Pump Earphones

I was asked to try out Pump earphones and here's what I found... The sound quality is awesome, especially compared to my Apple ipod ones. I liked the option of ear support for different ear shapes, and how flattering to find I have very small lug holes! I even found the v smallest painful to use, not an issue I've ever encountered with my ipod ones. For moving around I had some issues with the plugs coming loose. Possibly something to do with not being able to have the ear supports in? And the particularly bright orange wiring is def not a subtle colour! So would I recommend? Well, for audio quality, definitely, but only if you're going to be relatively static.

Some hints on the WW1 essay

P. Today’s technique is alliteration Q. ‘the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle’ E. Talk about alliteration and how it’s used – what effect does it create on the reader – does it sound like gunfire? Is it positive or negative? Onomatopoeia – links to the title, there’s lots of references to sound. Appeals to our senses and gives us an idea of what it was like in the trenches. Aural – relating to sound as a sense P. Strong feelings / attitudes. Who’s for the Game. Rhetorical questions. Q. Any rhetorical Q from the poem. E. What is the effect of the RQ? How do we react to it as a reader – intimidating, make us think, motivate us? Has the purpose of the poem changed? What is Pope’s attitude to war? P. Jessie Pope uses an extended metaphor in ‘Who’s for the Game?’ to compare the war to…. Q. Line 1, line 2 or line 3 – you choose! E. By comparing the war to a match, it’s showing how masculine the people who go to war are. Just like if you play sport at school, people see you as more manly! Pope doesn’t take the war seriously, she underplays it. She wants to make it seem fun so people join the team!

Wilfred Owen

P. Another way Wilfred Owen creates strong feelings is by using punctuation unusually. Q. ‘GAS! Gas! Quick, boys! –‘ E. Owen uses the punctuation to show strong feelings such as panic, worry and being terrified of the attack. In this quote, the first word is in capitals, which shows how it would have been delivered, with a shout. The exclamation marks and the short sharp sentences have the effect of conveying this emotion. By using the exclamation marks we get a sense of the tone and the panic in his voice. The comma after ‘quick’ separates the words and the idea of Owen calling the men ‘boys’ suggests he feels paternal (like a father) towards his men, suggesting his loyalty. The double dash at the end again is used as a separation between the supposed dialogue and the action that follows. Owen does this later on in the final stanza, where he separates the memory from the ‘now’ of the poem.

Sympathy and Curley's Wife

P. We’ve talked a lot about how Steinbeck presents Curley’s Wife in a negative way. Even though we don’t have evidence yet about the good in her, we do, as a reader, feel sympathy towards her. Q. ‘Tell her to stay the hell home where she belongs.’ E. We begin to feel sympathy for her because… In this quote the alliterative ‘hell home’ emphasises where the men believe she belongs. Using the word ‘hell’ suggests… P. Another reason we feel sympathy for her is how women are treated in America at this time. Q. ‘you give me a good whore house every time.’

Jail bait

P – After seeing her for the first time, George says this about Curley’s Wife: Q – ‘I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her.’ E – Jail bait is another example of slang. It means…. George also uses a double negative ‘no’ and ‘never.’ This emphasises how negatively he views Curley’s Wife. He sees her as ‘bait,’ which will lure men to ‘jail,’ both of these adjectives are very negative, giving us more evidence that Curley’s Wife is only shown as a bad person.

Curley's Wife and her phallic hair...!

P – The way Steinbeck describes her suggests the negative, promiscuous nature, of her character. Q – ‘Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages.’ E – The simile is repeated by Steinbeck in the novel. This gives it extra significance. By comparing her hair to the sausages, Steinbeck creates phallic imagery here, the sausage is representative of the penis. This emphasises her sexual nature. The simile could also suggest that her hair is full bodied and ‘meaty’ or that it is greasy. It is ironic that her hair is curly and she is married to Curley, perhaps Steinbeck is creating a pun here.

Of Mice and Men

How do writers present the good and bad in people? Point – Relates to the question Quote – Your evidence taken from the text Explanation – Explain how your quote proves your point. Talk about language features. (That’s the English bit!) P – Before we even meet Curley’s Wife we get a negative impression of her from Candy. Q – ‘Tart’ E – The way that Candy describes her, using slang, gives us the negative impression, because ‘tart’ in this case means someone who is sexually permissive. P – Another negative impression we get of Curley’s Wife is when we first meet her in the book. Q ‘A girl was standing there looking in. she had full rouged lips…heavily made up. Her fingernails were red”. E – Steinbeck repeats the word ‘red’ in his description of Curley’s Wife. Red is usually associated with… (add your own ideas) Our connotations of this mean that we think Curley’s Wife is… (add your own ideas) which is negative.

Compare the ways poets present the idea of power in Hawk Roosting and one other poem.

