...2013. M.12 Coimisiún na Scrúduithe Stáit State Examinations Commission LEAVING CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION, 2013 English - Higher Level - Paper 2 Total Marks: 200 Thursday, 6 June – Afternoon, 2.00 – 5.20 Candidates must attempt the following :• ONE question from SECTION I – The Single Text • ONE question from SECTION II – The Comparative Study • ONE question on the Unseen Poem from SECTION III – Poetry • ONE question on Prescribed Poetry from SECTION III – Poetry N.B. Candidates must answer on Shakespearean Drama. They may do so in SECTION I, the Single Text (Macbeth) or in SECTION II, The Comparative Study (Macbeth, The Winter’s Tale). INDEX OF SINGLE TEXTS Wuthering Heights The Great Gatsby The Grass Is Singing Macbeth Antigone − Page 2 − Page 2 − Page 3 − Page 3 − Page 3 Page 1 of 8 SECTION I THE SINGLE TEXT (60 marks) Candidates must answer one question from this section (A – E). A WUTHERING HEIGHTS – Emily Brontë (i) In your opinion, to what extent are the values represented by the world of Thrushcross Grange defeated, in Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights? Support your answer with suitable reference to the text. OR (ii) “Emily Brontë makes effective use of both Nelly Dean and Mr Lockwood in a variety of ways.” Discuss this statement, supporting your answer with suitable reference to the novel, Wuthering Heights. B THE GREAT GATSBY – F. Scott Fitzgerald (i) “Readers of The Great Gatsby are greatly influenced by the narrator, Nick Carraway.” Discuss...
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...Macbeth Analysis Brian Williams English 125 Melissa Edison April 22, 2013 Macbeth Analysis The poem that I have selected is Macbeth written by William Shakespeare. I will identify three elements in this poem that I found very engaging/interesting. I will give insight on how these elements affected my personal opinion on this poem. Analyzing how these elements affected my response in its entirety will be the vocal point of my paper. Macbeth is a tragedy and is considered one of Shakespeare’s most powerful poems. Shakespeare introduces Macbeth as a strong, power wanting, and noble fighter. Macbeth talks to the witches in the start of Act 1 scene 3 by commanding them to speak to him and for them to tell him what they are. “Speak if you can. What are you” (Clugston, 2010)? Indicating that Macbeth talks with authority, that he has power over the witches, as he does not politely ask the witches. The way that Macbeth is speaking here is using imperative verbs. Shakespeare here uses language to show us what Macbeth character is like. He also tells us by using language that Macbeth is respected by others at the start of the play. In Act 1 scene 2 it states “O valiant cousin, worthy gentlemen” (Portman, 1995). Duncan expresses this about Macbeth. This reveals that people do respect Macbeth and his bravery proves he has a quite high status. Symbolism plays a prominent role to emphasize the theme of corruption of power. Throughout the play there are several main symbols repeatedly...
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...Title: Macbeth Analysis Instructor: Erin Schwartz English 125 Introduction to literature Amanda Manley 11/25/2013 Macbeth Analysis The poem that I have selected is Macbeth written by William Shakespeare. I will identify three elements in this poem that I found very engaging/interesting. I will give insight on how these elements affected my personal opinion on this poem. Analyzing how these elements affected my response in its entirety will be the vocal point of my paper. Macbeth is a tragedy and is considered one of Shakespeare’s most powerful poems. Shakespeare introduces Macbeth as a strong, power wanting, and noble fighter. Macbeth talks to the witches in the start of Act 1 scene 3 by commanding them to speak to him and for them to tell him what they are. “Speak if you can. What are you” (Clugston, 2010)? Indicating that Macbeth talks with authority, that he has power over the witches, as he does not politely ask the witches. The way that Macbeth is speaking here is using imperative verbs. Shakespeare here uses language to show us what Macbeth character is like. He also tells us by using language that Macbeth is respected by others at the start of the play. In Act 1 scene 2 it states “O valiant cousin, worthy gentlemen” (Portman, 1995). Duncan expresses this about Macbeth. This reveals that people do respect Macbeth and his bravery proves he has a quite high status. Symbolism plays a prominent role to emphasize the theme of corruption of power. Throughout the...
