Hi everyone - I hope you had a great week in Pondicherry. This week there will be feedback from me and you on our recent special Saturday class on Beckett, the interactive oral and the Reflective Statements. The marking of your essays will be completed by the weekend. Our text will be "A Doll's House". There are some new posts on the blog below, please read them this week to inform your comments during class discussions of the text. Thank you!
Sunday, 26 February 2012
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
' A DOLL'S HOUSE' review of 2011 production ''New York Times"
http://theater.nytimes.com/2011/07/26/theater/reviews/a-dolls-house-at-williamstown-theater-festival-review.html?pagewanted=all
"More than most of Ibsen’s major plays, “A Doll’s House” reflects the specific social mores and manners of its 19th-century setting. A sensation when it was first produced in Europe, it established the playwright, somewhat misleadingly, as a proto-feminist and a smasher of social shibboleths. Ibsen was hailed for his radical ideas about the subservience of women in male-dominated society, but he later said that he was “more the poet and less the social philosopher than people generally seem inclined to believe.” If “A Doll’s House” is to be revitalized today, we need to see through the play’s well-made surfaces to its spiritual depths." - from review by Charles Isherwood.
"More than most of Ibsen’s major plays, “A Doll’s House” reflects the specific social mores and manners of its 19th-century setting. A sensation when it was first produced in Europe, it established the playwright, somewhat misleadingly, as a proto-feminist and a smasher of social shibboleths. Ibsen was hailed for his radical ideas about the subservience of women in male-dominated society, but he later said that he was “more the poet and less the social philosopher than people generally seem inclined to believe.” If “A Doll’s House” is to be revitalized today, we need to see through the play’s well-made surfaces to its spiritual depths." - from review by Charles Isherwood.
IB ENGLISH Language Literature A Course May 2013 Assessment- HL
First examinations 2013 HL
Assessment component Weighting
External assessment (4 hours) 70% - 2 EXAMS
Paper 1: Literary commentary (2 hours) -UNSEEN TEXT
The paper consists of two passages: one prose and one poetry.
Students choose one and write a literary commentary. (20 marks)
20%
Paper 2: Essay (2 hours) - THE CRUCIBLE, AMADEUS, ROMEO AND JULIET, MASTER HAROLD AND THE BOYS.
The paper consists of three questions for each literary genre.
In response to one question students write an essay based on at
least two works studied
in part 3. (25 marks)
25%
OTHER ASSESSMENTS
OTHER ASSESSMENTS
Written assignment - COURSEWORK ESSAY ON WORKS IN TRANSLATION - WORLD LITERATURE
BECKETT, IBSEN, CAMUS
BECKETT, IBSEN, CAMUS
Students submit a reflective statement and literary essay on one
work studied in part 1.
(25 marks)
The reflective statement must be 300–400 words in length.
The essay must be 1,200–1,500 words in length.
25%
Internal assessment - 2 ORAL ACTIVITIES
This component is internally assessed by the teacher and
externally moderated by the IB
at the end of the course.
30%
Individual oral commentary and discussion (20
minutes) -MARTIN LUTHER KING, WILFRED OWEN, JUDITH THOMPSON'S 'PALACE OF THE END"
Formal oral commentary on poetry studied in part 2 with subsequent
questions
(10 minutes) followed by a discussion based on one of the other
part 2 works
(10 minutes). (30 marks)
15%
Individual oral presentation (10–15 minutes) - PERSEPOLIS/OF MICE AND MEN/METAMORPHOSIS
The presentation is based on works studied in part 4. It is
internally assessed and
externally moderated through the part 2 internal assessment task.
(30 marks)
IB ENGLISH LANGUAGE LITERATURE A MAY 2013 SL ASSESSMENT
First examinations 2013 STANDARD LEVEL
Assessment component Weighting
External assessment (3 hours) 70%
Paper 1: Guided literary analysis (1 hour 30
minutes)
The paper consists of two passages: one prose and one poetry.
Students choose one and write a guided literary analysis in
response to two questions.
(20 marks)
20%
Paper 2: Essay (1 hour 30 minutes) - THE CRUCIBLE - ROMEO AND JULIET- AMADEUS
The paper consists of three questions for each literary genre.
In response to one question students write an essay based on at
least two works studied
in part 3. (25 marks)
25%
Written assignment – (COURSEWORK ESSAY ON WORLD
LITERATURE)
Students submit a reflective statement and literary essay on one
work studied in part 1.
(25 marks)
The reflective statement must be 300–400 words in length.
The essay must be 1,200–1,500 words in length.