Power is represented through using different techniques in Hawk Roosting and Flag. Both writers use language techniques to show power. In Hawk Roosting, there are many words connected with altitude such as: ‘top’ ‘buoyancy’ ‘flight’ ‘upward’ ‘high’ ‘fly up.’ We usually connect height with increased status / power. The Hawk acts as an overseer, or dictator, holding power over everything below it. The frequency of these words reminds the reader that the hawk is a symbol of power. The word ‘buoyancy’ is particularly obscure but the hawk talks about how it is of ‘advantage’ which reinforces how height equates to power. Flag, suggests that the actual flag it talks about is a symbol of power which, through patriotism, unites and controls a body of people. Each stanza uses repetition to suggest that the flag is powerless. However, ironically, it then goes on to talk about the effect that it has. ‘It’s just a piece of cloth / that dares the coward to relent,’ here coward and relent are examples of emotive language. The effect of this is to reinforce to the reader the emotional control that the flag and what it symbolises. Hawk Roosting also uses repetition. ‘It took the whole of Creation to produce my foot… Now I hold Creation…’ The poet is reinforcing how Creation has formed the hawk and the tone of this section seems to strengthen this argument as the hawk is full of ego and seems proud that he is ‘God’s gift.’ Now he is in control of ‘Creation’ he is effectively playing God. Often the poet seems to suggest that the Hawk is a symbol for another figure, perhaps a political dictator. Flag’s form, with three regular lines in each stanza, suggests the blocks of colour in many country’s flags. Alternatively it could look as if the stanzas are waving in the wind, with the slightly shorter second line. Every stanza starts with a rhetorical question, which provokes the reader to thinking about the theme. ‘How can I possess such a cloth?’ This suggests that the cloth has an inherent power, and represents a greater power than the narrator. The rhyme scheme of the Flag (ABA) gives a definitive rhythm to the poem, aided by the repetition in line 2. For example, ‘breeze, cloth, knees,’ the rhyme reinforces the end of the third line, which is where Agard gives his message about the power of the flag. Generally the tone of this is mixed, asking the reader to decide whether they believe the flag is of significance or not.

Of Mice and Men - bits and pieces from revision session today

GEORGE "I don't want no fights," said Lennie. He got up from his bunk and sat down at the table, across from George. Almost automatically George shuffled the cards and laid out his solitaire hand. He used a deliberate, thoughtful, slowness." In this quote we see George playing a solitary card game showing, that Lennie cannot join in with any of the activities that George does. Playing a 'solitaire hand' is showing us that Lennie and George don't really have a true connection. The group of three 'deliberate, thoughtful, slowness,' illustrates the isolation and social awkwardness in this situation. The 'almost automatically' could indicate that George doesn't want human interaction and is purely doing this as a time wasting, mechanical action. Slim quotes After meeting Curley's wife for the first time, a new character - Slim - is placed into the story. He uses dialogue like: "Hi, good-looking" & "Well, you ain't tryin' very hard. I seen him goin' in your house" Since Curley isn't around, he uses a chance to potentially flirt with Curley's Wife and get away with it. His disregard for Curley's 'alpha male' personality shows that he likes to put his job in danger to talk to the only woman on the ranch. Also by using 'you ain't trying', it can make it seem like C's Wife is not very bright so she has to try and make herself noticed George "Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. They ain't got no family and they don't belong no place. They got nothin' to look ahead to". It's hard out there for a ranchhand. Steinbeck seems to be saying that the loneliness is even worse than the poverty: like Lennie and George, you can bear a lot more if you have a friend. The double negatives reinforces the lonely aspects of the speech. "We travel together," said George coldly. "Oh, so it's that way." George was tense and motionless. "Yea, it's that way." (2.80-82) By saying "Oh, so it's that way," Curley is essentially accusing Lennie and George of being gay. But George doesn't take the bait. It just shows how pathetic Curley is that he can't understand the men's friendship. SETTING Quote: 'A water snake glided smoothly up the pool, twisting its periscope head from side to side... the beak swallowed the little snake.' This pathetic fallacy foreshadows the tragedy that is about to befall Lennie. The theme of survival of the fittest is present throughout the book, notably in the symbol of Candy's dog and how it is treated. The simile of the periscope head and the repetition of 'side from side' present us with a cautious animal, which contrasts with the antics of Lennie who 'crashes' through the brush.

Q9 - Drama - Set and Pigeons

Q9. One performance I have seen, Pigeons, which toured our school with the Royal Court in Autumn 2013, used set particularly effectively. [Insert birds eye view sketch of the scene with labels pointing our significant aspects] The visual impact of the set, gave the impression of a house through a few simple, symbolic items: the coffee table, the duvet and the lamp. This was all that was needed to conjure up the domestic setting, and the half size concrete ‘walls’ acted like a cross section allowing the audience to glimpse through the walls. The simplistic setting aided the company because they had to make sure they could set up quickly and efficiently in a range of locations. The way the set was lit, also helped the impact of the set on the audience. The wash was red giving the impression that something terrible was about to happen.

A Thank You...

This was sent to me by Selina Kingston and I thought it was really kind, and a thoughtful thing to do... "I wanted to thank you and let you know that I found this blog more help than you can imagine when my son was studying for his GCSE English earlier this year. Your notes on Armitage, Duffy, Browning and On Mice And Men helped ME to talk to him about his revision. Because you helped me to understand and appreciate these works I was able to see, in my discussions with him, that he was on the right track. I think he really appreciated being able to do that and because of what I read here I was able to come up with a couple of extra points for him. I suddenly remembered today that I had used your blog so extensively and never thanked you which is why I have returned today. But you know, seeing this list, I may keep coming back to learn more from you. Thanks so much !"

