Throughout chapter 11, Austen uses a variety of techniques in order to create her characters. For example, Mr Collins is portrayed as a silly individual, who appears quite boring and stupid, because Austen doesn't allow him to narrate any part of the book. However, she allows the character Elizabeth to have a shared position of narrator, as she is the main character, and her thoughts and feelings are similar to Austens. They are often on the same side, and in the right, which shows the reader how important Elizabeth is, and what type of character she is.
Mr Darcy is shown to be controlled by Elizabeth, as he "unconsciously closes his book" and looks up at her as she walks by. This demonstrates how powerful a character Elizabeth is, and how responsive to love Mr Darcy is. Austen also allows Mr Darcy to have long talks with Elizabeth and the readers, which shows he is of some intelligence.
Austen also b
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Maude Clare and the character
Hmmm... Character in a poem...
Firstly, the title of the poem is the main characters name, Maude Clare, which immediately states who's centre of attention throughout the poem. However, the poem is set on Nell and Thomas' wedding day, which seems odd as the title is not Nell and Thomas, but another woman's name. This could be foreshadowing of what is yet to come. That there is an affair of some kind going on, or a secret involving Thomas and Maude Clare. Also, using a woman's name in the title suggests that the poem will be about a dominant female, which in Rossetti's eyes, probably equates to women prevailing over men. Having women's names as a title is quite a re-occurring thing for Rossetti... Could that mean that she was a women's rights activist? Who knows.
Secondly, the stanzas are arranged according to which character is speaking, and how important they are. For example, the first few stanzas are spoken by Maude Clare, so is the most important character, and the one who the poem revolves around. Then the next stanza is by the groom, Thomas, who is the one responsible for the rantings of Maude Clare. Rossetti clearly marks each stanza with either "My Lord", which means Maude Clare is addressing him, or "Maude Clare" which shows how significant this character is.
Nell is a quiet character throughout the poem, as she is only given one or two stanzas to talk in. During of which she speaks to Maude Clare and keeps calm about the fact that she knows her new husband loves Maude more than her. She says "I'll love him til he loves me best", which could show that she is stubborn and won't quit until she gets her way, or that she is powerful and is not bothered by Maude Clares immature comments regarding her husband. Nell is the admirable character throughout the poem, because she rises above her enemy and seems to know her position in life, which I can imagine was a highly respectable quality to have at the time. However, Nell is also presented as a weaker character, as at the end of her stanza, in fact, the last two words of the whole poem, Nell says "Maude Clare", which leaves the reader thinking only of her, and so enforces the fact that Maude Clare is the most important character.
Maude Clare is a spiteful character, who seems to be very self centred and bitter. In the first line of the poem, Maude Clare is described to be following them out of the church, which shows that he comes before even the bride and groom. She is also shown to think she has possession of Lord Thomas, as she says "take my share of a fickle heart", and "I have a gift for you" which was her half of Thomas' heart. There are also hints that maybe the reason Maude Clare is so bitter might be because she once had a relationship with Thomas, and that has now broken down. This is proven in lines 21, 22, 23 and 25, where she says "my half of the golden chain", (which indicates it was broken violently) and where she says "we waded ankle-deep", (which could signify the relationship only being a half-hearted attempt at love). Then she goes on to say that she has half of the faded leaves from that day, an leaves signify spring and the start of a new beginning, which could be their love. The fact that they are faded exercises the thought that the new beginning of their love has died, and the passing on of them to Nell, suggests a spiteful gesture that she was the one who ruined it for her. Another thing that Maude Clare says to Nell that struck me as an unpleasant thing to say was "take it or leave it as you will", because that equates to Maude Clare giving Nell the chance to deny Thomas, so that (presumably) she can take Thomas back for her own use.
Even though the man, Thomas, speaks in one stanza, his words are a line of stutters and when he does eventually get the words out, he can only say "Maude Clare" and then hide his face again. This shows that men are weak and that the women are stronger and more influential than the men. also, at his only point of speaking, the words he says are "Maude Clare" which shows that the poem is all about her still. The characterisation of Thomas stuttering says a lot about the way Rossetti thought of men at that point in time, and that men were a lot more passive than the opposite sex.
