | Leda and the Swan »
Categories: Courses, A Level, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Yeats, W.B. Yeats, Writing, Poetry Analysis
Context
This poem can be seen in reference to The Second Coming; it describes a moment that represented a change of era in Yeats’ model of gyres. But where Yeats’ poem The Second Coming represents the end of modern history, Leda and the Swan represents something like its beginning; the rape of Leda by Zeus resulted in the birth/hatching of Clytemnestra, Helen, Castro and Polydeuces (Castor and Polydeuces were war gods) and this brought about the Trojan War which in turn brought about the end of the ancient mythological era and the birth of...
[ read full article ] »W.B. Yeats Poetry | Sailing to Byzantium »
Categories: Courses, A Level, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Yeats, W.B. Yeats, Writing, Poetry Analysis
Context
This poem was written in 1926 and first published in 1928. Yeats wrote in a draft script for a 1931 BBC broadcast:
I am trying to write about the state of my soul, for it is right for an old man to make his soul, and some of my thoughts about that subject I have put into a poem called Sailing to Byzantium. When Irishmen were illuminating the Book of Kells, and making the jewelled ‘croziers’ in the National Museum, Byzantium was the centre of European civilization and the source of its spiritual philosophy, so I symbolize the...
[ read full article ] »W.B. Yeats Poetry | The Second Coming »
Categories: Courses, A Level, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Yeats, W.B. Yeats, Writing, Poetry Analysis
Context
The poem was written in 1919 in the aftermath of the First World War. Richard Ellman and Harold Bloom suggest the text refers to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Bloom argues that Yeats takes the side of the counter-revolutionaries and the poem suggests that reaction to the revolution would come too late. Early drafts also included such lines as: “And there’s no Burke to cry aloud no Pitt,” and “The good are wavering, while the worst prevail.” (Wikipedia)
Yeats intended The Second Coming to describe the current historical moment –...
[ read full article ] »W.B. Yeats Poetry | Easter 1916 »
Categories: Courses, A Level, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Yeats, W.B. Yeats, Writing, Poetry Analysis
Context
This poem was written as a reaction to the Easter Rising of 23-29 April 1916.
It was written in September 1916 when Yeats was staying with Maud Gonne MacBride at Les Mouettes, Calvados. In it he records his reactions to the Easter Rising in Dublin, when the city centre was occupied by a force of around 700 members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, led by Patrick Pearse, and members of the Citizen Army, led by James Connolly. They held out for 6 days – 15 of their leaders were sentenced by courts martial and executed between 3rd...
[ read full article ] »W.B. Yeats Poetry | The Fisherman »
Categories: Courses, A Level, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Yeats, W.B. Yeats, Writing, Poetry Analysis
Context
This poem was first published in 1916. The Fisherman is presented as the ‘ideal man’ with his country skills; he is also a symbol for Ireland – where Yeats believes the ideal man ‘exists’. It draws a contrast between Yeats’ ‘ideal Irishman’ and the real man of his contemporary Ireland. Yeats was a skilled fly fisherman and used this knowledge to develop the character of the fisherman.
Structure
The poem is written as a single stanza with a regular ABAB rhyme scheme, 3 stresses per line.
The word ‘him’ refers to...
[ read full article ] »W.B. Yeats Poetry | An Irishman Foresees His Death »
Categories: Courses, A Level, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Yeats, W.B. Yeats, Writing, Poetry Analysis
Context
This poem was first published in 1919. It is widely believed to be a tribute to Major Robert Gregory, the only child of Lady Gregory; he joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1916 and was shot down in 1918 over Italy.
Structure
This is a 16 line poem written in iambic tetrameter (4 quatrains of alternating rhymes). The title reflects the reality of life for airmen in WWI. This may have happened to many people fighting during wars: they know their death is approaching but there is little they can do about it. There is no real sense of...