Character Quotes for Of Mice and Men - Crooks

Crooks scowled, but Lennie's disarming smile defeated him.  A guy needs somebody- to be near him." He whined, "A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. 
“I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads . . . every damn one of ’em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ’em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land.” Crooks is so named because of a crooked back caused by a kick from a horse. Crooks is the stable hand who takes care of the horses and lives by himself because he is the only black man on the ranch. Along with Candy, Crooks is a character used by Steinbeck to show the effects of discrimination. This time the discrimination is based on race, and Crooks is not allowed in the bunkhouse with the white ranch hands. He has his own place in the barn with the ranch animals. Candy realizes he has never been in Crooks' room, and George's reaction to Crooks being involved in their dream is enough to cause Crooks to withdraw his request to be part of the dream. Racial discrimination is part of the microcosm Steinbeck describes in his story. It reaches its height in the novel when Curley's wife puts Crooks "in his place" by telling him that a word from her will have him lynched. Interestingly, only Lennie, the flawed human, does not see the colour of Crooks' skin. Crooks also has pride. He is not the descendent of slaves, he tells Lennie, but of landowners. In several places in the story, Steinbeck shows Crook's dignity and pride when he draws himself up and will not "accept charity" from anyone. Crooks also displays this "terrible dignity" when Curley's wife begins to tear away at his hope for the dream farm. Crooks is not without his faults, however. He scares Lennie and makes up the story of George leaving him. Prejudice isn't simply a characteristic of the white ranch hands or the daughter-in-law of the boss; it is a human characteristic, and Crooks needs to feel superior to someone also. That he becomes part of the dream farm is an indication of Crooks' loneliness and insecurity. He, like Candy, realizes that once he is no longer useful he will be "thrown out." Where, then, can he find some security for his future? The dream farm of Lennie's seems to be the place. Crooks promises to work for nothing as long as he can live his life out there without the fear of being put out. Like all the others, he wants a place where he can be independent and have some security. But there is no security for anyone in a prejudiced world, least of all a black stable hand with a crooked back.

Character Quotes for Of Mice and Men - Candy

Candy is "a tall, stoop-shouldered old man …. He was dressed in blue jeans and carried a big push-broom in his left hand." His right hand is simply a stump because he lost his hand in a ranch accident. Now the owners of the ranch keep him on as long as he can "swamp" out or clean the bunkhouse, because there was no retirement and pensions in that time, so when he stops working he will have no source of income therefore cannot be able to survive in the world – linked with the survival of the fittest. Candy gives Steinbeck an opportunity to discuss social discrimination based on age and handicaps. Candy represents what happens to everyone who gets old in American society: They are let go, canned, thrown out, and used up. Candy's greatest fear is that once he is no longer able to help with the cleaning he will be "disposed of." Like his old dog, he has lived beyond his usefulness. Candy and his dog parallel the relationship of George and Lennie. Like Candy's dog, Lennie depends on George to take care of him and show him what to do. Candy, like George, is different from the other ranch hands because he has his dog as a constant companion, someone devoted and loyal to him. When the unfeeling Carlson suggests that Candy's dog be put out of its misery, Candy abdicates the responsibility to Carlson. He tells George later that he should have shot his dog himself, foreshadowing George's decision to take responsibility for Lennie's death and "be his brother's keeper." Candy also plays a significant role in the dream, providing the money needed to make the down payment. Because of Candy, the dream almost becomes real. Candy's down payment causes George to believe that, perhaps, the dream can be realized. But none of them count on the tragic meeting between Curley's wife and Lennie in the barn. Even then Candy still thinks he can have his safe haven, a place where no one will throw him out when he is too old. The dream is so strong in him that he pleads with George, to no avail, to have their farm despite Lennie's death. “The old man came slowly into the room. He had his broom in his hand. And at his heels there walked a dragfooted sheepdog, gray of muzzle, and with pale, blind old eyes. The dog struggled lamely to the side of the room and lay down, grunting softly to himself and licking his grizzled, moth-eaten coat.” Throughout the novel, there is the difference between the two of them. Even in the description there is a parallel of the description of the dog and the "Curley's like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He's alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he's mad at 'em because he ain't a big guy." (Page 26) Candy is basically the old "swamper" on the ranch who knows just about everything about everyone. He provides George with all the information he needs to know about most of the people on the ranch and gives the reader insight to their personalities as well. Candy's sort of like a narrator in the beginning of the story in the sense that he helps to explain the ranch hands. "You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn't no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody'd shoot me. But they won't do nothing like that. I won't have no place to go, an' I can't get no more jobs." (Page 60) This is basically Candy realizing that he's weak and not really important to anyone on the farm; he has no more power than his dog, who was shot, had. Much like his name, Candy is a sweet person and a nice thing to have a round, but he is in no way, shape, or form vital to life. In this context, Candy is trying to convince George to allow him to go with him to the dream ranch because, not only does Candy have the $350 to put the down payment on the farm, but he's willing to work there since no one is going to help him, and (in all likelihood) he's going to get fired soon. "I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog." (Page 61) This was one of the most important quotes that Candy made. It foreshadowed the end of the story, which was that George would shoot Lennie instead of letting a "stranger" (the other ranch hands, namely Curley) do it. This quote foreshadows this due to the parallelism that is drawn between the relationship of Candy with his dog and the relationship of George with Lennie.

Some info on GRIPPERS

Group of 3, 3 descriptive adjectives – The cheese was yellow, stinky and mouldy R – a question to provoke the reader I – Make sure the celebrity is appropriate P – The way it is laid out – article, letter, speech, leaflet P - ;:.,!”,. E – Where you make out that something is better or worse than it is. I’m hungry = I’m starving, I could eat a horse! R – What’s repetition? What’s repetition? S – Words that are linked to your feelings – love, rage, disgusting Do you want to find love? I am a personal trainer with long, beautiful, ginger hair! Johnny Depp says: “He’s a wonderful person, and you should go for a ginger beer with him!” Do you still want to find love? Reply to me direct for the time of your life!

Pigeons - Set

Symbolic items represented: toilet, play park, domestic setting (house) The concrete outer ring was used as a road way (with toy cars), to sit on, to show confines of the house, to show urban setting The blue rubber shreds were supportive for actors as they tumbled around the set, reinforced the idea of the play park Acted like a boxing ring, reflected idea of differing cultures coming into combat in the play Theatre in the round – everyone got the same view – allow for greater variety of exit and entrance Items that are symbolic – such as the duvet (representing character’s personal space) Allow for a quick strike / set-up and scene changes

Short Stories - Analysed quotes!

