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Intertextual Perspectives
Module A (Advanced English)
The School For Excellence
Sydney University
David Strange and Mel Dixon, January 2015
MODULE A: COMPARATIVE STUDY
OF TEXTS AND CONTEXT
Syllabus
You will study
two prescribed
texts.
This module requires students to compare texts in
order to explore them in relation to their contexts.
It develops students’ understanding of the effects of
context and questions of
value.
The context
affects the way
meaning is
conveyed.
Each elective in this module requires the study of
groups of texts which are to be selected
from a prescribed text list.
You will learn
about the
contexts of each
text.
Each text will
convey values.
These texts may be in different forms or media.
Different forms
and media refers
to the genre (text
types) and this
also affects the
way meaning is
conveyed.
Students examine ways in which social, cultural and
historical context influences aspects of texts, or the
ways in which changes in context lead to changed
values being reflected in
texts.
Students develop a range of imaginative, interpretive
and analytical compositions that relate to the
comparative study of texts and context. These
compositions may be realised in a variety of forms and
media.
Language refers
to the structure
and the
techniques used
to convey
meaning.
Context affects
meaning.
This includes study and use of the language of texts,
consideration of purposes and
audiences, and analysis of the content, values and
attitudes conveyed through a range of
readings.
Values may
change
according to
context.
Purpose is the
reason for
writing: to
entertain, to
inform, to argue
a case, etc.
Audiences react
according to their
context
(English Stage 6 Syllabus, p 47.)
THE ELECTIVE RUBRIC FROM
THE PRESCRIPTIONS DOCUMENT
ELECTIVE 1: INTERTEXTUAL
PERSPECTIVES
You will study
TWO
prescribed
texts.
In this elective, students compare the content and
perspectives in a pair of texts in order to develop their
understanding of the effects of context, purpose and
audience on the shaping of meaning.
Through exploring and comparing perspectives
offered by a pair of texts, students examine the ways
By exploring one
text against the
other you start to
see each text
differently in light of
their context and
audience.
Values, ideas and
attitudes depend
upon the context.
in which particular social, cultural and historical
contexts can influence the composer’s choice of
language forms and features and the ideas, values
and attitudes conveyed in each text.
The
TREATMENT
of similar
content means
understanding
the ideas
behind the
content and
not just
identifying
different
content.
In their responding and composing, students consider
All aspects of a
usual literary study
need to be
considered
(contexts, values,
ideas, language
forms and features).
how the treatment of similar content in a pair of texts
can heighten our understanding of the values,
significance and context of each.
.
(English Stage 6 Prescriptions: Area of Study,
Electives and Texts 2015 - 2019.)
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TEXTUAL CHOICES ARE FROM THE
PAIRS OF TEXTS LISTED BELOW:
The text:
Is compared to:
‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’
Which is:
Linked through reference to the
power of the state to wield
technology
‘Metropolis’
Linked through a consideration
of the place of Irish nationalism
and Catholicism
Seamus Heaney’s poetry
‘Dubliners’
‘The Great Gatsby’
Poems by Elizabeth Barrett
Browning
Linked thematically through the
search for ideal love and the
problem of articulating
spirituality and romantic love in
language
‘Julius Caesar’
‘The Prince’
Linked via their study of
political power and corruption
A key concept in Module A is ‘intertextuality’. This refers to the idea that no text is completely
new and original. Texts are cultural ‘signposts’ that reflect and comment on the values and
attitudes of the time of their composition. New texts draw on the ideas, features, values and
attitudes of older texts, either deliberately or unconsciously. In this way of thinking about
texts, any text that deals with a particular idea or issue is drawing on all texts already created
that also deal with this concept, while creating a new text for a different audience and
context.
You will be comparing your texts in several ways in this module. You need to consider:

The ways changing values and attitudes affect how the original text is read and reinterpreted.

How context affects the form and language of the text.

How the form of a text influences what is said and how it is said.

How ideas, issues, textual elements and content change from the earlier text to the
later one.

What these changes tell us about changing values, attitudes and textual construction.

What remains unchanged in the later text.

What this consistency tells us about values, attitudes and textual construction.

Who the audience is for each text.