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...will do whatever it takes to remain in control. Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, utilizes psychoanalysis to portray how the Macbeths’ lust for power ultimately leads to their downfall. To begin, Macbeth’s thirst for power commences upon hearing the Witches’ prophecy. The Third Witch proclaims, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.51). Macbeth and his companion, Banquo, find this prophecy of being king absurd to the point of being funny. Yet Macbeth secretly...
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...strived to be accepted as manly, and Shakespeare's Macbeth is no exception. Shakespeare's Macbeth (1623) is about a man named Macbeth and his journey to gain power and his struggle to keep it. In the play Macbeth and Banquo meet three witches on the moor. The witches make a prophesy that Macbeth will be King of Scotland and that Banquo's blood line will rule Scotland even though he will not be King. Macbeth later kills Duncan, the current King of Scotland, and becomes King himself. Macbeth orders for Banquo and his son to be killed, but Fleance escapes. The longer Macbeth is king the more suspicious he becomes of the people around him and the more worried he is about securing his blood line as the ruler of Scotland. The play concludes with Macduff killing Macbeth, and Malcolm (the rightful heir and son of Duncan) becomes King. In Macbeth the definition of a true man can best be seen through gender stereotyping, reversal of gender roles, and the depiction of men who uphold the manly virtue. One of the most important views on being a true man is that of Macbeth's. This view can best be seen in the scene when Macbeth is talking to the murderers about killing Banquo. Macbeth asks the murderers if they are men. Naturally they respond, "We are men, my liege" (3.1.90.). But that is not good enough for Macbeth. He agrees that they are men because they are of the male gender: "in the catalogue ye go for men" (3.1.91). But for Macbeth manhood is not given to one at birth; manhood is a...
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...by Shakespeare’s Volumnia and Lady Macbeth In both Coriolanus and Macbeth, powerful women exploit their power over important male figures through their manipulation of gender roles and performance. In “Identity-Formation and the Breastfeeding Mother in Renaissance Generative Discourses and Shakespeare’s Coriolanus,” Victoria Sparey compares the symbolic relevance of breast milk and blood in Shakespearean literature to explain the immense power Volumnia holds over her son Coriolanus. Ralph Berry argues the sexual motivation behind Volumnia’s control in his article “Sexual Imagery in Coriolanus.” Berry states that “from Volumnia, we derive a strong impression of the interlinked impulses of sex and power” (316). Lady Macbeth’s character and influence over her husband is explored thoroughly in William T. Liston’s "Male and Female Created He Them": Sex and Gender in "Macbeth." Liston outlines the ways Lady Macbeth manipulates both her husband’s masculinity and her own femininity to achieve her personal ambitions. Although Sparey and Berry examine the motives and character of Volumnia and Liston recounts the ambitious incentives of Lady Macbeth, this paper will focus on the performance of gender and how it is used to manipulate the masculine body, the feminine body, and to overcome the societal boundaries set out for individuals at the time of Shakespeare’s writing. Using Judith Butlers concept of gender performativity, Volumnia and Lady Macbeth break their roles as the proper wife...
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...fate of Macbeth and his companion, Banquo. Macbeth is currently the Thane of Glamis. The strange witches announce to him that he will become Thane of Cawdor and later King of Scotland. Lady Macbeth seeks this as an opportunity and advises Macbeth to murder King Duncan so he can take over the throne. At first, Macbeth is hesitant and fears the consequences of the action of murder. Macduff discovers King Duncan’s corpse and thereafter conveys the news to Ross. King Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, flee to England. The realization that Duncan’s sons and thereafter, Banquo and Fleance becoming heirs to the throne is a threat to Macbeth. He understands that as long as they are alive, the fear of his power will remain insecure. He succeeds in the murder of Banquo, however, Fleance is still alive. Macbeth begins to start hallucinating fatal images of daggers and blood stains after the ghost of Banquo visits him. Macduff...