[ read full article ] »W.B. Yeats Poetry | The Wild Swans at Coole »
Categories: Courses, A Level, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Yeats, W.B. Yeats, Writing, Poetry Analysis
Context
This poem was first published in 1917 when Yeats was 52 in a collection of the same name. The setting is in Coole Park, Galway, the home of Lady Gregory. Lady Gregory was a patron and friend of Yeats and he first visited her home in 1897.
Structure
The poem has 5 stanzas each 6 lines long and is written roughly in iambic pentameter; 1st & 3rd lines = tetrameter, 2nd, 4th & 6th lines trimester, 5th line pentameter. Pattern of stresses 434353. This is very precise and links with the precision of the subject matter – events are...
[ read full article ] »W.B. Yeats Poetry | The Cold Heaven »
Categories: Courses, A Level, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Yeats, W.B. Yeats, Writing, Poetry Analysis
Context
This poem was published in 1914 at the start of World War One. It is about remorse over failure in love and the fear that this remorse will continue after death as a purgatorial punishment. This could be said to have links with the ‘guilt’ which is felt particularly by Irish Catholics. Some commentators have said that the failed love was for Maud Gone, but it doesn’t really matter for the readers’ understanding of the poem.
Structure
This poem is 1 stanza long, a total of 12 lines. There is a regular rhyme scheme with all the...
[ read full article ] »W.B. Yeats Poetry | September 1913 »
Categories: Courses, A Level, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Yeats, W.B. Yeats, Writing, Poetry Analysis
Context
This poem was first published, unsurprisingly, in 1913 and was inspired by the dispute over the Lane art gallery in Dublin; Hugh Lane wished to present his collection of French paintings to Dublin but there was disagreement about whether the City should provide or pay for a gallery to house them.
Structure
4 stanzas, 8 lines in each. The last 2 lines of each stanza form the refrain. A regular rhyme scheme is used which shows the control that Yeats’ displays in much of his poetry.
Stanza 1
The use of ‘you’ means the Irish people...
[ read full article ] »W.B. Yeats Poetry | The Stolen Child »
Categories: Courses, A Level, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Yeats, W.B. Yeats, Writing, Poetry Analysis
Context
First published in 1886 when Yeats was 21. This poem is set in County Sligo where Yeats spent part of his childhood; some actual locations mentioned illustrate Yeats’ fond reminiscing about his childhood – Yeats has a tendency to romanticise childhood.
The poem also illustrates Yeats’ interest in Irish mythology – the story of a child abducted by ‘faeries’. This feeds into many cultures’ fears of loss of children; also the story of changeling children (a human child abducted and replaced with faery child).
There is a...
[ read full article ] »W.B. Yeats Poetry | An Introduction »
Categories: Courses, A Level, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Yeats, W.B. Yeats, Writing, Poetry Analysis
William Butler Yeats
Yeats was born into a strongly Protestant family in 1865 in the Irish and largely Roman Catholic city of Dublin; Yeats was the son of Susan Pollexfen and John Butler Yeats; his mother was a member of a wealthy milling and shipping family; his father was originally a barrister but later followed his other son into painting.
He was educated at Godolphin School, Hammersmith and High School, Dublin. He studied at School of Art, Dublin and developed an interest in mystic religion and the supernatural. Yeats identified himself...
[ read full article ] »W.B. Yeats Poetry | Specifications & Assessment Objectives »
Categories: Courses, A Level, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, Poetry, Yeats, W.B. Yeats
Yeats’s poems are studied for:
- OCR English Literature AS Unit F661: Poetry and Prose 1800–1945 (closed text)
They can also be studied for the following units:
- WJEC English Literature AS Unit LT1: Poetry and Drama (as ‘partner’ text)
- Edexcel English Literature A2 Unit 4: Reflections in Literary Studies (free choice)
OCR English Literature AS Unit F661
Section A: Poetry 1800–1945
The focus of this section is the study of selected poems of one poet. Your students will need to answer one question on one poem of the poet studied and...