The 100% Perfect Girl ‘To tell you the truth, she’s not that good looking, she doesn’t stand out in anyway, her clothes are nothing special, the back of her hair still bent out of shape from sleep.’ The group of three builds up details of how the narrator sees the girl. For him, she is ‘nothing special,’ despite the fact in the title he calls her the ‘100% perfect girl.’ This reinforces the fact that it is a chance meeting of fate which puts the distant lovers together. ‘One beautiful April morning in search of a cup of coffee to start the day, the boy was walking east to west while the girl intended to send a special delivery letter was walking west to east but along the same narrow street.’ This is repeated from the beginning and remind us of what they have been through, in the circular narrative. This is not particularly realistic, but the use of simple language like ‘One beautiful April morning’ and ‘the boy was walking east to west,’ seems like it belongs to a fairytale. This suggests that the writer really wants to talk about the themes of love and fate. ‘Yes, that is what I should have said to her.’ The narrator is relating this story to his friend and the majority of the story is what ‘should have happened.’ The flashback is so long that the reader starts to believe it happened, rather than it being a sad story. This at the end, reminds us that is a story being told to us, with little consequence. ‘This was something sure to be crammed full of warm secrets like an antique clock built when peace filled the world.’ The writer uses a number of strange images in the story. This simile compares her letter to a clock. The narrator also has secrets (the story of how they were together) which he hopes is in the letter. He compares it to an antique clock filled with peace because it seems mysterious and appropriate to somewhere you’d keep your secrets and lost love. The Darkness Out There ‘Are people who help other people just not very nice looking?’ The rhetorical question gets the reader to think about the themes of the story: are beautiful people always good? Are nice people always the ones we expect? This gets us to start forming an opinion at the very beginning of the story. ‘The boy said, ‘I’m not going near that old bitch again.’ This is after Mrs Rutter tells her story, the language used to describe her changes from being positive about the lady to her being an ‘old bitch.’ Mrs Rutter tells them with pride about her actions which Kerry finds hard to stomach and so he uses derogatory language to describe her. ‘People couldn’t remember what her name was, exactly, she didn’t live around here anymore. Two enormous blokes, Gypsy type blokes.’ Sandra, now she’s grown up, has stopped worrying about witches in the wood. However, she is prejudiced and believes there are ‘Gypsy type blokes’ in the wood, based on a story about a rape which is very vague. Language like ‘couldn’t remember’ and ‘exactly’ show that it may not even have happened, but the wood has become the symbol for fear and evil. ‘Kerry Stevens, that none of her lot reckoned much on, with his black licked-down hair and slitty eyes. Some people you only have to look at to know they’re not up to much.’ Sandra makes this snap judgement about him based on his appearance. This is ironic as he is the moral one in the story and he helps people in the Good Neighbours club because he wants to, not for Sandra’s selfish reasons. The way she describes him makes him seem neglected ‘with his black licked-down hair’ or even foreign ‘slitty eyes’ which also tells the reader about her racism.

Conflict Poems - top 3 quotes with analysis - Final Part

Falling Leaves ‘When no wind whirled them whistling to the sky’ The alliteration here reinforces the leaves and their actions. This is important because in the second half of the poem the leaves are compared in an extended metaphor to the soldiers in Belgium. This alliteration also links to the falling rhyme pattern (ABC, ABC) which helps the reader picture the falling leaves. ‘Like snowflakes falling on the Flemish clay.’ Cole compares the dying soldiers to snowflakes in a simile. Snowflakes seem an appropriate comparison as snowflakes are allegedly unique, just like the soldiers. Snow if also fragile and the winter that is evoked here is part of the seasonal theme of the poem. Ironically there will be no ‘spring’ for these soldiers – although the land and society will renew itself now war is over. ‘A gallant multitude / which now all withering lay / slain by no wind of age or pestilence’ The emotive language of ‘gallant’ suggests someone who is brave and valiant, a positive adjective to describe the soldiers even though they are a ‘multitude’ which gives the impression of the vast numbers of dead. The ‘slain by no wind’ makes the deaths seem unnatural, they are needless. Next to of course god america i ‘He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water.’ This last line is separated from the main body of the poem suggesting that it is particularly significant. As the poem mimics the sonnet form (purporting to be about a patriotic love of country) this also confirms the line as being significant, but being a break away from the sonnet form. The ‘he spoke’ suggests that the narrator has finished speaking and that the author is taking over. The ‘rapidly’ could suggest that the narrator doesn’t actually feel confident with the message, and so undermines the patriotic message. ‘rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter / they did not stop to think they died instead.’ The simile here compares the soldiers to lions, the ‘roaring’ is appropriate as this is what lions do. It also makes the ‘slaughter’ seem more dramatic. This is lifted from an heroic poem, but the second line undermines this. ‘They did not stop to think,’ suggests that those involved in conflict have the capacity for thought and should not just follow orders blindly – or even choose to go to war in the first place. ‘thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gory / by jingo by gee by gosh by gum’ While this line starts by suggesting that America is ‘glorious,’ the emotive language is again undermined by Cummings who chooses the repetition of ‘by gory / by jingo etc’ by mixing the heroic with the lyrics of a popular song we get a strange combination which is not serious at all. The lack of capitals throughout suggest how even america is not significant. Hawk Roosting ‘No falsifying dream / Between my hooked head and hooked feet’ The idea of a ‘falsifying dream’ seems like an oxymoron because a dream is already false. At the start of the poem we are not sure if Hughes is really talking about a hawk, literally, or using it as a symbol to discuss a dictator. The repetition of ‘hooked’ suggests something that is not particularly honest of straight. ‘The allotment of death’ The metaphor shows how the hawk sees the garden as his domain, one which is full of death, but is also under his control. This has clear comparisons with the idea of the hawk as a dictator. ‘Through the bones of the living / no arguments assert my right.’ The idea of ‘through’ the living, suggests the power the hawk has to tear its victims apart. Connected to the second line, it seems the hawk rules with an iron fist: no one goes against his ‘right.’ Again this can be seen as connected to the dual discussion of the poem hawk vs. dictator. Going through the bones seems to be a threat while the personal pro-noun of ‘my’ gives it an immediate effect on the reader.