What the links are between audience, purpose and context, both within each text and
as a comparison between the texts.
Module A essays
An outstanding Module A essay is characterised
by:
• The use of textual citations (as opposed to solely
• A close analysis of the set question
• A conceptual argument about the two texts – not a
• ‘Linked’ argument: that is, paragraphs which
general thematic discussion
• A strong emphasis on context within each
paragraph
• A strong understanding of the implicit ‘values’ of
each text – that is: students demonstrate the link
between context and values in their pair of texts
quotations) which establish the ‘similar content’ and
concepts of each text
contain discussion about both texts –
remembering that a key syllabus focus is on
“similar content”
• An insightful discussion about how the techniques
in each text capture the conceptual ideas of the
composers’
• High level use of syntax and a demonstration of
‘lexical density’
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Value 1
Compare texts 1 & 2
Form & Language
Evaluate SHIFT in Value
Values & Context
Text 1
Value 2
Compare texts 1 & 2
Form & Language
Evaluate SHIFT in Value
Thesis
Address the question via
textual connections
Values & Context
Text 2
Value 3
Compare texts 1 & 2
Form & Language
Evaluate SHIFT in Value.
How do I begin this course?
• You need to begin by simply reading the texts as great
• After a first reading, begin to note down the similarities
• Formulate early ideas about the texts which are free of
• Now begin to ‘tease out’ how these themes and ideas
works of literature, poetry and cinema.
HSC considerations in your first reading – your first
reading of the texts should be merely enjoyable.
• Trust that your inner voice is guiding your thinking –
originality should be a prime aim of your study and essay
writing. Originality is always rewarded if it is backed up
by apposite textual citations.
and themes in each text.
might be expanded into conceptual arguments.
• Having arrived at two or three significant concepts which
link the two texts, begin to take notes about how the
context of each era has shaped the composer and their
text.
• Foreshadow your best ideas with your English teachers –
they ultimately provide you with an internal assessment
mark. It would be judicious to first raise your ideas with
these markers to get a sense of how well you are
articulating your chosen concepts about Intertextual
Perspectives.
Comparison of Joyce and Heaney
‘The Sisters’ – The Dubliners
I wished to go in and look at him but I had not the courage to knock. I walked
away slowly along the sunny side of the street, reading all the theatrical
advertisements in the shop-windows as I went. I found it strange that neither
I nor the day seemed in a mourning mood and I felt even annoyed at
discovering in myself a sensation of freedom as if I had been freed from
something by his death. I wondered at this for, as my uncle had said the night
before, he had taught me a great deal. He had studied in the Irish college in
Rome and he had taught me to pronounce Latin properly. He had told me
stories about the catacombs and about Napoleon Bonaparte, and he had
explained to me the meaning of the different ceremonies of the Mass and of
the different vestments worn by the priest. Sometimes he had amused
himself by putting difficult questions to me, asking me what one should do
in certain circumstances or whether such and such sins were mortal or venial
or only imperfections. His questions showed me how complex and
mysterious were certain institutions of the Church which I had always
regarded as the simplest acts. The duties of the priest towards the Eucharist
and towards the secrecy of the confessional seemed so grave to me that I
wondered how anybody had ever found in himself the courage to undertake
them; and I was not surprised when he told me that the fathers of the Church
had written books as thick as the Post Office Directory and as closely printed
as the law notices in the newspaper, elucidating all these intricate questions.
Often when I thought of this I could make no answer or only a very foolish
and halting one upon which he used to smile and nod his head twice or thrice.
Sometimes he used to put me through the responses of the Mass which he
had made me learn by heart; and, as I pattered, he used to smile pensively
and nod his head, now and then pushing huge pinches of snuff up each
nostril alternately. When he smiled he used to uncover his big discoloured
teeth and let his tongue lie upon his lower lip — a habit which had made me
feel uneasy in the beginning of our acquaintance before I knew him well.
As I walked along in the sun I remembered old Cotter’s words and tried
to remember what had happened afterwards in the dream. I remembered
that I had noticed long velvet curtains and a swinging lamp of antique
fashion. I felt that I had been very far away, in some land where the customs
were strange — in Persia, I thought. . . . But I could not remember the end of
the dream.
