NaNoWriMo

My NaNoWriMo blog is now up and running here. I'll post every time I complete another thousand words.

The goal for the month is fifty-thousand by November 30th.

S1 Technical Vocabulary

Technical Vocabulary

1.   Simile

An expression using “like” or “as” in which one thing is likened to another.

2.   Metaphor

A way of describing something by suggesting it is something else.

3.   Alliteration

Repetition of the same consonant sound.

4.   Onomatopoeia

The forming of a word which sounds like the thing it refers to.

5.   Allusion

An indirect reference.

6.   Tone

The general character or style of a piece of writing. The atmosphere or emotion behind a piece of writing.

7.   Contrast

To compare as to show differences (opposites).

8.   Imagery

Words that suggest images – painting pictures with words.

9.   Colloquialism

Words used in conversation, but not in a formal setting.

Advanced Higher - Sylvia Plath

This is the question from last year. 800-1,300 words by next Wednesday, please.

"In reading Plath’s poems, what we are impressed by most of all is her honesty, her willingness to explore pain and fear without compromise."

Discuss some of the principal means Plath uses “to explore pain and fear” in three or four poems.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Essay Questions

So we're clear - these are the questions you have been working from:

Choose a novel or short story in which a conflict between two of the main characters is central to the story.

Explain how the conflict arises and go on to discuss in detail how the writer uses it to explore an important theme.

and

Choose a novel in which a key incident involves rejection or disappointment or loss.

Describe briefly the key incident and assess its significance to the text as a whole.

Stephen Fry - Planet Word - Hamlet

This is from Sunday evening's programme. The whole thing is worth watching, but this is pertinent to those of you writing about Hamlet.

Skip to 08:30 then click to the next clip.

The Salem Witch Trials

This is a short message for my Higher/ Int 2 class.

We are moving on to look at a play called "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller. The play focuses on a famous seventeenth century hysteria from the United States, the Salem Witch Trials.

In 1692, a small village in Massachusetts was whipped into a hysteria based on the accusations of witchcraft made by a group of teenage girls. The way in which the accusations, insinuations and local rivalries and grievances coalesced into such hysteria (ultimately leading to nineteen hangings) has become a famous cautionary tale.

Miller used the trials to make a comparison with the anti-communist investigations of Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s, where many individuals were convicted of so-called "un-American" activities, based on little or no real evidence.

The original 1692 trials, I think, are a fascinating demonstration of what happens when proper, considered legal process is abandoned by a social group, and superstition and personal grievances take control.

As such, I would strongly recommend you have a look at some of the following books. Speak to our excellent librarians and see if they can order texts in for you. A broader understanding of the events themselves will put you in a far stronger position when it comes to looking at the drama. You will also find them entrancingly interesting. Dare I say it, "bewitching"? (-groan-)

Worth a look

The Afflicted Girls by Suzy Witten
Justice at Salem by William Cooke
The Salem Witch Trials Reader by Francis Hill
Death in Salem by Diane Foulds
A Fever in Salem by Laurie Carlson
Hunting for Witches by Francis Hill


There are hundreds of books on the subject, so please have a look for some extra reading - it is GUARANTEED to improve your understanding of the play.

S3-S4 Vocabulary

S3 S4 vocabulary

View more documents from Mister Connor.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Exposition