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...What Makes Art: The Subconscious, The Reactionary, or The Forster Order? It is mid-afternoon on a Saturday at the Highline: a trajectory of abandoned railroad tracks the city of New York converted into a public park. The banks of the park are full of plants and sculptures, and street art is scattered within and around all of the Highline. Tucked into a gravel bed, beneath the shade of a green sapling, sits an upright rectangle. About five feet tall and two feet wide, the face of the rectangle is a dull mauve color, and at the center of the rectangle rests a bean-shaped oblong, jutting out like a flaccid balloon. It’s a fetus, one may think, or a bladder...but what is the point of the piece? The exact purpose of the art piece, the meaning or explanation is not written there plainly. To understand a piece of art like this, one must engage in their own interpretation. Some people appreciate art because they consider it beautiful; some consider it pointless; some consider art necessary to society, and many refrain from further evaluation of art. In his essay “Art for Art’s Sake,” E.M. Forster explores precisely what this essay title proclaims. Forster acknowledges his argument is an “unpopular” one, but strives to ratify some misconceptions about art for art’s sake. In my initial reading of the essay I am not exempt from resisting the idea of art for art’s sake. Immediately, the notion seems to say that art can have no effect on society, and be appreciated nonetheless. I would...
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...In the light of your critical readings how far areLear and Macbeth tragic protagonists? Example intro Normally, the common hero would be a character embodying megalopsychia. However, both Lear and Macbeth are conventionally tragic figures, even displaying anti-heroic qualities. Aristotle’s “Poetics” suggests that a tragic protagonist has greatness which is readily evident in the play. The Victorian critic A.C. Bradley picks up Aristotle’s notion to contend and mentions that although the protagonist is a person of greatness, they are not perfect and contain a tragic flaw which can lead to his downfall. Unlike most tragic protagonists, Lear’s fall occurs early in the play when he decides to express his “darker purpose” to Gloucester by dividing the kingdom between his three daughters. Firstly, this rash decision implies Lear’s downfall and prepares the audience for what is to come. Secondly, this would have alarmed a Jacobean audience who would remember how the question of succession had loomed large during the reign of Elizabeth 1. However, Lear does not show many noble attributes before his fall when he loses his temper at Cordelia and he tells her he will, “disclaim all my paternal care,” because she refuses to flatter him with praises and love. This is different to Macbeth who is seen as “brave” and “noble” in the early stages of the play due to killing the rebel, Macdonwald, and fighting off an attack from the Norwegians. Example 2 1. Throughout literary history, there...
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...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S MACBETH LINDA NEAL UNDERWOOD S E R I E S E D I T O R S : W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth 2 INTRODUCTION William Shakespeare developed many stories into excellent dramatizations for the Elizabethan stage. Shakespeare knew how to entertain and involve an audience with fast-paced plots, creative imagery, and multi-faceted characters. Macbeth is an action-packed, psychological thriller that has not lost its impact in nearly four hundred years. The politically ambitious character of Macbeth is as timely today as he was to Shakespeare's audience. Mary McCarthy says in her essay about Macbeth, "It is a troubling thought that Macbeth, of all Shakespeare's characters, should seem the most 'modern,' the only one you could transpose into contemporary battle dress or a sport shirt and slacks." (Signet Classic Macbeth) Audiences today quickly become interested in the plot of a blindly ambitious general with a strong-willed wife who must try to cope with the guilt engendered by their murder of an innocent king in order to further their power. The elements of superstition, ghosts, and witchcraft, though more readily a part of everyday life for the Renaissance audience, remain intriguing to modern teenagers. The action-packed...
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...Assignment #1: Summary and Personal Response Keith Louden Professor Cassandra Dettmann ENG 115 April 20, 2016 The most important point that author Russell Baker, made in his title essay, “On Becoming a Writer”, was he wanted to become a writer at the age of sixteen. He said, “that coming out of high school most sixteen year’s old didn’t think about becoming a writer”. But being a writer was the only thing he had interest in. In some obvious ways of thinking he perceived writing was done by the rich but, he considered writing not to be a job that you can make a good earning from. The notion of him becoming a writer was self-explanatory because, he already thought of himself as a writer where it gives him a sense of identity. Being that he was a skillful, and talented great writer. In his thoughts of becoming a writer he was unsure that could be a passion of his. It wasn’t until his third year that the possibility of becoming a writer took hold. By then he was bored with English, and everything associated with it. Why is that? He thought the English grammar was dull, and buffing because of the assignments he did. He felt his assignments turned out to be compositions. Meaning they was leaden with lackluster paragraphs that was not appealing to the teachers once they read them. Except for one teacher Mr. Fleagle, it was an essay that...
