For Alex, Olivia and Hannah. Is that it??

For those of you doing the exam on the 4th of June, please remember:

A. Will we have an intensive lesson on the Monday that we come back from half term, so make sure you come in for it.

B. Until then, Mr Blog is the perfect way for you to revise. Simply go back to January 2013 and May 2012. There is TONS of useful stuff on there (even if I do say so myself). If you re-read all this, study and do any practice tasks you find, you should be pretty well prepared.

Remember, the exam is on 'Of Mice and Men' in section A, and a writing task in section B.

Additional stuff such as practice papers etc are not hard to find if you google around.

Good luck, and see you a week on Monday.

NW

A message for you all.

Hi people,

I know that a few of you still have an exam to do but, effectively, you have now all finished your English GCSEs.

I just wanted to say a massive thanks to you all for being truly one of the best, if not THE best class I've ever  had the pleasure of teaching. It has been nothing but fun teaching you guys, and it is people like you who make the job of teaching worth doing.

The presents and cards I have been given by some of you so far are amazing, and I just want to thank you for your kind words, they really do mean a lot.

If I am lucky enough to teach ANY of you in year 12, then I will be a very happy dude.

If you are coming in on the 5th for a bit of a party and a class photo then it'll be great to see you. If not, have a brilliant summer.

NW

Last Lesson/Party - 5th June (Weds) Period 4

Let me know who is coming so I know how many cakes and toy dinosaurs to buy.

NW :' )

Click Here

Nighty night...

Right,

I'm signing off now people. If there's anything specific you want me to go over in tomorrow's revision lesson, post it on here and it'll link to my Nokia 1100.


Night

NW   :)
        z
       z
      z

I'll check back at 10!

Right everyone.

You should have more than enough to revise now.

REVISE THE POEMS, POST ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ON HERE.

I will check back at 10pm.

If there's nothing there, I will see you PERIOD 3 TOMORROW.

BE THERE!!!!

NW

AN EXAMPLE ANSWER!

Explore the ways in which the poets present their feelings.

'Catrin', a poem by Gillian Clarke, is an interesting and ambiguous poem which describes a rather confusing relationship between a mother and her daughter told through the eyes of the mother during child-birth. Conversely, in 'Hitcher', we are introduced to a rather different situation of a man seemingly tired of his job, and arguably his life, who apparently takes out his stress on an unsuspecting hitch-hiker: killing him.

The first thing that occurred to me is that both poets use particular lexical fields in order to present their feelings to the reader. For example, Gillian Clarke uses lexis which makes the poem seem uncomfortably tense. She uses words such as 'hot', 'fighting' and 'confrontation' which add a certain level of stress to the poem, which the reader feels. The poet may be trying to suggest that her relationship with her daughter have not always been easy and that she has seen it as a struggle at times. Similarly, Simon Armitage uses a particular lexical field in order to give his poem an uneasy tone. He uses words and phrases such as 'screaming', 'let him have it' and 'bouncing off the kerb' which are all very violent images. This suggests that Simon Armitage feels that modern life has the potential to create a violent or unpredictable streak in people.

Secondly, the poems both use different type of imagery in order to show their feelings. Simon Armitage makes his poem seem quite threatening, and shows modern life to be a bit menacing, when he personifies the 'ansafone' and has it saying 'one more sick note Mister and you're finished!'. Not only is this a little bit frightening in itself, as it makes him sound like he is on the verge of being killed, let alone fired, but also, it makes the reader feel like the world (even inanimate objects) are ganging up on this everyday man. Gillian clark uses lots of metaphors to create a similar uneasy effect. She refers to the umbilical cord as 'the red rope of love' which is a very strange image. The umbilical cord should be something which a mother loves and cherishes as her link to her child, yet here, Clarke seems to see is as an annoyance or a hindrance. She also uses a metaphor of 'painting the walls with her words' to emphasise to the reader how stressed and in pain she was as she is evidently swearing a lot.

Hope you're getting the hang of this people! Your answer will need to be longer than this obviously, but you should, by now, be seeing a pattern of how to compare. It's not rocket science!

NW

Planning for the COMPARE question.

For those of you who were in the lesson earlier on, you probably don't need this. But there were a few of you missing.

In the COMPARE section, you will simply need to analyse two poems (using OVERLAPPERS if you want). You should be looking to write between 6-8 paragraphs, which isn't very much really. The main thing you are trying to do is to find what the poems do that is SIMILAR or DIFFERENT.

What we said earlier on was this:

1. Do an introductory paragraphs where you demonstrate that you know the background and context of each of the two poems, and briefly state what they are about or what their purpose is.

2. Write about 4/5 paragraphs where you try to find LANGUAGE/IMAGERY features that they share in common or do differently. This is where OVERLAPPERS will come in handy. Remember, you're only trying to find about 4-5 points to make.

3. Your first of these paragraphs should be (to get you started) about the LEXICAL FIELDS that each poem uses. Look at what TYPE of words they use to create a certain atmosphere or tone. Give a few examples from each and explain what the effect on the reader is. EVERY poem does this, so it is a perfect way to begin.

