Explore Maria Edgeworth's use of the theme of names and titles within Castle Rackrent which may help the reader to understand the theme of social ranking or inequality in Ireland at the time in which the novel was written.

Q: "For post - colonial readers (Castle Rackrent) takes on a new shape as a contribution to the literature of class, race and gender, a remarkably intuitive and far reaching portrait of an unequal society." (Marylin Butler) Using this statement explore Maria Edgeworth's use of the theme of names and titles within Castle Rackrent which may help the reader to understand the theme of social ranking or inequality in Ireland at the time in which the novel was written. Consider: * The significance of the Big House in Ireland. * The historical, political and cultural significance of the Big House in Ireland. * The views of other readers and critics. Maria Edgeworth, born in 1768 was a member of the Anglo-Irish tradition in Ireland, a tradition lasting over four hundred years. Through this time Ireland encountered much change, not only in a social, political and economic sense, but also in a literary sense, thanks to pioneers of Anglo - Irish literature such as Edgeworth. Therefore it must be assumed that the importance of the 'big house' tradition was immense and had a massive impact on both the outlook and content of Castle Rackrent. It would be foolish however to dismiss the novel as anything less than groundbreaking in its day in many ways, not least in exploring the theme of naming and titles, but also in critically analysing the social structure of the

  • Word count: 4151
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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THE BIG HOUSE. ISOLATED IN THE UNLOVING COUNTRYSIDE,IS AS MUCH THE SUBJECT OF THE NOVEL AS THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN IT.' EVALUATE BOWEN'S PORTRAYAL OF THE BIG HOUSE DANIELSTOWN IN THE NOVEL AND SHOW HOW FAR YOU AGREE WITH THIS INTERPRETATION.

'THE BIG HOUSE. ISOLATED IN THE UNLOVING COUNTRYSIDE,IS AS MUCH THE SUBJECT OF THE NOVEL AS THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN IT.' EVALUATE BOWEN'S PORTRAYAL OF THE BIG HOUSE DANIELSTOWN IN THE NOVEL AND SHOW HOW FAR YOU AGREE WITH THIS INTERPRETATION. In 1920, at their country home in County Cork, Sir Richard Naylor and his wife, Lady Myra, and their friends maintain a sceptical attitude toward the events going on around them, but behind the facade of tennis parties and army camp dances, all the characters know that the end is approaching, that is the end of British rule in the south of Ireland and the demise of a way of life that had survived for centuries. Their niece, Lois Farquar, attempts to live her own life and gain her own freedoms from the very class that her elders are vainly defending. Elizabeth Bowen, 1899-1973, is a central figure in London literary society, she is widely considered to be one of the most distinguished novelists of the modern era, "combining psychological realism an unparalleled gift for poetic impressionism." P. Tillsmen. Bowen was born in Dublin, the only child of an Irish lawyer and landowner, and spent the majority of her youth on the family's estate in County Cork, called Bowen's Court, the house and its land were the direct inspiration for the setting of Danielstown in The Last September. "The Last September" is a timeless, psychological yet

  • Word count: 1827
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Boccaccio's Decameron

Boccaccio's Decameron Boccaccio's The Decameron is today acknowledged as a masterpiece of medieval literature, and its influence can be seen in the work of other great writers such as Chaucer and Shakespeare. Yet, the intellectual elite of his time rejected his masterpiece when it was first published, overlooking his wit and ingenuity and choosing instead to decry his lack of etiquette and political correctness. Clearly, he was prepared against just such attacks, for throughout his work he cleverly weaves in his defense against would-be detractors, using the narrative frames of himself in both the first and the third person points of view. In the Prologue, Boccaccio the author makes plain his ostensible purpose for writing - having survived a bout of lovesickness thanks to the encouragement of his friends, he now hopes to provide women afflicted by the same curse a diversion from their melancholy in the form of stories. This lovesickness is quickly juxtaposed with the image of the dreadfulness of the Black Death in the author's Introduction. Here, he sets the background of his tale in a time of which horrors would still be very much alive in the memories of his readers, and hence framing the extenuating circumstances for the ribaldry and impiousness that is to follow. Indeed, "in the face of so much affliction and misery, all respect for the laws of God and man had