‘Digging’ – Seamus Heaney
Digging
etween my finger and my thumb
he squat pen rests; snug as a gun.
nder my window, a clean rasping sound
hen the spade sinks into gravelly ground:
y father, digging. I look down
ll his straining rump among the flowerbeds
ends low, comes up twenty years away
ooping in rhythm through potato drills
here he was digging.
he coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft
gainst the inside knee was levered firmly.
e rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep
o scatter new potatoes that we picked,
oving their cool hardness in our hands.
y God, the old man could handle a spade.
ust like his old man.
y grandfather cut more turf in a day
han any other man on Toner’s bog.
nce I carried him milk in a bottle
orked sloppily with paper. He straightened up
o drink it, then fell to right away
icking and slicing neatly, heaving sods
ver his shoulder, going down and down
or the good turf. Digging.
he cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap
f soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
hrough living roots awaken in my head.
ut I’ve no spade to follow men like them.
etween my finger and my thumb
he squat pen rests. I’ll dig with it.
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Similar subject matter, themes and ideas
•
•
•
•
•
Death
The rumination on death
Father figures
Sentiment, nostalgia, loss
Memory, reverence, history
•
•
•
•
•
Childhood
Parents
Filial love
Old men
Sin
Relevant context and values
Joyce (1914)
Heaney (1966)
•
Written two years before the Easter Rising, and in a climate
of social unrest and growing Irish nationalism.
•
Written three years before the beginning of ‘The Troubles’,
and in a climate of fear, suspicion and unrest for the English.
•
The short story deals with the death of a priest, and thereby
carries an apt metaphor for the death of the Christian
religion as a guiding and redemptive force for Ireland in
challenging times.
•
The poem equally deals with the problem of the Irish
occupation of Ireland, their ironic struggle over territory and
national identity, and the cycles of violence which
Christianity has plainly not ended.
•
The value of the priesthood and Christianity as a trustworthy
and redemptive force is questioned. Ireland will soon
overthrow its constitutional ties to Great Britain which it has
maintained since 1801 – the moral and intellectual authority
of the church is questioned – and thereby symbolically, the
old ties to Great Britain itself. Or is the narrative placing a
high value on the Irish priest and his eccentric interpretations
and thereby representing him as the ‘heart’ of Ireland (locked
away inside ‘Great Britain’)?
•
The old values of vengeance and retribution will either be
abandoned or else Ireland itself will be destroyed in neverending cycles of revenge.
A conceptual argument to link the two texts
• Both texts deal with resurgent Irish nationalism and the problem of a national identity so closely woven to
Christianity – an imported faith which paradoxically both preserves and denies the natural, instinctive,
superstitious, vengeful and pagan ways of the Irish people (the descendants of the Celts).
• In each text, the writer draws upon the memory of a father (or ‘Father’ in Joyce’s case) to explore the
imperfection of the current political and religious state of Ireland. Fathers are imperfect creatures who
remind us of our duties, but are drawn upon in memory as figures of strength. The death of a father or
father figure can either symbolise or presage a glorious new paradigm of independence or else may
foreshadow doom and a disruption to the natural order. In each text, the ‘son’ abandons his father and
symbolically, their way of life.
• Both texts deal with the rural, mundane and ordinary elements of Irish life – a unifying aspect for an Irish
reader. This focus on the ordinary and commonplace reminds the Irish what they share in common beneath
their fabricated ‘British’ cultural exterior.
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Textual citations and techniques in each text which
explore the chosen concept (previous slide)
Heaney
Joyce
Textual Citations: ‘He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep /
To scatter new potatoes that we picked / Loving their cool hardness in our
hands.’
Textual Citations: ‘The next morning after breakfast I went down to look
at the little house in Great Britain Street. It was an unassuming shop,
registered under the vague name of Drapery.’
‘The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap / Of soggy peat, the
curt cuts of an edge / Through living roots awaken in my head. / But I’ve
no spade to follow men like them.’
Techniques: The symbolism of Flynn’s dead body – the ‘body’ of Ireland
locked away inside the “little house” of Great Britain which covers Ireland
in a ‘drapery’ of thin outer layers of clothing that barely disguise its natural
Irish identity.
