Feeling so depressed about English Lit. Exam :(

The first English Lit exam is tomorrow and I'm really scared.

I really really want a 7 in English Lit but I'm so hopeless at it I can't remember anything and I feel like I probably started my revision too late.

I'm basically predicted A*s for all my other subjects (including English Lang.) and I don't know how I'm going to fare with English Literature (as my school never did any mocks or proper practice exams for us on it)

:/ i just feel so bad about it and I'm aiming for like Oxbridge or like the really top universities and despite the fact that I'm heading more in the STEM subject direction, I know that with places like Oxford and Cambridge, all the grades you get count and so I'm stressing so bad about getting a good grade in this god forsaken subject. I just want to curl up into a ball and cry.

I'm just so scared I'm gonna open up that paper tomorrow and have a complete mind blank, I'm running out of time and nothing I read or revise even remotely sticks in my head. I HATE English Lit so much.

I'm studying Romeo &J, Jekyll and Hyde, An inspector calls and then the power and conflict cluster fyi :frown:

(

Reply 1

AzminaAli

2

Don't worry, you can only do the best you can. Don't put so much pressure and stress on yourself. You probably will get a 7 but you won't realise it. Good luck for tomorrow and you'll be fine.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 2

lighth_lawliet

15

Original post by awkwrdbby

The first English Lit exam is tomorrow and I'm really scared.

I really really want a 7 in English Lit but I'm so hopeless at it I can't remember anything and I feel like I probably started my revision too late.

I'm basically predicted A*s for all my other subjects (including English Lang.) and I don't know how I'm going to fare with English Literature (as my school never did any mocks or proper practice exams for us on it)

:/ i just feel so bad about it and I'm aiming for like Oxbridge or like the really top universities and despite the fact that I'm heading more in the STEM subject direction, I know that with places like Oxford and Cambridge, all the grades you get count and so I'm stressing so bad about getting a good grade in this god forsaken subject. I just want to curl up into a ball and cry.

I'm just so scared I'm gonna open up that paper tomorrow and have a complete mind blank, I'm running out of time and nothing I read or revise even remotely sticks in my head. I HATE English Lit so much.

I'm studying Romeo &J, Jekyll and Hyde, An inspector calls and then the power and conflict cluster fyi :frown:

(

I am in the exact same position as you! Stay calm and look at a few key quotes and their analysis as well as some structure and form. Tomorrow you should be able to use the ideas you come up with now to help with your argument.

Good luck :smile:

Reply 3

username3251454

1

Chapter 1 - The Science of Deduction Holmes takes cocaine as a way of coping with a lack of work & his boredom. Chapter 2 - The Statement of the Case Mary Morstan arrives & tells of the mystery of her missing father (Captain Morstan), the valuable pearls sent to her every year. Watson is attracted to Mary. Chapter 3 - In Quest of a Solution Holmes investigates Mary Morstan’s case. He & Watson accompany Mary to meet a man in London’s West End. He takes them to an ordinary house in the suburbs. Chapter 4 - The Story of the Bald-Headed Man Holmes, Watson & Mary Morstan are introduced to Thaddeus Sholto. Thaddeus explains Mary’s father is dead, as is his father (Major Sholto). The Agra treasure belonging to his father has taken Thaddeus & his brother Bartholomew six years to find. Chapter 5 - The Tragedy of Pondicherry Lodge Holmes, Watson, Mary Morstan & Thaddeus Sholto travel to Bartholomew Sholto’s house. Holmes & Watson discover Bartholomew has been murdered & the Agra treasure is missing. Chapter 6 - Sherlock Holmes Gives a Demonstration Holmes closely investigates the crime scene of Bartholomew Sholto’s murder. Holmes finds significant clues. Scotland Yard detective Athleney Jones arrives & announces he has arrested Thaddeus Sholto on suspicion of his brother’s murder. Holmes names Jonathan Small as the main suspect. Chapter 7 - The Episode of the Barrel Watson collects Toby (a dog) to help track down the suspects in Bartholomew’s murder & the theft of the Agra treasure. Toby leads Holmes & Watson to a barrel containing the creosote used to waterproof Batholomew’s roof. Chapter 8 - The Baker Street Irregulars Holmes works out that the suspects in Bartholomew’s murder & the theft of the Agra treasure have hired a boat to escape. Holmes pays a bunch of street children to track down the boat. Chapter 9 - A Break in the Chain Holmes waits for news and further clues about the case. He hears nothing, so he decides to disguise himself as a sailor and search for the suspects himself. Both Watson & Athelney Jones don’t recognise Holmes in disguise. Chapter 10 - The End of the Islander Holmes, Watson & Athelney Jones eat a meal together then set-off to follow the boat hired by the suspects in Bartholomew’s murder & the theft of the Agra treasure. The suspects try to escape, but Watson & Holmes kill one of them & capture the other (a man with a wooden leg). The box containing the Agra treasure is recovered. Chapter 11 - The Great Agra Treasure Jonathan Small begins to be interviewed by Holmes. Watson is sent to deliver the box containing the Agra treasure to Mary Morstan. The box is opened to reveal the treasure is missing. Watson tells Mary he loves her. Chapter 12 - The Story of Jonathan Small Jonathan Small explains all about his life, how he lost his leg, gained a share of the Agra Treasure, ended-up in prison on the Andaman Islands, was betrayed by Major Sholto, escaped prison, returned to England & recovered the Agra Treasure. Watson tells Holmes he has proposed to Mary & Holmes reaches for his cocaine

