English Assessment Help

[ameliabrennan5]

Hi,
I need some serious help with my English Assesment - a podcast on comparative between The Tempest and Hagseed. Can someone help me strengthen this response?

How does the conversation between the Tempest and Hagseed explore varying sources of power?

Power is exposed in Prospero’s personal magic. It is through magic the Prospero sources his power on the island, and then in turn uses visual and aural illusion to manipulate his enemies and seek his long held revenge. Prospero’s understanding of the ability of his power is explicit in the irony of “some vanity of my art..” in which Prospero refers to the masque as ‘vanity’, meaning that his magic is worthless. However, though he expresses the uselessness of his magic he but then continues to use it for personal gain. The first example the audience is exposed to of Prospero’s revenge inspired use of magic, is the storm he instructs Ariel to create, the stage directions “A tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning” is indicative of the chaotic storm for the audience which Prospero was responsible for. He uses this storm to gain control and power over his enemies, as they are unknowingly dependent on his powers to survive. Prospero’s magic and the power from act as a metaphor for a playwright’s literary techniques they use. Throughout the course of the play Prospero can be seen as more of a “behind the scenes” character similar to that of a director. Prospero even refers to his magic as art, “lie there,my art” and personifies it to make it “come alive”; this is similar to the common phrases such as “the magic of theatre” and “making it come alive. Atwood, in Hagseed converses with this metaphor as she mirrors Prospero’s character with Felix, who is himself a playwright. Felix gains power from theatre as through the performance of the Fletcher Correctional Players he is able to enact his revenge plot, but also he is able to regain power through the prison theatre as he establishes control over the actors (the prisoners). This can be seen in his initial plot of revenge where he remarks to himself that “ First, he needed to get his Tempest back. He had to stage it, somehow, somewhere.” This demonstrates how Atwood makes many references to magic throughout Hagseed such as the characterisation of the prisoners as his goblins, which is inherently ironic, “spirits and goblins, here i come...Ready or not!”. The use of the phrase ‘here i come’ which has childish connotations, shows Felix’s has developed sense of power and authority over the Fletcher Correctional Players, which converses and mirrors, with featuring characters in The Tempest. The varying that are explored across The Tempest and Hagseed, through the characters of Prospero and Felix, is the literal magic Prospero holds which is mirrored through the magic of theatre in Hagseed, which demonstrates that power can be sourced from varying places.

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi,
I need some serious help with my English Assesment - a podcast on comparative between The Tempest and Hagseed. Can someone help me strengthen this response?

Hey Amelia! Definitely, let me stick some notes below and let me know if you had any follow up questions

How does the conversation between the Tempest and Hagseed explore varying sources of power?

Power is exposed in Prospero’s personal magic. Don't be character driven! It should be, 'Shakespeare's representation of Prospero...', never the character discussed by themselves. It is through magic the Prospero sources his power on the island, and then in turn uses visual and aural illusion to manipulate his enemies and seek his long held revenge. Even more obvious here, characters cannot use techniques! Prospero’s understanding of the ability of his power is explicit in the irony of “some vanity of my art..” in which Prospero refers to the masque as ‘vanity’, meaning that his magic is worthless. What does this have to do with the theme? However, though he expresses the uselessness of his magic he but then continues to use it for personal gain. Retell, don't just retell parts of the story! The first example the audience is exposed to of Prospero’s revenge inspired use of magic, is the storm he instructs Ariel to create, the stage directions “A tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning” is indicative of the chaotic storm for the audience which Prospero was responsible for. He uses this storm to gain control and power over his enemies, as they are unknowingly dependent on his powers to survive. This is just recounting the story with a few techniques thrown in - A super common trap. Be careful to analyse, not recount! Prospero’s magic and the power from act as a metaphor for a playwright’s literary techniques they use. Throughout the course of the play Prospero can be seen as more of a “behind the scenes” character similar to that of a director. Prospero even refers to his magic as art, “lie there,my art” and personifies it to make it “come alive”; this is similar to the common phrases such as “the magic of theatre” and “making it come alive. What does this have to do with power? Make the links explicit! Atwood, in Hagseed converses with this metaphor as she mirrors Prospero’s character with Felix, who is himself a playwright. Felix gains power from theatre as through the performance of the Fletcher Correctional Players he is able to enact his revenge plot, but also he is able to regain power through the prison theatre as he establishes control over the actors (the prisoners). This can be seen in his initial plot of revenge where he remarks to himself that “ First, he needed to get his Tempest back. He had to stage it, somehow, somewhere.” Technique for this quote? Technique with EVERY quote. This demonstrates how Atwood makes many references to magic throughout Hagseed such as the characterisation of the prisoners as his goblins, which is inherently ironic, “spirits and goblins, here i come...Ready or not!”. The use of the phrase ‘here i come’ which has childish connotations, shows Felix’s has developed sense of power and authority over the Fletcher Correctional Players, which converses and mirrors, with featuring characters in The Tempest. This is a good sentence! But still slightly character driven, it isn't about Felix, it's about what Atwood wants to show. The varying that are explored across The Tempest and Hagseed, through the characters of Prospero and Felix, is the literal magic Prospero holds which is mirrored through the magic of theatre in Hagseed, which demonstrates that power can be sourced from varying places.