4. Then use OVERLAPPERS - Maybe both use onomatopoeia, or alliteration, or juxtapositions, or graphic imagery, or dehumanisations etc....If you find something they BOTH do, then that is the basis of your paragraph!!

5. If you run out of things they BOTH do, then point out their differences instead. ie, one of them uses dehumanisations to show how badly people are being treated - the other does the same sort of thing, but it uses graphic imagery instead to achieve the effect.

6. Finish off with a paragraph about the STRUCTURE (stanzas, rhythm, rhyme, length, enjambment, caesura) of each poem, and a paragraph about the SIMILAR/DIFFERENT themes of each poem.

And relax :)

NW

Brilliant!

160 views in one night, and counting.

Thanks to everyone who is linking the blog. I want all of you to get B or above in this - so please keep sharing with your class buddies.

NW

Some revision questions....

1. Choose five poems where the structure or rhyme scheme is particularly important and explain what you think the poet is trying to say in each case.

2. Choose the five poems which you think are the most dramatic then write a long paragraph for each explaining what it is about the language and imagery that makes them so dramatic.

3. Choose the five poems which you think use the most different types of language features. List the features they use, and explain why they are useful or effective.

4. Choose the two poems that you find the most boring or hate the most. Imagine you have to explain to your friend why they are actually really underrated. Write a couple of paragraphs for each explaining why they are so effective.

5. Identify the 5 poems which appeal most to your senses. Don't just look for the ones which talk about what you can see. Find ones which appeal to the others senses, or make you feel a certain way.

6. Make sure you are able to write a sentence about each poet/poem: Who wrote it, when was it written, what is its main purpose.

Ok - I'm back...

Blogging through til around 9.

Stay tuned :)

NW

Everyone read this please.

Hi all,

I am conscious that I have posted A LOT on this blog over the last couple of days. I can't just keep posting and posting because your revision will lose focus.

I have to quickly go out and do something, but I will upload revision question and an example answer for the comparison question by 8:30.

If there is ANYTHING ELSE you want/need, please make a free account and post a question.

Remember: top tips,

1. The best revision you can do is to know the poems inside out.
2. You should spend about 40 minutes on section A and about 55 on section B with the rest as reading/annotating time.
3. You should try to analyse ALL poems using OVERLAPPERSSJ.
4. You get marks for being ORIGINAL/BRAVE/ and generally finding connection - either things the poems to SIMILARLY or DIFFERENTLY.

I will return in about half an hour. Please spread the word on these resources - don't keep them to yourselves.

NW

Brilliant notes for COUSIN KATE!

http://www.crossref-it.info/textguide/The-poetry-of-Christina-Rossetti/28/1820

Really good stuff.

NW

Brilliant website!!

http://gstounenglish.wordpress.com/category/year-11/clashes-and-collisions/

This link has just got so much stuff on it, I wish I'd known about it earlier.

Use it to find more info on the poems and to annotate the ones you're not too sure about.

NW

ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL RESOURCE!!!

If you see this, please please please direct your classmates in the direction of it. You will be massively helping me out if you do.

This booklet/document gives you most of what you've been asking for including:

*BACKGROUND/OVERVIEW OF ALL THE POEMS
*A LIST OF LINGUISTIC DEVICES USED IN EACH POEM
*SUGGESTIONS OF POEMS TO LINK TO EACH OTHER.

It's long but it will be HUGELY BENEFICIAL. Be kind and link this to FB/Twitter Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?

Please?

NW :)

Here is the link:

http://www.abrahammoss.manchester.sch.uk/download/file/Revision/English/Year11/Poetry%20Unit-Clashes%20and%20Collisionsl.pdf

New Wall of Shame!

If you have missed the last two lessons (which some of you have) you are MASSIVELY putting your mark at risk.

You need to AT LEAST make sure that you read/do EVERYTHING I have put on this blog, and get in to the revision session in the morning. No excuses!

You are throwing away your mark if you don't.

NW!

Things you asked for on the blog

*One or two example answers
*Info about poets (this may take me a while as it is a question of googling it all - you could/should be doing this yourself too)
*A random unseen poem with a question to go with it.
*Some smaller revision questions.

I will see what I can do peeps

:) NW

Better notes for 'O what is that sound?'

http://unit2poetry.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/o-what-is-that-sound.html

These are ok....but you've had like 2 ppts on this now so, added together, this should be ok.

NW <:3)~

Better notes for 'Parade's End'

http://prezi.com/ugoszeayb7xh/clashes-and-collisions-parades-end/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=prezi_landing_related_solr&utm_campaign=prezi_landing_related_author

It's awesome!

NW >: D

A really good Prezi to tackle (b) (ii)

http://prezi.com/mijh3coedj9f/comparing-clashes-and-collisions-poems/

NW

Spread the word -post questions

Last post...

Please spread the word on Twitter/Facebook etc that there is plenty of stuff on the blog.

I will do question (b)(ii) in lesson tomorrow. If anyone wants to complete any practice questions and have me mark them, please, please, please do it and bring them to me tomorrow morning.

I will check back at 10pm tonight in case any of you have asked any questions.

GET THAT REVISION DONE!!

NW :)

Signing off soon - Revise the poems!!!!

