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AS and A Level: Brian Friel

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78 AS and A Level Brian Friel essays

  • Marked by Teachers essays 5
  • Peer Reviewed essays 3
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  1. Marked by a teacher

    Classics in Friel's Translations

    5 star(s)

    A very articulate, perceptive commentary, which shows excellent knowledge of text, critical response and classical as well as Irish contexts. *****…

    • Essay length: 1445 words
    • Submitted: 10/09/2008
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Karen Reader 01/03/2012
  2. Marked by a teacher

    Naming and Power in Friel's Translations

    4 star(s)

    A strong conclusion. Overall, an articulate, perceptive commentary which illustrates effectively and addresses important details of staging. With better paragraphing, this would easily achieve the highest standard.…

    • Essay length: 1646 words
    • Submitted: 10/09/2008
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Val Shore 01/03/2012
  3. Marked by a teacher

    By close examination of Act 1, discuss the ways in which Friel explores the importance of the link between language and identity.

    3 star(s)

    This essay is relevant throughout and attempts to address aspects of the question in different, clearly identified ways. It would also be useful to consider language and identity in terms…

    • Essay length: 1153 words
    • Submitted: 13/01/2009
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Karen Reader 01/03/2012
  4. Marked by a teacher

    Consider the themes of language and naming in Act 1, and explore their relationship to culture and identity.

    3 star(s)

    This essay shows a knowledge of theme, but needs to demonstrate it with closer attention to the text. Paragraphing should be more logical and could be helped by a better…

    • Essay length: 1123 words
    • Submitted: 27/01/2005
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Karen Reader 01/03/2012
  5. Marked by a teacher

    What do you think is the significance of these three 'minor' characters in the play: Sarah, Jimmy and Doalty?

    3 star(s)

    The writer shows a good knowledge of the text and is aware of characters' functions. With more attention to detail, this essay would have achieved a very high standard, but…

    • Essay length: 1432 words
    • Submitted: 17/02/2004
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Karen Reader 01/03/2012
  6. Peer reviewed

    What Issues Of Communication Are Raised In The Play 'Translations'?

    5 star(s)

    This is a stellar literature essay. It delves to a profound level of detail in it's analysis, shows the examiner the candidate has an extensive knowledge of the play, it's…

    • Essay length: 1131 words
    • Submitted: 01/03/2004
    • Reviewed by: (?) 10/08/2012
  7. Peer reviewed

    Explore the range of linguistic and stylistic effects used to bring out the central themes and issues of Brian Friel's play "Translations"

    4 star(s)

    This is a competent essay which makes some good comments around the central themes of Friel's 'Translations' with regard to the linguistic tools he uses in order to do so.…

    • Essay length: 1013 words
    • Submitted: 18/08/2003
    • Reviewed by: (?) 27/08/2012
  8. Peer reviewed

    How Does Brian Friel convey a sense of cultural identity through the way his characters speak?

    3 star(s)

    This essay gets off to a very promising start, with an excellent introduction that nicely outlines the aim of the essay and how Friel creates the separation between the two…

    • Essay length: 778 words
    • Submitted: 27/08/2003
    • Reviewed by: (?) 20/07/2012

  9. How does the presentation of the demise of Ireland differ in Friels plays Translations and Making History? You should pay particular attention to form, structure and language.

    • Essay length: 1423 words
    • Submitted: 08/10/2011

  10. How does Friel explore the concept of identity in Making History, looking at alternative viewpoints in your answer?

    • Essay length: 2149 words
    • Submitted: 16/02/2011
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Key words in English literature

  1. 1 Language – analysing language may involve exploring associations/connotations of words, semantic fields or image patterns, figurative language (similes, metaphors, symbols, personification, hyperbole etc.)
  2. 2 Form – analysing form may involve exploring genre and dramatic conventions (actions, use of stage space, dramatic techniques etc.)
  3. 3 Structure – analysing structure may involve exploring patterns and repetitions throughout the play, prolepsis (foreshadowing) and analepsis (flashback/echoes), the order in which events occur, characters speak, etc.
  4. 4 Audience – analysing audience response may involve exploring audience positioning, the use of dramatic moments (on and offstage), expectations, tensions, comedy, suspense, etc.
  5. 5 Pace and Timing – analysing pace and timing may involve exploring the rhythm created by dialogue (e.g. stichomythia), the use of pausing and silence, the balance between action and dialogue, the importance of stage direction.

