Christmas Holiday Homework

Hello year 13s,


I have really enjoyed discussing the first half of 'Hamlet' with you this half term. Your homework over Christmas is to answer the following essay question (in your essay books please).


Why does Hamlet find it difficult to revenge his [father's] foul and most unnatural murder?


You will find a PowerPoint to help you out if you follow the link below.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfiSkw1c25BQ05tdm8/view?usp=sharing


You will also need to re-read Frankenstein and The Handmaid's Tale to prepare for your lessons with Mr Gun-Why next half term.


Thank you for all your hard work this term on your coursework.


Merry Christmas!


Miss Ryall

Please use this template to submit the next draft of your assessment.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfiVjh1RUYzNXRiYUk/view?usp=sharing

'A Streetcar Named Desire' - Young Vic Production

https://drive.google.com/drive/mobile/folders/0B03INY9QozOhNkpMVmhEQXYzU0U?_e_pi_=7%2CPAGE_ID10%2C4634361845

Coursework - Critical Theory

Liberal Humanism
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfiUXhJTWZOWllBRDg/view?usp=sharing
Feminism
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfibUJXYi02dnNudWc/view?usp=sharing
Marxism
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakficGE2d1prRW5xTE0/view?usp=sharing
New Historicism
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfiZkxaQlR3ZmczRk0/view?usp=sharing
Psychoanalysis
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfiVEJSVXBtMTYtdmM/view?usp=sharing

Mock Exams

Hello year 13s,


As promised, I have put the links below to my copy of 'Poems of the Decade' and the teacher guidance notes from the exam board. Please use both of these resources as a starting point to build on your own knowledge of the poems.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfiSnRab3g5alI2R1k/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfiRXFvcGhTeTlxRGs/view?usp=sharing


Below is the list of poems you are required to study from the collection:

Poem	Poet
Eat Me	Patience Agbabi
Chainsaw Versus the Pampas Grass	Simon Armitage
Material	Ros Barber
Inheritance	Eavan Boland
A Leisure Centre is Also a Temple of Learning	Sue Boyle
History	John Burnside
The War Correspondent	Ciaran Carson
An Easy Passage	Julia Copus
The Deliverer	Tishani Doshi
The Map Woman	Carol Ann Duffy
The Lammas Hireling	Ian Duhig
To My Nine-Year-Old Self	Helen Dunmore
A Minor Role	U A Fanthorpe
The Gun	Vicki Feaver
The Furthest Distances I’ve Travelled	Leontia Flynn
Giuseppe	Roderick Ford
Out of the Bag	Seamus Heaney
Effects	Alan Jenkins
The Fox in the National Museum of Wales	Robert Minhinnick
Genetics	Sinéad Morrissey
From the Journal of a Disappointed Man	Andrew Motion
Look We Have Coming to Dover!	Daljit Nagra
Fantasia on a Theme of James Wright	Sean O’Brien
Please Hold	Ciaran O’Driscoll
You, Shiva, and My Mum	Ruth Padel
Song	George Szirtes
On Her Blindness	Adam Thorpe
Ode on a Grayson Perry Urn	Tim Turnbull

Your mock exam is on Monday 28th November at 9am.
Paper 1 - 'A Streetcar Named Desire' 1hr15mins
Paper 3 - unseen poetry and 'Poems of the Decade' 1hr15mins


There will be a mock exam revision session this Thursday at 3.45 in room L108. I will upload your 'speed dating' poems this week - watch this space.


Miss Ryall

Unseen Poetry Revision

Hello year 13s,


Here are the two documents I promised this lesson. Please read the advice on answering unseen poetry questions before tomorrow's lesson. You will be at a disadvantage without this background understanding.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfiREdzZC1McXFIdDg/view?usp=sharing


Here is an example of a good response to an unseen poetry question. I have annotated it to show you why it is good.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfiQUtBbjVzQ2NBMm8/view?usp=sharing


Please don't forget that your coursework (second draft) is due this Thursday in Mr Gun-Why's lesson. You can book an appointment to see me before this date to discuss your progress.


See you tomorrow.
Miss Ryall

RSC's 'Hamlet'

Hello year 13s,


Thank you for spending your morning in the library with us today to watch the live broadcast of 'Hamlet' from the Royal Shakespeare Company. I hope it gave you a different perspective on the text and helped you to understand the relationships and themes being portrayed. I was particularly impressed by those of you who read along for the entire performance and asked for clarification when things got confusing. Well done! I thought the choice of setting to enhance the theme of the supernatural was particularly interesting and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the production in our lessons next week.

Have a nice weekend,


Miss Ryall

Wider Reading and Critical Theory

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfiSElWd21ZRGFRSEk/view?usp=sharing

Coursework Feedback

Hello year 13s,

Thank you for your hard work on the first draft of your coursework.


I have included a link to the documents you will need to work on your second draft: a copy of the mark scheme and group feedback PowerPoint (which includes example references).


I have also added some coursework exemplars for you to have a look at.


