The English Literature (LITB3 - 20/06/12) Thread

Hey, so for Section A we would want to structure our essays like so: Form, Structure, Language, Context, Interpretations (or throw in the last 2 into the other paragraphs).

But for Section B, I presume that we do not need to talk about form, structure, language, context, and interpretations for ALL 3 texts, right? Would it suffice to generally have enough, but not necessarily have all 5 for all 3 texts? That sounds extremely stringent and limiting...

AO1 is quality of written communication
AO2 is form, structure and language
AO3 is alternative interpretations and critics
AO4 is context

These should all be linked, and present for every text in Section A AND B.

Reply 581

username942883

Does anyone have any predictions at all for what will be coming up in Section B?

Reply 582

Anudeep

Hey, I'm doing the same exam
And texts i'm doing are:
-The Bloody Chamber
-Macbeth
-Dracula

Reply 583

Alxndra

10

Original post by _becca

I've read them all but have only learnt quotes from Bloody Chamber, Erl King, Company of Wolves and Snow Child since between them they cover all the Gothic themes. You only have to make reference to two texts (and I'm only doing it for a section B :smile:

) i think the number of texts you have done is fine.

What would you say the key themes were? I'm struggling to gather any so I can find linked quotes :tongue:

Reply 584

_becca

9

Original post by Alxndra

What would you say the key themes were? I'm struggling to gather any so I can find linked quotes :tongue:

-Transgression
- Horror/macabre
- Terror
- Supernatural - including revenant
- Religion
- Position of women
- Melodrama/farce
- Subconscious - including uncanny, interiority etc
- Setting
-

As well as these there are features of the Gothic which can loosely be put in some of the above categories:
- darkness/light
- pushing boundaries/transgression/taboos
- uncanny
- abhuman
- sublime
- revenant
- subversion of expectations/beliefs
- melodrama
- labyrinthine plots
- violence, death, gore, horror
- terror, subconscious
- supernatural and preternatural

Themes & features of the Gothic obvs overlap, but a Section B's likely to be based around something very general, e.g. 'The Gothic is interested in...
"the consequences of sin"
"setting"
"religion"
"death"
"the nightmarish terrors lurking underneath the civilised mind"
"transgressing boundaries and rebellion"

That type of stuff. :smile:

Reply 585

Samzali1

What kind of things have your teachers gone through on any novels/plays guys?
I'm Doing
Dracula,
Dr Faustus
Wuthering Heights

Reply 586

canthardlywait

Original post by thompsonic7

AO1 is quality of written communication
AO2 is form, structure and language
AO3 is alternative interpretations and critics
AO4 is context

These should all be linked, and present for every text in Section A AND B.

Do we have apply form , structure and language for every text? Should we apply e.g structure, even if it's not directly relevant?

Reply 587

Alexander94

2

Which Bloody Chamber stories would anyone recommend? I have the snow child and the erl king as definite ones.

Reply 588

_becca

9

Original post by Alexander94

Which Bloody Chamber stories would anyone recommend? I have the snow child and the erl king as definite ones.

Bloody Chamber itself as it seems the most traditionally 'Gothic' in terms of horror and the macabre ("a room designed for desecration"/"the instruments of mutilation"), so would be a good one in comparing whether Carter has reinvented the Gothic or whether she is actually sticking to tradition.

I'm also using Company of Wolves as that's explicitly about sexual awakening and female empowerment - we wonder who the "carnivore incarnate" really is and she has to become more like the wolf in order to survive (AO4 links to feminist movement in 1970s). Plus it has the revenant - the "old bones clattering under the bed" are supernatural, uncanny, representative of the 'old ways' and social codes which are being disregarded.

Reply 589

tsveta

2

Original post by Alexander94

Which Bloody Chamber stories would anyone recommend? I have the snow child and the erl king as definite ones.

The ones I always tend to use in essays are:
The Snow Child (ALWAYS)
The Bloody Chamber (it's so inherently Gothic)
The Lady of the House of Love (because it's not so Gothic)

And then I sometimes use
The Tiger's Bride
The Courtship of Mr Lyon

I am going to try and get to know some of the Werewolf stories a bit more because then I will have a wider range to use from.
I'm not a massive fan of the Erl-King so I doubt I'll write about that one unless I really have to.

Reply 590

thompsonic7

16

Original post by canthardlywait

Do we have apply form , structure and language for every text? Should we apply e.g structure, even if it's not directly relevant?

Form structure and language come under one umbrella, so if there's nothing on structure that would actually help to answer the question then I think as long as you have enough language and form then you're fine.

And yes, it should be for every text, otherwise the essay will be quite vague and thematic, without the crucial analysis elements.

Reply 591

Alxndra

10

Original post by _becca

-Transgression
- Horror/macabre
- Terror
- Supernatural - including revenant
- Religion
- Position of women
- Melodrama/farce
- Subconscious - including uncanny, interiority etc
- Setting
-

As well as these there are features of the Gothic which can loosely be put in some of the above categories:
- darkness/light
- pushing boundaries/transgression/taboos
- uncanny
- abhuman
- sublime
- revenant
- subversion of expectations/beliefs
- melodrama
- labyrinthine plots
- violence, death, gore, horror
- terror, subconscious
- supernatural and preternatural

Themes & features of the Gothic obvs overlap, but a Section B's likely to be based around something very general, e.g. 'The Gothic is interested in...
"the consequences of sin"
"setting"
"religion"
"death"
"the nightmarish terrors lurking underneath the civilised mind"
"transgressing boundaries and rebellion"

That type of stuff. :smile:

Thanks!

Reply 592

bm127

10

What are people actually doing to revise? Other than the obvious quote learning, context learning and making sure that you're familiar with the text, and maybe some practice essays, is there anything else you can really do?

Reply 593

bethanysmith

im doing bloody chamber, wuthering heights and macbeth and finding it quite difficult to revise too :frown:

Reply 594

flandalf

5

Original post by partickler

Hey, so for Section A we would want to structure our essays like so: Form, Structure, Language, Context, Interpretations (or throw in the last 2 into the other paragraphs).

But for Section B, I presume that we do not need to talk about form, structure, language, context, and interpretations for ALL 3 texts, right? Would it suffice to generally have enough, but not necessarily have all 5 for all 3 texts? That sounds extremely stringent and limiting...

Yeah, for Section B you're looking more for what is relevant to the question, so it might be better to just have a paragraph for each text/point with at least some reference to form, structure and language in there somewhere.

Reply 595

canthardlywait

Original post by flandalf

Yeah, for Section B you're looking more for what is relevant to the question, so it might be better to just have a paragraph for each text/point with at least some reference to form, structure and language in there somewhere.

Has anyone got any suggestions for what might come up in section B?
Are they likely to recycle/use similar ideas to previous papers?

Reply 596

S_123

14

I'm doing:
Macbeth
The Bloody Chamber
The White Devil

Want to study English at uni so need a very high mark in this exam! :s-smilie:

Reply 597

flandalf

5

Original post by canthardlywait

Has anyone got any suggestions for what might come up in section B?
Are they likely to recycle/use similar ideas to previous papers?

Is this for the pastoral genre? If so, they usually have something like city v country or something about idealisation in pastoral literature. Regardless of which genre though they do seem to sometimes just reword a question, they do that for pastoral a lot.