English Literature Revision: Context and Poetry

-Form, structure and language

Typical exam question:-(In response to an extract): How does the writer present his thoughts and feelings?-How is the extract similar or different to your wider reading?

Links across prose, poetry and drama relating to:-Industry-Social Problems (e.g. poverty)-The position of women-Evolving attitudes to science and religion

-Analysing Poetry-Notes on John Clare

Form, Structure and Language of ProseForm of prose: lengthy written narrative text/picaresque  (of or relating to a genre of usually satiric prose fiction originating in Spain and depicting in realistic, often humorous details of the adventures of a roguish hero of low social degree living by his or her wits in a corrupt society)/episodic novel/epistolary (told through letters)/fictive journal/fictive diary/parody/novel originally serialised for a magazine/Bildungsroman (novel about the moral and psychological growth a main character)/detective/romance/Gothic novel/quest/tragedy/detective/horror/faery tale/epic etcNarrative: point of view: first person/second person/third person/omniscient/distant/third person narrative that privileges the perspective of a given character/narrative intrusions/intrusive narrator/reliable narrator/unreliable narrator/multiple narrators/self-reflexive narrator (marked by or making reference to its own artificiality or contrivance) /the narrator draws attention to the novel’s artifice/intertextual: the narrative alludes to other textsFree indirect speech (the narrator presents a character’s thoughts or speech without using inverted commas)/stream of consciousness (the narrator’s words mimic the ebb and flow of thoughts)Structure of prose: volumes/chapters/sections/autobiographical/epistolary (told through letters)/diary form/collection of documents/serial publication issues/development of an incident, an idea or the story/suspense/tensionContrast/twist/shift in tone/climax/anti-climax/linear structure/cyclical structure/flashback/foreshadowing/proleptic narrative (indicative of future events)Language: description/imagery (how the writer describes/uses figurative language)/vocabulary: concrete images/abstract images/image clusters/colours/simile/metaphor/comparison/contrastCharacterisation: realistic/symbolic/caricatured/sympathy/empathy/dislike/conflict/pathos/connotations/character as vehicle for author’s views/direct-indirect speechThe author’s POV is often expressed through using character as mouthpiece, or through authorial intrusions

Form, Structure and Language of Poetry

Form: concise-extended narrative/elegy/ballad/lyric/dramatic monologue/sonnet/epic

Structure: stanzas/parts/sections/cantos/books/syllogistic/stanza length/shape/regularity/line length./shape/regularity/meter and regularity/variation in meter/contrast/cumulative effect/climax/anticlimax/shift in tone

Language: visual: image/simile/metaphor/personification/symbol/use of colours/concrete images/abstract images/personification/pathetic fallacy/natural imagery/symbol/motif/diction/military diction/biblical diction/pastoral image (simplicity, serenity descriptions of the countryside)/caesura (arrests the reader)/enjambement/end-stop (measured speech, emphatic)Aural: tone (of voice)/alliteration/sibilance/open vowels/rolling vowels/hard or soft consonants/plosive consonants/onomatopoeia   

Form, Structure and Language of Drama

Form of drama: lighting/entrance-exit/pace/music/sound effects/scene opening-ending/tension/suspense/surprise/act opening-ending/costume/contrast/dramatic irony/twist/status/asides/entrance line-exit line/comic relief-text is incomplete in written form; requires director/actors’ input and interpretation

Structure of drama: conflict/change/protagonist/antagonist/catalyst/Greek tragedy: action often due to divine intervention – later came the idea of a character’s personal crisis; hubris/linear/chronological/flashbacks/climax/anti-climax/cyclical effect/repetition/classical unities: time, place, action/divided into acts and scenes/could be an allegory/classic five act Shakespearian play: introduction; exposition; complication; crisis; resolution; denouement/classic three act “well made play” – can be in real time

Language of drama: dialogue/soliloquy: usually present tense and first person; artificial; disrupts naturalism; idea of the fourth wall/stage directions/functional-literal/metaphorical/poetic/symbolic/direct author’s POV: expressed through character as a mouthpiece – authorial intrusion

Industry:Texts to be Discussed

PROSE POETRY DRAMA

Thomas Hardy’s ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’

Alfred Lord Tennyson's ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’

Henrik Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’

Cecil Rhodes’ ‘Confession of Faith’

Charles Dickens’ ‘Hard Times’

IndustryThomas Hardy’s ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’: PROSE-‘Tess of the d'Urbervilles’ is set in both a time and place of societal transition from the agricultural to the industrial-Fictional lengthy narrative to allow for verisimilitude and to establish an omniscient narration-Structured in phases to represent a shift from the agricultural to the industrial. The jumps through time could represent disorientation with the modernity

-“ache of modernity” = industrialisation spoils the rural innocence -reaping machine and threshing machine being red (symbolising danger) continues the motif with Tess’s red bow (contrasted against an otherwise white dress), foreshadows the loss of innocence and corruption of nature since she represents nature: “What a fresh and virginal daughter of Nature that milkmaid is!”

