But wait, there's more resources...

A site that contains some relevent information about Ibsen:
http://www.ibsenvoyages.com/index.html

An article about 'Hedda Gabler' that is linked to the above site:
http://www.coursesindrama.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=196


Enjoy!

Another useful resource: A piece on 'Hedda Gabler'

Check out the following site for a piece on 'Hedda Gabler':

http://www.scribd.com/doc/24940720/Heda-Gabler-Henrik-Ibsen-a-Critical-Analysis-by-Qaisar-Iqbal-Janjua

Chapter Eight - The final word

The Final Word - what are your parting words of advice or reflection as we head towards 4 November? Have the pieces of the puzzle all come together? Express your thoughts on the texts, the course....

Chapter Eight

Top Lit Exam Tips

What do you recommend?


We would like you to share what you know about what to do (and what not to do)in the Literature exam. You can draw upon your teacher's advice, the articles you have been given in class, the article linked this blog or other relevant sources.

An example of what we are after:

A common pitfall for students is that they ignore or pay scant attention to the passages provided. As a result their responses are too general. You need to engage closely with the passages and use them as a basis to discuss the text as a whole.


Your turn...

Chapter Seven: Austenesque

It is important that you have an understanding of Austen's style of writing and that you are able to identify language techniques she has used. What have you noticed about Austen's style? What techniquses have you come across? Provide examples in your response.

This blog would be a great way to create a list of techniques as well as examples of these techniques being used in the novel. A list of techniques and examples would be a handy resource for upcoming SACs and the exam.

'On Liking Emma': Something about 'Emma' and something to think about.

Do you like Emma?

Go to the following site for a piece about, in the words of its author, "some of the ways in which 'liking Emma' is more problematic than is usually allowed."

http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~www_se/personal/pvm/emma.html

Enjoy!

Chapter Six - Emma

"Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfrotable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence;"

It seems that Emma should be perfect, but as we read, she is far from perfect. What are the turning points for Emma? How does she change? Why does she change? What is Jane Austen asking us to consider?

Considering Alternative Viewpoints

Below is a link to a thoughtprovoking theoretical text by Joan Templeton about 'Hedda Gabler'. Read the relevant sections and compare the thoerist's reading with your own. Also, note that the 'student sample' that relates to this SAC in your booklet, refers to Templeton's piece.

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=2ouBuYXeTTsC&lpg=PA204&ots=cqW9K3LD1z&dq=templeton%20%22the%20deviant%20woman%20as%20hero%3A%20Hedda%20Gabler%22&pg=PA204#v=onepage&q&f=false

Chapter Five - Hedda Gabler

Next term we will be studying Hedda Gabler -our first exam text!!
It will be interesting to see how you interpret the character of Hedda. Is she just a trapped woman searching for independence? Is she just statement for Ibsen of the way women were treated? Is she a psychopath?
As you read the play, record your view of Hedda.

Bright Lights Film Journal :: Casablanca

Bright Lights Film Journal :: Casablanca

The Age Education Resource Centre

The Age Education Resource Centre

Chapter Four

Casablanca: A Date with Fate

A well-crafted romance and political thriller made during wartimeconditions in 1941, and set in the chaos of North West Africa, Casablanca depicts a world that contrasts the glamour of pre-warEurope with the chaotic changes brought by war. The black-market flourishes and displaced people wait endlessly for theopportunity to travel to the free world. The key Nazi andResistance characters represent a divided Europe and the the film advocates the idea that painful sacrifice and going off to war could be romantic gestures done for 'the greater good'.

Outcome Two requires you to evaluate the views and values of a text in terms of the ideas, social conventions and beliefs that the text appears to endorse, challenge or leave unquestioned. What do you think are the views and values represented in Casablanca? Is it a beautiful piece of propaganda?

Chapter 3 - Jindabyne

As we are setting our minds towards Jindabyne, let's talk about the film and the short story it comes from. I am a fan of Carver's stories, always have been. I like their quirky, off beat nature as well as their contemporary setting. I am also a fan of Ray Lawrence's films having studied Lantana both in Lit and English previously. In the film, I particularly like the way Lawrence uses the landscape almost as another character. What do others think? What is an effective moment in the film for you?

Chapter Two

Famous last lines

Both my (occasional) favourite first and final sentences are from Martin Cruz Smith's novel Gorky Park. This novel concludes with the following line:

“He thrilled as each cage door opened and the wild sables made their leap and broke for the snow — black on white, black on white, black on white, and then gone.”

If a story ends strongly, its ending may stay with you long after you have finished reading. What makes an ending ‘strong’? A story’s final sentence may play a role. Which of the stories in The Penguin Book of the Beach do you believe has the best final sentence? What makes it ‘the best’?

Chapter One

The first line of a novel can be important and memorable. The first line from Martin Cruz Smith’s novel Gorky Park has remained with me since I read it many years ago: “All nights should be so dark, all winters so warm, all headlights so dazzling.” The final sentence and the rest of the novel are also not too shabby.

Some of my other favourite first lines are:

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. - Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her. - Emma by Jane Austen.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

There are some other fantastic first lines at the following site: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Opening_lines

As part of your holiday homework we asked you to write about the story from The Penguin Book of the Beach that you believe has the best beginning which best sets the mood. What role did the first sentence play in your decision? Which story had the best first sentence? What made it effective?

Images of Literature

I was organising all my images over the holidays. My favourite ones are both based on the play Hamlet and I have seen the originals in London. They illustrate poignant moments in the play: firstly Ophelia's rejection of Hamlet and her death.