Whilst it advisable that each of you submit original essay titles/questions, it is perfectly admissable that there be overlap. Do not be overprotective of your ideas: share them online with the rest of us - albeit in prototype form - and ask for our scrutiny, praise and encouragement; I envisage that most of your initial ideas will need refinement and I see no reason why I should be the only one to be involved in the criticism. Just REMEMBER that they MUST offer you plenty of opportunity to address the various requirements of the Assessment Objectives, particularly in regard to each of the AOs' weightings. For example, 'large' questions such as 'How do Stoppard and Bronte reflect 19th Century attitudes to marriage?' will require much generalisation and a temptation to write reems of histo-social conext analysis when AO4 is worth just 2%. You need to find a smaller area for close scrutiny in which AO4 will be evident in a subtler way and for which you can offer a high standard of tight analysis of language, structure and form (AO2) and create a sense of DEBATE for which there are multiple interpretations that you will take into account before making a judgement of your own (AO3).
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15 comments:
I'm having trouble with making the title specific enough, and i'm unsure how specific it needs to be. I'm thinking of doing something about the setting, (comparing with WH), maybe with particular reference to the idea of the garden and how it relates to characters. Do we need to put in particular scene references etc?
Firstly, here are those fabled moderator-approved titles:
Focusing on the characters of Thomasina and the young Cathy as a starting point, show how young women are presented in Arcadia and in Wuthering Heights.
Using the characters of the Regency Lady Croom and of Lady Bracknell as a starting point, show how the upper class is presented in Arcadia and in The Importance of Being Earnest.
Using Arcadia as a starting point, explore the use of humour in this play and in The Importance of Being Earnest
Exploring the relationship between Lady Croom and Thomasina, discuss the view presented of the mother-daughter relationship in that era and compare it with the relationship between Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen.
Focusing on the relationship between Septimus and Thomasina, and then comparing their relationship with that of Heathcliff and Cathy, show how relationships between people of differing social status are presented in Arcadia and in Wuthering Heights.
Using Arcadia as a starting point, show how marriage is presented in this play and in The Importance of being Earnest.
Using Arcadia as a starting point, explore the educational opportunities for young women in Arcadia and in The Importance of Being Earnest.
Explore the way sexuality is presented in Arcadia and then compare it with the way in which it is presented in Wuthering Heights.
Explore the way sexuality is presented in Arcadia and compare it with the way in which it is presented in The Importance of Being Earnest.
Focusing on the character of Septimus, explore the presentation of the witty young man, comparing this with the presentation of Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest.
Focusing on the character of Septimus, explore the presentation of sex, love and marriage, comparing the character of Septimus with Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest.
Focusing on the relationship between Septimus and Thomasina, and comparing their relationship with that of Algernon and Cicely, show how relationships between people of differing social status are presented in Arcadia and in The Importance of Being Earnest.
But read on...
As indicated, I was quite surprised at the scope of some of them; though I am sure that this will make some of you feel relieved, I hold onto my instinct that you will be in a stronger position if you have a more finely-tuned angle to attack from. Whilst it is essential that your evidence not come from solely one scene/chapter, I think that you will be in a better position if you can hone in on, say, a particulary relevant scene as your word limit is uncompromisingly minimal; should you take on too much, your analysis may become flabby and generalised.
In conclusion, it would seem to be advisable to set your sights wider than I may have encouraged - initially - before looking for a way to manipulate the focus to something more specific. Having marked most of your last assignments, it seems that, as is the propensity of most students, many of you slip into generalisation and hypothetical discussion at the cost of close analysis.
Still, good news all round. Keep your titles coming in - thanks Mary.
By the way, the proportion should be 70% Arcadia; 30% Earnest/Wuthering Heights - hence the 'focusing on Arcadia' prefix of the moderator-approved titles. I do, though, find the 'focusing' word tiresome when repeatedly used in this way; perhaps try to spice up the phraseology. I am a pedant.
This isn't actually Nena, it's Florence but I used her ID so I could post this... Oh, dear.
I'm not really very sure on how to make it more specific, but I was thinkingh something along the lines of comparing how the characters are first introduced and portrayed in act 1, scene 1...? Help !
I was thinking about
Romanticism vs Enlightenment in Arcadia and WH using characters and setting...i'm of the opinion that it is quite broad however... what do you think? I'm still looking for other potential titles though.
...I also like the idea of sex, marriage and humour within the characters of Septimus and Algernon (excuse the take on one of the moderators' examples).
Flo - how characters are portrayed how? If you mean how does the audience's opinion shift and how, then it may have legs - if you take a character from Arcadia and one from Earnest and scrutinise them thoroughly. For example, on my original notes I had Septimus down as an academic dullard for the first page or two; Thomasina as a vexating charge. perceptions of each change quickly. This type of question would take rigorous dramatic analysis: no bad thing.
Oliver likes the idea of sex, marriage and humour. This could be a good starting point. Why is sex such a humorous topic? I suggest that, should you take it on, you consider the nature of the taboo, particularly for a Victorian audience, and zoom in on (why does the lexical field of photography keep recurring?) Septimus and Algernon.
Enlightenment/Romanticism: a leading question seeking to paint two characters - say Heathcliff and Lady Croom, for example - as epitomes of Romanticism and Rationalism respectively would be fine. You can then go about destroying any misconceptions and countering your own argument.
I was thinking of looking at how class and the entailing social expectations are dealt with in Arcadia in comparison to in The Importance of Being Earnest. Is this too broad?
does it have to be wuthering heights or importance of being earnest?
Grace: it's up to you which one.
Ben: a little too broad I feel. What aspects of class/society?
Perhaps similarly to the moderator approved: "Using the characters of the Regency Lady Croom and of Lady Bracknell as a starting point, show how the upper class is presented in Arcadia and in The Importance of Being Earnest." but with more emphasis on how the upper class relate to those below them in both works?
are we allowed to use a title that we have already done in class as an essay? just a general question!
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