When The Wasps Drowned

‘It was the first time the garden walls seemed confining.’ The first section of the story uses pathetic fallacy to mirror the mood of the setting. The narrator talks about how the sun makes her ‘listless’ like the sheets, and how the garden is now ‘confining.’ As this is the first time, we know that she is maturing as a person, and growing up, as now she has the height to see over the walls. ‘When I closed my eyes, I could see Therese’s dream, the arm growing out of the soil.’ The hand they uncover, in her dreams, becomes a horrific nightmare situation. The arm is a symbol of the guilt the narrator feels because she has covered up the secret. Here the arm grows up, like a tree, disturbing the garden and us as readers.

My Polish Teacher's Tie

‘I am half Polish. They don’t know that here.’ The simple sentences show that Carla is not confident in writing or speaking her story. As the narrative progresses, she uses more sophisticated sentence structures and imagery, to show her increased intelligence. The ‘they’ suggests the people in school and everyone around her, the pro-noun shows that she feels isolated from them. ‘Oh – er – Miss – er - Carter? Is there a problem?’ Again this shows how the Head isn’t sure who she is, and illustrates her lack of status. The dashes here show pauses in speech where he is trying to decide who she is. It breaks up the speech and makes the words seem awkward. ‘He was as tense as a guitar string.’ In this simile, the narrator describes Steve. Comparing him to a guitar string seems appropriate because he is a creative person, so the simile helps us to understand his character. ‘It was a flag from another country, a better country than the ones either of us lived in.’ This metaphor compares Steve’s outrageous coloured tie to a flag. This brings home the message of the story, which is about not hiding your identity. Carla and Steve have created a better place through their relationship, where it is ok to be themselves. The tie is a symbol for this country.

Top 3 Quotes for Conflict Poems

The Right Word ‘Are words no more / than waving, wavering flags?’ The rhetorical question allows us to understand the entirety of the poem. Dharker suggests that words are ‘flags’ in a metaphor. These flags then act as symbols to suggest something about the person the narrator sees. At the start this is very much antagonistic: ‘terrorist’ ‘hostile militant’ etc, but then, by the end of the poem, becomes a ‘child.’ The qualifier ‘wavering’ suggests that the labels the poet gives are fluid and can apply to the person in a variety of ways. ‘God help me. / Outside, defying every shadow, / stands a martyr.’ The first three words can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Poppies ‘Before you left, I pinned one onto your lapel, crimped petals, spasms of paper red, disrupting a blockade of yellow bias binding around your blazer.’ There is a clear significance with the narrator pinning the poppy (a symbol of remembrance) to her son’s blazer. As he leaves home this shows that she will remember him, and vice versa. The words ‘spasm’ and ‘disrupting’ suggest a violence to the possible deaths of the soldiers it refers to. The image is quite disturbing, giving dynamic verbs to the paper symbol. The poet uses alliteration to emphasise this point ‘bias binding around your blazer’ which could make the poppy seem like the soldier’s heart, or certainly allude to the fact that the issue of ‘remembrance’ is close to the narrator’s heart. ‘The dove pulled freely against the sky, / an ornamental stitch.’ The metaphor here compare the stitch with the bird’s flight. Symbolically the dove represents in Christian terms, the hope that Noah felt when the dove returned to the ark. This is comparable to the narrator and her hope for the return of her child. There is a juxtaposition in ‘pulled freely’ which suggests that possibly the freedom of her son will be a hard fought battle, connecting with the theme of conflict. Throughout the poem there is imagery connected with haberdashery: ‘darts, pleats’ etc. Here the stitch gives us an ambiguous ending, the flight of the bird, which doesn’t return, gives us no clear ideas as to the fate of the son. ‘Smoothed down your shirt’s upturned collar, steeling the softening of my face.’ The repetition of the ‘s’ sounds represents the actual ‘softening’ of sounds, mirroring the mother’s descent into sadness and tears. However, she is ‘steeling’ herself in the act of making her son’s uniform look good, to help prevent breaking down. Futility Form – The form of Futility is, roughly speaking, a sonnet. It doesn’t quite confirm to the rhyme scheme but it does have a number of half rhymes and 14 lines. It is almost as if Owen has chosen the form, the traditional poem of love, to talk about his love for his comrades. However, because of all the horror he has seen, Owen produces instead a wounded sonnet, like the boy he writes about. ‘Was it for this the clay grew tall?’ This rhetorical question asks the reader to consider whether our evolution is to result in fighting. The ‘clay’ could be seen as relating to humanity as in the Bible, Adam is created from ‘clay,’ and our connotations with the word suggest something pliable and easy to manipulate, as perhaps Owen feels he has been manipulated into fighting. ‘O what made fatuous sunbeams toil / to break earth’s sleep at all?’ In the third rhetorical question, Owen sums up the message of the poem and asks us to consider the point of man and its evolution. The word ‘toil’ suggests hard work, the work it has taken to evolve as a society to this state. However, ‘fatuous’ means pointless, which links to the futility of the title, suggesting that Owen is not sure why the earth has evolved and broken its ‘sleep.’ Charge of the Light Brigade ‘When can their glory fade?’ The rhetorical question sums up why Tennyson has written the poem, to ensure that the Light Brigade are remembered forever. The emotive language ‘glory’ suggests how highly the poet holds the brave deeds of these soldiers. ‘Storm’d at with shot and shell, / Boldly they rode and well, / Into the jaws of Death / Into the mouth of Hell.’ The first thing that strikes us about these lines is the use of rhyme. Tennyson uses rhyme throughout to create a galloping rhythm which mirrors the galloping of horses hooves. There is also alliteration in the first of these lines which combines with the rhyme to create this rhythm. Death and Hell are both personified by the poet, giving them a physical presence in the poem which feels more immediate and unsettling for the soldiers – emphasising their bravery. ‘Theirs not to make reply, / Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die.’ The repetition here unifies the 600 and tells us collectively the outcome. Even though ‘some one had blunder’d’ they still choose to follow their orders. The rhyme of ‘reply / why / die’ suggests the sequence and therefore foreshadows the ending of the poem. Bayonet Charge ‘He lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm.’ This simile suggests that the soldier is carrying a dead weight, the word ‘numb’ reinforces this, as if the arm is useless. The word ‘smashed’ might suggest that the rifle is broken. As a soldier he feels as if the rifle is part of him, but in this moment of confusion, he is not using it effectively. ‘In what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations / was he the hand pointing that second?’ The alliteration of ‘cold clockwork’ emphasises this image. In the metaphor the soldier is being compared to the second hand on a watch. The watch symbolises time and fate, and the soldier’s place in it. In this moment, the poet gets the soldier to consider his place in the grand scheme of the universe and where he fits: is it his time to die, is his time up? The rhetorical question asks us as a reader to also ponder the question. ‘human dignity, etcetcetra / dropped like luxuries in a yelling alarm / to get out of that blue crackling air / his terror’s touchy dynamite.’ In this simile, the poet suggests that the best human qualities such as ‘dignity’ fall off of the soldier, as if he has to sacrifice these things to survive. It is his instinct for survival which makes him flee quickly. The alliteration in the last line reinforces this shock, describing it as ‘dynamite’ which alludes to explosive and instant power in the soldier’s flight.

