AQA English Literature Synoptic...

I shall start with the obvious ones shall I?

Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

An interesting if at times verboise novel that score moe points for authorship than story telling. Highly interesting characterisation and the author manages to study war from a variety of viewpoints. Use of class and social structure is particularly interesting.

Wonderful graphic and tactile imagery throughout.

Reply 2

OP

Just about to start Birdsong, actually, I'll be sure to watch out for those things.

Reply 3

Remove sharp objects from your desk though, it does get rather tedious.

Reply 4

OP

Ha, don't worry, they were removed about two scenes in to 'Oh! What a Lovely War'.

Reply 5

Yes. Truly I hate the abomination that is 99% of War Literature from that period. Also studying "Strange Meeting" and "Regeneration" on the prose front. I enjoy Regeneration I must admit.

In terms of plays: "Journey's End" and "The Accrington Pals". Shakespeare's "Henry V" also at times provides useful ideas and quotes.

Reply 6

OP

Yeah. I did enjoy 'Journey's End', and the pre-war speech in 'Henry V' is great for pre-WW1 reference.

Reply 7

Also regarding pre War. Thomas Hardy has some stuff, I'm guessing based around the Crimean or the Boer? Good for elaborating on the universiality of war.

Also check out the flowery poncy Georgian poetry. Likewise Poetry from a female perspective is apparently needed. Le sigh.

Reply 8

impsmith

1

I thought you weren't supposed to mention 'All Quiet on the Western Front', because it's a translation. That might only be for coursework, though, or simply wrong.

For wider reading I think I used a bit of Catch-22 and The Red Badge of Courage and a bit of Henry V. I also read a lot of Owen and Sassoon, and a bit of Rosenberg and Brooke.

May Wedderburn Cannan was a good "token woman poet", Richard Lovelace's 'to Lucasta, on going to the Wars' and some of Thomas Hardy's Boer War stuff also provided more wide-ranging sources. Even things like the inscription on Leonidas' memorial at Thermopylae gives context (especially when you consider the very classical education many of the poets recieved) and makes your essay slightly more interesting to read for an examiner marking their fifty-first script.

Reply 9

OP

The Lyceum

Also regarding pre War. Thomas Hardy has some stuff, I'm guessing based around the Crimean or the Boer? Good for elaborating on the universiality of war.

Also check out the flowery poncy Georgian poetry. Likewise Poetry from a female perspective is apparently needed. Le sigh.

Ugh, yeah, women's poetry is a drag. Try Jessie Pope if you haven't already though; disgustingly blatant propaganda geared at young men which I had difficulty reading but it's good to cite it in the exam.

Reply 10

Aye, got Pope. Then of course there is Vera Brittain (sp, not sure how she spells her name) and her staid poetry.

Still, it's worth it just to see those A's.

Reply 11

OP

impsmith

I thought you weren't supposed to mention 'All Quiet on the Western Front', because it's a translation. That might only be for coursework, though, or simply wrong.

For wider reading I think I used a bit of Catch-22 and The Red Badge of Courage and a bit of Henry V. I also read a lot of Owen and Sassoon, and a bit of Rosenberg and Brooke.

May Wedderburn Cannan was a good "token woman poet", Richard Lovelace's 'to Lucasta, on going to the Wars' and some of Thomas Hardy's Boer War stuff also provided more wide-ranging sources. Even things like the inscription on Leonidas' memorial at Thermopylae gives context (especially when you consider the very classical education many of the poets recieved) and makes your essay slightly more interesting to read for an examiner marking their fifty-first script.

Woah, thanks, there's a lot in there to process! Very useful.

As you write in the past tense, I'm presupposing you've already taken the exam; how'd you do in it?

Reply 12

OP