Reply 4

RiseOfTheHumanz

8

Original post by NateRiver

I am in the exact same position as you! Stay calm and look at a few key quotes and their analysis as well as some structure and form. Tomorrow you should be able to use the ideas you come up with now to help with your argument.

Good luck :smile:

hey nate, like the pic

Reply 5

Confusedboutlife

13

Original post by awkwrdbby

The first English Lit exam is tomorrow and I'm really scared.

I really really want a 7 in English Lit but I'm so hopeless at it I can't remember anything and I feel like I probably started my revision too late.

I'm basically predicted A*s for all my other subjects (including English Lang.) and I don't know how I'm going to fare with English Literature (as my school never did any mocks or proper practice exams for us on it)

:/ i just feel so bad about it and I'm aiming for like Oxbridge or like the really top universities and despite the fact that I'm heading more in the STEM subject direction, I know that with places like Oxford and Cambridge, all the grades you get count and so I'm stressing so bad about getting a good grade in this god forsaken subject. I just want to curl up into a ball and cry.

I'm just so scared I'm gonna open up that paper tomorrow and have a complete mind blank, I'm running out of time and nothing I read or revise even remotely sticks in my head. I HATE English Lit so much.

I'm studying Romeo &J, Jekyll and Hyde, An inspector calls and then the power and conflict cluster fyi :frown:

(

I got full marks in my English exams. Not sure it is the same poems but I did the conflict section. Do you want my notes ? What's your email address ?

Reply 6

lighth_lawliet

15

Original post by RiseOfTheHumanz

hey nate, like the pic

Why thank you

Reply 7

Idku

10

I feel you girllllll on results day all my results gonna be like A/A* and then like a 5 or something for english lit is going to ruin it all :'(

Reply 8

Maribella_321

10

Original post by Confusedboutlife

I got full marks in my English exams. Not sure it is the same poems but I did the conflict section. Do you want my notes ? What's your email address ?

can you please send them to me.

Reply 9

Confusedboutlife

13

Original post by Maribella_321

can you please send them to me.