Hip Hop Question

Plan for Hip Hop Question You could list the argument step by step (paragraph by paragraph) Then talk about how he supports the argument OR Argument step by step and in each paragraph you could talk about how he supports it ‘The writer’s argument is that hip hop, as a genre, is improving. In the first paragraph the writer talks about how many hip hop artists are now getting older and not dying in gang land violence. He supports this by stating the different ages of Grandmaster Flash and Jazzy Jeff ‘50’ and ’43.’ These ages are older than your average pop star. Paragraph 2 In the second paragraph the writer says that the lyrics to hip hop songs are becoming more positive. He supports this by talking about the lyrics of a song which says ‘life is better.’ If you talk about something being better, then it is positive. 3 The writer talks about the ‘smart side’ to hip hop in the third paragraph.

Top 3 Quotes with Analysis for Conflict Poems - Part 1

Flag ‘It’s just a piece of cloth / that brings a nation to its knees’ The middle line of each stanza is repeated throughout the poem. This reinforces Agard’s message that the physical item of a flag is relatively insignificant, ‘just’ is the key word here. However, symbolically the effect is detailed on the third line of each stanza. This line ‘brings a nation to its knees’ could either mean the effect of the flag is to inspire allegiance and so everyone is doing the same thing, or to suggest subjugation. The repetition of ‘n’ sounds reinforces this message, by showing that this phrase is significant. ‘that makes the guts of men grow bold.’ The emotive language of ‘bold’ shows how the poet feels a flag will change the emotional state of those it comes into contact with. A theme throughout the poem is the changing states that a flag creates, especially on men. The word ‘guts’ is often associated with bravery and that soldiers have ‘fire in their guts’ for example, which is the connotation Agard is playing on through personification. ‘Just ask for a flag, my friend / Then blind your conscience to the end.’ In the last stanza Agard decides to change the rhyme pattern he’s used throughout. The poem ends on a rhyming couplet. The reason he does this it to give it a memorable closure. He uses direct address ‘my friend’ to address the reader and to ensure his point has maximum effect. Despite talking about the effects a flag has on people, he concludes with a fairly negative point, that patriotism allows you to ignore the moral consequences of war. The word ‘blind’ suggests a physical disability has been inflicted. Out of the Blue ‘The depth is appalling. Appalling / that others like me / should be wind-milling, wheeling, spiralling, falling.’ The word ‘depth’ tells us how the poet feels about the expanse of air and horizon, followed by ‘appalling' we are left with no doubt that he feels terrified by the choice he might have to make. The word is then repeated, but seems insufficient to describe the severity of this horrific experience. It is followed by a group of dynamic verbs, with the writer emphasising the ‘-ing’ to fit the rhyme scheme and downward rhythm of the poem which also mirrors the victims’ plight. ‘Does anyone see a soul worth saving?’ The rhetorical question asks the reader to act as judge to decide who should be saved. Obviously this is an impossible task to do. There are emotive words, such as ‘soul’ which are used deliberately to connect with the individualism of the mass of people who are also trapped in the twin towers. ‘The heat behind me is bullying, driving / but the white of surrender is not yet flying.’ Here the heat is personified by Armitage to show the force with which the people in the twin tower are faced. They have to decide whether to be consumed by the flames or to jump. The image of the white of surrender is a metaphor, comparing the stereotypical sign of surrender with the mentality of those in the tower. Mametz Wood ‘The wasted young, turning up under their plough blades.’ The juxtaposition of the ‘wasted young’ reinforces how the bodies of the dead young soldiers are being brought to the surface. The adjective ‘wasted’ suggests the narrator’s view point on the sacrifice of war. ‘A chit of bone, the china plate of a shoulder blade, / the relic of a finger.’ The chit is a receipt for something, here it acts as a receipt for someone’s life. In another metaphor the fragility of the remains is compared to a china plate, while the idea of the bone being a relic gives the found remains a religious / spiritual significance. Sheers in these three images suggests that the ‘wasted’ life was precious, valuable and fragile. ‘like a wound working a foreign body to the surface of the skin.’ In this simile, Sheers uses alliteration to reinforce this point with ‘wound working.’ Throughout the poem the earth has been represented as a literal body itself, here it is healing itself through the rejection of the bones of the soldiers. The ‘surface of the skin’ is the earth of the field. The Yellow Palm ‘I saw a Cruise missile, / a slow and silver caravan, / on its slow and silver mile.’ The repetition suggests not only the pace with which the missile is headed for them, but repeating silver also gives it a beauty which is incongruous for a weapon. This also sounds like a nursery rhyme rather than imminent danger. ‘Down on my head fell the barbarian sun / that knows no armistice.’ The poet uses personification in a metaphor to compare the sun to a barbarian. Our associations with the word barbarian suggest that the sun here offers no protection and is as indifferent to the events in the poem as the narrator seems to be. In each of these stanzas there is a consequence of war – in this stanza it is the never-ending cycle of the sun rising on conflict without ‘armistice’ or surrender. ‘Armistice’ is a particularly evocative word as it is often connected to WW2. - Form and Rhyme The 6 regular stanzas allow us to go on a journey ‘down Palestine street’ with the poet. He allows us to examine events, but offers us no comment on them. This is reinforced with the simple ABCBDB rhyme scheme, which is also reflected in the fairly simple language. The writer uses a point of colour in each stanza, ‘lilac stems’ or ‘yellow palms’ to construct his stanza around and to appeal to our sense of sight.