[ read full article ] »A Guide to Selected Poems of W.B. Yeats »
Categories: Courses, A Level, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, Hot Entries, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Yeats, W.B. Yeats, Writing, Poetry Analysis
1. Specifications & Assessment Objectives
2. An Introduction
3. The Stolen Child
4. September 1913
5. The Cold Heaven
6. The Wild Swans at Coole
7. An Irishman Foresees His Death
8. The Fisherman
9. Easter 1916
10. The Second Coming
11. Sailing to Byzantium
12. Leda and the Swan
13. Among School Children
14. In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markiewicz
15. The Man and the Echo
An Introduction to EnglishEdu’s Edward Thomas PowerPoints »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA1, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Thomas, Edward Thomas
Edward Thomas and His Poetry
Edward Thomas is one of our most highly regarded war poets and yet in the popular imagination is perhaps less well-known; his work has attracted the highest critical acclaim.
Here are some comments:
Because all of his poetry was written after the outbreak of war, it is all, in an important sense, war poetry. Behind every line, whether mentioned or not, lies imminent danger and disruption. Andrew Motion
And from the foreword to the Collected Poems of Edward Thomas (1920)
His face was fair, long and rather...
[ read full article ] »Writing about Jane Eyre »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA2, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, Prose, Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre & AO2
Form, structure and language - is often considered to be the hardest Assessment Objective to cover in A level essays. In fact, all three of these in Jane Eyre contribute to the development of themes, characters and plot, so they should be form an integral part of any discussion of these. Integrating points about form, structure and language into other discussions is a better way of including them than constructing a paragraph specifically to address AO2. Here are some ideas about ways it can be tied in:
A paragraph about Jane...
[ read full article ] »Jane Eyre | Language »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA2, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, Prose, Jane Eyre
Brontë uses extended passages of direct speech to tell Jane’s story. In some ways this acts as protection against Jane’s later knowledge intruding on her younger self. As a device it enables characters to speak for themselves; it enables the reader to see, for example, Rochester’s feelings about Jane when she herself cannot. Apart from her initial introduction of the Reeds, we do not usually rely on Jane’s assessment of anyone, instead being given the opportunity to judge for ourselves from their actions.
Many passages in the book...
[ read full article ] »Jane Eyre | Setting »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA2, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, Prose, Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre is set firmly in northern England, in five separate locations. The Reed house at Gateshead, Lowood School, Thornfield Hall, Moor House (the Rivers’ house) and Ferndean Manor, which is Rochester’s smaller, more rural home. Mary, Rochester’s housekeeper at Ferndean, gives Brontë the chance to demonstrate that her control of the Yorkshire dialect is as strong as Emily’s, who used it in so extensively in Wuthering Heights: ‘she’s noan faâl, and varry good-natured.’ The dialect emphasises the more rural and remote...
[ read full article ] »Jane Eyre | Themes »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA2, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, Prose, Jane Eyre
The plot has been constructed by Brontë in order to allow her to create not only an absorbing and suspenseful narrative, but also, of course, to allow her to explore several themes in interesting and often persuasive ways.
Love
Love is a strong theme throughout the novel, which is essentially a romance; it is also the aspect of the novel which is quintessentially Romantic, with a capital ‘R’, in that the love which Rochester and Jane share is an extreme emotion. Both of them confess to overpowering feelings which cloud their judgement,...
[ read full article ] »Jane Eyre | Characters »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA2, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, Prose, Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
Brontë constructs the character of Jane as having been left as an orphan after her parents’ death through typhoid; Jane is initially brought up by her mother’s (dead) brother’s wife, along with their children. Her paternal family are apparently ‘poor’, and she does not know anything of them, until her aunt – on her deathbed – reveals a letter from her father’s elder brother, who has made his fortune, but who has no children to whom to leave it. Later she discovers the Rivers family – the children of her father’s...
[ read full article ] »Jane Eyre | Form »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA2, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, Prose, Jane Eyre
Brontë’s choice of creating a novel narrated by a ‘first person autobiography’ narrator of Jane Eyre and ostensibly edited by ‘Currer Bell’ is a conceit that serves to heighten the identification between author and protagonist – and which adds effectively to the authenticity and authority of the narrator.
