English Advanced Question Thread

[anotherworld2b]

Thank you very much for your help

We've a few resources of comparative essays for the HSC - Here is an exemplar I wrote a few years back, and here is a guide to writing them. HSC ones might be a little different than WACE though

[maria1999]

Hi everyone!
What are key images that run through T.S Elliot poems, we just got an assessment task and I need to look at the use of distinctive images portraying modernity. Thanks in advance! 

[sudodds]

Hi everyone!
What are key images that run through T.S Elliot poems, we just got an assessment task and I need to look at the use of distinctive images portraying modernity. Thanks in advance! 

Heya! When it comes to T.S. Eliot, pretty much all of his imagery is portraying modernity (the man was obsessed)! Some of the most common images that spring to mind are; deserted streets, decaying buildings and/or infrastructure, the city at night and industrial imagery (factories, chimneys, smoke). He also uses imagery to demonstrates the isolation and loneliness of the characters (particularly in Rhapsody of a Windy Night). Furthermore you can have a look at the religious allusions Eliot makes in The Journey of the Magi and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Basically his imagery presents modernity and the modern world as dark, desolate, bleak and without purpose/meaning. That is what you want to be emphasising throughout your assessment.

Hope this helps!

Susie

[anotherworld2b]

How generic conventions and textual features in one text are used more effectively in presenting the same issue compared to the other text.

I am considering using the autobiography 'Night' Elie Wiesel' and the movie 'The boy in the striped pyjamas' in my comparative essay. However, I'm not sure if I could use characterization of the young male protagonist as a similar generic convention and the setting of the Auschwitz concentration camp as a similar textual feature.

[jamonwindeyer]

How generic conventions and textual features in one text are used more effectively in presenting the same issue compared to the other text.

I am considering using the autobiography 'Night' Elie Wiesel' and the movie 'The boy in the striped pyjamas' in my comparative essay. However, I'm not sure if I could use characterization of the young male protagonist as a similar generic convention and the setting of the Auschwitz concentration camp as a similar textual feature.

I think the setting would probably work as a textual feature, but I don't think characterisation quite works as a generic convention - You likely won't find a generic convention that crosses both texts, it is what each text does that makes it representative of its genre

[Kekemato_BAP]

Hi, could someone provide some tips on this TS Eliot question?
"Discuss the interesting ways ideas are explored in two poems."
The teacher said that I had to relate it to the significant ideas explored in the "powerful texts".

[maria1999]

Heya! When it comes to T.S. Eliot, pretty much all of his imagery is portraying modernity (the man was obsessed)! Some of the most common images that spring to mind are; deserted streets, decaying buildings and/or infrastructure, the city at night and industrial imagery (factories, chimneys, smoke). He also uses imagery to demonstrates the isolation and loneliness of the characters (particularly in Rhapsody of a Windy Night). Furthermore you can have a look at the religious allusions Eliot makes in The Journey of the Magi and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Basically his imagery presents modernity and the modern world as dark, desolate, bleak and without purpose/meaning. That is what you want to be emphasising throughout your assessment.

Hope this helps!

Susie

Thanks so much Susie!

[anotherworld2b]

Hi I was wondering what kind of generic conventions an autobiography and movie would have.
Would first person point of view be one generic convention of an autobiography?

[maria1999]

hey!
My T.S Elliot task this term is all about how Eliot uses distinctive images to talk about modern life at the beginning of the 20th century. I don't really understand what this question, contextually, means. At the time that Eliot wrote I know that industrialisation was starting to come about, but I don't particularly know what else. Also, does T.S Eliot being a modernist poet make any difference in his critique of modern life?
Thanks in advance! 

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi I was wondering what kind of generic conventions an autobiography and movie would have.
Would first person point of view be one generic convention of an autobiography?

Biggest generic convention of an autobiography would probably be first person, so good pick there! Movie isn't a genre though, it's a form, so you need to be more specific (horror film, for example)

To everyone asking TS Elliot questions above, I apologise for semi-ignoring you, but I am absolutely clueless about that text -  Susie/Elyse might be able to offer more specific help, but in the meantime, there's a solid collection of notes on the text in our Notes section - Download them here

[Kreature]

Anyone have any good related texts ideas for 'The Crucible'? Particularly a poem or film??

[yattmoani]

Hey guys! I'm having some troubles forming a body paragraph on the theme of mortality for my Hamlet essay as we are required to explore how it resonates within our modern society. Any tips on how to write it?

[jamonwindeyer]

Anyone have any good related texts ideas for 'The Crucible'? Particularly a poem or film??

Welcome to the forums! I didn't study this text, so take with a grain of salt, but V for Vendetta could be worth a look for representing People and Politics! hopefully others can provide more specific suggestions!

[sudodds]

Hi, could someone provide some tips on this TS Eliot question?
"Discuss the interesting ways ideas are explored in two poems."
The teacher said that I had to relate it to the significant ideas explored in the "powerful texts".

Hey hey! So if I were to approach this question, I'd first want to identify what the key ideas were. Looking at Eliot's oeuvre, what are some of the key themes, issues and ideas that he presents to his readership? In my opinion, the most prevalent are his (interrelated) discussion upon modernity and modern society, isolation and disconnection, and the search for meaning. Thus, taking these three ideas, you'd then need to think about what are the "interesting ways" they are explored - techniques! There is a heap load of "interesting" techniques that Eliot employs to convey his perception of these issues/ideas - Fragmentation is a big one You can also look at imagery, religious allusion, role of setting, use of a stream of conciousness style, poetic form etc etc.

Hope this helps!

hey!
My T.S Elliot task this term is all about how Eliot uses distinctive images to talk about modern life at the beginning of the 20th century. I don't really understand what this question, contextually, means. At the time that Eliot wrote I know that industrialisation was starting to come about, but I don't particularly know what else. Also, does T.S Eliot being a modernist poet make any difference in his critique of modern life?
Thanks in advance! 

heya! So when you say you don't understand the question contextually, you're saying that you don't understand how to bring in Eliot's context and how that informs his works? If that is the case, then yes, definitely industrialisation is a massive concern that you would want to discuss You'd also want to consider the impact of World War I and the resulting devastation as well. World War I had a defining impact on not only Eliot's poems, but many modernist (and post-modernist!) writers and thinkers at the time, as its impact and devastation was so far reaching and excessive. It was one of the first wars to truely unleash the power of mechanical weaponry on a mass scale, so the impact of war was not only felt by those actively fighting, but those on the home front as well. So yeah, I'd say that WWI and industrialisation were the main influencers of Eliot's very bleak outlook upon the state of his modern society.

And yes! Being a modernist definitely has a key impact upon the way in which T.S. Eliot portrays and critiques modern life. The tenants of modernism reflected through Eliot's oeuvre was his seeking of the replacement of romantic optimism with pessimistic cynicism as a reaction to Industrialisation and WWI. Eliot saw society as paralyzed and wounded, and thus portrayed his characters with a similarly damaged psyche, (eg. Prufrock).

Hope this helps!

Susie

[pikachu975]

Anyone know any good Brave New World related texts? Not any that are overused please!