Techniques: The symbolism of the potatoes as bullets (“cool hardness”)
and the spade as a gun (“buried the bright edge deep”). The onomatopoeia
and synaesthesia of “The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap
of soggy peat”
Effect of techniques to explore the chosen concept: The symbolism of
the potatoes as bullets resonates as an effective agricultural metaphor for the
cycles of violence and revenge in Ireland which Christianity has not ended.
The onomatopoeia and synaesthesia furthermore draws the reader to the
rural aspect of Ireland and alludes to the deep connection to the earth
possessed by farmers for their land. However, if the Irish are to inherit their
fathers’ land, they will also inherit their murderous frame of mind unless
they are awake to endless cycles of violence and revenge. It is easier to
follow your father’s edicts unquestioningly than to seek independence from
these same ideas.
Effect of techniques to explore the chosen concept: The symbolism of
the drapery as a bare covering of the Irish identity in the shop front window
of Great Britain adeptly captures the problem of ‘national identity’ in an
occupied country. The body of the priest at once represents the old and
secret Ireland – eccentric, erudite and unorthodox. He is an element of the
national character which cannot be denied (as embarrassing as he might be
to his own family and the broader community). He is, undeniably, an
inspiration to the unnamed boy in the narrative who represents a younger,
more open-minded Ireland. The references to the Eucharist in the text act as
a further layer of metaphor – the body of the dead priest is figuratively
‘partaken’ by the sisters and the boy’s family. Symbolically it is necessary to
accept the eccentric priest into the story of Ireland if the Irish are to
understand their own national character.
Comparison of Lang and Orwell
Nineteen Eighty‐Four (George Orwell) It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to
prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him. The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats. At one end of it a colored poster, too large for indoor display, had been tacked to the wall. It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a meter wide: the face of a man of about forty‐five, with a heavy black mustache and ruggedly handsome features. Winston
made for the stairs. It was no use trying the lift. Even at the best of times it was seldom working, and at present the electric current was cut off during daylight hours. It was part of the economy drive in preparation for Hate Week. The flat was seven flights up, and Winston, who was thirty‐nine, and had a varicose ulcer above his right ankle, went slowly, resting several times on the way. On each landing, opposite the lift shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran. Inside the flat a fruity voice was reading out a list of figures which had something to do with the production of pig iron. The voice came from an oblong metal plaque like a dulled mirror which formed part of the surface of the right‐hand wall. Winston turned a switch and the voice sank somewhat, though the words were still distinguishable. The instrument (the telescreen, it was called) could be dimmed) but there was no way of shutting it off completely. He moved over to the window: a smallish, frail figure, the meagerness of his body merely emphasized by the blue overalls which were the uniform of the Party. His hair was very fair, his face naturally sanguine, his skin roughened by coarse soap and blunt razor blades and the cold of the winter that had just ended. Outside, even through the shut window pane, the world looked cold. Down in the street little eddies of wind were whirling dust and torn paper into spirals, and though the sun was shining and the sky a harsh blue, there seemed to be no color in anything except the posters that were plastered everywhere. The black‐
mustachio'd face gazed down from every commanding corner. There was one on the house front immediately opposite. BIG BROTHER Is WATCHING YOU, the caption said, while the dark eyes looked deep into Winston's own. Down at street level another poster, torn at one corner, flapped fitfully in the wind' alternately covering and uncovering the single word INGSOC. In the far distance a helicopter skimmed down between the roofs, hovered for an instant like a blue‐bottle, and Similar subject matter, themes and ideas
•
•
•
•
•
Oppression
Control
Technology
Progress
Humanity fighting against
oppression
• Deception
• Political deception
• Technology as a tool of the
political class
• ‘Progress’ via technology is
questionable
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Relevant context and values
Lang (1926)
Orwell (1948)
•
Written eight years after the First World War and during the Weimar
Republic, in a climate of fear about the presence of Soviet Russia to
Germany’s east and growing poverty among the German people.
•
•
The film deals with the class division brought about by the evil of Fredersen,
who places workers in an underground city operating machines, and thereby
carries an implicit warning about the perils of ignoring the working class in the
post-war, Weimar Republic.