I am going to sign off soon as I have put ten pretty useful posts on tonight and I know that any more will probably fry your brains. We still have two lessons and another night of blogging.

What I really suggest you all do it REVISE ALL OF THE POEMS.

IF YOU HAVEN'T ANNOTATED ALL OF THE POEMS, YOU MUST DO THIS NOW OR YOU WILL BE STUCK IN THE EXAM! THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT YOU CAN DO THAN ANNOTATE AND REVISE ALL 15 POEMS!!!

IF YOU ARE GOING TO LEAVE ANY TIL LAST, LEAVE 'HALF-CASTE' AND 'OUR SHARPVILLE' AS THEY HAVE BEEN ON PAPERS RECENTLY AND MAY NOT SHOW UP THIS YEAR - BUT YOU NEVER KNOW!!!

Answering a couple of practice questions for you! Part 1

Ok, so I am going to have a go at answering Section B part (a) for you so you can see how it's done.

Remember, to do this, simply ANALYSE it using OVERLAPPERSS. Write all over it and see how many of them you can spot. You only need to write about 6-8 paragraphs, so it's not like you've got to find loads!!

Q - Explore how the writer presents the violent events in 'Our Sharpville'. Use evidence from the poem to support your answer.

Note from NW - Remember to keyword the question. When it says 'presents' that is just asking how does the poet show their views?

So here we go...(remember OVERPLAPPERS)

'Our Sharpville' is a very interesting poem which shows an account of the Sharpville Massacre from the point of view of a white child. This is a particularly interesting perspective because the Sharpville massacre, which took place in South Africa in 1960, involved non-white citizens exclusively. Back then, white people were encouraged not to interact with 'non-whites', and so it is interesting to see how the poet presents the way she felt about the violence that she witnessed when she was a little girl.

Firstly, the title of the poem is hugely important.The fact that the poet empahsises 'our' Sharpville depicts a society where segregation was common. She seems to be putting across the idea that, back then, white people saw the area as belonging to them. Also, the fact that she uses an inclusive pronoun 'our' might involve the reader and make them feel guilty for the violent events that went on.

Secondly, the poet uses senses in order to put you in the position of the girl who was witnessing the events. The poet uses not only the metaphor of, 'The dead, buried in voices', but also talks about being able to hear, 'the dogs pacing in the locked yard next door.' Both of these images are quite menacing as they involve death or vicious animals which makes us wonder what is happening to the poor victims of the violent events. The fact that these images are both 'sounds' helps the reader to imagine being there as it is utilising more than one of our senses.

Another way that the poet presents these violent events is through her use of juxtapositions. Often by putting a really bad event next to something really good, it makes the bad event seem even more upsetting, which is what de Kok appears to be trying to do. For example, in Stanza two, the poet uses a lexical field that we would associate with an epic story by using words like, 'caravan', 'jade pool' and 'oasis'. THese are words which make the event sound exciting and appealing. When the poet follows this with the mention of 'dead' people and 'ambushed trucks', it makes the reality of the massacre seem even more horrible. In a way, the reality is even less believable than her childhood story. The poet uses other juxtapositions to show how 'out of place; the non-white people were at this time. She describes their voices as 'foreign and familiar' showing that these poor people live in this land, and yet don't belong in it. This might make the reader feel sympathy for the victims of the violent events.

The poet uses another lexical field which makes the violent events seem even more hypocritical and upsetting. The child who is speaking talks about 'church' and 'sunday school' and 'the Bible'. By talking about these things, the poet is getting the reader to see how awful it is that such a violent and horrible event ever took place in a country that is supposed to be Christian.

When she is talking about Sunday school, suddenly the length of the stanza gets longer as if to reflect the idea that the child is talking uncontrollably. The poem also uses enjambment here when it says 'the danger of the mission around them/and night falling'. This seem to imply that the speaker is excited when they are talking which shows the reader that the speaker really does not understand how serious the massacre is. This probably reflects the views of a lot of the white people of the time.

The poet also hints at the fact that her view of her fellow white people has changed even though she is a child. She describes her grandmother's voice using the metaphor, 'a stiff broom over the steps' making her sound inhuman and unforgiving. She also dehumanises the soldiers slightly by describing them simply as 'chanting men' which makes them sound robotic and uncaring. The picture the poet paints is that none of the white people care about what is going on.

Lastly, the structure of the poem is important. The length of the stanzas is roughly the same throughout except for the middle stanza which appears to be cut short when the speaker's grandmother claims, 'they do things to little girls.' referring to the non-white people. Even though we are intelligent enough to know that this is simply lies that were told by the socially powerful whites, the structure here seems to suggest that people could say whatever they wanted about non-whites back then, and it would stop whatever else was going on because everybody believed it.'


I found this poem particularly easy to write about as there is so much in it. However, you will find that this is the case with most of the poems. Really, it you know these 15 poems well, and you have quite a few points to make about them, you shouldn't struggle with this sort of question.

NW

Examples of good explanations...

Before you read any of these, please remember that I AM MAKING THESE UP ON THE SPOT. I don't have an answer booklet. Provided I explain myself, though, I'll get marks for them - exactly the same as you.