NOTES ON CONFLICT CLUSTER AQA

Poppies is a poem which focuses on a mother feeling like her child is leaving her, and the internal conflict she feels about letting him freely go, and keeping him locked up because she loves him. In the first stanza, forceful language is linked to live to create a sweet yet violent tension, perhaps echoing the inner confusion and conflict the writers created character has while she watches her child grow up. She is described to " pin" a " crimped petal" on to his " blazer" in " spasms" of " red". The plosives from the ps and bs create a harsh, violent sound, which conflicts with the beauty of the " petal" and passion of the " red", and the word " pinned" is incredibly harsh, as if she is forcing her child from not leaving her. The word spasm is also significant, as it shows lack of control at this stage, and how her internal conflict is consuming her. The second stanza portrays the mother as much more vulnerable. She tries to " steel the softening" of her her " face", to hide her emotions from her son and control herself, which is a sad image as she is hiding her self from her son. This is Antithesis which holds the internal conflict. . To make the poem more emotional, the writer begins to recall previous memories of the woman and her son, such as how the mother wanted to "play" "Eskimos" with her child, a sweet warm image. However, Eskimos has cold connotations attached to it, as if this warmth has been drained from the mothers world. She feels helpless due to the barriers her son, probably a teenager, has thrown to protect himself from her. She has to resist the " impulse" to stroke her Son's " gelled" hair, but they are described with the metaphor as " black thorns" suggests this. Not only does this perhaps link to growth, it may also refer to how the woman cannot help but hurt herself by trying to bond with her son, and getting pricked by his thorns. The writer has turned this incredibly sweet image into something dark and sinister, and uses physical pain to make the mother seem even more vulnerable and helpless. Her words are " turned into felt", suggesting all her words have been squashed together to give no meaning or have any influence to her son. " Felt" is also incredibly soft and warm yet here they are " flattened" and " rolled" as if her warmth and love is being attacked. This displays the conflict the woman has with her teenage son, who probably has no idea of this conflict they are facing. In the third stanza, the writer portrays how devastated the women feels when her son leaves her, and how protective she feels of him. When she opens the door, the world is described to " overflow like a treasure chest". This could have a double meaning. The first could be that the world outside is the treasure chest, full of wondrous opportunities and adventures for her son. The other could be that she is referring to her home as the world, where the memories of her and her son, which are in this case the " treasure" are flowing out and being lost. There is then a lot of feminine language linked to freedom, seen in how the woman walks into the room and " frees a songbird from its cage", a symbol for how she has freed her son and herself from this conflict. There is a mixed feeling of happiness and sadness here, as the choice of words such as " doves", a symbol of love. Yet this dove flies away and leads her to a "churchyard", a place where perhaps people have died and the mother mourns the loss she feels for her son. The dove then "pulls freely against the sky" perhaps symbol for how she feels that her son has been pulled away from her yet feels free and happy. The poem ends with the mother feeling like she has an " ornamental stitch" as if the mothers conflict with her son has healed.

Yellow Palm

Example Questions: How does the poet use the descriptions of the place to get across the theme of conflict? How does the writer use language to explore the theme of conflict?