Drama Notes - Antigone - Creon's Son

Creon's son Kerry played cron's son which she had to change her voice to a mans voice so the audience know that it's creon's son, his body language changed completely in order to show us that his a man and the way he spoke to his father like he was powerless and couldn't do anything about it.

Drama - Character notes on Antigone - Guard

In the play, Antigone, Kerry portrayed a Palace Guard. The character was slightly hunched with a blue cap, a jacket and a scroll in one of the scenes. Their hair was pushed back. Kerry had lowered her voice to fit the character. Her transitions between the Guard and other characters were smooth. Since Kerry is slim, she puffed out her body to create the appearance of a muscular, strong man. Her movements were altered to differentiate the other characters she was acting out. The props she used added a stronger effect to identifying her Guard role.

Drama - Character notes on Antigone - Creon

Creon Tenses all muscles to show that he is strong as a leader He uses the step to make himself be higher than other members of the cast to show that he has the highest status Has a loud voice witch shows authority over antigane and other members of the cast He makes himself the biggest character in the scenes he is in both physically and mentally Look through other characters not at them ( he look threatening and at one point we believe he will attack antigane) When he shouts at antigae she cowers down and he is bending over her enforcing his will on her

Jack's descent into madness??

Quotes for Jack: 1. ‘Jack had him by the hair and was brandishing his knife… The chant rose ritually, as at the last moment of a dance or a hunt. ‘Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the Pig! Bash him in!’ 2. ‘Which is better - to be a pack of painted Indians like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is?’ ‘Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?’ 3. [After smashing the conch] Suddenly Jack bounded out from the tribe and began screaming wildly. ‘See? See? That’s what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you anymore.’

How Macbeth changes...

Macbeth has been changed by his supernatural experience. We see this by his reaction to his wife’s death. Both of them are feeling guilty because of the crimes they have committed or manipulated others into doing. ‘She should have died hereafter… to-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow.’ This shows us that…. Shakespeare is using repetition to emphasise the point that if his wife didn’t die today, then she would have some other day. P. Not only does Macbeth feel very little for the death of his wife, but his whole attitude has changed since gaining the power he initially wanted. [Add in your perspective] Q. ‘Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage.’ E. Shakespeare compares, in a metaphor, life to being like a shadow. Our connotations with this are that shadows are insubstantial, they block out the light and they no effect on anything around them. This shows a negative point of view about what life is like. Macbeth says he’s a ‘poor player’ which means an actor. This is ironic because Macbeth would be played by an actor on a stage. The word ‘frets’ means being worried, which again seems like a waste of a life.

Banquo's Banquet

In contrast to the dagger scene, when Macbeth holds the banquet for Banquo we, as an audience, actually see the ghost of Banquo. Macbeth describes the ghost as: “Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold; thou hast no speculation in those eyes which thou dost glare with!” Shakespeare emphasises all the points which make Banquo dead rather than alive (marrowless, cold and no speculation.) This aspect of the supernatural could be quite terrifying on stage and would shock the audience. It is important that we see this as an audience because… The effect of the supernatural is quite distinctive. After seeing the ghost Macbeth says: “It will have blood; they say, blood will have blood.” Macbeth realises, through the repetition of blood, that he will… This foreshadows what happens later in the play.