Eg...


1. Alliteration has been used here as the words in question are particularly important to the meaning of the poem. By drawing attention to these words, the poet is showing us that the 'nuts, bolts, nails, and car keys' are all combining in order to add to the hail of weaponry that is falling on the civilians. The fact that the poet uses lots of 's' sounds also paints an image in our heads of falling debris and shattering objects to make the reader feel like they are there.

2. The poet uses a lexical filed which makes the reader feel on edge. The use of words like 'rapid', 'stop' 'escape' all link together to form an image of somebody being trapped in a fast paced environment, fearing for their lives. This makes the reader feel uneasy as they are empathising with the speaker in the poem.

The structure of the poem is highly unusual as it contains long lines followed by very short lines, for example,

'I was trying to complete a sentence in my head but it kept
stuttering'

3. The fact that it does this throughout the poem makes the poem look spiky and uneven. The effect of this on the reader is that the poem actually looks uncomfortable and untidy. This reflects the uncomfortable theme of the poem: a terrorist bomb going off. It could also be argued that this has been done to isolate some of the more important words in the poem. For example, the word 'stuttering' is left on a line on its own to show that the politics of Northern Ireland are not running smoothly.

4. Rhetorical questions are used repeatedly in the poem to involve the reader more and make the situation seem more real. The questions are all very basic questions that we would expect any person to know the answer to, 'Where am I going?' 'What is my name?' The fact that the speaker can not think of the answers to these simple questions makes the reader question how much the speaker has been affected mentally by this explosion and the situation surrounding it. It could also be that the speaker is questioning these things because he has no faith in anything anymore.

I really hope you see what I'm doing here everyone - not showing off, just making guesses!

If you can make a point, and back it up, you will get marks. I promise!

NW

Exam Technique - In response to Jack's question/issue earlier

Earlier on this evening Jack (who has had a hair cut) said to me,

"Sir, I get how to spot things in a poem. I get that. But I don't understand how to explain why it's been done."

Without taking the mick, I actually get exactly what Jack means because the 'explain' part of PEE is often the hardest bit to get your head around - mainly because the TYPE of EXPLAINING you're expected to do is usually different for every task.

However, for many of you, this is the very last task you'll have to do - so it's worth doing it properly.

So here we go!

All you have to do for the EXPLAIN bit is really to say, WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF (THE THING YOU'VE SPOTTED) ON THE READER?

There is no DEFINITIVE LIST of ways you can explain why something is important. It's kind of like asking someone why they enjoyed their holiday. There are OBVIOUS REASONS and LESS OBVIOUS REASONS. The less obvious reasons will sometimes be the more ORIGINAL and PERCEPTIVE points, and offering more than one EXPLANATION will often get you more marks too.

I will put some example of good explanations on my next post...

NW

Practice paper 2

Here's what I'm listening to...

Queens of the Stone Age - A song for the dead

Blogging for about one and a half hours now

Hi everyone,

Sorry it took me a little while longer than I expected to get on here. I'm going to be blogging until about 9pm and will try and get everything online that you asked for.

If anyone wants to complete any practice questions, please do and I will mark them for you during the lesson tomorrow!

Any other questions, just ask.

NW

Practice Paper 1 - This is what the questions look like!

English Literature

Unit 2: Understanding Poetry

Higher Tier

Tuesday 17 January 2012 – Morning

Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

5ET2H/01

Questions and Extracts Booklet

Do not return this booklet with your Answer Booklet

You may use a clean copy of the Edexcel Anthology

P40020A

©2012 Pearson Education Ltd.

Edexcel GCSE

P40020A

SECTION A: UNSEEN POEM

Read the following poem and answer Question 1:

What has happened to Lulu?

What has happened to Lulu, mother?

What has happened to Lu?

There’s nothing in her bed but an old rag-doll

And by its side a shoe.

Why is her window wide, mother,

The curtain flapping free,

And only a circle on the dusty shelf

Where her money-box used to be?

Why do you turn your head, mother,

And why do tear drops fall?

And why do you crumple that note on the fire

And say it is nothing at all?

I woke to voices late last night,

I heard an engine roar.

Why do you tell me the things I heard

Were a dream and nothing more?

I heard somebody cry, mother,

In anger or in pain,

But now I ask you why, mother,

You say it was a gust of rain.

Why do you wander about as though

You don’t know what to do?

What has happened to Lulu, mother?

What has happened to Lu?

Charles Causley

*1 Explore how Charles Causley presents the thoughts and feelings of the speaker in the

poem ‘What has happened to Lulu?’.

Use

evidence from the poem to support your answer.

(Total for Question 1 = 20 marks)

TOTAL FOR SECTION A = 20 MARKS

 

SECTION B: ANTHOLOGY POEMS

Collection B: Clashes and Collisions

Answer Question 3, parts (a) and (b). There is a choice of questions in part (b).

(a) Explore how the writer conveys her thoughts and feelings about the coming of

war in ‘Invasion’.

Use evidence from the poem to support your answer.

(15)

EITHER

(b) (i) Compare how the writers explore different thoughts and feelings about the

coming of war in ‘O What is that Sound’ and ‘Invasion’.