Five things that A/A* students always do in their English literature essays

  1. 1 High quality answers use contextual information (e.g. Irish history) only in terms of its significance to the question. i.e. ‘bolt on’ information is best avoided.
  2. 2 Strong answers constantly embed quotations from the text, which act to 1) support arguments and 2) provide a platform for more detailed analysis.
  3. 3 Effective responses take into account the dramatic conventions being adopted by Friel (e.g. use of offstage space, dramatic irony, etc.)
  4. 4 Clear topic sentences are needed at the beginning of each paragraph. These should both address the title and delineate what the paragraph is going to cover.
  5. 5 • Strong answers avoid repetition and generalisation

How to plan your essays

  1. 1 Think of your essay as a skeleton framework (structure and argument), requiring flesh (textual detail and analysis) and clothes (terminology/context/relevant information)
  2. 2 Brainstorm your ideas around the wording of the title e.g. considering the significance of a theme requires you to develop arguments on not only its construction but its function and purpose within the text as a whole.
  3. 3 Some words in the title may be developed in terms of their different meanings e.g. identity = naming, individual identity, collective and communal identity, etc.
  4. 4 Paragraphs should be organised logically, with clear links made between them to encourage the sense of a fluent argument (e.g. linking words = conversely, however, similarly, etc.)
  5. 5 Questions which focus on passages or areas of the text for closer analysis demand that you balance your essay between detailed observation and cross referenced overview. Avoid going through passages chronologically.

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Conclusion analysis

Good conclusions usually refer back to the question or title and address it directly - for example by using key words from the title.
How well do you think these conclusions address the title or question? Answering these questions should help you find out.

  1. Do they use key words from the title or question?
  2. Do they answer the question directly?
  3. Can you work out the question or title just by reading the conclusion?

  • Taking as your starting point pg.76 "Maire enters" to pg.78 "It didn't last long, did it?" discuss the play's impact as a 'doomed love story.'

    "If Yolland was to isolate himself away from the safety of his soldiers we know he would be at great risk from the darker elements of the community. This apparent naivety makes the audience fear for him, he seems to romanticise the whole situation turning Baile Beag into a Utopia, yet we know of the Donnelly Twins existence and we feel we know their intentions. It is hard not to feel sympathy for Yolland when we know that the Donnelly Twins are 'out and about.' Although we are never told in any detail we are drawn to the conclusion that the Donnelly Twins have brought an end to Yolland's young life. Jimmy encapsulates this "doomed love story" in his final lines, "Do you know the Greek word endogamein? It means to marry within the tribe. And the word exogamein means to marry outside the tribe. And you don't cross those borders casually- both sides get very angry. It is Maire and Yolland's willingness to attempt to cross these borders and to learn from one another, which has the deepest impact on the audience."

  • “Drama Shows Us That Those Who Control Language Dictate the Events of the Play” Compare Your Texts In the Light of This Opinion.

    "To conclude, it is fair to argue that "those who control language dictate the events of the play" when looking at both Hugh and Prospero in The Tempest and Translations, until the resolutions of each play. Hugh faces unemployment when he is told he will have no future as headmaster. His attempts to relate how the Romans destroyed Catharge also end in disaster, as he cannot remember the lines. In The Tempest, Shakespeare takes the common route of a tragicomedy by closing on a happy note. There is freedom for the released Ariel and a chance for Caliban to control his island once more."

  • A surprising amount of Translations depends on suppression, both political and personal, and the unspoken.(TM) To what extent are suppression and the unspoken important in the text?

    "In conclusion, it is apparent that the theme of suppression and remaining unspoken runs through the length of the play. This technique reveals the difficulties and boundaries which existed between the Irish and the English. The choice of using such theme could also be noted as being a deliberate act by Friel in order to create further suspense within the play. As the play is written about a historical event which had already taken place, the audience would be aware of the outcome. This then makes the audience character bond far closer as the audience would prefer a less demanding approach of control from the English and a greater sense of support from the Irish in maintaining and pursuing their culture. Caner Cifci English Literature"

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