The character of Jane narrates her life with the knowledge that she herself would possess at the time, if she were a real woman, rather than foreshadowing the dramatic narrative or giving any hint of future events. The form is...
[ read full article ] »Jane Eyre | Context »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA2, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, Prose, Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre was published in 1847 and was the first of Charlotte Brontë’s novels; it was written in the same year as her sister, Emily Brontë’s, only novel, Wuthering Heights.
Charlotte (born 1816), together with Emily and Anne, lived at Haworth Parsonage, in North Yorkshire, where between them, they created complicated make-believe worlds as children before growing up to write.
Their mother died when Charlotte was just five, and when she was only 9, she found herself the eldest child, looking after the family, including her brother and...
[ read full article ] »Jane Eyre | Specifications & Assessment Objectives »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA2, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, Prose, Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre Overview of Specifications & Assessment Objectives.pdf
A Guide to Jane Eyre »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA2, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, Hot Entries, Prose, Jane Eyre
1. Overview of Specifications & Assessment Objectives
2. Context
3. Form
4. Characters
5. Themes
6. Setting
7. Language
8. Writing about Jane Eyre
Edward Thomas Poetry Resources »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA1, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, Hot Entries, Poetry, Analysing Poetry, Thomas, Edward Thomas
- March.ppt
- Old Man.ppt
- Tears.ppt
- The Glory.ppt
- Words.ppt
- As The Teams Head Brass.ppt
- But These Things Also.ppt
- Gone, Gone Again.ppt
- Lights Out.ppt
- Melancholy.ppt
- The Sun Used To Shine.ppt
A Guide to Hamlet | Act 5 »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA3, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB2, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET02, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT4, Drama, Hamlet, Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Plays
Hamlet: tragic hero?
Hamlet is usually regarded as the finest of Shakespeare’s tragedies, and one of the greatest tragedies ever written; however, it is frequently defined as ‘tragedy’ with little or no reference to tragic tropes, either Greek, Renaissance or later theories of tragedy, or with insufficient consideration of other useful theoretical approaches.
The aim of this teaching guide is to trace Shakespeare’s development of his eponymous hero through the play looking at aspects of language, form and structure as well as genre,...
[ read full article ] »A Guide to Hamlet | Act 4 »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA3, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB2, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET02, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT4, Drama, Hamlet, Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Plays
Hamlet: tragic hero?
Hamlet is usually regarded as the finest of Shakespeare’s tragedies, and one of the greatest tragedies ever written; however, it is frequently defined as ‘tragedy’ with little or no reference to tragic tropes, either Greek, Renaissance or later theories of tragedy, or with insufficient consideration of other useful theoretical approaches.
The aim of this teaching guide is to trace Shakespeare’s development of his eponymous hero through the play looking at aspects of language, form and structure as well as genre,...
[ read full article ] »A Guide to Hamlet | Act 3 »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA3, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB2, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET02, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT4, Drama, Hamlet, Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Plays
Hamlet: tragic hero?
Hamlet is usually regarded as the finest of Shakespeare’s tragedies, and one of the greatest tragedies ever written; however, it is frequently defined as ‘tragedy’ with little or no reference to tragic tropes, either Greek, Renaissance or later theories of tragedy, or with insufficient consideration of other useful theoretical approaches.
The aim of this teaching guide is to trace Shakespeare’s development of his eponymous hero through the play looking at aspects of language, form and structure as well as genre,...
[ read full article ] »A Guide to Hamlet | Act 2 »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA3, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB2, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET02, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT4, Drama, Hamlet, Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Plays
Hamlet: tragic hero?
Hamlet is usually regarded as the finest of Shakespeare’s tragedies, and one of the greatest tragedies ever written; however, it is frequently defined as ‘tragedy’ with little or no reference to tragic tropes, either Greek, Renaissance or later theories of tragedy, or with insufficient consideration of other useful theoretical approaches.