Use evidence from the poems to support your answer.

You may include material you used to answer 3(a).

(15)

OR

(ii) Compare how the writer of one poem of your choice from the ‘Clashes

and Collisions’ collection explores different ideas about war from those in

‘Invasion’.

Use evidence from the poems to support your answer.

You may include material you used to answer 3(a).

(15)

(Total for Question 3 = 30 marks)

OVERLAPPERS

Use this acronym to analyse ANY poem that is put in front of you.

ie, see if any of this stuff is in the poem and use it as your basis to write your paragraphs:

Onomatopoeia

Vocabulary choices and groups

Enjambment

Rhetorical Questions

Lexical Field

Alliteration and Assonance

Personifications/Dehumanisations

Poet/Background

Emotive Language

Rhythm and Rhyme

Stanza Length

Similes and Metaphors

Juxtapoistions

If you find any of these things, you can then turn it into a PEE paragraph in the usual way by making your POINT (what has been done) providing EVIDENCE (where do you see it) and then EXPLAINING yourself (how does this help to answer your question).

Wall of Shame

Thanks to the following people for showing such awesome commitment, and turning up to the after-school session ("SARCASM ALERT!!!")

Lois
Dan 'al
Helen
Shaun
Alex Wigwam
Al Fraze
Sam Shaw

Annotating the unseen poem - and example answer

These are the words and phrases I highlighted when I first read the poem:

Stealing

The most unusual thing I ever stole? A snowman.              Use of rhetorical question to involve reader
Midnight. He looked magnificent; a tall, white mute          Use of 'Midnight' sets time and makes the action seem mysterious
beneath the winter moon. I wanted him, a mate            Almost personifies the moon, like it is looking down on him
with a mind as cold as the slice of ice                     Makes the poet sound unfeeling and a bi psychopathic
within my own brain. I started with the head.          Makes him sound like he has split personality/ brutal

Better off dead than giving in, not taking           Makes him sound criminally insane, stubborn
what you want. He weighed a ton; his torso,     Snowman is personaified to make it sound more real and brutal
frozen stiff, hugged to my chest, a fierce chill       Emotive language 'hugged' makes us wonder if he has been neglected
piercing my gut. Part of the thrill was knowing
that children would cry in the morning. Life's tough.   Image makes us dislike him - use of cliche shows him to be uncaring

Sometimes I steal things I don't need. I joy-ride cars    Enjambment makes the line flow like he can't stop confessing
to nowhere, break into houses just to have a look.
I'm a mucky ghost, leave a mess, maybe pinch a camera.     Metaphor makes him seem invisible - frightening but makes us pity him

I watch my gloved hand twisting the doorknob.    strange use of tense/person makes him sound like he can't control his actions

A stranger's bedroom. Mirrors. I sigh like this - Aah.  Structure of sentences makes him seem panicked.
Use of audial imagery/onomatopoeia helps us imagine his reaction but makes him seem sarcastic.

It took some time. Reassembled in the yard,
he didn't look the same. I took a run
and booted him. Again. Again. My breath ripped out     Violent lexical field to add tension
in rags. It seems daft now. Then I was standing       Insignificant word 'daft casuses juxtaposition with violent imagery
alone among lumps of snow, sick of the world.    Use of juxtasposition allows 'alone' to appear in a more important place.

Boredom. Mostly I'm so bored I could eat myself.          Isolated word seems to sum up the point of the poem.
One time, I stole a guitar and thought I might
learn to play. I nicked a bust of Shakespeare once,      Juxtaposition of class/ crime causes effect.
flogged it, but the snowman was the strangest.              'nicked'/'flogged' sound working class.
You don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?           Another rhetorical question to finish


Language/Imagery:

Rhetorical questions
Metaphors
Unusual Lexical Field
Imagery
Onomatopoeia
Emotive Langauge
Working class vocab
Cliche

Structure:

Enjambment
Isolation of important words
Shortened sentences to add emphasis to certain themes
No rhyme
Equal length stanzas


Done - in 5 minutes!

Unseen Poems

The Key to analysing any unseen poem is actually quite simple. Read the poem a couple of times over and start to make judgements about what you believe the poem to be about.

No one can take amrks off you for not knowing EXACTLY what the unseen poem is about - because no one knows EXACTLY. All you can do is make sensible suggestions and judgements based on what you've read. This may take two or three readings to sink in.

Once you have made these judgements, you can begin to turn these into your introduction, stating what you BELIEVE the poem MAY be about backing up what you say with EVIDENCE.

Try it with this poem:

StealingThe most unusual thing I ever stole? A snowman.
Midnight. He looked magnificent; a tall, white mute
beneath the winter moon. I wanted him, a mate
with a mind as cold as the slice of ice
within my own brain. I started with the head.

Better off dead than giving in, not taking
what you want. He weighed a ton; his torso,
frozen stiff, hugged to my chest, a fierce chill
piercing my gut. Part of the thrill was knowing
that children would cry in the morning. Life's tough.

Sometimes I steal things I don't need. I joy-ride cars
to nowhere, break into houses just to have a look.
I'm a mucky ghost, leave a mess, maybe pinch a camera.
I watch my gloved hand twisting the doorknob.
A stranger's bedroom. Mirrors. I sigh like this - Aah.