[angewina_naguen]

Hey, Amelia!

First attempt of being a good moderator not particularly being the best but here's a link to Jamon's feedback which he gave a few minutes after I moved your post  My apologies about that!

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey, Amelia!

First attempt of being a good moderator not particularly being the best but here's a link to Jamon's feedback which he gave a few minutes after I moved your post  My apologies about that!

I've merged it in, all good!

[Ufrah]

Hi, So i realllyyy need help my English assessment.
I have 5 essay questions I need to prepare for, and we'll get asked one of them on the day. However, I have no idea how 3 answer two of them. Any pointers would be much appreciated.
My texts are Looking for Richard//Richard III and the qs are:
1. The wooing of anne is dealt with in a particular way in Pacino's film. Explore how the two texts handle both this scene in particular, and the depiction of women across the two texts in general. How might Shakespeare's depiction be mirrored, altered, or otherwise affected by Pacino's re-envisioning of the play?
2. To what extent are Richard's opening words a confirmation of the power of context to define a situation, and how has the reimagining of Shakespeare's King Richard III by Pacino aligned with the values of his context?
3. Discuss 3 minor characters from shakespeare's play and explore how they give rise to a deeper understanding of the context in which the play was set, comparing these to the minor and background characters of Pacino's version.

Sorry, its alot! But I'm quite confused. Many thanks

[angewina_naguen]

Hi, So i realllyyy need help my English assessment.
I have 5 essay questions I need to prepare for, and we'll get asked one of them on the day. However, I have no idea how 3 answer two of them. Any pointers would be much appreciated.
My texts are Looking for Richard//Richard III and the qs are:
1. The wooing of anne is dealt with in a particular way in Pacino's film. Explore how the two texts handle both this scene in particular, and the depiction of women across the two texts in general. How might Shakespeare's depiction be mirrored, altered, or otherwise affected by Pacino's re-envisioning of the play?
2. To what extent are Richard's opening words a confirmation of the power of context to define a situation, and how has the reimagining of Shakespeare's King Richard III by Pacino aligned with the values of his context?
3. Discuss 3 minor characters from shakespeare's play and explore how they give rise to a deeper understanding of the context in which the play was set, comparing these to the minor and background characters of Pacino's version.

Sorry, its alot! But I'm quite confused. Many thanks

Hey, Ufrah!

I have some pointers for you here 

Question 1
• Depiction of women over time.
o Gender in Shakespeare and Pacino’s contexts.
o How women in the play are depicted by Shakespeare, and how they are received by the male characters according to Shakespeare.
o This is either kept common or changed because of Pacino’s context.
• Wooing of Anne scene.
o Needs to be included in your essay since it’s not a “to what extent” question.
o Use the techniques showing Anne herself or a stage technique showing her character for one paragraph and a quote from a male character or stage technique for the other.

Question 2
• Need to answer to what extent the opening words are a confirmation of the power of context to define a situation.
o What aspects of Shakespeare’s context do you see in that provided extract?
o You would need to use this extract at least once in the essay.
o My suggestion would be to argue to a moderate extent, because Shakespeare’s context is defined throughout the play, not just in the opening words. If you explain it like this, you can agree with the question in that context does define a political situation, but it does not only appear in that example given.
• Then, you need to link this answer with how it has been reimagined by Pacino in his context.
o Where have the values of both contexts appeared common?
o Choose values from both texts that are the same and either changed or altered slightly because of context.