Feedback PowerPoint:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfiR21NNTR6TUtXZVE/view?usp=sharing


Mark Scheme:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfidjUxNTJqa1BXYUk/view?usp=sharing


Exemplars:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfiY196bUU5UHR1RXM/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfiME5meEtkWHE3VFk/view?usp=sharing


Good luck - your second draft is due on Thursday 17th November 2016. Please make sure it is formatted correctly:

• With an accurate word count at the bottom.
• With a bibliography.
• Double-spaced.
• Font size 12 or 14. 
• Your name, candidate number and the site code (14390) in a header.
• Page numbers on the bottom of each page.

Miss Ryall

Silent Debate

Hello year 13s,
Yesterday's silent debate was impressive! Here is your work:

You might need to do some rotating to read it all.
Good luck finalising your first coursework draft this week.


Miss Ryall

Coursework Planning and Structure

Hello year 13s,


This week you have been working on developing your essay plans in to more detailed points for discussion. Below is the link to the PowerPoint I have been using in lessons this week. It includes the checklist for each essay point with examples.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfiLXloMkllRWFxZFk/view?usp=sharing


You have done some fantastic collaborative planning this week. I am particularly impressed by the notes you made in Mr Gun-Why's lesson on Thursday. You can find photos of your work below to help you with your writing over the weekend.
Remember: 2 hours each day; 3 at the weekend!

Your homework this week is reading on psychoanalysis and other feminist literature of the period. You can find the links in the previous blog post. The first draft of your coursework is due on Tuesday 18th October 2016.


Have a lovely week,


Miss Ryall

Wider Reading for Week 4

Hello year 13s,

There are three texts I'd like you to read this week:

1. A summary of Freud's theory of psychoanalysis (we are going to apply this to The Yellow Wallpaper next week). https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfiM1Z3TjhKbW5KWXM/view?usp=sharing 
2. Kate Chopin's - 'The Story of an Hour' (this short story by Perkins Gilman's contemporary explores similar themes and can be referred to in your coursework). http://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/webtexts/hour/ 
3. 'The Revolt of Mother' (likewise, explores similar themes from a contemporary female author). https://americanliterature.com/author/mary-e-wilkins-freeman/short-story/the-revolt-of-mother 

This week we have started to look at examples of previous coursework and you've made a start on your own essays. Your first draft must be completed by Tuesday 18th October. 

You can access lots more coursework exemplars with comments from the examiners here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByjTQpSbakfiME5meEtkWHE3VFk/view?usp=sharing

Please be punctual for your one-to-one appointments next week:

Anya - Monday 2pm
Shreevana - Tuesday 3.45pm
Geerthana - Tuesday 3.55pm
Danielle - Tuesday 4.05pm
Amber - Wednesday 11am
Gianna - Wednesday 11.15am
Gideon - Wednesday 11.30am
Kadija - Thursday 3.45pm
Ruth - Thursday 4pm
Piotr - Thursday 4.15pm
Yusraa - Thursday 4.30pm
Lamar - Friday 1.15pm
Sophie -
Tahiya -

Have a lovely week and write, write, write!

Miss Ryall

An Unreliable Narrator?

Hello year 13s,


This week we have been looking at form and structure in 'The Yellow Wallpaper', and considering our relationship with the narrator. We discussed the effect of the illustrations (particularly the final one) on our perception of the narrator's 'decline'.

The narrator appears here as the stereotypical 'mad woman' of Victorian literature. Her hair is long and untamed and her clothes appear dishevelled. The general consensus in class was that although Joseph Hatfield did not consult Gilman before he illustrated her work, this is how she would have intended her narrator to be perceived. It is important to remember that there is absolutely no description in the text of the narrator's appearance changing.


The diary format is an effective way to create a conspiratorial tone, and give a voice to women who at that time would have been silenced by men (much like the narrator is silenced by her husband). It does however give us the problem of a potentially unreliable narrator. Here are some of the arguments you put forward for a reliable / unreliable narrator.


The narrator is reliable:

• She is aware of her illness and understands that she needs to overcome it or get better. "Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good." "He does not believe I am sick!"
• She describes the setting in great detail, showing that her perspective is correct.
• She is rational when attempting to decipher the history of the house.
• She is aware of her symptoms, "I'm sure I never used to be so sensitive." "It is getting to be a great effort for me to think straight."
• She is honest with the readers, "I haven't felt like writing before."
• She would like the house to be haunted. Perhaps this is because she knows she will be deprived of stimulation and is looking for excitement.
• She attempts to prove to herself that the wallpaper doesn't move, "I got up softly and went to feel and see if the paper did move." 

The narrator is unreliable:

• She believes that the children who slept in the nursery before her were responsible for pulling the wallpaper off the wall around the bed, however it is pulled away "about as far as I can reach."
• She sees the woman behind the wallpaper and believes that she "gets out during the day time."
• She speaks of herself as though she is the woman in the wallpaper. There is a change in tense.
• She personifies the wallpaper.
• Perhaps she doesn't have a good understanding of her condition?
• She becomes suspicious of Jenny, even though the reader is aware that Jennie is concerned there are yellow stains on all of her clothes.
• It is possible she is actually in an asylum, and the house is in her mind.
• "So I take phosphates or phosphites - whichever it is..." She doesn't understand the treatment she is receiving and she doesn't care that she doesn't understand.
• We know that she has a mental illness.
• She sees expression in inanimate objects (and always has).

