American Literature at A level –well Literature, really. JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

Why are you here? A few major questions I want you to bear in mind: What makes you choose to study Literature A level? How do you feel about reading? What do you read? Is it important to like what you study? What role can dislike play in study? What do you want to learn from your study of literature? JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

Your own contexts Using the following as a starting point, set out as many factors as you can that you believe might shape the ways a reader might interpret a text. JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

Why study literature? It’s important to think about this: why study literature in the classroom if that’s not what it’s intended for? what is it intended for? who is it intended for? is studying literature the same thing as literary study? what is the point of studying literature we may not like? Spend a few minutes. JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

Developing thinking The history and development of literature. The craft of the writer. The response of the reader. The idea of literature. The nature of literary study. Here are five areas of knowledge you might approach in your studies. What do you already know about each? What more would you like to know? Why do you think such knowledge might be important? JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

The history and development of literature Key concepts include: History of English and England. History of literature. Narrative. Genre: poetry, drama, the novel. Oral and print culture. The relation of these to broader social and cultural movements. JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

The idea of literature Key concepts include: The definition of literature. The purpose of literature. Literary value and the canon. Literary education. Literary language. National literatures and world literature. Literature and the media. Media as literature? Cultural and political values. JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

The craft of the writer Key concepts include: Creativity and creative writing (including reader/student as writer). Contexts of production. The role of narrative. Genre. Convention. How meanings are shaped in literary texts. Changing modes of textual production and perception. JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

The response of the reader Key concepts include: Reading. Appreciation. Contexts of reception. Consumption. Interpretation (and alternative interpretations) and evaluation. Representation. Personal response and attitudes. Literary theory. JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

The nature of literary study Key concepts include: Literary study. Literary criticism. Literary theory. Critical and personal response. Wide reading. The essay as a form. Attributing and assimilating ideas. Referencing. Plagiarism and collusion. JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

In other words… Where does literature ‘come from’ and where is it ‘going to’? What is literature for? How do literary works emerge from their societies, and what is the role of the author? How do literary works return to their societies, and what is the role of the reader? What does all of this mean for me as a student? JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

Interpretation and meaning JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

What are you seeing? JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

Looking and seeing How many possible interpretations did you see? How did your evaluation of these interpretations change as new possible interpretations emerged? How do the interpretations function alone? How do they function in conjunction? What is the value of the individual interpretation? What is the value of the overlaid interpretations? JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green .

Intertextuality. JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

The use of a well known text within a text to shed light on the meaning of the second text. Of mIce and Men: Burns, ‘to a mouse’ ‘… gang aft agley’ We know any plans made in the novel will go wrong and fail. This includes references to the American Dream… JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

Today: MUSIC Many writers use music as their background for a scene. We must notice if a SPECIFIC piece of music is cited, because it must have been chosen for a reason. Kate Chopin: The Awakening. A married woman awakens to her freedom as an individual and to a recognition of the futility and banality of her life as wife to a wealthy business man. JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

Phase 1: Zampa A facile little duet, from a 19th century French light opera about pirates and damsels in distress. Little emotional engagement A simplistic narrative about derring-do and marriage. zampa piano duet JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

Phase 2: Chopin (no relation). Salon music. Romanticism – exploration of feelings. 24th Prelude JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

Phase 3: Chopin A later work, played at the moment of her great decision about marriage. impromptu in c# minor JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

  Edna did not know when the Impromptu began or ended. She sat in the sofa corner reading Robert’s letter by the fading light. Mademoiselle had glided from the Chopin into the quivering love notes of Isolde’s song, and back again to the Impromptu with its soulful and poignant longing. The shadows deepened in the little room. The music grew strange and fantastic— turbulent, insistent, plaintive and soft with entreaty. The shadows grew deeper. The music filled the room. It floated out upon the night, over the housetops, the crescent of the river, losing itself in the silence of the upper air. Edna was sobbing, just as she had wept one midnight at Grand Isle when strange, new voices awoke in her. She arose in some agitation to take her departure. “May I come again, Mademoiselle?” she asked at the threshold. “Come whenever you feel like it. Be careful; the stairs and landings are dark; don’t stumble.” Mademoiselle re-entered and lit a candle. Robert’s letter was on the floor. She stooped and picked it up. It was crumpled and damp with tears. Mademoiselle smoothed the letter out, restored it to the envelope, and replaced it in the table drawer. JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.

Phase 4: Wagner. isolde Isolde’s Liebestod is a song of a woman welcoming death and realising the emptiness of life. It concludes an opera which concerns itself with love, fidelity and Schopenhauer’s philosophies of love and death. From this point, it is not possible to imagine Edna Pontellier doing anything other than embracing death. JWP, JLS 2018 derived from Andrew Green.