The aim of this teaching guide is to trace Shakespeare’s development of his eponymous hero through the play looking at aspects of language, form and structure as well as genre,...
[ read full article ] »A Guide to Hamlet | Act 1 »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA3, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB2, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET02, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT4, Drama, Hamlet, Hot Entries, Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Plays
Hamlet: tragic hero?
Hamlet is usually regarded as the finest of Shakespeare’s tragedies, and one of the greatest tragedies ever written; however, it is frequently defined as ‘tragedy’ with little or no reference to tragic tropes, either Greek, Renaissance or later theories of tragedy, or with insufficient consideration of other useful theoretical approaches.
The aim of this teaching guide is to trace Shakespeare’s development of his eponymous hero through the play looking at aspects of language, form and structure as well as genre,...
[ read full article ] »A Guide to Much Ado About Nothing »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, AQA A Level English Language & Literature B, AQA A Level English Literature A, AQA A Level English Literature B, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Language & Literature, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Language & Literature, OCR A Level English Literature, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Language & Literature, WJEC A Level English Literature, GCSE, AQA GCSE, AQA GCSE English Literature A, AQA GCSE English Literature B, OCR GCSE, OCR GCSE English Literature, WJEC GCSE, WJEC GCSE English Literature, Drama, Much Ado About Nothing, Hot Entries, Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Plays, Writing, Drama Analysis
Associated Resources
- A Student’s Guide to ’Much Ado About Nothing’ by Mandy Lloyd
- Much Ado Guide.doc
‘Much Ado about Nothing’ in context: ‘Comedy’ vs. ‘Tragedy’
Much Ado About Nothing is technically considered to be a Shakespearean ‘comedy’ of the classical kind; indeed, it’s even frequently taught at KS3 owing to its frequent comic tone. The witty and entertaining exchanges between the main protagonists Beatrice and Benedick have been the subject of much literary criticism and are often considered to be the most...
[ read full article ] »A Teacher’s Guide to A Woman of No Importance »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA1, LITA2, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB4, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT3, Drama, A Woman Of No Importance, Hot Entries
Associated Resources
- Part 1 - AWONI Teaching Guide.doc
- Part 2 - AWONI Annotated Guide.doc
- Part 3 - AWONI Teaching Guide.doc
Why you might like to teach this text!
A Woman of No Importance is a wonderful text to teach and your students will enjoy studying it.
It is short, it has an absorbing and convincing plot and its themes are easily recognised, interestingly explored and persuasively presented.
On top of this, Wilde is a fine and witty dramatist who uses his chosen form in fascinating ways not only, at the level of plot, to entertain but...
[ read full article ] »A Student’s Guide to ’Much Ado About Nothing’ »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, AQA A Level English Language & Literature B, AQA A Level English Literature A, AQA A Level English Literature B, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Language & Literature, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Language & Literature, OCR A Level English Literature, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Language & Literature, WJEC A Level English Literature, GCSE, AQA GCSE, AQA GCSE English Literature A, AQA GCSE English Literature B, OCR GCSE, OCR GCSE English Literature, WJEC GCSE, WJEC GCSE English Literature, Drama, Much Ado About Nothing, Hot Entries, Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Plays, Writing, Drama Analysis
Associated Resources
- A Guide to Much Ado About Nothing by Steph Jackson
- Much Ado About Nothing - Student’s Guide.doc
This brief study guide focuses on the themes, language and issues of the play relevant to the current A-Level Literature specification AO2 requirement of form, structure and language: ‘demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the ways in which structure, form and language shape meanings in literary texts’.
The guide also explores some areas of the historical context of the play which will assist you with...
[ read full article ] »How to improve grades when writing for Othello »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language A, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA1, LITA2, LITA3, LITA4, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB1, LITB2, LITB3, LITB4, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, 6ET02, 6ET03, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, F662, F663, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, LT2, LT3, LT4, Drama, Othello, Exemplars, Exemplar Materials, Hot Entries, Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Plays
Associated Resources
A Guide to Teaching Othello
Click on the link below to download this resource.