I feel that the flowers play an important role in the poem, and are a character themselves, as the use of lilies in the pond where Thomas and Maude were paddling implies a start of new love that could turn deadly. This is because lilies symbolise death, and are common in funerals, but they aren't described as dead lilies, so I'll presume they are in full bloom, in which case that symbolises life, and a new start, e.g: a relationship. Then, there are the faded leaves that Maude Clare gives to Thomas as a wedding gift. Now, because the leaves are faded, this means that their relationship is dead, or long forgotten about, but the fact that she has kept them and is now giving them to Thomas, means that she still thinks about the relationship a lot, and she wishes that it would pick back up. Also, she doesn't want Thomas to forget about their time together, and is angry at him for ending it. I can tell that there is anger between him and her because otherwise she wouldn't be presenting him with this "gift" on his wedding day. If she truly loved him she wouldn't want to ruin this for him, and so we know that her love is false.
Firstly, the title of the poem is the main characters name, Maude Clare, which immediately states who's centre of attention throughout the poem. However, the poem is set on Nell and Thomas' wedding day, which seems odd as the title is not Nell and Thomas, but another woman's name. This could be foreshadowing of what is yet to come. That there is an affair of some kind going on, or a secret involving Thomas and Maude Clare. Also, using a woman's name in the title suggests that the poem will be about a dominant female, which in Rossetti's eyes, probably equates to women prevailing over men. Having women's names as a title is quite a re-occurring thing for Rossetti... Could that mean that she was a women's rights activist? Who knows.
Secondly, the stanzas are arranged according to which character is speaking, and how important they are. For example, the first few stanzas are spoken by Maude Clare, so is the most important character, and the one who the poem revolves around. Then the next stanza is by the groom, Thomas, who is the one responsible for the rantings of Maude Clare. Rossetti clearly marks each stanza with either "My Lord", which means Maude Clare is addressing him, or "Maude Clare" which shows how significant this character is.
Nell is a quiet character throughout the poem, as she is only given one or two stanzas to talk in. During of which she speaks to Maude Clare and keeps calm about the fact that she knows her new husband loves Maude more than her. She says "I'll love him til he loves me best", which could show that she is stubborn and won't quit until she gets her way, or that she is powerful and is not bothered by Maude Clares immature comments regarding her husband. Nell is the admirable character throughout the poem, because she rises above her enemy and seems to know her position in life, which I can imagine was a highly respectable quality to have at the time. However, Nell is also presented as a weaker character, as at the end of her stanza, in fact, the last two words of the whole poem, Nell says "Maude Clare", which leaves the reader thinking only of her, and so enforces the fact that Maude Clare is the most important character.
Maude Clare is a spiteful character, who seems to be very self centred and bitter. In the first line of the poem, Maude Clare is described to be following them out of the church, which shows that he comes before even the bride and groom. She is also shown to think she has possession of Lord Thomas, as she says "take my share of a fickle heart", and "I have a gift for you" which was her half of Thomas' heart. There are also hints that maybe the reason Maude Clare is so bitter might be because she once had a relationship with Thomas, and that has now broken down. This is proven in lines 21, 22, 23 and 25, where she says "my half of the golden chain", (which indicates it was broken violently) and where she says "we waded ankle-deep", (which could signify the relationship only being a half-hearted attempt at love). Then she goes on to say that she has half of the faded leaves from that day, an leaves signify spring and the start of a new beginning, which could be their love. The fact that they are faded exercises the thought that the new beginning of their love has died, and the passing on of them to Nell, suggests a spiteful gesture that she was the one who ruined it for her. Another thing that Maude Clare says to Nell that struck me as an unpleasant thing to say was "take it or leave it as you will", because that equates to Maude Clare giving Nell the chance to deny Thomas, so that (presumably) she can take Thomas back for her own use.
Even though the man, Thomas, speaks in one stanza, his words are a line of stutters and when he does eventually get the words out, he can only say "Maude Clare" and then hide his face again. This shows that men are weak and that the women are stronger and more influential than the men. also, at his only point of speaking, the words he says are "Maude Clare" which shows that the poem is all about her still. The characterisation of Thomas stuttering says a lot about the way Rossetti thought of men at that point in time, and that men were a lot more passive than the opposite sex.
