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AQA AS English Literature A May 2012

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Reply 40
Original post by urosion91
Women and Friends Beyond would be fantastic


Most of us think women will come up.
Reply 41
Original post by berryripple
Most of us think women will come up.

Ah right good. Have you got any idea at all on the theme in the Hardy question? Like number 6 rather than 7?
Reply 42
Original post by berryripple
Most of us think women will come up.


That's already come up though? AQA never repeats those questions.
Reply 43
Original post by lemongrass

I've been through all the past Hardy questions. I'm thinking it's become pretty likely a question might be asked on the war poems - because they have never been mentioned in the past 7 exams, or in the exemplar papers. Also they have never asked the theme question on 'love' in general, so it might ask on Hardy's ability to love others? I'm hoping for something like that.

Also The Convergence Of The Twain has never been named and that's a famous, key poem.


Ah, thank you!
Arghhh the war poems, I've completely overlooked them! Drummer Hodge, Channel Firing, what other ones are there?
Convergence Of The Twain/ love would be brilliant!
Reply 44
Anyone got any analysis on the hardy poems?
I am doing the darkling thrush and convergence of the twain?
Wasnt even going to bother learning the poems but then i panicked thinking that essay questions i need for drama & pro's might not come up!
Reply 45
Here's a power point on the theme of pessimism in Hardy's poetry
Reply 46
Original post by BloodyMary
That's already come up though? AQA never repeats those questions.


Everything has already come up :erm:
Reply 47
Extract was fine, buggered up Hardy by running out of time
Didn't like the extract at all, ended up linking the tone to the comedic character Lady Bramwell in The Importance of Being Earnest and then saying that Wilde is a late Victorian which shows evolving attitudes. I then said that the extract shows no hope of redemption for Mary which is the opposite of what happens to Henchard in The Mayor of Casterbridge after he sells his wife. Then linked it to The Ruined Maid.

I think I messed up Hardy because I argued that he was haunted against him being nostalgic and having regrets.
Original post by Charlotte49
Didn't like the extract at all, ended up linking the tone to the comedic character Lady Bramwell in The Importance of Being Earnest and then saying that Wilde is a late Victorian which shows evolving attitudes. I then said that the extract shows no hope of redemption for Mary which is the opposite of what happens to Henchard in The Mayor of Casterbridge after he sells his wife. Then linked it to The Ruined Maid.

I think I messed up Hardy because I argued that he was haunted against him being nostalgic and having regrets.


I said something similar...she may haunt him but he haunted her in the Voice then had to look for another post emma poem...
Couldn't warm to Mary, she sounded quite boisterous & tarty..unlike Tess or other fallen girls who maybe fell victim to some shifty guy. She seemed to go out of her way...got her self a toyboy too or Boy-Father ha.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 50
Original post by fannymartha
I said something similar...she may haunt him but he haunted her in the Going, then had to look for another post emma poem...
Couldn't warm to Mary, she sounded quite boisterous & tarty..unlike Tess or other fallen girls who maybe fell victim to some shifty guy. She seemed to go out of her way...got her self a toyboy too or Boy-Father ha.


I said she haunted him in The Voice, kind of haunted him in I Found Her Out There and didn't at all in Afterwards. I argued really sympathetically for Mary though, because I thought the letter would have been an unfair portrayal.

Original post by Charlotte49
Didn't like the extract at all, ended up linking the tone to the comedic character Lady Bramwell in The Importance of Being Earnest and then saying that Wilde is a late Victorian which shows evolving attitudes. I then said that the extract shows no hope of redemption for Mary which is the opposite of what happens to Henchard in The Mayor of Casterbridge after he sells his wife. Then linked it to The Ruined Maid.

I think I messed up Hardy because I argued that he was haunted against him being nostalgic and having regrets.