This is set in Baghdad. The man who is killed by ‘gas’ is a victim of Saddam Hussein, the then dictator of Iraq. It seems to be a picture of day to day life, with flashes of the conflict happening in the background (‘the mother of all wars’, i.e. the first Iraq war vs the Americans). Meaning of the title: yellow = cowardice, withered, dried up greenery often turns yellow. It can also be a bright symbol of hope, linked to the sun. palm = palm tree, prevalent in the Middle East, bearing sweet fruit (dates), also palm of the hand, symbol of openness, honesty The first person narration reads like travel-writing and sensory language/exotic flowers and sights set the scene. The ‘cruise missile’ and ‘blood on the walls’ seem merely details of the scene - a somewhat brutal effect. The tone is slightly distanced, of observation: ‘made my way’ suggests wandering, ‘watched’ ‘heard’, ‘smelled’ suggests a passive, though sensory experience: as if he wishes to record honestly from all angles, this queer juxtaposition of the horrific and the mundane. The Yellow Palm As I made my way down Palestine Street > ref to Palestine suggests another Middle Eastern conflict, as if ‘Palestine’ is metonymy (a watchword) for conflict and brutality I watched a funeral pass - > The interlaced rhyme creates a soft, hissing effect with the sibilant ‘s’ sounds repeated, and the soft, open sounds. ‘pass’ suggests somethign transient, ‘glass’, something fragile and ‘gas’ something misty, hard to grasp all the women waving lilac stems > women/waving = alliteration, the ‘w’ is soft, like an exhalation, ‘lilac’ is beautiful, fragrant. It’s interesting that the lilac (beautiful, natural) has been cut and is waving not in the wind, but by the grief of the women. (interpret this however you like!) around a coffin made of glass > image of death/fragility, transparent, open for all to see and the face of the man who lay within > face makes us focus on his humanity who had breathed a poison gas. > ‘breathed’ is passive, gentle, essential: but has killed him, a horrible juxtaposition of the unnatural brutality of the regime/chemical weapons As I made my way down Palestine Street > refrain is repeated, giving a hypnotic, hymn-like quality, or that the poet is trapped in this idea of the place of conflict I heard the call to prayer > notice ‘prayer’ rhymes with ‘despair’, a horrid juxtaposition and I stopped at the door of the golden mosque > golden=precious, earthly, antique, an interesting element within the horror of day to day life, evokes former glory, heaven. Door = boundaries, transition, the fact that the poet is an outsider to watch the faithful there > faithful = truth, honesty (also, believers) but there was blood on the walls and the muezzin’s eyes > literal blood (on the walls) /metaphorical blood (in the muezzin’s eyes), a fierce juxtaposition with the ‘golden mosque’ were wild with his despair. > wild= savage, powerful, but despair = loss of faith (ironic as he is a muezzin leading the ‘faithful’), loss of hope, a flat, dead feeling which contrasts with savage power. The message is backing people into a corner is psychologically (spiritually damaging) as well as making them fierce, brutal themselves As I made my way down Palestine Street I met two blind beggars > blind (also lacking vision, understanding) beggars = lowest of the low, dependent of charity And into their hands I pressed my hands (we’d be better to put our hands (ourselves) into the hands of beggars vs the powerful (wicked) Hussein/Americans), or a symbol of common humanity, that humanity is being made into beggars by this conflict with a hundred black dinars; > money is ‘black’/evil, burned, tarnished (dinars = Iraqi currency, also a symbol of authority (Saddam), bureacracy, economy/civilization) and their salutes were those of the Imperial Guard > metaphor: or literal, either the beggars salute like the Imperial Guard, or he gives money to the Imperial Guard who are reduced to beggars (taking bribes) by the desperate state of the regime. This is an odd juxtaposition of imperial power and powerlesness. in the Mother of all Wars. > mother/war = a vile juxtaposition, mother=love, fertility, promise, care, hope. war=destruction. Mother of all = nature goddess, or national symbol (usually), so this corruption intended to glorify has a dirty taint As I made my way down Palestine Street I smelled the wide Tigris, > wide= powerful, conquering nature (Tigris=river, makes us think of tigers, natural power, also a river famous from classical antiquity, backdrop to greatness) the river smell that lifts the air > hopeful (contrasts with down) in a city such as this; but down on my head fell the barbarian sun > pathetic fallacy, sun as warrior that knows no armistice. This whole stanza is about nature, first lifting then falling as if they are at war with him. The conflict extends to the whole of nature: this is a brutally hot place. As I made my way down Palestine Street I saw a Cruise missile, a slow and silver caravan on its slow and silver mile, > precious metal, currency, historically the middle east was part of an important trade route where a ‘caravan’ is a convoy of traders bringing exotic sensory goods like spices, perfumes, silks and jewels. Linking this to the ‘cruise’ missile is horrific (even the word ‘cruise’ suggests something casual) but it is a bomb (basically) and a beggar child turned up his face > up=positive, that children are beggars seems to go against what’s right, child=hope and blessed it with a smile. > positive image, horribly ironic, or showing there can still be hope and joy where there is conflict and brutality As I made my way down Palestine Street under the yellow palms I saw their branches hung with yellow dates all sweeter than salaams, and when that same child reached up to touch, the fruit fell in his arms. > nature will bless us no matter what, even the poorest beggar child, if we smile (?). Nature stays the same, will give fruit. ‘touch’ is gentle suggesting gentleness is the solution, not violence. The gift will be given freely if gently asked for. It is the same child that smiles at the cruise missiles, suggesting non-violent response is the answer?