I feel that the flowers play an important role in the poem, and are a character themselves, as the use of lilies in the pond where Thomas and Maude were paddling implies a start of new love that could turn deadly. This is because lilies symbolise death, and are common in funerals, but they aren't described as dead lilies, so I'll presume they are in full bloom, in which case that symbolises life, and a new start, e.g: a relationship. Then, there are the faded leaves that Maude Clare gives to Thomas as a wedding gift. Now, because the leaves are faded, this means that their relationship is dead, or long forgotten about, but the fact that she has kept them and is now giving them to Thomas, means that she still thinks about the relationship a lot, and she wishes that it would pick back up. Also, she doesn't want Thomas to forget about their time together, and is angry at him for ending it. I can tell that there is anger between him and her because otherwise she wouldn't be presenting him with this "gift" on his wedding day. If she truly loved him she wouldn't want to ruin this for him, and so we know that her love is false.
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
the convent threshhold
Last lesson our class looked at the poem by Christina Rossetti called "the convent threshold". I was at first unsure of the poems destination and of the morals included, but after lots of discussion with my class, I now understand a little more.
For example, the poem is written in first person, as the speaker says "I choose", which suggests that the poem is a kind of siloliquey. Also, the poem is all about heaven and Earth, and how the speaker wanst something more than life; something unearthly. However, the poem is also about redemption, (an on going theme for Christina Rossetti), as the speaker seems to want to go to heaven as she has sinned.
The poem is about love, too, because the story line is of a women who has perhaps lost her virginity before marriage, and now wants to be "unified" up in heaven.
This appears to be a controversal issue, though, as the male in the poem is described as looking "earthward", which suggests that he does not have the same religion, or any at all, which is also a sin, through christina Rossettis eyes.
For example, the poem is written in first person, as the speaker says "I choose", which suggests that the poem is a kind of siloliquey. Also, the poem is all about heaven and Earth, and how the speaker wanst something more than life; something unearthly. However, the poem is also about redemption, (an on going theme for Christina Rossetti), as the speaker seems to want to go to heaven as she has sinned.
The poem is about love, too, because the story line is of a women who has perhaps lost her virginity before marriage, and now wants to be "unified" up in heaven.
This appears to be a controversal issue, though, as the male in the poem is described as looking "earthward", which suggests that he does not have the same religion, or any at all, which is also a sin, through christina Rossettis eyes.
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Cousin Kate
Last lesson we looked at the term "fallen woman", and tried to come up with possibilities for what it could mean. There were lots of suggestions, but a few that stood out to me were Mollys and Hannahs interpretations. They thought that the term "fallen woman" could mean that a woman has been tricked into the trap of love, and so is viewed poorly in society. That turned out to be the meaning of the term, so it was odd how spot on they were.
Anyway, as it always does, it linked in to a particular poem called "Cousin Kate" by Christina Rossetti, which was all about the way society viewed women ho weren't married but having sex. It was from a women's perspective and adressed to 'the other woman' whom she was dumped for. This other woman is her cousin called Kate, and she is portrayed as someone without a heart throughout the poem.
There is so much I could analyse about this poem, but I'm not going to right now. Basically, the poem seems to have a strong link to Goblin Market because of it being by the same poet, with that poets morals involved with them. For example, the ongoing theme of feminism, eroticism and religious aspects and meanings.
Anyway, as it always does, it linked in to a particular poem called "Cousin Kate" by Christina Rossetti, which was all about the way society viewed women ho weren't married but having sex. It was from a women's perspective and adressed to 'the other woman' whom she was dumped for. This other woman is her cousin called Kate, and she is portrayed as someone without a heart throughout the poem.
There is so much I could analyse about this poem, but I'm not going to right now. Basically, the poem seems to have a strong link to Goblin Market because of it being by the same poet, with that poets morals involved with them. For example, the ongoing theme of feminism, eroticism and religious aspects and meanings.
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Goblin Market: erotic?
In English we have been split up into groups to analyse the poem the "Goblin Market". My group has been given the title "erotic", which seems to be far too exciting for the boys, but I shall analyse anyway.
Basically, every other line throughout the poem COULD be thought of in an erotic way, intentionally or not, but I will only be analysing a few, otherwise it'll get crazy.
There is a link between the theme of eroticism and Christina Rossetti, because she was very religious and believed that erotic behaviour was a sin and that people would suffer from such things.
A quote from the text is "unplucked cherries", which could be interpreted in various ways. The way my group has to interpret it though, is the erotic way, and so we saw that line to be symbolising a girls virginity, and because of the context it was in- the taking of a girls virginity. That quote was paired with another ("come buy, come buy") and we get the sense of temptation.