-Nostalgic tone for an idyllic past, evidenced by the verisimilitude with the pastoral setting

-Simple, short sentences to link in with the simple, innocent and pastoral setting of the country folk: “The churn revolved as usual, but the butter would not come”

IndustryCecil Rhodes’ autobiography ‘Confession of Faith’: PROSE-Persuasive rhetoric written in 1877 for an impressionable middle class audience conveying the benefits of globalisation-Exclamation of “What a dream!” and the adverb “simply” = idealistic voice

Charles Dickens’ ‘Hard Times’: PROSE-Uses vivid imagery to describe Coketown: “would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it”-Biblical connotations of hell with brimstone convey Dickens’ contempt-Factory workers referred to as “hands” = dehumanisation Lord Tennyson’s ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’: POETRY-Depicts a brutal image of the realities of the British Empire: the slaughter of 600 soldiers during the battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War-The British involvement is dismissed as a matter of military incompetence from Lord Raglan ; thus critiquing authority figures-Catastrophe conveyed through metaphors e.g. ‘the jaws of hell’-Dactylic rhythm creates a sense of falling (stress is on the first beat of each metrical unit), showing the disastrous fall of the British brigade-Barbarism supported with the anaphora of ‘Cannon’; thus creating an unyielding sense of offense

Industry

Henrik Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’: DRAMA-The theme of power is presented, with Nora subjugated within a patriarchal marriage-The removal of her dress is symbolic of her psychological freedom-The play culminates in act three with the climactic point of Nora leaving in a dramatic reversal of expectations as she poses rhetorical questions such as: “Has a woman really not the right to spare her father pain...?”-Subject matter – an absence of poverty-Visceral and focuses on the metaphor of the ‘doll’s house’

Social Problems: Texts to be Discussed

PROSE POETRY DRAMA

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ‘Our Old Home’

Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s ‘The Cry of the Children’

Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’

Thomas Carlyle’s ‘Past and Present’

Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Harlot’s House’

Grossmith brothers’ ‘The Diary of a Nobody’

Thomas Hardy’s ‘Jude the Obscure’

Social Problems

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s memoir ‘Our Old Home’: PROSE-Documents the poverty he saw in the working class districts-Use of the first person point of view (typical of autobiographies) is used to establish a rapport with the readers, positioning them to adopt the preferred reading of the districts having a detrimental effect upon society. That matters such as “murder” and “conspiracies” are listed within a single sentence conveys a blunt tone with verisimilitude, as well as the relentlessness of the dreadful matters. This is offset by the use of emotive language: “sulkily”-Revulsion with the “grimy housewife”-Metaphorical criticism of the “saloon” being “so regally hung with the canopy of coal-smoke”; the adverb “so” creates a derogatory sense of social criticism towards the Victorians

Thomas Carlyle’s ‘Past and Present’: PROSE-Usage of emotive language (“sufferings”) = preferred reading of sympathy to those enduring labour-Socialistic undertones (rejection of the “Laissez-fare” attitude)-Anger conveyed through the exclamatory statement: “our back can bear no more!”

Social Problems

Grossmith brothers’ ‘The Diary of a Nobody’: PROSE-The comic novel features the character of Mr Charles Pooter who acts as a satirisation of the Victorian middle class which had significant social aspirations; a sanctimonious tone is adopted: “without consulting me”

Thomas Hardy’s ‘Jude the Obscure’: PROSE-The character of Jude teaches himself classical languages yet is rejected from a college due to his social class, demonstrating the classism

Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s ‘The Cry of the Children’: POETRY-An influential commentary on the working conditions faced by children within factories and mines, critically said to be overly sentimental-Satire = “In the country of the free”; mocking tone. Ironic due to the socialistic ideology juxtaposed against the reality of the children’s oppression-Exclamation = “bitterly!” – enraged voice, contempt for subjugation-Emotive language = “weeping”

Oscar Wilde’s poem ‘The Harlot’s House’: POETRY-Prostitutes referred to as “mechanical” due to prostitution being viewed as a social evil

Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’: DRAMA-Act I: Algernon comments to Lane: lower classes should set a “good example” of “moral responsibility” for the upper classes; otherwise they are of little “use.” The satire is evident since Algernon’s more concerned with the morality of his servants than with his own moral compass, continuing to lead a deceptive and excessive lifestyle, never bothering to question the ethical implications of such a life. Algernon’s fixation on the morality of his subordinates reveals the insular outlook of the aristocratic class 

Social Problems

The Position of Women: Texts to be Discussed

PROSE POETRY DRAMA

Thomas Hardy’s ‘Jude the Obscure’