The Right Word How does the writer use language and structure to get across the idea of conflict? - The poem the right word is about the writer of the poems struggles in identifying the nature of somebody waiting outside his door. This is shown as in each different stanza he describes him in a different way, before finally opening the door and realising his true nature. Dharker examines how language choices shift our understanding of conflict. First the terrorist is ‘outside’, later he invites him in. - Dharker uses short lines, clipped tight and the same refrain as he circles round the problem of the ‘terrorist’ ‘outside the door’. After each line break he comes back to the same idea, as if he’s trapped in a loop, like being trapped in the cycle of conflict. The word ‘outside’ is the first in the poem, immediately setting up the notion of the outsider. The ‘door’ is a boundary, closed in their face, which limits our ability to see and define what’s there. However, he keeps trying to define them, though he can’t see them: each stanza repeats the definition with new words. However, the word ‘shadows’ stays the same, suggesting he isn’t really making progress. ‘Shadows’ are blurred, connoting moral darkness, but also our inability to see. They’re also symbolic of fear and the unknown. Language shifts as Dharker tries to find ‘the right word’, as if pinning down meaning could break the loop of conflict, and solve the problem. Every stanza has the word ‘outside’ in it . This shows that the writer is still trying to come to terms with what is actually outside his door. What is suprising is he feels very confident in what he thinks, he gets straight to it ‘ Outside the door, lurking in the shadows, is a terrorist.’ This surprises you how much he changes his mind. As the poem goes on he continues to change his mind till eventually he has to open his door The right word Outside the door, refrain > idea of the ‘outsider’, door as boundary, shutting out lurking in the shadows, > shadow (moral evil), hidden, hiding; lurking > emotive language waiting with evil intent is a terrorist. > from ‘terrror’, emotively charged,very negative. This stanza is a simple statement but subsequent stanzas show Dharker circling round the problem of definitions (a bit like in Flag) Is that the wrong description? > seems to be talking to himself. The rhetorical question highlights the problem of ‘description’, to describe is to define, even to create a thing Outside that door, refrain taking shelter in the shadows, > shelter implies need of protection, refuge from something harsh so frames the person as a victim is a freedom fighter. > alliteration of the soft fricative (f) gives a lifting feel, ‘freedom’ is a positive, human right, and fighter suggests they are fighting for a noble cause I haven't got this right . > humility in the tone, that there’s a right/wrong way to define Outside, waiting in the shadows, > waiting builds tension, waiting for you (to attack you etc?) is a hostile militant. > hostile shows active aggression Are words no more The rhetorical question shows an internal struggle trying to get to grip with the topic, defining that it is maybe ‘words’ that are the problem than waving, wavering flags? > waving - showing off, wavering - insubstantial, shifting, meaningless, just symbols (not things, not truth) Outside your door, > suddenly personalised, this problem is coming closer to home watchful in the shadows, > ‘watchful’ suggests the man is examining us (to see what we will do), the observed becomes the observer is a guerrilla warrior. > guerrilla - glamorous word for freedom fighter, warrior > nobility bravery, ancient tradition God help me. > suddenly very personal ‘me’ and the apostrophe (appeal to God) gives this a religious dimension. it’s as if Dharker is taking personal responsibility for the problem Outside, defying every shadow, > defying - the man now resists the shadow (moral darkness / hiding) he doesn’t want to hide any more, won’t stay in the dark, won’t let us label him as dark. This is a powerful image of resistance. The passive observed is becoming much more active at this point. stands a martyr. > as in jihad, or martyrdom to a greater cause, ultimate self-sacrifice I saw his face. > suddenly the man is an individual with sight of ‘face’ and he becomes much more vividly specific, a real person No words can help me now. > Dharker says words aren’t enough, also building a sense of danger Just outside the door, > ‘just’ gives a sense of urgent immediacy lost in shadows, > lost is emotive, that we are losing meaning, losing identity, losing our children (often represent hope, the future) is a child who looks like mine. > the simile suggests it could be any of our children next, and that these young people are metaphorically our children and we have a responsibility to help them One word for you. > ironically this isn’t one word, it’s as if he’s drawing our attention, the lines here are very short, very tight, very clipped, as the problem abruptly becomes our problem. Outside my door, his hand too steady, > too determined, there’s such a thing as too much faith (when it’s wrongly placed) excessive emotions are often dangerous his eyes too hard > hardened to humanity is a boy who looks like your son, too. > this is very much the reader’s problem too I open the door. > In the same tight, clipped style, Dharker invites him in, the first genuine connection between the boy who, so far has been kept at a distance, an outsider on the other side of the divide Come in, I say. > present tense suggests we need to take action now Come in and eat with us. > sharing food sign of welcome. Inviting these people closer into our homes is the answer not defining them with emotive language and keeping them at a distance. The child steps in > terrorist > child is a transformation into innocence, gentleness, hope, that they come inside ‘carefully’ and ‘take off his shoes’ is a sign of almost religious respect echoing the generosity of the invitation to come in and eat. and carefully, at my door, takes off his shoes.