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...in December under official pressure from the regime, and under fear for his life, and it was not given its first performance until 1961. Shostakovich: Fearing for his Life During 1936 and 1937, in order to maintain as low a profile as possible, Shostakovich mainly composed film music, a genre favoured by Stalin and one in which the composer could avoid expressing any potentially dangerous tendencies. Nevertheless, tired of the repression, he then decided to compose a piece a new piece: his Fifth Symphony, finished july 1937. Only a few days before its premiere, due 21 November 1937, an article by the composer it self was published in the Moscow newspaper Vechernyaya Moskva, where he stated that the work: “is a Soviet artist’s creative response to justified criticism.” The Symphony became a huge success because many people in the Leningrad’s audience had lost his family or friends during the “Great Terror”. During the performance of the symphony, people were reported to have wept during the Largo movement. Later Shostakovich wrote in his memoirs: “I'll never believe that a man who understood nothing could feel the Fifth Symphony.”. But of course all those people in Leningrad understood the meaning of his composition and its criticism to the...
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...Mr. Macomber English 3 AP Syllabus 1.5 English 3 AP Course Overview Students in this introductory college-level course read and carefully analyze a broad and challenging range of nonfiction prose selections, deepening their awareness of rhetoric and how language works. Through close reading and frequent writing, students develop their ability to work with language and texts in order to establish greater awareness of purpose and strategy, while strengthening their own composing abilities. C16 Students examine rhetoric in essays, images, movies, novels, and speeches. They frequently confer about their writing by conferencing in class. C 14 Feedback is given both before and after students revise their work to help them develop logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques to increase coherence. Rhetorical structures, graphic organizers, and work on repetition, transitions, and emphasis are addressed. I comment on individual drafts, and I write memos to the class in a blog about whole-class concerns such as specificity of quotations, parallelism, and transitions. C13 Simultaneously, students review the simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentence classifications. We examine word order, length, and surprising constructions. Loose and periodic sentences are introduced. We examine sample sentences and discuss how change affects tone, purpose, and credibility of the author/speaker. In addition, feedback on producing sentence structure variety...
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...Act 1.1 * The mob of plebeians, which holds the stage as the play opens, lacks an individual identity but nevertheless constitutes one of the most important "characters" in the story. * They have taken up arms, true, but not without cause: As one of them puts it, "the gods know I speak this in hunger for bread, not thirst for revenge (I.i.22-23)." * Menenius does makes an attempt at a response, with his story about the stomach and the body. His behavior toward the plebeians contrasts starkly with Martius's--the common people like him, calling him "one that hath always loved the people"; they say of him, "...he's one honest enough! Would all the rest were so!"(I.i.49-52). Although he does not genuinely care for them any more than Martius does (he never actually takes their side in any of the play's political disputes), the people nevertheless favor him because he possesses a gift the play's hero lacks--the gift of public relations. – Compared to Menenius. * The play shows us a city suffering from a power vacuum; wily patricians like Menenius and crafty demagogues like the tribunes now struggle to fill this vacuum, Menenius with his organic conception of the state and the tribunes with their notion of popular rule. Moreover, this political situation can be traced back to Martius; we learn that as a youth he had a hand in King Tarquin's overthrow. One can, thus, see the play's initial situation as an Oedipal moment: The young Martius has overthrown the royal father-figure...
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...connect readers through situations that all people have experienced, she uses themes and motifs in her writing to prove a message. Themes and motifs in writing allow someone to relate or connect their life to the main character. Jane struggles with the internal conflict of where she should go when she leaves Thornfield. By the situation that she leaves at Thornfield, she is unsure of her feelings for the marriage and the mystery. Similarly, when she leaves St. John, she struggles with the internal conflict of whether he love for Rochester is real. She wants to be hopeful that her feelings are true to what she has inside her heart (Bronte 324-327, 426-428). The theme of an internal conflict is personal between the author, main character, and reader. Critics have said, “Ross (Shakespeare and Macbeth, 1994) takes a look at Charlotte Bronte's life and how it influenced the writing of Jane Eyre, hoping to inspire readers to tackle that novel. Lovely full-color and black-and-white illustrations bring readers powerful images of both Charlotte's and Jane's lives, which contained many similar themes, e.g., Jane Eyre's cruel experiences at Lowood School reflect Charlotte's unhappiness at the Cowan Bridge Clergy Daughters' School”("CHARLOTTE BRONTE AND JANE EYRE."). These themes provide insight to the reader to see what type of person the author is and how he/ she writes. Charlotte’s Bronte’s writing has stood the “test of time” because of the “powerful images” and “similar themes”. This type...
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