Temptation is a very key thing throughout this poem, because it's showing how the temptation of these "fruits" are persistent and have bad side effects.
"Maids" is what the two girls in the poem are referred to as, which to us, symbolised innocence and purity. That is coupled with the "cutting of a gold lock", which seems to be of some value to the girls, and a vital piece of information. We interpret this as the cutting off from innocence and childhood, and the entering of the adult world.
These Goblin men which are frequently discussed between the two characters in the poem, seem to be representing men in the real world. Men who will try and tempt young women into bed or into buying things from them. We found that Christina Rossetti's poem seemed to be teaching the audience a lesson, and that is that if you fall into the trap of temptation, you will be punished. This was obviously what she was taught as a child, which gives the poem a more religious feel, but I think that's another groups title (:
Basically, every other line throughout the poem COULD be thought of in an erotic way, intentionally or not, but I will only be analysing a few, otherwise it'll get crazy.
There is a link between the theme of eroticism and Christina Rossetti, because she was very religious and believed that erotic behaviour was a sin and that people would suffer from such things.
A quote from the text is "unplucked cherries", which could be interpreted in various ways. The way my group has to interpret it though, is the erotic way, and so we saw that line to be symbolising a girls virginity, and because of the context it was in- the taking of a girls virginity. That quote was paired with another ("come buy, come buy") and we get the sense of temptation.
Temptation is a very key thing throughout this poem, because it's showing how the temptation of these "fruits" are persistent and have bad side effects.
"Maids" is what the two girls in the poem are referred to as, which to us, symbolised innocence and purity. That is coupled with the "cutting of a gold lock", which seems to be of some value to the girls, and a vital piece of information. We interpret this as the cutting off from innocence and childhood, and the entering of the adult world.
These Goblin men which are frequently discussed between the two characters in the poem, seem to be representing men in the real world. Men who will try and tempt young women into bed or into buying things from them. We found that Christina Rossetti's poem seemed to be teaching the audience a lesson, and that is that if you fall into the trap of temptation, you will be punished. This was obviously what she was taught as a child, which gives the poem a more religious feel, but I think that's another groups title (:
Christina Rossetti
My task is to tell you all about Christina Rossetti, without boring you to tears, so here we go..
Christina Rossetti was a very religious woman, who was educated by her mother from a young age. She was taught fairytales and about religion, Classics and novels, which influenced her writings that we read today.
However, Christina Rossetti's family was forced to bring her up the way they did, as they had huge financial trouble which needed to be over come with education. Christina was a very nervous child at school and suffered a nervous breakdown at age 14, so her experience of that would enter her poetry.
She was opposed to slavery, exploitation of underage prostitute girls, and animal cruelty, which you will see strongly influences her work.
Christina died of breast cancer in December 1894 and was buried in high gate cemetry.
What a lovely way to finish off...
Christina Rossetti was a very religious woman, who was educated by her mother from a young age. She was taught fairytales and about religion, Classics and novels, which influenced her writings that we read today.
However, Christina Rossetti's family was forced to bring her up the way they did, as they had huge financial trouble which needed to be over come with education. Christina was a very nervous child at school and suffered a nervous breakdown at age 14, so her experience of that would enter her poetry.
She was opposed to slavery, exploitation of underage prostitute girls, and animal cruelty, which you will see strongly influences her work.
Christina died of breast cancer in December 1894 and was buried in high gate cemetry.
What a lovely way to finish off...
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
A destination of a novel
Today's English lesson was about the destination of a novel, and my homework was to blog about it. However, I handed in my sheet with all my notes on the subject. So here goes...
A destination of a novel is where the novel is leading you: where do you (as a reader) feel that the novel is going to take you? What will the text be about?
In our case, the opening chapter of Pride & Prejudice is just a conversation about a wealthy single man named Bingley, so we (as readers) know that the text will be focused on marriage and money. We can be sure of this destination because the text does not start with a description of the setting, but instead, of a conversation between a man and his wife about marrying off their daughters. That means that the conversation will be key to the rest of the novel, and so to open with it will be important.
The readers know the novels destination because of a few things that happen during the first opening chapter. These are:
- the opening sentence (a single man in possession of good fortune, must be in want of a wife) suggests that the book will be based on marriage and money. The author wrote that because they wanted to give the reader knowledge of the destination.