Written three years after the end of the Second World War, and in the
beginnings of the Cold War in a social and political climate of poverty
and world-weariness, and a deep-seated suspicion of political ideology
as a panacea for the world’s troubles.
•
The value of technology is questioned. Who will operate the machines in a
technologically progressive world? And who will control the workers? Will the
benefits of technology be evenly spread among the social classes? What is the
value of love and compassion in such a soulless world? Can these universal
and innately human emotions be overcome by social class and greed alone?
How will society ‘mediate’ the gap between the workers (the hands) and the
capital owners (the head) in such a dystopian future?
The novel deals with the subversion of Winston Smith, whose job it is
to rewrite the official history of Oceania. It is about the all-powerful
state personified by the seemingly omniscient ‘Big Brother’ who
watches his citizens through the range of available television screens
and cameras.
•
The value of political stability is questioned in the aftermath of the
Second World War. To what extent do the citizens of the West actually
desire the peace, stability and ‘freedom’ they crave if it means the end
of individuality?
•
A conceptual argument to link the two texts
• Both texts deal with the fear of progress and technology in the aftermath of a world war. Each text deals
with the underlying concerns of how a totalitarian government will ensure the peace and stability of the new
world order.
• In each text, the composer explores the problem of the individual, and how the individual will survive in a
totalitarian state. This especial problem is explored via a love story in each text. The contrast between the
human world and highly-constructed, political worlds is the focal point of each text.
Techniques in each text which explore the
concept
Lang
Orwell
Textual Citations: Scene - The Worker’s City, Far Below The Surface Of The Earth
Textual Citations: “Outside, even through the shut window pane, the world looked cold.
Down in the street little eddies of wind were whirling dust and torn paper into spirals, and
though the sun was shining and the sky a harsh blue, there seemed to be no color in
anything except the posters that were plastered everywhere. The black-mustachio'd face
gazed down from every commanding corner. There was one on the house front
immediately opposite. BIG BROTHER Is WATCHING YOU, the caption said, while the
dark eyes looked deep into Winston's own. Down at street level another poster, torn at one
corner, flapped fitfully in the wind' alternately covering and uncovering the single word
INGSOC.” (Page 1)
Techniques: Long takes, medium shots, stylised ‘blocking’ of the actors moving through
their underground drudgery.
Textual Citations: Scene - And High Above, A Pleasure Garden For the Sons Of The
Masters Of Metropolis
Techniques: Close-medium shots, natural objects in the set design and props, fast cutting,
close-ups of Freder and his girlfriend playing hide and seek. Cut-away shots between Freder
and Maria to indicate Freder’s love at first sight.
Effect of techniques: From the opening scenes of the film, the essential unfairness and
inequality of Metropolis is laid bare in the Lang’s use of textual form. The economic and
cultural gap between the workers and the owners of Metropolis (who possess free time and
leisure) is evident purely by the contrasting use of camera composition and mise-en-scene.
For the workers, Metropolis is a dehumanising and soulless existence which provides
political stability but not freedom to its people.
Techniques: Orwell’s style of writing is prosaic and ‘matter-of-fact’. The opening sentences
are syntactically complex, yet do not let in any ‘light’ or ‘colour’, despite ironically describing
the weather and conditions. The following sentences are syntactically simple, bleak and
harsh.
Effect of techniques: From the opening sentences of the novel, the syntax reflects the
harsh, bleak world of Oceania. The only eyes looking deeply are Big Brother’s. The
emptiness of the city street suggests a moral or spiritual hollowness at London’s core. A
world left to totalitarian instincts and political control provides an empty, soulless existence
for its citizens despite providing peace and political stability.
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Comparison of Machiavelli and Shakespeare
Julius Caesar
The Prince
ACT I
Chapter XVIII. How far a Prince is obliged by his Promise. SCENE I. Rome. A street.
Enter FLAVIUS, MARULLUS, and certain Commoners
FLAVIUS
Hence! home, you idle creatures get you home:
Is this a holiday? what! know you not,
Being mechanical, you ought not walk
Upon a labouring day without the sign
Of your profession? Speak, what trade art thou?
First Commoner
Why, sir, a carpenter.
MARULLUS
Where is thy leather apron and thy rule?
