The letters that begin Frankenstein are written by the primary narrator Robert Walton, to his sister, Mrs Saville.
Letter One
This letter is about Walton's upcoming trip to the North Pole. His opinions on seeing a part of the world never seen before, possibly could mirror the future plot of the book, as Frankenstein attempts to do something never done before....
Letter Two
Letter two is about Walton's feelings of loneliness on the trip, as he feels he has no friends ('I shall certainly find no friend on the wide ocean...') This could match the feelings of Frankenstein's monster, as he initially seeks a companion during the novel.
Letter Three
The final letter, Walton speaks of how nothing has gone wrong on the journey and he is fine. This might be foreshadowing Victor's situation later in the book, as EVERYTHING goes wrong...
:D
Friday, 30 November 2012
Monday, 24 September 2012
The Legend of the Extra Devil....oooohhhh!!
When the play was performed around the time that Marlowe wrote it, there was a legend that an extra devil stood next to Mephastophleles on stage. This scared and intrigued people and popularity for the play grew, even though it went against a lot of people's religious views at the time.
Simples :)
Simples :)
Passion Play...
(Firstly, woo!! Realised what my password was after I totally forgot it, oops :L)
Passion Play is an on stage depiction of the suffering and cruxifiction of Jesus Christ. The play has been portrayed on stage numerous times in history and was first performed in Latin in the 13th Century. In the times of the Bubonic Plague, villagers vowed to perform the play every ten years in hope of not contracting the Plague and became a symbol of hope and protection from death.
:)
Passion Play is an on stage depiction of the suffering and cruxifiction of Jesus Christ. The play has been portrayed on stage numerous times in history and was first performed in Latin in the 13th Century. In the times of the Bubonic Plague, villagers vowed to perform the play every ten years in hope of not contracting the Plague and became a symbol of hope and protection from death.
:)
Friday, 10 February 2012
My Impressions of the end of Act 1
I think that the end of Act 1 draws the play so far together & definately prepares the audience for Act 2. I think Biff realises in the last few pages how much he is needed to take over being the head of the house from Willy. I also think it really comes out that he does care about his father, because he takes away the rubber bung from behind the heater (which Linda failed to do when she saw it.) He does however just agree with him because he is unable to bare his fathers attitude toward him. Willy is still as rude to Linda, by telling her 'don't talk no more' even though she is kind & sings to him. Also, he seems to be proud of what Biff is doing & reverts to telling Linda about Biff's popularity at school. Happy seems to be trying to catch the attention at the end of Act 1, because Biff is getting all the attention again. For example, he says he's getting married to attract his mothers attention & it doesn't work. There is also evidence that Willy is in the wrong profession, as he talks about the plumbing like he knows whats wrong.
Monday, 28 November 2011
Marie Antoinette
marie antoinette iz diz austrian princezz who haz a well bad lyf. her muvva woz lyk a propa cow and wonted 2 marri her off 2 sum total french minga (note: I don't have anything against French people) when she woz 14. hiz name woz louis xv whateva that iz an she had 2 leave austria 2 live wiv im...gutted. louis woz a crap boyf an husband an he used to sit on hiz own an he woznt bovvered abat her an she woz a bit fed up tbh >:[. she turned into a reight slag an slept wiv sum ova man who woz another gals. i mean wot happened to bros b4 hoes marie? she said it woz all liez but it woz v obz cuz she had 4 kidz and he couldnt hav made em so...
anywai marie got dun for sum necklace or summat and france went into sum reight bad money probz and marie wonted 2 help but every1 thought she woz a propa bitch an the king an queen woz like in sum reight cra. then later she well annoyed sum commoners an they went to kill her an called her a 'austrian whore' - bit harsh? so she ran off wiv louis whateva his name iz an then sum country called prussia an austria wer well miffed wiv france an they had a scrap an prussia won. they wonted rid ov marie so they sumhow found her an lyk lopped 'er head off an she woz well gutted at that...the end ov marie antoinette.
anywai marie got dun for sum necklace or summat and france went into sum reight bad money probz and marie wonted 2 help but every1 thought she woz a propa bitch an the king an queen woz like in sum reight cra. then later she well annoyed sum commoners an they went to kill her an called her a 'austrian whore' - bit harsh? so she ran off wiv louis whateva his name iz an then sum country called prussia an austria wer well miffed wiv france an they had a scrap an prussia won. they wonted rid ov marie so they sumhow found her an lyk lopped 'er head off an she woz well gutted at that...the end ov marie antoinette.