Charge of the Light Brigade The poem has a taut rhythm like a drum beat, with short syllables and repetition: ‘half a league’ and ‘valley of death’, as if they’re being swept horribly into death. The repetition of just another ‘half a league’ has an almost hypnotic quality, which highlights the key facts: they’re close to death and there are ‘six hundred’. The fact they’re riding ‘onward’ and ‘forward’ towards it suggests a certain madness: they’re embracing death as they ‘charge for the guns’. The direct command admits no doubt, but the prospect it contains is terrible: they are charging towards guns that are firing at them. Any sense of individuality is stripped away by the definite ‘the six hundred’ as if they have solidified into a block, so certain is their fate. The word ‘Light’ in light brigade might suggest hope, but it seems ultimately more pathetic in the face of death. Yet none are ‘dismayed’. Tennyson has a certain respect for the doggedness with which they face death because someone had ‘blundered’. The refrains and strong rhythm make this feel like a hymn: to bravery carrying out orders, but also to the pity of wasting such bravery as this because someone has ‘blundered’. The anaphora, short lines and tight rhyme in ‘Theirs not to make reply. // Theirs not to reason why // Theirs but to do or die.’ builds a tight mood. Firstly the word ‘theirs’ is possessive: but the men possess nothing - ‘not’, ‘not’ except ‘to die’. Their humanity and choice is stripped away through the repetition. They can’t ‘reply’ or ‘reason’: can’t talk or think, the two main things that make us human. It’s noble. But also terrifying. The same technique recurs in the next stanza, almost marrying the men to the cannons: ‘cannon’ and ‘them’ are linked in each line, with only the word ‘right’, ‘left’ and ‘front’ varied. This creates a feel of a solid, homogenous doom, with an almost onomatopoeic feel of the booming rhythm of the lines. Sensory description adds noise to the valley: ‘volleyed’, ‘thundered’ and ‘stormed’ almost makes it seem as if the war is a force of nature beating against them. Alliteration in ‘stormed’, ‘shot’ and ‘shell’ makes it feel incessant, with short sharp sibilants. In the face of this, the men just keep riding ‘boldly and well’. In this stanza Death is portrayed as a monster waiting to swallow them in its ‘jaws’, gaining a still darker mood with the image of ‘the mouth of hell’. Hell suggests the horror of the battlefield, but also the sense of damnation, that their torments are more brutal than anything on this earth.