Lord Alfred Tennyson’s ‘Mariana’

Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’

Thomas Hardy’s ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’

Henrik Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’

The Position of Women

Thomas Hardy’s ‘Jude the Obscure’: PROSE-The character of Sue is expected to be the “property” of the man she marries

Thomas Hardy’s ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’: PROSE-Tess = symbol of fertility, nature and purity and is linked with the lushness of Talbothays (setting) and the fertility ritual of May-Day as evidenced by the quote: “What a fresh and virginal daughter of Nature that milkmaid is!”-Hardy emphasises the power of men over women in society through Alec giving her the “kiss of mastery” and raping her; Angel also wields power over the dairy women, driving Retty and Marian to a suicide attempt and alcoholism -Tess then assumes an autonomous role, writing angrily to Angel and is only able to escape her male oppressor by killing him (extremism), leading to her own execution, showing that there is no place for women in Victorian society to escape the subjugation

Lord Alfred Tennyson’s ‘Mariana’: POETRY-Based on the solitary character of Mariana from William Shakespeare’s ‘Measure for Measure’ who was to be married yet was rejected due to her dowry being lost in a shipwreck-Her own decay was reflected in despair, shown by the epizeuxis of “aweary, aweary”-Use of enjambement and end-stopped lines connote her confusion-Dilapidated house as a metaphor for her grievance -Voice: “she only said”; this conditional preface establishes Tennyson’s male presence and interpretation, implying that she doesn’t say much or what is said is insignificant to the writer-Feminists argue a negative representation of women being dependent upon a man; lacking independence (critical view)

Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of being Earnest’: DRAMA-Gwendolen Fairfax in act 3: “we women no absolutely nothing”. The stress on “absolutely” highlights the satire

The Position of Women

Henrik Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’: DRAMA-Focuses on the metaphor of the ‘doll’s house’-Nora represents the subjugation of the typical woman within the patriarchal system-Culminates in the climactic point of Nora leaving in a dramatic reversal of expectations as she makes rhetorical questions: “Has a woman really not the right to spare her father pain...?-The removal of her dress is symbolic of her psychological freedom-Use of animal imagery such as “skylark” (by Torvald) to portray Nora as inferior and irresponsible - “almost like being a man” = shows the exhilaration women feel when granted power, thus the patriarchy is unnecessary

The Position of Women

Evolving Attitudes to Religion/Science:Texts to be Discussed

PROSE POETRY DRAMA

Cecil Rhodes’ ‘Confession of Faith’

Gerard Manley Hopkins’ ‘God’s Grandeur’

Henrik Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’

Thomas Hardy’s ‘Jude the Obscure’

Alfred Lord Tennyson’s ‘In Memoriam’

Evolving Attitudes to Religion/Science

Cecil Rhodes’ ‘Confession of Faith’: PROSE-References God, believing there to be a ‘fifty per cent chance’ of its existence – demonstrating the impact of Darwinism

Thomas Hardy’s ‘Jude the Obscure’: PROSE-Heroine that is Sue Bridehead rejects the tradition of the commonly practiced Christianity: “The cathedral has had its day!”.-Showcases another aspect of British development with intellectual progress brought about by Darwinism; which supported the theory of evolution and disproved Creationism, causing controversy-Whilst Bridehead is revolutionary, she is bound by the values of her time in that she is incapable of progressing work-wise due to her marital status, demonstrating the Victorian society’s lack of a position for someone of her intellectual calibre-Presents a contradiction since Sue and Jude desire a spontaneous relationship that is also monogamous

Gerard Manley Hopkins’ ‘God’s Grandeur’: POETRY-‘The world is charged with the grandeur of God” = metaphor suggests God is akin to an electric current, unseen yet present-“Why do men then now not reck his rod?” – a question of urgency, conveyed by the use of several spondees -Regardless of the Victorian developments, there exists a “freshness” that permeates the culture, proving God’s existence

Alfred Lord Tennyson’s ‘In Memoriam’: POETRY-The proliferation of scientific works such as Sir Charles Lyell’s ‘Principles of Geology’ led to Tennyson insisting we hold onto the faith in a higher power despite our inability to prove God’s existence: “Believing where we cannot prove”

Henrik Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’: DRAMA-Nora: “I do not exactly know what religion is”

Evolving Attitudes to Religion/Science

Poetry Revision: Analytical

Analysing/comparing poems:Subject/Voice/Rhyme/Rhythm/Tone/Imagery (pastoral/literal/figurative/aural) /Form/Structure/Language

Rhythm/Metre-Iambic and anapaestic = rising meters because their movement rises from unstressed syllable to stressed; trochaic and dactylic meters are called falling. In the twentieth century, the bouncing meters (anapaestic and dactylic) were used more often for comic verse than for serious poetry.