Question 3
• Three minor characters need to be selected.
o Which three minor characters show glimpses of how Shakespeare really felt about certain issues? Where are his versions of truth in them?
o They should also appear in Pacino’s appropriation OR you could find a character which bears similarities but has been changed due to context.
• Deeper understanding of context is important.
o What do these characters inform you of when it comes to the time Shakespeare was living in?
o Compare this to Pacino’s context and how his representations and interpretations are influenced by his world’s values.
• Need to present the discussion that despite these characters been minor in the play itself, they are significant when it comes to trying to gain a greater understanding of Shakespeare and Pacino’s differing contexts.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions 

Angelina 

[Ufrah]

Hi thanks so much for the help! For the question on the power of context, i have written the start of my intro. Is it okay? Or do I have to explicitly state to what extent?

Context and text are in a symbiotic relationship, resulting in the production of meaning. The context; social, cultural and political is of critical importance in shaping an author’s compositional choices and the meaning readers extract from a text. A comparative study of Richard III (1593) and Looking for Richard (1996), and their opening sequences allows for an understanding of the significant ability of context to define a situation.

[angewina_naguen]

Hi thanks so much for the help! For the question on the power of context, i have written the start of my intro. Is it okay? Or do I have to explicitly state to what extent?

Context and text are in a symbiotic relationship, resulting in the production of meaning. The context; social, cultural and political is of critical importance in shaping an author’s compositional choices and the meaning readers extract from a text. A comparative study of Richard III (1593) and Looking for Richard (1996), and their opening sequences allows for an understanding of the significant ability of context to define a situation.

Hey, Ufrah!

Great effort with the introduction  I have a few things that I would suggest revising if you have time.

- Phrasing and expression is slightly awkward. The syntax of your sentences could be refined just so they can flow smoother. For example, “The context; social, cultural and political is of critical importance in shaping an author’s compositional choices and the meaning readers extract from a text” would be more cohesive if it were written like this; “The social, cultural and political contexts are of critical importance in shaping an author’s compositional choices and the meaning readers extract from the text as a result.” I only made minor adjustments but that’s one way you could construct the sentence.

- Make sure you also introduce your composers and text types along with the titles and years of publication. This is for the rare event that your HSC marker knows nothing of one or both of your texts. In your case, it would be William Shakespeare’s tragedy ‘Richard III’ (1593) and Al Pacino’s docu-drama ‘Looking for Richard’ (1996).

-While your introduction addresses the “context” aspect of the question well, it needs to link this with the module explicitly. How does exploring contextual differences reveal an interesting textual conversation between the composers? What is the dialogue being communicated by both? Context is indeed central to Module A but what is equally important is intertextuality which you need to recognise in it.

- There’s no hard rule about having to state “to what extent” but I would recommend you do. A strong essay will be evident of its judgement to what extent it agrees with the question. However, it still helps the marker to include it. You won’t be penalised for not doing it though 

Hope that clarifies any concerns!

Angelina 

[Ufrah]

Thanks for the reply. But I am still really confused what to discuss in the essay
I was thinking of talking about how the context helps us understand Richard's causes of his actions in the play being divine providence. Whilst in the film, reflective of his context, he attributes his actions to a pyscological state. But i dont know what else to talk about!

Mod Edit: Post merge! You can add to your last post using the 'Modify' button

[angewina_naguen]

Thanks for the reply. But I am still really confused what to discuss in the essay
I was thinking of talking about how the context helps us understand Richard's causes of his actions in the play being divine providence. Whilst in the film, reflective of his context, he attributes his actions to a pyscological state. But i dont know what else to talk about!

Mod Edit: Post merge! You can add to your last post using the 'Modify' button

Hey, Ufrah!

Your understanding of context is demonstrated there; what you need to do now is associate it with values and ideas conveyed commonly across the texts. For example, you could explore moral culpability and whether leaders should be held accountable for their actions and decisions. This looks at morality and how both composers feel responsible, in their own way, for portraying Richard as immoral in order to urge audiences to be compelled towards compassion.

You could also look at the misuse or abuse of power as well and highlight the contextual reasons for this. Shakespeare represents Richard in a tyrannical, malicious manner in order to shed positive sentiments and acceptance of the Queen, his key patron. Consider what Pacino's purpose is as a contemporary composer and whether his representation of the misuse of power is influenced by any particular agenda or incentive.

This would then enable you to link context in with the ideas explored in the texts. Hope this makes sense!

Angelina