  • Word count: 1809
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Poe Analysis - The Cask of Amontillado: Historical Context

The Cask of Amontillado: Historical Context The Short Story Although there have been stories as long as there have been people to tell them, many critics trace the beginnings of the short story as a genre of written prose literature consciously developed as an art form to the nineteenth century. Previously in the West there had been great ages of epics memorized or extemporized orally, narrative poetry, drama, and the novel, but it was not until the early 1800s that critics began to describe the short story as a specific art form with its own rules and structures. In Europe, Honore de Balzac and others were already writing and theorizing about the new form. An early American voice in the discussion was Poe's. In 1842 he wrote a review of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales (1842), a collection of thirty-nine brief stories and sketches, many dealing with the supernatural. In his influential review, Poe delineated the differences, as he saw them, between poetry, the novel and the ‘‘short prose narrative.’’ Rhymed poetry, according to Poe, was the highest of the genres. But the ‘‘tale proper,’’ he claimed, ‘affords unquestionably the fairest field for the exercise of the loftiest talent, which can be afforded by the wide domains of mere prose.'' The novel was inferior because it could not be read in one sitting, therefore making it impossible to preserve

  • Word count: 1289
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Heart Of Darkness Creative Writing

English Alike you, I wish to meet him. The more times I hear his name the more my impatience grows on my mind. He is too known throughout this region for me to give up finding him. Don’t you find him frightful? Yet of course, fascinating. I do. Imagine looking into Kurtz eyes. I’d freeze, not of fear or confusion, but of interest. My journey has become clear to my eyes. It has opened my heart up, how could he become a savage. ‘A savage hero’. Hear it. Wow. That is not a hero that is in fact, a miracle. I started to feel sick from nerves. I couldn’t swallow properly; it was like there was a heavy, dim bubble stuck in my throat. It did not bring an end to my destiny of finally meeting him. It made my heart pump of pain, like a shot of eternal darkness overwhelmed me. The third station that is where my train of thought changed. The fowl, gruesome heads carelessly shoved on poles, smiling. Their strange contentment to be killed. As if they had respect for his decisions. No civilisation. No Mercy. Is Kurtz my hero? The disappointment still struggled to prevent my eagerness from meeting the extraordinary. He is not owned by the Natives; he simply, somehow became one. Why? How? I could never kill for such a selfish need. He did everything right, by doing everything wrong. Who would have every thought a man like Kurtz could fulfil a sense of wrongness? He did not

  • Word count: 778
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Book Review of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".

There are many books that were published in the year of 1831. However, none of them have grown to be so popular and loved as the book “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” This renowned book has many qualities, as it does flaws. It also has a variety of characters, such as the lovable Quasimodo. This novel is internationally loved because of its magnificent content. The novel “Hunchback of Notre Dame” is recognized for its great qualities. One of the great qualities of this story is that it is very realistic, and has a genuine feel. The punishments, the crimes, and the accusations were practical and easy to accept. While Quasimodo is getting punished in Chapter 7, the punishment he endures was an actual punishment in the 1830’s. This story also has authentic characters, like Esmeralda and Phoebus. Phoebus is a player, and leaves Esmeralda, a girl head-over-heels for him, to die. The personality of these characters and their relationship is not impossible, and there are many people like them. This novel is also whimsical. The story is totally unpredictable, and very fast-paced. At the end of the novel, the reader is uncertain which way the story will go, and if it will end happily. This quality keeps the reader curious and wanting to read more. This story has many great qualities, but there are many shortcomings as well. First off, the situations the characters are put in

  • Word count: 473
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How Edgar Allan Poe creates horror in 'The Pit and the Pendulum'