What dost thou with thy best apparel on?
You, sir, what trade are you?
Second Commoner
Truly, sir, in respect of a fine workman, I am but,
as you would say, a cobbler.
MARULLUS
But what trade art thou? answer me directly.
Second Commoner
A trade, sir, that, I hope, I may use with a safe
conscience; which is, indeed, sir, a mender of bad soles.
MARULLUS
What trade, thou knave? thou naughty knave, what trade?
Second Commoner
Nay, I beseech you, sir, be not out with me: yet,
if you be out, sir, I can mend you.
MARULLUS
What meanest thou by that? mend me, thou saucy fellow!
Second Commoner
Why, sir, cobble you.
FLAVIUS
Thou art a cobbler, art thou?
Second Commoner
Truly, sir, all that I live by is with the awl: I
meddle with no tradesman's matters, nor women's
matters, but with awl. I am, indeed, sir, a surgeon
to old shoes; when they are in great danger, I
recover them. As proper men as ever trod upon
neat's leather have gone upon my handiwork.
How honorable it is for a prince to keep his word, and act rather with integrity than collusion, I suppose everybody understands: nevertheless experience has shown in our own times that those princes who have not pinned themselves up to that punctuality and preciseness have done great things, and by their cunning and subtilty not only circumvented, and darted the brains of those with whom they had to deal, but have overcome and been too hard for those who have been so superstitiously exact. For further explanation you must understand there are two ways of contending, by law and by force: the first is proper to men; the second to beasts; but because many times the first is insufficient, recourse must be had to the second. It belongs, therefore, to a prince to understand both, when to make use of the rational and when of the brutal way; and this is recommended to princes, though abstrusely, by ancient writers, 85 who tell them how Achilles and several other princes were committed to the education of Chiron the Centaur, who was to keep them under his discipline, choosing them a master, half man and half beast, for no other reason but to show how necessary it is for a prince to be acquainted with both, for that one without the other will be of little duration. Seeing, therefore, it is of such importance to a prince to take upon him the nature and disposition of a beast, of all the whole flock he ought to imitate the lion and the fox; for the lion is in danger of toils and snares, and the fox of the wolf; so that he must be a fox to find out the snares, and a lion to fright away the wolves, but they who keep wholly to the Similar subject matter, themes and ideas
•
•
•
•
Power and control
Political intrigue and speculation
• The nature of political power
• The psychological weakness of the
citizenry
Immorality
Political conquest
Relevant context and values
Machiavelli (1513)
•
Machiavelli’s era is one of insecurity for the Italian city-states
such as Florence (Machiavelli’s city) who fight for their
existence against surrounding nation states (France, Spain)
and even the Holy Roman Empire. The nature of political
power in Italy is one of instability and intrigue owing to a
lack of reliable allegiances, shifting allegiances and betrayal.
•
The Medici Family are cast out of Florence between 1494
and 1512, when Florence briefly restored its republic. The
Medici’s had previously ruled Florence for sixty years.
•
Between 1503 and 1506, Machiavelli was personally
responsible for the Florentine army, during which time he
largely recruited citizens as opposed to mercenaries, whom
he distrusted.
Shakespeare (1599)
•
Shakespeare’s Elizabethan England is one of political and
monarchical upheaval (Queen Mary – King Philip – Queen
Elizabeth). The nation has recently fought off the Spanish
Armada 1588) and insecurity about foreign invasion is high.
•
Shakespeare is writing two years before the ascension of
King James (a Scottish king).
•
The Reformation under Henry VIII has led to tumult
between the Catholic and Protestant denominations of
Christianity.
•
The context of Julius Caesar is also relevant – a context to
which Shakespeare obviously refers. The Roman republic is
fearful of Julius Caesar has a military general who will return
Rome to a monarchy. As such, the play is about the fight
against tyranny – the tyranny of monarchical rulers.
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A conceptual argument to link the two texts
• Both texts deal with the problem of tyranny. How do citizens commonly deal with tyrannical leaders? How do they
prevent their rise without losing all? Conversely how should tyrannical leaders maintain and consolidate their
political power in the face of public opposition?
• Both texts explore the psychological weakness of the populace for arguments directed towards leaders which
undermine their public reputation. Each texts deals with the essentially immoral nature of consolidated political
power.