How does Armitage use language techniques to build his theme? 'Out of the Blue' is a dramatic monologue spoken by one of the people inside the twin towers on 9/11, from inside the burning building. The effect is of extreme close up on a tiny point in space in time, almost in 1:1 narrative time. The event is narrated as it happens - an appeal to a second person who could not be listening. This creates an eerie effect: of an event we cannot touch, of lost people who could not speak to us, even though we watched at the time or later: the flames, the people who jumped (effectively committing suicide): ‘wind-milling, wheeling, spiralling, falling’. It’s graceful, fluid, fast: a plunge to the death. The effect is ghostly, of a disembodied voice talking directly to us. The idea of watching is picked out in the first lines - as well as the appeal to the reader: ‘You have picked me out / Through a distant shot of a building burning’. The word ‘distant shot’ is the blurred camera work of trying to zoom in so far, but also evokes the distance between us who were not involved and those who were - cut off from the world but endlessly watched and re-watched: trapped on camera, iconic. The narrator seems to be right beside us, following every flicker of our eyes: ‘you have picked out’ ... ‘you have noticed now’ . The sense that this is happening now is emphasised by the use of the word ‘now’ and the present tense in ‘a white cotton shirt is twirling, turning’. The second stanza continues in the present, repeating ‘waving’ four times - as if calling attention to be saved - which appears in the final line of the stanza ‘Does anyone see / A soul worth saving?’ The imagery of ‘soul’ is religious, of desperation (as in ‘save our souls’, a cry for help) and ‘worth’ suggests value is being weighed. As the poem goes on, and the narrator makes repeated pleas for help, still ‘trying and trying’ to stay alive - weighted against the known hopelesness, the futility of rescue attempts (which killed many emergency service personnel), it is the overwhelming helplessness of the entire rest of the world to do anything that stands out. There was nothing, nothing at all that anyone could do - only watch. In stanza three, the narrator asks ‘So when will you come?’ The simple, colloquial question, headed with the informal ‘so’, is casual, like the image of ‘shaking crumbs’ or ‘pegging out washing’. The imagery of the everyday linked to inexorable fate - and the fact the events are true - is a terrible juxtaposition. In the next stanza, we feel the ‘heat’ ‘bullying, driving’. The present tense here builds tension, but even here, the narrator hasn’t given up and the fact he’s ‘not at the point’ yet, and won’t ‘surrender’ makes the inevitability of a terrible death even more terrible. Euphemisms like ‘leaving’, ‘diving’ and ‘wind-milling’ for suicide add to the pathos. He says ‘the depth is appalling’ and this one ‘-ing’ word: for emotion, not action, stands out like a point. It is repeated in quick succession a the end of a line, which heightens the emotion. We should be appalled, but it is worse as the narrator is so aware of what is coming to him. After all this imagery of plunging to death, the short-lined stanza: ‘are your eyes believing... I am still breathing’ is horrible. It’s the tension between inevitable destruction, and these long, terrifying moments where the narrator is alive, aware ‘tiring’ that make it worse. The present tense traps us in a moment we’d rather not think about let alone inhabit. At the end of this section there are ‘sirens’ ‘wailing, firing’, the urgent screams contrasting with the slowing down of ‘tiring, tiring’, as the narrator goes ‘numb’. The last appeal is intimate, like a dying person clinging to us: ‘Do you see me, my love. I am failing, flagging’. The narrator asks if we can see. We can’t take our eyes away. But however long we watch, we can barely understand it.

Reply 10

School_ftw

2

Original post by Student879

Hi.
Stay calm, take deep breaths and just remember that there are millions of other students in England, in the same position as you are. and if they can do it, so can you.

"Millions"?! Really? Last time I checked, there's around 750,000 students sitting GCSE English 9-1 this year...

Original post by awkwrdbby

The first English Lit exam is tomorrow and I'm really scared.

I really really want a 7 in English Lit but I'm so hopeless at it I can't remember anything and I feel like I probably started my revision too late.

I'm basically predicted A*s for all my other subjects (including English Lang.) and I don't know how I'm going to fare with English Literature (as my school never did any mocks or proper practice exams for us on it)

:/ i just feel so bad about it and I'm aiming for like Oxbridge or like the really top universities and despite the fact that I'm heading more in the STEM subject direction, I know that with places like Oxford and Cambridge, all the grades you get count and so I'm stressing so bad about getting a good grade in this god forsaken subject. I just want to curl up into a ball and cry.

I'm just so scared I'm gonna open up that paper tomorrow and have a complete mind blank, I'm running out of time and nothing I read or revise even remotely sticks in my head. I HATE English Lit so much.