- the paragraphs during the first chapter are all paragraphs of conversation between a couple, which seems odd to the reader as usually the first chapter contains lots of descriptions of setting which are important to the rest of the story. However, using conversation makes the reader understand the importance of the text and use that as a destination for the novel.
- finally, the last sentence of the first chapter is (the business of her life was to get her daughters married) leaving the reader with an idea of what the novels destination is.
I hope this is right.. I didn't really know what to write.. :S ah well, I've learnt my lesson to not hand in my notes.
A destination of a novel is where the novel is leading you: where do you (as a reader) feel that the novel is going to take you? What will the text be about?
In our case, the opening chapter of Pride & Prejudice is just a conversation about a wealthy single man named Bingley, so we (as readers) know that the text will be focused on marriage and money. We can be sure of this destination because the text does not start with a description of the setting, but instead, of a conversation between a man and his wife about marrying off their daughters. That means that the conversation will be key to the rest of the novel, and so to open with it will be important.
The readers know the novels destination because of a few things that happen during the first opening chapter. These are:
- the opening sentence (a single man in possession of good fortune, must be in want of a wife) suggests that the book will be based on marriage and money. The author wrote that because they wanted to give the reader knowledge of the destination.
- the paragraphs during the first chapter are all paragraphs of conversation between a couple, which seems odd to the reader as usually the first chapter contains lots of descriptions of setting which are important to the rest of the story. However, using conversation makes the reader understand the importance of the text and use that as a destination for the novel.
- finally, the last sentence of the first chapter is (the business of her life was to get her daughters married) leaving the reader with an idea of what the novels destination is.
I hope this is right.. I didn't really know what to write.. :S ah well, I've learnt my lesson to not hand in my notes.
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Amy Winehouse
I was really sad when Amy Winehouse died, not because I knew her personally, or even followed her life story of being in the trouble that is addiction, but because we lost a great artist. I felt I had to mention it since I'm listening to a long playlist of her music...
I was also sad when she died because that's another person who shall remain 27 forever, frozen in time, never moving forward. And things like that scare me. Stuck in the capsual of time and being someones faded memory from 30 years back. I don't want to be that, ever. I hate to think of the world losing talented people like Amy because of drug addictions.
And whilst we are discussing tradgic deaths of famous 27 year olds, I'd like to mention Jeff Buckley, because he still remains one of my favourite artists, and it makes me so sad to think he'd take his own life like that. From these deaths, we all lost a whole lot of precious talent.
I was also sad when she died because that's another person who shall remain 27 forever, frozen in time, never moving forward. And things like that scare me. Stuck in the capsual of time and being someones faded memory from 30 years back. I don't want to be that, ever. I hate to think of the world losing talented people like Amy because of drug addictions.
And whilst we are discussing tradgic deaths of famous 27 year olds, I'd like to mention Jeff Buckley, because he still remains one of my favourite artists, and it makes me so sad to think he'd take his own life like that. From these deaths, we all lost a whole lot of precious talent.
Mr Francis and the piece of paper
I have been given the starter: "Mr Francis entered the room. There was a piece of paper on the floor."
How exciting! Now I will try and think of an equally exciting story line to go with it!
So.... (It's the first day back so my brain isn't functioning at it's usual high speed...)
Ok. The story line is that Mr Francis discovers a list of names whilst walking back through the empty school. This list of names was special though, unlike a register or anything of that kind. He read the names, and realised that the names were the names of the victims of the "Silverdale School Shooting", that had taken place the day before. The names were crossed off, and he then understood that the shootings were systematic and logical; alphabetical, even. He wanted to believe that the person who was accused as the shooter, was actually innocent, so he takes the list, scrunches it back up and puts it in his pocket.
So there we have it Mr F. You covered up a school shooters preparation... What would Mrs Storey say?
How exciting! Now I will try and think of an equally exciting story line to go with it!
So.... (It's the first day back so my brain isn't functioning at it's usual high speed...)
Ok. The story line is that Mr Francis discovers a list of names whilst walking back through the empty school. This list of names was special though, unlike a register or anything of that kind. He read the names, and realised that the names were the names of the victims of the "Silverdale School Shooting", that had taken place the day before. The names were crossed off, and he then understood that the shootings were systematic and logical; alphabetical, even. He wanted to believe that the person who was accused as the shooter, was actually innocent, so he takes the list, scrunches it back up and puts it in his pocket.
So there we have it Mr F. You covered up a school shooters preparation... What would Mrs Storey say?
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