Blog
Not Quite Perfect Piggy. Exploring the role and presentation of Piggy in Lord of the Flies.
(Edition: Faber) Golding introduces Piggy as overweight, vulnerable, and clever. The first mention of him is as ‘the fat boy’ (p2), making his physical appearance his identity. As there are no rules on the island (or at least none that stick),...
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Chaos, confusion & creepiness…interpreting Macbeth.
Well, the Witches are experts at all three. The stage directions of ‘Thunder and Lightning’ start the play in chaos and disorder. All is unpredictability. Why do the Witches choose Macbeth and not Banquo? The fact Macbeth is at first presented as...
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About that meeting… Analysing language in Macbeth. Act I scene i.
Addressing AO2 – analysing how language creates meaning. The play is named after Macbeth not the Witches, yet their influence is felt from the beginning and even in their absence. Macbeth’s name is first mentioned by the Witches who decide when...
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Who is the real Othello?
AO5 requires you to ‘Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations’. This means you must explore how Shakespeare constructs the character of Othello, arrive at an interpretation, and be prepared to support it. It is important to...
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Silhouettes and sadness: Ishiguro’s use of light and dark in ‘The Remains of the Day’.
This article will help you with language and structure (AO2), and interpretation (AO5). As the title suggests, The Remains of the Day examines the last stretch of the protagonist’s life. Time, and the opportunities life presents, are referenced...
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Shock and awe in ‘Othello’: An exploration of the exclamatory ‘O!’
The following addresses 'personal response' (AO1), 'how meanings are shaped', and 'explore texts informed by other interpretation' (AO5). Othello is a tragedy full of shock, bemusement, and peripeteia. In Iago, Shakespeare has created a character...
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