I'm studying Romeo &J, Jekyll and Hyde, An inspector calls and then the power and conflict cluster fyi :frown:

(

Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just annotate the given extract as much as possible. I know how you feel, I'm aiming for Oxbridge too, so I likewise need the good grades - even at GCSE level. I felt like this back in February before my mocks, and I had only ever gotten grade 6s before in English. But I tried really hard, thought logically about the play on the whole, and I somehow came out with a grade 8 in literature (and 8 in language too). I am likewise more in the STEM direction, so I really don't like English, trust me (I got a 9 in maths). I can't wait until I can drop English. Use that as your motivation!

Good luck! You can do it!

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 11

sk_01

4

Im ******** myself too- phones and social media are such a big distraction at this moment
Last year (yr 10) we had some GCSE exams and I was rlly determined so i gave my phone to my parents and i studies the whole day. This year I spend so much time on my phone.

English i am hoping it will be easier and it technically should be as it will be the first year doing 9-1. If it isnt then we can all just meet up and protest unjustice maannnn

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 12

Beccajane2

14

Don't panic about It. Just say to yourself to aim for a pass first and then if you get anything above that, it's a bonus. I think Eng lang is the bigger one a GCSE so don't worry about lit as much. Hope everything goes okay

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 13

CraigBackner

20

Original post by School_ftw

"Millions"?! Really? Last time I checked, there's around 750,000 students sitting GCSE English 9-1 this year...

Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just annotate the given extract as much as possible. I know how you feel, I'm aiming for Oxbridge too, so I likewise need the good grades - even at GCSE level. I felt like this back in February before my mocks, and I had only ever gotten grade 6s before in English. But I tried really hard, thought logically about the play on the whole, and I somehow came out with a grade 8 in literature (and 8 in language too). I am likewise more in the STEM direction, so I really don't like English, trust me (I got a 9 in maths). I can't wait until I can drop English. Use that as your motivation!

Good luck! You can do it!

Do you Aqa further matsh by any chance and if so what grade you aming for

Reply 14

tiger tails

It sounds like you are bright, after a good sleep with your phone switched off, you may find that when you are refreshed that you will feel more confident. go into the exam with a positive attitude, leave your worries at the door. Its natural to be nervous, breath and smile, again and again and remind yourself how talented you are. Remember if you start getting worried, look up and visualise what you remember and trust. Good luck to you and everyone sitting the exam. :-)

Reply 15

Dysf(x)al

20

I know how you feel. I'm predicted A*s and 9s in everything...

From what I hear, everyone's panicking. And you know what that means... LOWER GRADE BOUNDARIES!!!

Reply 16

School_ftw

2

Original post by Student879

Calm the eff down, I just used that figure to get my point across, I didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to take the 'millions' seriously. It's just a exaggerative estimate so it would calm someone down so please don't be so ****ing pretentious and start telling me how many students there actually are in England. Like seriously who does that?!!

Why don't you "calm the eff down" you idiot? Next time maybe get your facts right before you make such dumbass comments, then you won't make yourself look like a total idiot like you have here. The reason I brought that fact up, because there is a very large difference between "millionS", and 750000 - which you obviously don't see, that they are two very different figures. Great job kiddo.

Reply 17

sk_01

4

Lmao beefing up

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 18

Student879

10

Original post by School_ftw

Why don't you "calm the eff down" you idiot? Next time maybe get your facts right before you make such dumbass comments, then you won't make yourself look like a total idiot like you have here. The reason I brought that fact up, because there is a very large difference between "millionS", and 750000 - which you obviously don't see, that they are two very different figures. Great job kiddo.

Wow, u must really be fun at parties

Reply 19

ahad47

11

Original post by School_ftw

Why don't you "calm the eff down" you idiot? Next time maybe get your facts right before you make such dumbass comments, then you won't make yourself look like a total idiot like you have here. The reason I brought that fact up, because there is a very large difference between "millionS", and 750000 - which you obviously don't see, that they are two very different figures. Great job kiddo.

you guys cannot be arguing over something so small, i forbid it.

Feeling so depressed about English Lit. Exam :(

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you