How is horror created in ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’? In the short story ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ by Edgar Allan Poe, he uses many different techniques to create horror. Poe starts off by stating that the narrator was ‘sick – sick unto death’. The repetition of the word sick here emphasis how bad he feels, also ‘sick unto death’ suggests that he already feels like he is dead. Death is emphasised more with ‘the dread sentence of death’. This emphasis on death is telling us that he is metaphorically already dead. Poe then describes the expressions on the black robed judge’s face as ‘stern contempt of human torture’. This description suggests a grotesque look upon their face. The word torture also gives a sense of capture, which is also emphasised by ‘permitted to sit’ as permitted gives a feeling that someone is keeping authority over him at all time. Death is once again emphasised as he describes the darkness as a soul descending ‘into Hades’. With Hades being the Greek God of the underworld it is like the narrator has been enveloped by death. Again it is emphasised by, ‘How at least shall we distinguish its shadows from those of the tomb?’, this description tells us that the narrator is not sure whether or not he is dead or alive. Or this could suggest that he is coming to accept the fact that this place is going to be his tomb as

  • Word count: 1588
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Explore the ways in which Poe shows the presence of violence in Murders of the Rue Morgue

Explore the ways in which Poe shows the presence of violence in Murders of the Rue Morgue Poe explores the themes of violence and violent tendencies in his use of language within the story. In the descriptions of the murders, he uses language such as "besmeared" ("...razor, besmeared with blood"). This is an example of DLC within the text, but the use of the word helps to create an image of large levels of blood which has been spilt, the use of the much more graphic word helps to create a violent image in the readers head of someone being brutally attacked by a person. The descriptions used for the crime scene are also designed to be graphic in its description to help create an image of violence within the story: "tress...pulled out by the roots" tress is an older term for a chunk or lock of hair, but when it is described as pulled out by the roots, the use of very physical and graphic text to describe it helps again to depict a very aggressive attack in the readers mind. It also helps to add an element of mystery to the overall story, because the attack seems almost animalistic in nature - this may be in forshadowing for later in the novel, or it may be to keep the reader in suspense and curiosity as to what actually killed the person. Poe does the same thing in the newspaper report, where he uses the phrase "succession of terrific shrieks", using terrific shrieks helps to

  • Word count: 464
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Moll Flanders: From Innocence to Maturity

Moll Flanders: From Innocence to Maturity Quazi Mohammad Faisal Moll Flanders is the central character of the novel “Moll Flanders”, who was born in Newgate, England and passed different phases of her life across England and America. The entire novel depicts those phases of her life through five marriages, among which only one was fruitful. Between her marriages and through them, the character of Moll Flanders evolves which shows her ingenuity, energy and determination to survive and do well. Moll is born in a prison in Newgate and soon after her birth, her mother is deported to America alone, to serve her punishment. She is taken over by a group of gypsy, with whom she lived until she was three years old. Then she was raised by a nurse until she was eight. It was tradition that she should now find a job as a servant, like many other orphan children. However, this is when we see the first piece of Moll’s intelligence when she pleads that she could be a ‘gentlewoman’ with whatever little education and work skill she has achieved so far. Soon, she becomes a celebrity and was assisted by many women and finally was taken by one of the prominent families where she grows like the other daughters of the family. So, if we look thoroughly up to this phase of Moll’s life, we see the ingenuity of her character which she keeps growing over time through the rest of the

  • Word count: 1008
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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When Im bad, I am bad In the light of this comment, discuss the presentation of both Miles and Flora in The Turn of the Screw.

‘When I’m bad, I am bad’ – In the light of this comment, discuss the presentation of both Miles and Flora in ‘The Turn of the Screw’. The children in the novella are very distinctive in a manner of how the reader can perceive them. They can be seen by many as good children or bad children. In Victorian times the majority of children were actually brought up in the lower class and the middle class, Miles and Flora were not, they were lucky enough to be in the upper class but they had to follow the ideals of their mother or father. They didn’t have a mother or father therefore the governess was the only option of a friend to have and confide in, this was seen as morally wrong in the society since many Victorians believed that their shouldn’t be friendships between different classes, they believed in a strict social hierarchy. The children can be seen as innocent in the novella by the governess’ first views of them. On her first sighting of Miles, the governess describes him as being ‘angelic’, this can be seen as quite confusing to the reader since she has only just met him, it is a very powerful word to use on first impressions. But mainly it has religious connotations, it conveys a very strong image of Miles being this perfect little child, and sets him up as an innocent character throughout the entire novella. Also the governess is ‘carried away’

  • Word count: 1307
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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