Othello Guide Part 2 EnglishEdu.doc
Othello Guide Part 2 EnglishEdu.docx
A Guide to Teaching Othello »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language A, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA1, LITA2, LITA3, LITA4, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB1, LITB2, LITB3, LITB4, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, 6ET02, 6ET03, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, F662, F663, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, LT2, LT3, LT4, Drama, Othello, Hot Entries, Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Plays
Associated Resources
How to improve grades when writing for Othello
This EnglishEdu guide on Shakespeare’s popular A Level play, Othello, aims to supplement rather than replace other readily available Internet and printed material for the teaching of the play.
The guide explores the issues, themes and characters in the play that are particularly relevant to the current (2010) A Level Literature specifications. To add to the usefulness, and with an eye to the central AO requirement of close textual analysis of form, structure and...
[ read full article ] »English Literature ‘Frameworks’ 10: Narrative »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA1, LITA2, LITA3, LITA4, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB1, LITB2, LITB3, LITB4, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, 6ET02, 6ET03, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, F662, F663, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, LT2, LT3, LT4, Hot Entries
Introduction
The tenth in the EnglishEdu series on ‘frameworks’ for A Level English Literature.
This guide explores how to analyse narrative viewpoint in novels, short stories or prose extracts in order to allow students access to the highest grades.
Narrative viewpoint: Atonement by Ian McEwan
The most straightforward way of demonstrating how to analyse a text closely in terms of narrative viewpoint is to exemplify it. The extract below is followed by a series of bullet points which demonstrate how to analyse closely using carefully...
[ read full article ] »English Literature ‘Frameworks’ 15: Genre »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA1, LITA2, LITA3, LITA4, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB1, LITB2, LITB3, LITB4, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, 6ET02, 6ET03, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, F662, F663, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, LT2, LT3, LT4, Hot Entries
Introduction
The fifteenth in the EnglishEdu series on ‘frameworks’ for A Level English Literature.
This guide explores how to analyse the genre of novels, short stories or prose extracts in order to allow students access to the highest grades.
Genre: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (gothic); Hamlet by William Shakespeare (tragedy); As You Like It by William Shakespeare (pastoral)
NB Whilst the EnglishEdu Literature Frameworks generally analyse novels, short stories or prose extracts, the specific nature of the tragic and pastoral genres...
[ read full article ] »English Literature ‘Frameworks’ 14: Context »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA1, LITA2, LITA3, LITA4, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB1, LITB2, LITB3, LITB4, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, 6ET02, 6ET03, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, F662, F663, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, LT2, LT3, LT4, Hot Entries, Trial
Introduction
The fourteenth in the EnglishEdu series on ‘frameworks’ for A Level English Literature.
This guide explores how to help students analyse the context of novels, short stories or prose extracts in order to allow them access to the highest grades.
Context: On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
The most straightforward way of demonstrating how to analyse a text closely in terms of context is to exemplify it. The extract below is followed by a series of bullet points which demonstrate how to analyse closely using carefully chosen...
[ read full article ] »English Literature ‘Frameworks’ 13: Symbolism »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA1, LITA2, LITA3, LITA4, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB1, LITB2, LITB3, LITB4, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, 6ET02, 6ET03, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, F662, F663, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, LT2, LT3, LT4, Hot Entries
Introduction
The thirteenth in the EnglishEdu series on ‘frameworks’ for A Level English Literature.
This guide explores how to analyse the symbolism in novels, short stories or prose extracts in order to allow students access to the highest grades.
Symbolism: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The most straightforward way of demonstrating how to closely analyse a text in terms of the theme above is to exemplify it. The extract below is followed by a series of bullet points which demonstrate how to analyse closely using carefully chosen...