Thursday, 24 November 2011
How does Austen create her characters in Chapter 11?
Austen is very unique in her creation of characters in Pride and Prejudice, as she uses very minimal physical descriptions. Even then she only does it to highlight another factor of the character, as the main focus of Austens characters is their moral qualities (if they have any.)
In Chapter 11, the first paragraph is the narrator's opinion on Miss Hirst and Miss Bingley, however, it seems that Elizabeth's opinion is entwined into the narration. Elizabeth seems to be the centre of conciousness in Pride and Prejudice for this reason.
Miss Bingleys attention switches from Elizabeth to Mr Darcy as soon as he enters the room, which shows how fickle she is and also the theme of Chapter 11 (Miss Bingley will constantly try and get Darcys attention and attempt to make him fall in love with her.) This is also shown by the fact she mimics his opinion on the dances, in an attempt to create a connection between the two of them.
Also, when the three men enter, Austen uses what they say to build their characters, as Mr Hurst was 'very glad' and Mr Darcy offered 'polite congratulations' to Elizabeth, which shows their possible cold personalities. Then Mr Bingley offers 'polite congratulations' but warmer, which further shows he is a more reliable, positive character in Pride and Prejudice.
Miss Bingley constantly mimics Mr Darcy, for example, she picks up volume 2 of a book Mr Darcy is reading, even though she hasn't read the first volume. It then says about her gaining 'obtained private intelligence,' which shows she has planned to secure Mr Darcy as a husband and that is her sole purpose (which is parallel to Mrs Bennets goal for her daughters.) She constantly tries to attract his attention (when she is reading, she has no interest in the book,) which shows her personality and that she is an ingenuine character.
Chapter 11 shows Mr Darcys feelings towards Elizabeth, beginning with the contrast between how he looks at Miss Bingley (he's not bothered and doesn't even look up) and Elizabeth (unconciously closes his book, which shows his unintentional feelings towards her.) Also, Elizabeth and Miss Bingley are further contrasted by the fact that Elizabeth teases Mr Darcy and doesn't like him at this point, whereas Miss Bingley wants to go to him and not disappoint him.
The connection between Mr Darcy and Elizabeth is shown when they are bickering, as there is no mention of who is speaking, which shows how strong their connection is as you don't need to say who is speaking, as you already know instinctively. Miss Bingley is not happy at this because she has to attempt to create the connection between herself and Mr Darcy, and Elizabeth has a natural connection with him, even though she doesn't like him. This could show Miss Bingley to be a revengeful character later in the book. The narrator then notes that Miss Bingley is 'tired of the conversation.'
In Chapter 11, the first paragraph is the narrator's opinion on Miss Hirst and Miss Bingley, however, it seems that Elizabeth's opinion is entwined into the narration. Elizabeth seems to be the centre of conciousness in Pride and Prejudice for this reason.
Miss Bingleys attention switches from Elizabeth to Mr Darcy as soon as he enters the room, which shows how fickle she is and also the theme of Chapter 11 (Miss Bingley will constantly try and get Darcys attention and attempt to make him fall in love with her.) This is also shown by the fact she mimics his opinion on the dances, in an attempt to create a connection between the two of them.
Also, when the three men enter, Austen uses what they say to build their characters, as Mr Hurst was 'very glad' and Mr Darcy offered 'polite congratulations' to Elizabeth, which shows their possible cold personalities. Then Mr Bingley offers 'polite congratulations' but warmer, which further shows he is a more reliable, positive character in Pride and Prejudice.