Spoken Language Study

Educating Essex - by Sammy Taylor I am going to be investigating spoken language and how it is used in a community. The community I’ll be looking at is a school, the Passmores Academy, which was used in the documentary programme Educating Essex. First broadcast in 2011the documentary shows us the inside of a modern school from both the pupil and teacher perspective. It was praised for being insightful and won a number of awards. The way that we address one another is dependent on who we’re speaking to. This depends on their place in society (respect, position etc) or how we relate to that person (friends, acquaintances etc.) In this essay I am going to examine how the teachers, students and the language of the voiceover is used in different ways to communicate. Mr Drew is Deputy Head in the school and he often is the focus of the documentary episodes. Mr Drew’s relationship with the students is based on control and winning. He openly states in an interview with the camera that ‘I am the brickwall,’ this metaphor emphasises that no one is going to get out of line and the students will not get their goal of messing around. He has a number of techniques which he uses when speaking to students in the corridor.  The first is repetition and how he addresses the students: ‘Excuse me young person (.) just in case for some reason you have been unable to understand the very very clear rule...’ His pace is fast and the repetition makes us aware of the important parts in his speech. He chooses to address the boy as ‘young person,’ this gives an odd effect which is not even  gender specific.  In the montage of clips he also uses sarcasm as a way to intimidate students. ‘There is no need for you to wear that dead animal,’ he says to a girl with a spotted coat. He clearly tries to control the situation instead of shouting, sarcasm is humorous and entertains us as an audience but the girl probably feels a little low.  As well as using humour, Mr Drew also enjoys the sound of words. He uses alliteration, ‘constant conflict,’ which he says emphasising the C sound at the beginning of the word. I think he relishes using a variety of language techniques to make sure he doesn’t get bored saying the same thing over and over.  Sometimes he is flustered and he uses fillers to keep control of the situation. In his office he says: ‘I (.) I (.) y’know (.) I,’ when dealing with a student. This keeps the conversation with him, but allows him thinking time to deal with the child’s misbehaviour.  In rare cases he uses volume ad repetition in conjunction to emphsise his points. He repeats ‘Excuse me’ at greater and greater volume. Again this is to control the situation and the effect is to totally drown out the other person.  In the episode there is a really geeky kid who describes Mr Drew as ‘He’s an evil overlord who will completely incinerate you.’ As he’s talking to the camera this gives him the confidence to say something that he would never say to Mr Drew face to face. This metaphor, like the ‘brickwall’ earlier, reinforces our opinion of him as being a strict stickler for the rules. When we meet Charlotte she seems to be equally intense. She wants to get her own way. The voice over tells us ‘she’s become a regular visitor to the deputy head’s office.’ This tells us all we need to know to about the context of this relationship in the wider community. While Mr Drew uses repetition and a rhetorical question to try to wear her down: ‘Do you think I’ll be amused?’ Charlotte tries the same approach: ‘I don’t know (.) Are you?’ This seems confrontational and it is not clear who will win. Even by the end of the transcript we are not clear. By copying Mr Drew’s techniques, Charlotte is playing Mr Drew at his own game. It could be said that both are playing up for the camera and because both are observed, they are not backing down. In other sections of the transcript students seem to be caught saying stupid things for the audience’s entertainment: ‘What is pi? Where did it come from?’ I think that the documentary is more biased towards the teachers. As it’s a programme for adults it seems natural that this is biased towards them as it’s aimed at them. Mr Drew gets more air time than any of the other people. I think it’s a fairly good representation of school language. However, as it was broadcast two years ago there has been a massive change in slang which isn’t represented.

Dagger and Witches as a force for good?

In contrast, the witches could be seen as a force for good. The supernatural is not always a negative theme. “All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor.” “Al hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!” The witches are giving Macbeth compliments. Things that haven’t happened to him yet, a prophecy. Just like their chanting, Shakespeare also uses repetition of ‘hail’ and ‘Macbeth’ to give the central character this news. When he hears he is thane of Cawdor at the end of the scene, this makes Macbeth think… When Macbeth goes to kill Duncan he sees a dagger in the air, a hallucination. This could be seen as a supernatural element because… “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle towards my hand?” The rhetorical question tells the audience what Macbeth as an actor is reacting to because, as an audience, we can’t see it. It’s important that Macbeth sees a dagger because…

Supernatural and Macbeth

Macbeth opens with the witches who are supernatural beings. If we were back in the 16th century, we might feel scared by these women as people back then were more superstitious than we are now. They are described as ugly people: ‘you should be women, and yet your beards forbid me.’ This tells us that the actors should be wearing beards, but act like women. As only men were allowed on the stage this allows the actors to be dressed up like witches but to keep their beards. As well as their appearance, they seem evil because they are involved in black magic. ‘Thrice to thine and thrice to mine and thrice again, to make up nine.’ The witches are chanting, using repetition and rhyme to create a rhythm. The number nine is significant in black magic rites as well, so this presents the theme of the supernatural as something dark and scary.

Futility and Falling Leaves Paragraph

P. In Futility, Owen uses a metaphor to compare clay with the Earth: Q. ‘Woke once the clays of a cold star.’ E. The clay could also represent people as in The Bible, Adam is created out of clay by God. By comparing both evolution and religious imagery he juxtaposes the two belief systems. However, ultimately, Owen argues that to evolve to the state where all we do is fight, it pointless, or futile just as the title. P. Postgate Cole also uses a natural image in her work, Falling Leaves. Q. ‘Like snowflakes wiping out the noon.’ E. Unlike the clay of Futility, she uses a simile to compare people to snowflakes. This seems like a gentler image as – just like the snowflakes – the soldiers are all unique. However, the sheer number of snowflakes to obliterate the noon, when the sun is at its hottest, brings home the amount of soldiers who die. Winter is a season associated with death, and so it seems appropriate that she sets this poem at this time of year – regardless of the Armistice connotation of November. Both these poems use imagery to create a melancholic effect on the reader.