It took some time. Reassembled in the yard,
he didn't look the same. I took a run
and booted him. Again. Again. My breath ripped out
in rags. It seems daft now. Then I was standing
alone among lumps of snow, sick of the world.

Boredom. Mostly I'm so bored I could eat myself.
One time, I stole a guitar and thought I might
learn to play. I nicked a bust of Shakespeare once,
flogged it, but the snowman was the strangest.
You don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?

Carol Ann Duffy.

So, in your intoduction, answer what you believe the poem is about and what sort of points you think the speaker and poet are trying to make. I will include an example answer in the next post.

Unseen Poems!

Five steps to analysing an unseen poem

Here are five steps that you can use when you first see an unseen poem, to help you think about how to write about it.
STEP ONE: Work out what the poem is about…

• What is the subject of the poem?
• Who is speaking?
• Who is the narrator speaking to?

STEP TWO: Identify the themes and message of the poem…

• Why has the poet written the poem?
• What are they trying to say?
• What ideas are they using?
• Is it an emotional response to something that’s happened?
• Is it trying to get an emotional response from the reader?
• Is it portraying a message or opinion on a subject or event?

STEP THREE: Identify the attitudes and feelings in the poem…

• What are the different emotions and feelings of the narrator or poet?
• What is the mood or atmosphere of the poem (e.g. sad, angry, etc.)?
•  How has the poet used different poetic techniques to show these attitudes and feelings?

STEP FOUR: Identify the poetic techniques used in the poem…

• What are the different poetic techniques that the poet has used to show the attitudes and feelings in the poem?
• How has the poet shown these feelings through form and structure (e.g. rhyme, rhythm, line length, stanza length, etc.)?
• How has the poet used poetic devices to show these feelings (e.g. metaphors, similes, caesura, enjambment, alliteration, juxtaposition, personification, etc.)?

STEP FIVE: Explore your personal response to the poem…

• How do you feel about the poem?
• How well does the poet get the message across in the poem?
• What is the impact of the poem on the reader (refer to ‘the reader’, rather than ‘I’ when talking about the impact of the poem)?
• Are there any other ways the poem could be interpreted?

Practise going through these steps with unseen poems over and over again until you can do it in good time (you have 30 minutes to answer the question in the exam, so you should take about 5-10 minutes reading and planning). The best way to access unseen poems is to look in your AQA Anthology at the other clusters (not the one you have studied). As you have studied one cluster (15 poems), that means there are 45 unseen poems left for you to look at in the Anthology!
Here is a poem for you to look at and have a go at the 5 step process with. You could cut and paste  and print it so you are able to highlight if you like.

November by Simon Armitage

We walk to the ward from the badly parked car

with your grandma taking four short steps to our two.

We have brought her here to die and we know it.

You check her towel. soap and family trinkets,

pare her nails, parcel her in the rough blankets

and she sinks down into her incontinence.

It is time John. In their pasty bloodless smiles,

in their slack breasts, their stunned brains and their baldness

and in us John: we are almost these monsters.

You’re shattered. You give me the keys and I drive

through the twilight zone, past the famous station

to your house, to numb ourselves with alcohol.

Inside, we feel the terror of the dusk begin.

Outside we watch the evening, failing again,

and we let it happen. We can say nothing.

Sometimes the sun spangles and we feel alive.

One thing we have to get, John, out of this life.

Key Terms

Types of Words

Verb – A doing word

Adjective – A describing word

Noun – A thing.

Adverb – A word that describes a verb (usually ends in ‘ly’)

Abstract noun – A noun which you can’t physically sense – like ‘love’ or ‘hope’ or ‘honesty’

Active verb – a verb which shows a lot of action. ‘exploded’

Techniques

Enjambment - When a line of a poem spills onto the next line. This can be done to show that the poet/poem is too full of action to worry about stopping at the end of a line. Or, it may be done to make sure that a more important word appears at the start/end of a line.

Onomatopoeia – A word which depicts a sound

Emotive language – any word or group of words that makes the reader feel emotion

Repetition – a word or group of words repeated to make them stand out.

Personification – When something non-human is made to sound human through its actions/emotions

Dehumanisation – Where a human is made to sound unhuman.

Rhetorical Question - You know what this is.

Alliteration - Words which begin with the same sound or letter to make them stand out or to bring sound to the poem.

Assonance - Similar to alliteration but using vowel sounds. eg. 'The brown owl howled'

Caesura - A break or pause in a line of poetry

Metaphor - When something is compared to something else by saying that it is something different, eg. 'Jack is a little monster.'

Simile - When something is compared to something else by saying it is 'like' or 'as' something else. Eg, 'Megan is as happy as a dolphin on skates'

Other terms

Lexical field - a group of words that link a theme or subject - ie, the poet uses a lexical field which is based around suffering and pain: 'nerves', 'blood' and 'suffering'

Rhythm - The pattern of beats in a line. A lot of old traditional/romantic poems used a rhythm called 'iambic pentameter' which puts roughly ten beats to a line. If there is a rhythm, it may be that the poet is trying to make the poem look more organised, or it might reflect the theme of the poem (army, war etc). If a poem has no rhythm, it may have been done deliberately to make the poem seem disorganised to relfect the things that are going on in the poem.