• In their exploration of the insecure nature of tyrannical leaders, each text arguably satirises the superstitions and
fragile ‘ego’ of tyrannical leaders.
• Each text arguably draws upon the representation of tyrannical leaders (Machiavelli’s Prince and Shakespeare’s
Caesar) as embodiments of the Italian national character – one paradoxically built upon progress, military power
and inner strength, yet one dominated by superstition, omens and the ordinary pagan fears of an ancient culture.
Techniques in each text which explore the
concept
Julius Caesar
The Prince
Textual Citations:
“Seeing, therefore, it is of such importance to a prince to take upon him the nature and
disposition of a beast, of all the whole flock he ought to imitate the lion and the fox; for the
lion is in danger of toils and snares, and the fox of the wolf; so that he must be a fox to find
out the snares, and a lion to fright away the wolves, but they who keep wholly to the lion
have no true notion of themselves.”
Techniques:
Analogy, metaphor, proverb, satire
Effect of techniques:
Machiavelli draws upon analogy and metaphor to advocate that a prince ought to find
within themselves an animalistic disposition. However, the convoluted logic of his final
premise (“they who keep wholly to the lion have no true notion of themselves”) essentially
satirises the advice itself; the wildlife metaphor is flattering to the prince but does not bear
out a logical premise or convenient political analogy. Moreover, a prince who sees
themselves as a jungle animal has essentially foregone their human nature and acts without
morality or even ordinary intelligence. That is, Machiavelli draws upon a convoluted and
spurious analogy to satirise the folly of a tyrant who is primarily acting on instinct and
aggression rather than their intellect or moral reasoning.
Textual Citations:
MARULLUS
Wherefore rejoice? What conquest brings he home?
What tributaries follow him to Rome,
To grace in captive bonds his chariot-wheels?
You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!
O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome,
Knew you not Pompey? Many a time and oft
Have you climb'd up to walls and battlements,
To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops,
Your infants in your arms, and there have sat
The livelong day, with patient expectation,
To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome:
And when you saw his chariot but appear,
Have you not made an universal shout,
That Tiber trembled underneath her banks,
To hear the replication of your sounds
Made in her concave shores?
Techniques:
Rhetorical questions, vernacular, iambic pentameter, trochaic substation, metaphor
Effect of techniques:
Shakespeare explores the frustrations of the political class for the whimsical nature of the population for their
leaders. His rhetorical questions express the frustration and despair of his questions – his forays into vernacular
(“you blocks, you stones”) captures the rhythm of popular speech and provides a targeted insult to an uneducated
citizenry blinded by parades and tricked by articulate speech – his metaphor and personification of the Tiber aptly
carries an image of the flowing and unpredictable nature of the political ‘swell’ against leaders – the trochaic
substitution (“Knew you not Pompey?”) breaks the iambic pentameter and emphasises the astonishment and
despair of Marullus for the Roman citizenry.
Comparison of EBB and Fitzgerald
THE GREAT GATSBY
SONNET 43
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints!---I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!---and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
Outside the wind was loud and there was a faint flow of thunder along the Sound. All the
lights were going on in West Egg now; the electric trains, men-carrying, were plunging home
through the rain from New York. It was the hour of a profound human change, and
excitement was generating on the air.
“One thing’s sure and nothing’s surer
The rich get richer and the poor get— children.
In the meantime,
In between time——”
As I went over to say good-by I saw that the expression of bewilderment had come back into
Gatsby’s face, as though a faint doubt had occurred to him as to the quality of his present
happiness. Almost five years! There must have been moments even that afternoon when
Daisy tumbled short of his dreams — not through her own fault, but because of the colossal
vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into
it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that
drifted his way. No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his
ghostly heart.
As I watched him he adjusted himself a little, visibly. His hand took hold of hers, and as
she said something low in his ear he turned toward her with a rush of emotion. I think that
voice held him most, with its fluctuating, feverish warmth, because it couldn’t be over-dreamed
— that voice was a deathless song.
They had forgotten me, but Daisy glanced up and held out her hand; Gatsby didn’t know me
now at all. I looked once more at them and they looked back at me, remotely, possessed by
intense life. Then I went out of the room and down the marble steps into the rain, leaving
them there together.