Foot = a metric unit

/ = stressed; ^ = no stress-Iambic (^/)-Trochaic (/^)-Anapaestic (^^/)-Dactylic (/^^)-Spondee (//)-Pyrrhic (^^)

-Monometer = 1 foot-Dimeter = 2 feet-Trimeter = 3 feet (alternating with tetrameter = jaunty/celebratory/emphatic; typical of ballads)-Tetrameter = 4 feet-Pentameter = 5 feet (closer to speech patterns; conversational)-Hexameter = 6 feet-Heptameter = 7 feet-Octameter = 8 feet

Terminology:alliteration/ambiguity/assonance (repetition of a vowel sound)/caesura (break in a line)/cliché (overused)/colloquial (informal; conversational; dialect)/dramatic irony/elegiac (mourning)/elision (running a word into others e.g. fish ‘n’ chips)/end-stopped/eye rhyme (looks like they rhyme e.g. bear/fear)/half rhyme/hyperbole/imperatives/juxtaposition/lineation (lines that are stopped at the end)/litotes/metre/narrator (first person; intrusive; naive; omniscient; unreliable)/onomatopoeia/oxymoron/paradox/pathetic fallacy/pathos (emotional quality of a text, inspiring pity, sympathy, sadness)/persona (voice/character adopted by the reader)/couplet; triplet; quatrain; quintet; sestet; septet; octet; Spenserian stanza/rhetorical/satire/sibilance/simile/tone/lament

Poetry Revision: Analytical (continued)

Notes on John Clare

A poet of place?-Nostalgic past tense of the “hazel’s happy green” in ‘The Flitting’-Key symbols in the nature poetry such as the nest - Jonathan Bate (critical view) claims Clare’s nest poetry shows “the wonder” of finding a nest, a metaphor for vulnerability -Clare ironically comments on it being unexpectedly on ground level, such as in ‘The Skylark’, and “hard to discover” in ‘The Pettichap’s Nest’-“We’ll let them be”, in spite of the beauty in ‘I dreaded walking where there was no path’-The nest persists “like a miracle in safety’s lap” = simile

A poet of love? Notes on ‘The Morning Mist is Changing Blue’-Ballad form – complimentary to an alternate rhyming scheme which can be set to music showing humanity; and the subject matter: love-Iambic tetrameter and the present continuous creates a crescendo; a jaunty rhythm-Enjambement creates a sense of moving forward thematically, whilst representing Clare’s awe and engages the reader continually-Seasonal symbolism and a simile in “smiling like the sun”-Simile of the mist to smoke, similarly to ‘The Vision’ showcases an ephemeral quality-Pathetic fallacy “how bright the day, how clear the sky” (supports the claim of Clare being a poet of nature)-Optimistic yet yearning: “but pain I know can soon be well”

Notes on John Clare (continued)

A protest poet?-‘The Lament of Swordy Well’ protests against the enclosure acts through the personified “Well”-Anger is communicated through the plosive alliteration (“Petitioners are full of prayers”)-A sense of mourning is created through emotive language e.g. “poverty in me”, thus creating a disconsolate tone-Similarly to ‘The Moors’ with wild ground “Bespread with rush and one eternal green”; the land spreads with no boundary like the Romantic poets’ expression and freedom of thought, fulfilling the rural fantasies-Clare gives a voice to “the unwritten language of England” – John Taylor (critical view)-“No road here”; is the signage on the trees for the birds? Critiques the intelligence of those promoting the Enclosure Acts -“lawless law’s enclosure” is an oxymoron showing the incomprehensibility for Clare that the acts were passed in the first place-Critical views: these protest poems were ‘enclosure elegies’

Notes on John Clare (continued)

A poet of identity? Notes on ‘I Am’-‘I Am’ , written during Clare’s time whilst in an asylum for his psychological deterioration -Simile of “like a memory lost” = the use of memory (an intangible construct) displays detachment-The repetition of spondees with ‘I am’ shows Clare’s struggling to comprehend the self-“nothingness” = a feeling of despondency with natural imagery (the “living sea”)-“the sea of waking dreams”, an oxymoron showing a distorted perception of reality-The euphemism in “sleep” = Clare is comfortable with death; this comfort is reflected in the structure, as the rhyme scheme is progressively consistent, showing Clare’s gradual control over his psychological stability-An important poem to modern readers due to the proliferation of psychological information revolving around the ego and the self

Notes on John Clare (continued)

-Satirical in ‘The Parish’ depicting the farmer’s pretentious daughter, who’s educated as a lady yet without beauty and lives unproductively -Insincere new customs are misplaced for the rural working class-Called “rather too severe” by Joseph Henderson (critical view)

-‘To John Clare’ has a sonnet structure with natural imagery -The detail of “wattles and red comb” juxtaposed against the simplistic “seems to like some best” effectively shows Clare’s ability to change child and adult perspectives