25%
Internal assessment – 2 ORAL ASSIGNMENTS -
This component is internally assessed by the teacher and
externally moderated by the IB
at the end of the course.
30%
Individual oral commentary (10 minutes) MARTIN LUTHER KING, WILFRED OWEN
Students present a formal oral commentary and answer subsequent
questions on an
extract from a work studied in part 2. (30 marks)
15%
Individual oral presentation (10–15 minutes) - PERSEPOLIS, OF MICE AND MEN, METAMORPHOSIS
The presentation is based on works studied in part 4. It is
internally assessed and
externally moderated through the part 2 internal assessment task.
(30 marks)
15%
Language A: literature
Reminder of Reading Programme for IB LITERATURE A PROGRAMME
Syllabus component
Teaching hours
SL HL
Part 1: Works in translation
SL: Two works – “WAITING FOR GODOT” “A DOLL’S HOUSE”
HL: Three works – as above plus “THE OUTSIDER” CAMUS
All works are chosen from the titles in the prescribed literature
in translation
(PLT) list.
40 65
Part 2: Detailed study
SL: Two works – MARTIN LUTHER KING ‘LANDMARK SPEECHES’ –WILFRED
OWEN POETRY (WW1)
HL: Three works – as above plus – Judith Thompson’s play “PALACE
OF THE END’
All works are chosen from the prescribed list of authors (PLA) for
the language A
being studied, each from a different genre.
40 65
Part 3: Literary genres
SL: Three works –ROMEO AND JULIET, THE CRUCIBLE, AMADEUS,
HL: Four works – as above plus MASTER HAROLD AND THE BOYS
All works are chosen from the prescribed list of authors (PLA) for
the language A
being studied, all from the same genre.
40 65
Part 4: Options
SL: Three works – PERSEPOLIS, OF MICE AND MEN,
METAMORPHOSIS
HL: Three works – as above
Works are freely chosen in any combination.
30 45
Total teaching hours 150 240
Monday, 20 February 2012
Newman's "Portrait of a Gentleman" - timeless ideas and values for dealing with people.
It
is almost a definition of a gentleman to say he is one who never inflicts pain.
This description is both refined and, as far as it goes, accurate. He is mainly
occupied in merely removing the obstacles which hinder the free and
unembarrassed action of those about him; and he concurs with their movements
rather than takes the initiative himself. His benefits may be considered as
parallel to what are called comforts or conveniences in arrangements of a
personal nature: like an easy chair or a good fire, which do their part in
dispelling cold and fatigue, though nature provides both means of rest and
animal heat without them.
The
true gentleman in like manner carefully avoids whatever may cause a jar or a
jolt in the minds of those with whom he is cast; — all clashing of opinion, or
collision of feeling, all restraint, or suspicion, or gloom, or resentment; his
great concern being to make everyone at their ease and at home. He has his eyes
on all his company; he is tender towards the bashful, gentle towards the
distant, and merciful towards the absurd; he can recollect to whom he is
speaking; he guards against unseasonable allusions, or topics which may
irritate; he is seldom prominent in conversation, and never wearisome.
He
makes light of favours while he does them, and seems to be receiving when he is
conferring. He never speaks of himself except when compelled, never defends
himself by a mere retort, he has no ears for slander or gossip, is scrupulous
in imputing motives to those who interfere with him, and interprets every thing
for the best. He is never mean or little in his disputes, never takes unfair
advantage, never mistakes personalities or sharp sayings for arguments, or
insinuates evil which he dare not say out.
From a long-sighted prudence, he observes the
maxim of the ancient sage, that we should ever conduct ourselves towards our
enemy as if he were one day to be our friend. He has too much good sense to be
affronted at insults, he is too well employed to remember injuries, and too
indolent to bear malice. He is patient, forbearing, and resigned, on
philosophical principles; he submits to pain, because it is inevitable, to
bereavement, because it is irreparable, and to death, because it is his
destiny. If he engages in controversy of any kind, his disciplined intellect
preserves him from the blunder. [From The
Idea of a University, 1852]
MR.C.'s TOK Blog: Oskar Schindler - Part 1 - Nazi Party in Krakow Po...
MR.C.'s TOK Blog: Oskar Schindler - Part 1 - Nazi Party in Krakow Po...
another example of the dangers of stereotypes, Schindler was no angel, he was a member of the Nazi Party, as this documentary makes clear, yet he saved more than 1000 Jews from death in the Holocaust. I recommend this documentary to everyone, especially those who have encountered holocaust denial stories on the internet. Watch the film, please.
another example of the dangers of stereotypes, Schindler was no angel, he was a member of the Nazi Party, as this documentary makes clear, yet he saved more than 1000 Jews from death in the Holocaust. I recommend this documentary to everyone, especially those who have encountered holocaust denial stories on the internet. Watch the film, please.