Miss Bingley constantly mimics Mr Darcy, for example, she picks up volume 2 of a book Mr Darcy is reading, even though she hasn't read the first volume. It then says about her gaining 'obtained private intelligence,' which shows she has planned to secure Mr Darcy as a husband and that is her sole purpose (which is parallel to Mrs Bennets goal for her daughters.) She constantly tries to attract his attention (when she is reading, she has no interest in the book,) which shows her personality and that she is an ingenuine character.
Chapter 11 shows Mr Darcys feelings towards Elizabeth, beginning with the contrast between how he looks at Miss Bingley (he's not bothered and doesn't even look up) and Elizabeth (unconciously closes his book, which shows his unintentional feelings towards her.) Also, Elizabeth and Miss Bingley are further contrasted by the fact that Elizabeth teases Mr Darcy and doesn't like him at this point, whereas Miss Bingley wants to go to him and not disappoint him.
The connection between Mr Darcy and Elizabeth is shown when they are bickering, as there is no mention of who is speaking, which shows how strong their connection is as you don't need to say who is speaking, as you already know instinctively. Miss Bingley is not happy at this because she has to attempt to create the connection between herself and Mr Darcy, and Elizabeth has a natural connection with him, even though she doesn't like him. This could show Miss Bingley to be a revengeful character later in the book. The narrator then notes that Miss Bingley is 'tired of the conversation.'
Friday, 7 October 2011
The Convent Threshold
Today in English we started talking about another Christina Rossetti poem, The Convent Threshold. It is the story of a woman trying to persuade her lover to repent his sins and join her in heaven, while fighting her temptations to sin. We were thinking about how voices, character, point of view, setting and destination impacted the story. We split up into groups and spoke about the poem. We found it a bit difficult because the poem is very vague, so we did a few points on setting and places, then switched to characters.
Setting and Places
We said that the poem was like Heaven vs Earth for the speaker, as she has to decide which is better, as her lover wants to stay on Earth (and I believe the sinful/rebellious part of her wants to stay on Earth too) and she wants to repent and go to Heaven, 'your eyes look downward, mine look up.' She also has a dream, which I believe worries her about her lover going to Heaven and becoming drunk on knowledge and her not loving him anymore. Rossetti also makes it at times like Earth is the better place, as the speakers lover is there and she believes that if she goes to Heaven without him, it will be hell for her as she can't live without him.
Character
The speaker is in constant conflict with herself for the entire poem, over which to choose - religion or love. She wants to repent back to her Christian, pure life, but she loves her lover so much - 'I prayed against my will.' She may want him to repent too, so everything in the afterlife will be perfect for her. This may parallel Rossetti's real life, as she had to choose between religion and love herself. However, she chose religion and refused to marry two men she loved, because they were a different religion to her. The speaker also has worries about decending to hell in her dream for the sins they commited - 'Crushed downwards through the sodden earth.' She also doesn't want to go to Heaven without him, which is why she is pleading to him throughout the poem to repent with her - 'How should I rest in Paradise or sit on the steps of Heaven alone?'
Setting and Places
We said that the poem was like Heaven vs Earth for the speaker, as she has to decide which is better, as her lover wants to stay on Earth (and I believe the sinful/rebellious part of her wants to stay on Earth too) and she wants to repent and go to Heaven, 'your eyes look downward, mine look up.' She also has a dream, which I believe worries her about her lover going to Heaven and becoming drunk on knowledge and her not loving him anymore. Rossetti also makes it at times like Earth is the better place, as the speakers lover is there and she believes that if she goes to Heaven without him, it will be hell for her as she can't live without him.
Character
The speaker is in constant conflict with herself for the entire poem, over which to choose - religion or love. She wants to repent back to her Christian, pure life, but she loves her lover so much - 'I prayed against my will.' She may want him to repent too, so everything in the afterlife will be perfect for her. This may parallel Rossetti's real life, as she had to choose between religion and love herself. However, she chose religion and refused to marry two men she loved, because they were a different religion to her. The speaker also has worries about decending to hell in her dream for the sins they commited - 'Crushed downwards through the sodden earth.' She also doesn't want to go to Heaven without him, which is why she is pleading to him throughout the poem to repent with her - 'How should I rest in Paradise or sit on the steps of Heaven alone?'
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