[ read full article ] »A Guide to Conversational Analysis »
Categories: Conversational Analysis, An Introduction to Conversational Analysis, Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language A, ENGA1, ENGA4, AQA A Level English Language B, ENGB1, ENGB4, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA2, ELLA3, AQA A Level English Language & Literature B, ELLB3, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Language & Literature, 6EL01, 6EL03, EDEXCEL A Level English Language, 6EN01, 6EN03, 6EN04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Language & Literature, F671, F672, F673, OCR A Level English Language, F651, F653, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Language & Literature, LL1, LL3, LL4, WJEC A Level English Language, LG1, LG2, LG3, LG4, Hot Entries, Transcripts, Transcripts Pack
Associated Resources
- Transcripts Pack
- Guide to Conversation Analysis.doc
This guide is intended to support teachers preparing students for tasks involving the analysis of transcribed conversation at AS and A2 level, although teachers of the new GCSE unit on Spoken Language may also find some helpful information here, especially in the “Key Issues” section. Just don’t get carried away with the technical terms or theories at this level!
The advice and information given here is relevant to many specifications, both Language courses and...
[ read full article ] »Transcripts Pack »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language A, ENGA1, ENGA4, AQA A Level English Language B, ENGB1, ENGB4, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, ELLA2, ELLA3, AQA A Level English Language & Literature B, ELLB3, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Language & Literature, 6EL01, 6EL03, EDEXCEL A Level English Language, 6EN01, 6EN03, 6EN04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Language & Literature, F671, F672, F673, OCR A Level English Language, F651, F653, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Language & Literature, LL1, LL3, LL4, WJEC A Level English Language, LG1, LG2, LG3, LG4, Hot Entries, Transcripts, Transcripts Pack
Associated Resources
- A Guide to Conversational Analysis
Introduction
This collection of transcripts has been produced with A Level Language and combined Language and Literature teaching in mind, although some of the transcripts may also be suitable for use with the new Spoken Language GCSE unit.
- Never Mind The Buzzcocks.doc
- David Beckham and Jonathan Ross.doc
- Paxman and Cooper on Taxes.doc
- Husband and Wife - Nan and her Fruit Pies.doc
- Student and Teacher.doc
- Jeremy Kyle.doc
- Hugh F-W - Beer Batter.doc
- Loose Women.doc
- QI Daniel Radcliffe.doc...[ read full article ] »
Economist Debates: Language Shapes How We Think »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language A, AQA A Level English Language B, AQA A Level English Language & Literature A, AQA A Level English Language & Literature B, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Language & Literature, EDEXCEL A Level English Language, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Language & Literature, OCR A Level English Language, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Language & Literature, WJEC A Level English Language, Hot Entries, Scoop, English
There’s an interesting debate at The Economist.
http://www.economist.com/debate/debates/overview/190
Definitely good for people teaching the A spec (ENGA2 or ENGA3) and anyone interested in seeing a style model for a debate on a language topic.
English Literature ‘Frameworks’ 12: Time »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA1, LITA2, LITA3, LITA4, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB1, LITB2, LITB3, LITB4, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, 6ET02, 6ET03, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, F662, F663, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, LT2, LT3, LT4, Hot Entries
Introduction
This is the twelfth in the EnglishEdu series on ‘frameworks’ for A Level English Literature.
This guide explores how to analyse the narrative presentation of time in novels, short stories or prose extracts in order to allow students access to the highest grades.
Time: The Time Machine by H G Wells
The most straightforward way of demonstrating how to closely analyse a text in terms of the theme above is to exemplify it. The extract below is followed by a series of bullet points which demonstrate how to analyse closely using...
[ read full article ] »English Literature ‘Frameworks’ 11: Verisimilitude »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA1, LITA2, LITA3, LITA4, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB1, LITB2, LITB3, LITB4, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, 6ET02, 6ET03, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, F662, F663, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, LT2, LT3, LT4, Hot Entries
Introduction
The eleventh in the EnglishEdu series on ‘frameworks’ for A Level English Literature.
This guide explores how to analyse how authors create a convincing sense of realism or ‘verisimilitude’ in novels, short stories or prose extracts.