I thought the extract was okay, but my friend cried and hated it. I think it threw everyone off a bit because it was quite informal in tone, unlike all the past papers and everything. I linked to The French Lieutenant's Woman, The Yellow Wallpaper, Pygmalion, On the Condition of the Working Class in England and The Song of the Shirt (bit of a crap link with The Song of the Shirt Though).
Reply 51
I really didn't like the extract, there was no language analysis whatsoever! Ended up linking to some very odd things and just basically describing the ideal Victorian woman hmm...
Hardy was average... Did the haunted ghosts one but randomly said how sometimes Emma haunted him but it was in a good way?? Ha ha
Must admit I disadvantaged myself by only properly doing two pieces of drama and two or three novels (I should have read a lot more). Out of all the extracts my teacher gave me I didn't bother to memorise any of them. I'm so lucky that the extract wasn't on empire or the supernatural or I would have had no wider reading.
Original post by scl95
I really didn't like the extract, there was no language analysis whatsoever! Ended up linking to some very odd things and just basically describing the ideal Victorian woman hmm...
Hardy was average... Did the haunted ghosts one but randomly said how sometimes Emma haunted him but it was in a good way?? Ha ha


That was basically my counter argument too :biggrin:
I think I said that and that he really wanted her to haunt him because he misses her so even seeing a ghost would be good. I kept thinking 'what the hell am I writing here....' all the way through haha
the extract was weird to write about! i choose the second Hardy Question it was an essay that i had practically done before so it was ok. I don't get why we had to memorize quotes, memorizing quotes hardlys shows you writing abilities! it was an alright exam but we won't know until end of august :frown:
yeah i feel the same with the above, but I actually quite liked the extract, I wrote about the illegitimate child in Tess, Mrs Arbuthnot from a Woman of No Importance and Coventry Patmore's Angel of the House. For the Hardy question I argued that The Walk showed her haunting him and then two other poems showing Hardy exploring other themes such as nature, death and time with no infiltration of Emma at all.
Reply 56
Am I the only one who saw the extract as being about views of the upper class towards the urban poor?

Also, had a mare on Hardy - ran out of time and called "After a Journey" "Pentargan Bay" - ****
Reply 57
My argument for Q1 was basically that Carlyle's letter was indicative of a sneering, dismissive attitude towards the working class on the part of the bourgeoisie...which was warped and clouded and contrasted from the reality of destitution - they weren't feckless and idle but they were victims of rapid industrialisation that sustained the avarice of the upper classes - linked it to Hard Times, AWONI, and Song of the Shirt although that was only a quick paragraph and managed to omit Thomas Hood's name and got the year wrong :frown: For Hardy I did Q7 and argued Hap was appropriate as it showed his status as a reluctant atheist BUT neglected the important theme of lost love and thus I thought Pentargan Bay (aka After A Journey! SO STUPID) was a better fit as it showed his intellectual development over the years and tied the themes of lost love (Emma) and atheism together
Reply 58
Original post by Bevanite
My argument for Q1 was basically that Carlyle's letter was indicative of a sneering, dismissive attitude towards the working class on the part of the bourgeoisie...which was warped and clouded and contrasted from the reality of destitution - they weren't feckless and idle but they were victims of rapid industrialisation that sustained the avarice of the upper classes - linked it to Hard Times, AWONI, and Song of the Shirt although that was only a quick paragraph and managed to omit Thomas Hood's name and got the year wrong :frown: For Hardy I did Q7 and argued Hap was appropriate as it showed his status as a reluctant atheist BUT neglected the important theme of lost love and thus I thought Pentargan Bay (aka After A Journey! SO STUPID) was a better fit as it showed his intellectual development over the years and tied the themes of lost love (Emma) and atheism together


Oh my god, did not make that link at all. Wish that clicked :frown:
Reply 59
I totally messed up with Hardy, and I was supposed to get full marks in that question, according to my teacher. Here is a brief outline of what I did..

HARDY AND 'HAP'

* The voice of God, showing blasphemy - Adapts a voice - Shows unconventionality of his poems.
* Link to 'The Oxen' - Shows where he is terms of religion - Uncertainty of the notion of God.
* Form of a dramatic monologue - Shows self-indulgent nature through first person view
* Link to 'The Going' - How he doesn't give a voice to Emma, and uses accusative and abrupt language though his anger is irrational.
* Structure is in the form of a sonnet, ironic as they normally are about love, yet also could show his love and reliance on religion because he feels that just waiting for 'crass Casualty', or random events to take place, gives him less control over life.
* Summary - The poem is effective as it discusses themes that are typical of Hardy, discusses his main views and beliefs, and shows the true Hardy to the reader.

..I know, I know. I totally forgot to disagree that 'Hap' was effective. Do you still think.I'd get an A, with that brief outline..?

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