Rhyme - As above. If there IS rhyme, it may be to reflect organisation. Or, for example, a simpe rhyme may be used to make the poem seem more child-like or traditional. A lack of rhyme can reflect a lack of organisation or seriousness.

Tone - The feeling or mood that the poet creates

Stanza - Verse

Really useful blog!!

Hi everyone, Just found this really useful blog that some teacher from another school has obviously put up for her class. I strongly suggest you go and have a geg. http://clashesandcollisions.blogspot.co.uk/ It goes through all of the poems and some exam technique. NW

Cousin Kate

Cousin kate from mrhoward12

Parade's End

Parade s-end-1 from mrhoward12

Parade s-end-1 from mrhoward12

Oh What Is That Sound?

O what-is-that-sound poem from mrhoward12

Any Questions?

Right everyone,

That's pretty much the whole pack uploaded in sections now. Please continue to spread the word that it is now all up online. I don't want anyone missing out if we can help it.

If there are any more question, post them on her and I will check back tomorrow. However, you really should have enough to write a 1000 word essay on this now.

Good luck,

NW

Ok - So here's the ideas for the main body of the essay.

Firstly, make sure you comment on a range of devices throughout your essay. That way you are showing a thorough understanding of the author's purposes.

For example, the way the stage is set up speaks quite highly concerning the subject of RESPONSIBILITY. Look at the opening stage directions where it describes how 'heavily comfortable' the house is (implying that no care has been given to the amount spent etc). Look at the descriptions of port/cigars/champagne. Remember that the original audience for this play was currently in a war situation and on ration for even the most basic of amenities. The playwright here is hinting at the lack of responsibility shown by the upper classes in their spending and hoarding of wealth, especially as we go on to find out that a poor girl has committed suicide due to being left with no other choice.

The stage directions are heavily important throughout the play. Look at how the lighting changes in the opening directions, for example. The lights change from a comfortable 'pink' before the inspector arrives, to ' hard and bright' after he arrives. The playwright has used the opening directions to hint at the responsibility of this family for the death of Eva Smith. He does this by making the scene look like an interrogation through his use of bright lighting - subconsciously hinting to the audience that this 'everyday' family are responsible for things that they have not even considered.

The Inspector, as well as being a main character, is a fantastic DRAMATIC DEVICE and you should refer to him throughout your essay in the same way that his influence runs throughout the play. He has been mad into a deliberately vague character. His name 'Goole' (Ghoul) hints that there may be something supernatural about him, implying that the things you are RESPONSIBLE FOR will catch up with you eventually. There is no escape from the consequences of your actions. In a way, Goole is a little bit like the ghosts from Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'. It seems that he is coming to give the Birling family a chance to REPENT for what they have done. Perhaps, if they take this opportunity to REALISE what they have done, then fate will look sparingly on them in future. Look at how he enters the play to back this up. The fact that no one know where he has come from etc. The mystery surrounding him. You will find many quotes to support this. Pages 169-171.

The Inspector acts as a sort of moral compass. He is not just the voice of the playwright, but also the voice of the common people and the voice of socialism. His views are not particularly radical. Look at how he talks to people. FIND SOME QUOTES. He is not particularly rude to people but he is stubborn and outspoken. A lot of the things he says are simply concerned with bringing attention to how each individual characters is RESPONSIBLE for their actions. His words permeate throughout the play. The watching audience would see the Inspector as a force to be reckoned with; somebody who has come to put the Birlings in their place (however, remember that the Birlings could represent any well-to-do family of the time, and at this time, it would have been more wealthy people who would have been sitting in the theatre stalls!). The fact that the Inspector is an authority figure is important too. THis means that people are more likely to take notice of what he says. Those that don't (Mrs Birling for example) appear hugely arrogant and bigoted. They won't even take notice of what an authoritative figure has to say on the matter!

JUST SO YOU KNOW, THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN 600 WORDS! WE HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED LOOKING AT INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERS YET!

So, anyway, you can then begin to look at and analyse the responsibility of each character in the play. The dramatic STRUCTURE of the play assists this greatly. The entire play is set in one room, and the setting does not change at all throughout the play (LOOK AT THE STAGE DIRECTIONS AT THE START OF EACH ACT FOR EVIDENCE). This means that the room takes on the appearance of an interrogation room; emphasising the responsibility of each character for the death of Eva Smith. This is further exacerbated by the fact that the characters 'take it in turns' to come into the room to be interrogated by the inspector, almost as if we are watching some sort of court case. You will find many quotations to back this up if you have a flick through the play.