An analysis at a level like this is capable of revealing the kind of subtle insights that allow students access to the highest grades.
Verisimilitude: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
The most straightforward way of demonstrating how to analyse a text closely in terms of verisimilitude is...
[ read full article ] »English Literature ‘Frameworks’ 1: Close Analysis »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Language A, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA1, LITA2, LITA3, LITA4, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB1, LITB2, LITB3, LITB4, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, 6ET02, 6ET03, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, F662, F663, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, LT2, LT3, LT4, Hot Entries
Introduction to the Literary ‘Frameworks’ Guides
At EnglishEdu our wish is always to try to help you, the often stressed and overworked English teacher, with something that you will feel is both very useful and – where possible – very different from what might be found elsewhere, either on the Internet or in print.
All of the guides, schemes of work and classroom materials on EnglishEdu have been written and produced by experienced and well-respected English teachers.
The guides are based on their best experience of teaching...
[ read full article ] »English Literature ‘Frameworks’ 9: Alternative Interpretations »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA1, LITA2, LITA3, LITA4, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB1, LITB2, LITB3, LITB4, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, 6ET02, 6ET03, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, F662, F663, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, LT2, LT3, LT4, Hot Entries
Introduction
The ninth in the Englishedu series on ‘frameworks’ for A Level English Literature, this guide explores and exemplifies an important requirement of many A-level English Literature teaching units, that students show how their own interpretation of a literary text is informed by their understanding that other possible interpretations exist, i.e. ‘alternative interpretations’.
‘Alternative Interpretations’: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The most straightforward way of demonstrating how to closely analyse a text in...
[ read full article ] »English Literature ‘Frameworks’ 8: Irony »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA1, LITA2, LITA3, LITA4, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB1, LITB2, LITB3, LITB4, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, 6ET02, 6ET03, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, F662, F663, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, LT2, LT3, LT4, Hot Entries
Introduction
The eighth in the Englishedu series on ‘frameworks’ for A Level English Literature, this guide looks at ways of analysing an author’s use of irony in novels, short stories or prose extracts in order to allow students access to the highest grades.
Irony: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The most straightforward way of demonstrating how to closely analyse a text in terms of the theme above is to exemplify it. The extract below is followed by a series of bullet points which demonstrate how to analyse closely using...
[ read full article ] »English Literature ‘Frameworks’ 7: Description, Imagery, Figurative Language »
Categories: Courses, A Level, AQA A Level, AQA A Level English Literature A, LITA1, LITA2, LITA3, LITA4, AQA A Level English Literature B, LITB1, LITB2, LITB3, LITB4, EDEXCEL A Level, EDEXCEL A Level English Literature, 6ET01, 6ET02, 6ET03, 6ET04, OCR A Level, OCR A Level English Literature, F661, F662, F663, F664, WJEC A Level, WJEC A Level English Literature, LT1, LT2, LT3, LT4, Hot Entries
Introduction
The seventh in the Englishedu series on ‘frameworks’ for A Level English Literature, this guide explores how to analyse an author’s use of description, imagery and figurative language in novels, short stories or prose extracts in order to allow students access to the highest grades.
Description, imagery, figurative language: Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
The most straightforward way of demonstrating how to closely analyse a text in terms of the theme above is to exemplify it. The extract below is followed...
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English Literature ‘Frameworks’ 14: Context »
Introduction
The fourteenth in the EnglishEdu series on ‘frameworks’ for A Level English Literature.
This guide explores how to help students analyse the context of novels, short stories or prose extracts in order to allow them access to the highest grades.
Context: On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
The most straightforward way of demonstrating how to analyse a text closely in terms of context is to exemplify it. The extract below is followed by a series of bullet points which demonstrate how to analyse closely...
[ read full article ] »Economist Debates: Language Shapes How We Think »
There’s an interesting debate at The Economist.
http://www.economist.com/debate/debates/overview/190
Definitely good for people teaching the A spec (ENGA2 or ENGA3) and anyone interested in seeing a style model for a debate on a language topic.
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