Just to remind you all that there are revision sessions tomorrow, at the normal time of our English lessons. I'll be going through the format of the paper, looking briefly at Of Mice and Men and explaining strategies for answering questions and planning essays.
Some of you have asked if you can go to the 'other' session because of language exams. Of course, that's absolutely fine (and should work perfectly in terms of numbers), but I wouldn't recommend (as some have suggested) that you should try coming to both sessions, as though I appreciate such keenness, you'll just find them a repeat of each other.
Looking forward to seeing you all again!
hi mrs,
ReplyDeletei am writing to say that i am worried about the exam! I am wanting to move from grade B to a grade A, would you be able to tell me what devices to use please to achieve this. Also will there be any chance of after school revision sessions? Many thanks.
Rina Begum
Hi Dr McCarthy,
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I've been getting a bit confused between all the different poetry terms... Could you tell me the difference between antithesis (and what it is exactly), juxtaposition, oxymoron and binary opposition? Are they all two things together which shouldn't really be together, or have I got this completely wrong?
Thank you!
Hi, Rina, don't worry about the exam; if you are keen to move up a grade that is a very good thing! I'm not planning another revision session before the literature exam, but if enough people want one I'll go through the one I'm doing for my classes after achool--I'll put a signup sheet on the door of room 6, so if people want they can let me know.
ReplyDeleteHi Eleanor,
ReplyDeleteRight, things very easily confused:
antithesis literally means an opposition (from from ἀντί "against" + θέσις "position"), and is often used in litotes, so you could say, for instance, something was the antithesis of good, rather than openly calling it evil. In literature you can find antithesis on a small scale, as in oxymoron where the two things are directly opposed (darkness visible, freezing fire and the like), or on a larger scale, as in themes or characters (so you might say that despite her sexual appeal, Curley's wife was the antithesis of all George found attractive in a woman). If you are talking about opposites where there tend to be only two, such as good and evil, light and dark, black and white, then we often talk of binary (twofold) oppositions. In other words, it would be possible for one thesis to have many entitheses, so to speak, but there are only two things involved in a binary opposition.
Juxtaposition simply mnas putting two things closely together. Often, but not always, when we speak of words being juxtaposed this is to highlight how the author has tried to create a contrast, and hence people get it ocnfused with antithesis and so on. Technically every word I type in a sentence is juxtaposed with the next, but it wouldn't be worth commenting on. You might comment on how Shakespeare juxtaposes 'lips' and 'red' to make us think of red lips, although he's actually saying something more like her lips are the entithesis of red...
Does this help?
Hi Dr. McCarthy,
ReplyDeleteI found the revision session really helpful. I am not quite confident with the above terms. Miss, will it be right to say that Duffy uses juxtaposition and antithesis (or oxymoron)in Havisham- 'Beloved sweetheart bastard'? Also, for the question on poetry, can we use two poems by the same author from the pre-1914 poetry bank (i.e. The Laboratory and My Last Duchess)? While looking at the practice questions, there was one on 'features of language', would you suggest using F.L.I.R.T technique for that or just focus on language? Thank you
Hi Dr. McCarthy, I found the revision session very helpful, thanks.
ReplyDeleteQuick question: how much explanation does a point need? Is it enough to say e.g." The emphasis of the similarities between speaker and his victim in the monologue Hitcher" reveals his resentment," then back it up with a relevant quote or would you need to explain why and stuff?
Also is it advisable to do the poems question first given there's more marks attached to it?
Cheers, Boyuan.