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Similar subject matter, themes and ideas
•
•
•
•
Love
The rumination on death
Time
The problem of love as a spiritual
conquest
Relevant context and values
Elizabeth Barrett-Browning (1840’s)
F Scott Fitzgerald (1920’s)
• The literary context is just as important as any other in
Written in the aftermath of the First World War during a
time of industrial and commercial wealth, but spiritual
‘emptiness’ following the conclusion of the Great War.
regards to the poetry of EBB.
• That is, EBB wrote Sonnets From The Portuguese in the
mode of Petrarchan sonnets (traditionally a ‘male’ form
of writing poetry).
• Her historical context of Victorian England is important
for the way that it sets her apart as a women of great
ingenuity and artistic promise who pushed the
boundaries of what could be explored in art. Namely, her
exploration of the value of sexual union in marriage and
its coupling to religious ecstasy is especially avant-garde.
A high value is placed on material wealth, status and
education. Fitzgerald explores the resident insecurity of an
America dealing with its place as leader of the free world, but
one with a hollow moral centre.
Women in the US are at once liberated by the world war, able
to vote and engage in the broader cultural and sexual
revolution taking place, but are still not wholly free from the
constraints of marriage and its suffocating effect upon their
individuality.
A conceptual argument to link the two texts
• Both texts deal with problem of love and time. What is the nature of romantic love? Can it be trusted, and
does it offer enough to provide the type of spiritual experience sought for in a godless age (Gatsby’s) and in
a restricted, cloistered and religious age (EBB’s)?
• To what extent have women been liberated by sexual experience?
• To what extent is love able to be articulated and communicated with honesty and precision?
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Techniques in each text which explore the
concept
Elizabeth Barrett-Browning
Textual Citations:
Sonnet 43
Techniques:
The absence of a volta or the traditional Petrachan sonnet form of octave, sestet
and volta, anaphora, personal pronouns.
Effect of techniques:
•
Sonnet 43 is a poem in which the female persona employs the traditional
poetic form of the sonnet (with its argument and resolution mode) to explore
the depth of her feelings, intuition and affection for her male lover. The
inherent concept of the poem is that the sonnet form is adequate for the
female voice to express a female logic and reason (if such a thing can be
generalised). The poem is an act of deep literary subversion in the Victorian
age whereby Barrett-Browning’s female persona deliberately breaks the
conventions of the octave, sestet and volta with an outpouring of feeling and
emotion which overwhelms or inundates the traditional structure of a
Petrarchan sonnet. Such is the subversion that Line 9 (where the volta should
occur) is instead the third line in a set of anaphora (or lines beginning with the
same phrase): ‘I love thee’.
•
The use of a rhetorical question and an exclamation mark in the opening line,
along with the use of two personal pronouns denoting the female voice, again
marks out the ambition of the poet that this poem will boldly claim the sonnet
form for a uniquely female voice.
F Scott Fitzgerald
Textual Citations:
The attached extract in the booklet
Techniques:
First person narration, metaphor, parallelism, pathetic fallacy, foreshadowing
Effect of techniques:
•
Carraway’s voice carries all of the romantic despair of Gatsby’s futile attempt
to snare Daisy from Tom and to salvage five lost years in their romance. Time
has cruelled Gatsby, and the pathetic fallacy of the opening sentence is
ominous in its intensity as the thunder rolls along the Sound. The metaphor
of a ‘deathless song’ bears the danger of Gatsby’s attraction for Daisy: he will
eventually lose his life for daring to enter her forbidden social circle. The
melodramatic first person narration and emotional insight bears an ironic
similarity to EBB’s love poetry to Robert Browning; Fitzgerald captures a
faintly ironic voice in Carraway’s quasi-romantic awe for Gatsby.
How to structure an essay in Module A?
• Body of argument paragraph
1. Topic sentence (a continuation of the thesis statement which directly answers the
question)
2. Contextual statement which links the two texts with regards to ‘similar content’
3. Textual citations (these may be quotations, but in Module A are preferably textual
citations)
4. Techniques
5. The effect of techniques as they justify your thesis statement
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