"The English Character" by E M Forster (essay reading)
I am posting this as a counterpoint to D. H. Lawrence's poem, which is posted below. The poem is a product of a different Britain when the class system dictated much of how people behaved. Our training as part of the IB Learner Profile should urge caution when whole nations or peoples are reduced to stereotypes, even by writers from that country. We must always guard against 'confirmation bias', looking for texts which confirm bias and leave us feeling smug and self-satisfied. Lawrence's poem seems to spring from some bitterness but it's worth noting that modern Britain has welcomed people from all over the world, including one million Irish people, including many of my own relatives and many people from India and other countries too. The recent visit of Queen Elizabeth to Ireland, showed that both nations are ready to move past stereotypes and the bitterness of the past. As generalisations go, Forster's essay is closer to my own personal experience of English people in Singapore, Saudi and of course India. Further reading for those interested in this subject might include Jeremy Paxman's "The English". The English are noted for their own ability to lampoon and laugh at themselves, a wonderful antidote to national hubris in any people. So I will attempt to emulate this quality by quoting the English writer Samuel Johnson, "the Irish are a very fair people, they never speak well of one another."
Thursday, 16 February 2012
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Thursday, 9 February 2012
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
BECKETT ESSAY OPTION TO DO SECOND ESSAY
Students who wish may submit a second essay after Pondicherry on the alternative title on Beckett.
"Waiting for Godot" extract from wikipedia page
Setting
There is only one scene throughout both acts. Two men are waiting on a country road by a tree. The men are of unspecified origin, though it is clear that they are not English by nationality (and in English-language productions are traditionally played with Irish accents). The script calls for Estragon to sit on a low mound but in practice – as in Beckett's own 1975 German production – this is usually a stone. In the first act the tree is bare. In the second, a few leaves have appeared despite the script specifying that it is the next day. The minimal description calls to mind "the idea of the lieu vague, a location which should not be particularised".[50]Alan Schneider once suggested putting the play on in a round – Pozzo has often been commented on as a ringmaster[51] – but Beckett dissuaded him: "I don't in my ignorance agree with the round and feel Godot needs a very closed box." He even contemplated at one point having a "faint shadow of bars on stage floor" but, in the end, decided against this level of what he called "explicitation".[52] In his 1975 Schiller-Theatre production there are times when Didi and Gogo appear to bounce off something "like birds trapped in the strands of [an invisible] net", in James Knowlson's description. Didi and Gogo are only trapped because they still cling to the concept that freedom is possible; freedom is a state of mind, so is imprisonment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godot_%28character%29#Pozzo_and_Lucky
Exploring Beckett's "Waiting for Godot"
- Exploring "Waiting for Godot" using TSLTT as one possible approach
- TITLE - why 'waiting' -what does it say about the human condition and who is 'Godot' and what does he symbolise? The idea of 'god' or any external saviour who will solve our problems? Something else? What do you think?
- STRUCTURE - The play is divided into two acts but does the structure help us clarify the passage of time or is the sense of time and memory blurred in the play? If the latter then what is Beckett observing about the nature of human endeavours - check the quote on 'habit',,,,,
- Language - how important is the opening line? Plays rely on dialogue to reveal character but in Lucky's speech, Beckett seems to suggest that language is not reliable as a source of truth and meaning. We might consider the Nazis use of language to dehumanise the Jewish people and 'brainwash' the German people into believing that life is based on a 'master race' and sub-human race struggle (untermensch) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Untermensch
- While Beckett does not specifically mention the Nazis, Pozzo and Lucky represent the power structures of different societies and classes taken to an extreme - Lucky is a slave and Pozzo is taking him to be sold at a fair.
- Lucky's speech - critics cannot agree on what it means or even represents - what do you think?
- Beckett's friend James Joyce, once described Dublin as the centre of paralysis, lost in the certainty of nationalism and religion. Beckett may be suggesting paralysis - moral, emotional, physical ("they do not move") as a THEME in the play.
- Beckett's novel "The Unnameable" closes with the phrase "You must go on, I can't go on, I'll go on," which was later used as the title of an anthology of Beckett works. It may suggest that there is no alternative to life, we must go on no matter how bleak life is - just like the characters in "Godot".
- TONE -comic? tragic? tragicomedic?
Friday, 3 February 2012
Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
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