You also did some fantastic collaborative planning this week in preparation for your coursework.

Don't forget, the first draft of your coursework is due Tuesday 18th October. You should be working on this as homework for the next 3 weeks and finding time to speak with myself or Mr Gun-Why if you need some support.

The Gothic

Hello year 13s,


This week we have been looking at the gothic tradition and finding evidence of it in 'The Yellow Wallpaper'. I have put a link to the PowerPoint I was using below.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1aKd-blYPBv2URBtN1Qp8Jubuzz4fI2GeP2PoZf3q6Vk/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000


Elements of gothic literature:

• The supernatural (or the illusion of the supernatural)
• The women behind the wallpaper adds a supernatural element, especially in the end scene where it appears that the narrator has been 'possessed' by the spirit of the woman she has set free.
• If you prefer the interpretation that the woman behind the wallpaper is imagined by the narrator, there is an illusion of the supernatural that can be explained by the narrator's poor mental health.
• The sublime (terrifying/awesome landscapes and weather)
• The past disrupting the present (e.g. ghosts)
• There is evidence of the children the narrator imagines slept in the nursery in the past. The ripped wallpaper etc. However, it is likely that it is the narrator who has damaged the wallpaper during her stay in the house.
• You could also argue that the women she sees 'creeping' around the garden are the ghosts of all oppressed women - past, present and future.
• Powerful males and vulnerable females
• John is very much in control of the narrator, both physically and emotionally.
• The narrator is vulnerable because her ill health has been misunderstood by her husband and her brother.
• Sexual power
• Women being forced into life threatening situations, and ultimately breaking free.
• We discussed the possibility of the ending being a triumph for the narrator. Her victory might be forcing her husband to recognise her illness. We were divided on how triumphant the ending was, with many of us believing her to have lost everything by the end of the story.
• Wild landscapes and imprisoning houses.
• The house is unfamiliar to the narrator and acts as her prison.
• The room appears to have a sinister past (or present) due to the rings on the walls and bars on the window.
• She is fixated on the wallpaper and becomes trapped in the pattern. She is mentally imprisoned by it.
• The uncanny

The short clip we watched is available on the British Library website (link below). It is part of an article that explains the origins of the gothic tradition and the recurring themes and motifs. For your homework this week, you have been asked to read at least two articles on gothic fiction. By following the link below you will find a range of suitable articles. You might like to read the articles that discuss Frankenstein as a gothic text, and apply your new knowledge to the text.

http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/gothic-motifs


Remember, you do not need to attempt to apply all elements of gothic fiction to a text to link it to the tradition. Some elements will be more dominant than others.


Coursework intervention sessions will begin after half term. They will be after school on a Thursday in room L108. Until then, I am available on Monday afternoons (periods 6 and 7) if you would like to come and speak to me about your coursework. Once coursework has been completed, the intervention sessions will focus on revision of key texts and essay writing skills.


Have a lovely week.


Miss Ryall

Welcome!

Hello year 13s,

Congratulations on finding your way to the A Level English blog.

As promised, you can view the slides I used in our lesson this week by copying and pasting the link below in to your browser:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1iNXeCKumvJbfwTrndiCRn90pkDOiX7sgtxweWR8QZNo/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000

Key points from our discussion this week:

• There are elements of 'the uncanny' through the text. Right from the start, the narrator notices something 'queer' about the house that she struggles to explain.

'Uncanny' - Sigmund Freud: when something familiar and comforting becomes foreign and frightening. E.g. when there is something threatening in a home. (We discussed the example of Winston catching sight of himself in the mirror in George Orwell's 1984).
You can access the full text at: web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/freud1.pdf

• The opening passage gives us an insight into attitudes towards women's health in the 1890s: the language, short, isolated sentences, and punctuation show that the narrator is helpless against the 'knowledge' of her husband and brother. We also discussed the possibility that the narrator is already thinking of ways to show her husband she is ill when she repeats 'what can one do?'
• We looked in to the autobiographical elements of the story, considered Charlotte Perkins Gilman's treatment for hysteria (including the rest cure and an 'unspecified gynaecological procedure'). She may have chosen to write autobiographically to empower other women in her situation, or as a form of therapy in order to 'self-heal'.
• The narrator is hopeful that the house might be haunted because she is looking for some excitement/adventure. She knows she has been forbidden to write or work and is looking for entertainment.
• Key themes: marriage/relationships; entrapment; isolation, power/control; mental instability.

I have been impressed by your work ethic and initial analysis of this text. I am really looking forward to exploring it with you over the next few weeks. Don't forget to email your coursework question to me by this Friday - 16th September 2016, along with a short justification for your choice.

Miss Ryall