Then, the Inspector starts to make his way through the characters one-by-one. The first character is Birling. With this episode, the playwright is able to bring out his views on 'The Welfare State'. Birling's role in Eva's death is that he sacked her for asking for fairer pay conditions. Look at pages 170-176 to find your quotes. The reason responsibility is important here is two-fold. Firstly, Birling seems shocked and incredulous that he could possibly have had anything to do with her death, as he had not seen her for two years. Here, the audience is being reminded that anybody that we have anything to do with is partly our responsibility as we never know what sort of effect we might have on a person. Birling's quote 'If we were responsible for everybody we'd ever had anything to do with, it would be very awkward....' is massively important. In the eyes of the Inspector, that is exactly how things are. We ARE RESPONSIBLE for others; it doesn;t matter how AWKWARD that is. It is just a fact of life. The quote shows Birling's attitude towards responsibility. ie, he does not feel responsible AT ALL, especially when dealing with somebody outside of his social class. The  second reason why his is important is that it shows how IRRESPONSIBLE the upper classes were in terms of the way they treated workers. In 1912, workers had NO RIGHT (No minimum wage, no unions, no employment law). This was an exploitative and unfair system designed to benefit the minority and opress the majority. Birling's lack of responsible behaviour is further demonstrated by the fact that he sacked Eva Smith from employment, even thought the foreman of the factory had recently recommended her for a promotion. He was planning to PROMOTE her, but instead SACKED HER simply because she had the audacity to ask for better working conditions. This is a stark message from the playwright concerning how we should treat people of lower classes. Birling's refusal to take responsibility for his actions (FIND A QUOTE) is an attack on the older mmbers of the upper class - stuck in their ways and soon to be made sorry for their actions.

The next character to be questioned by the Inspector is Sheila. She is a member of the younger generation and shows signs of wanting to take responsibility for her actions, but not before she has shown a more sinister side to her character. Priestley uses this scene to attack the superficial characteristics of the upper class. Sheila goes out of her way to request that Eva Smith is sacked from her job at MILWARDS because she believes that Eva laughed/smiled behind her back when she tried on a dress in the shop. This should hopefully serve as a huge lesson to the watching audience (ie, look at the effect that your selfishness and superficiality can have on a person). This is proven even further when Sheila asks if the girl who has killed herself was 'Pretty?'. This emphasises the idea that the upper classes are only concerned with outward appearance (think about Birling's impending Knighthood for example), rather than personal wellbeing. (PAGES 177-180 WILL BE BEST FOR FINDING QUOTES HERE). However, once Sheila realises what she has done, she appears to repent deeply - not just here but also later on in the play. She things such as that she would do anything to be able to go back and change things etc. The audience will probably relate to her and sympathise with her. Many of the audience members may have found themselves in similar positions to th Birlings before, and so this is a lesson to them in terms of how they should act.

Next up is Gerald who is guilty of having n affair with Eva Smith/Daisy Renton. On page 182, Gerald is so concerned with outward appearance, and so lacking in willingness to take RESPONSIBILITY for his actions that he even asks his fiance to help him to keep the details of the affair from the Inspector. This shows he is far more concerned with what society thinks that the people he is supposed to care most deeply about. Between pages 189-193 (FIND QUOTES) we learn of Gerald's affair with Daisy Renton when he was supposed to be in a relationship with Sheila Birling. Note how none of the Birling's ever seem particularly angry with Gerald over this. It is almost as though they do not have to face the RESPONSIBILITY of what he has done, provided the details never find their way out into the public domain. Gerald is certainly not all bad. At first, if we forget the fact that he is being unfaithful, he certainly seems to treat Daisy Renton with a great deal of respect. It almost seems like he feels genuine guilt for the fact that she is at such a low social status whilst he is in a particularly comfortable position. (FOND QUOTES). To a point, one could argue that he very definitely takes RESPONSIBILITY for her. He doesn't just use her for sex (although he doesn't exactly turn it down either!) and he seems, genuinely, to want to make a difference to her life. However, his responsibility to her fails when he is effectively forced to choose between keeping her a secret or admitting to the relationship in a legitimate fashion (something which he is simply not prepared to do). In some ways, Gerald is worse than the rest of them, for two reasons. Firstly, he is the only one who seems to genuinely have FEELINGS for Daisy Renton/Eva Smith, yet he is not prepared to take RESPONSIBILITY for his feelings to the extent that he will fully let her into his life. Secondly, he provides Eva Smith/Daisy Renton with a fantastic lifestyle, only to cruelly take it away from her. It may have been better if she had never known the difference. That way, she could have avoided huge disappointment. Look at how Gerald takes responsibility for what he has done. Do you think he does/doesn't? What makes you think that?

The next characters interrogated by the Inspector is certainly the cruelest - Mrs Birling. It is massively important to point out that Mrs Birling (as it says at the start of the play) is Mr Birling's social superior. So, there certainly seems to be a correlation between social status and a lack of responsibility taken for actions. This is a huge message to the audience. Mrs Birling is almost protrayed as a 'pantomime villain' - a rich a heartless character that the audience can really hate. The fact that Mrs Birling is the head of a charity is vitally important. Evidently, charities were the only organisation there to HELP the poor at this time. The idea that someone in charge could act like this shows that they are not RESPONSIBLE in the slightest. Her job as head/patron of the charity is simply to extend her social standing, not because she cares about people. This is shown in stark detail when on page 197 she states that she actively used her influence to ensure that Eva Smith/Daisy Renton did not receive help. Not only is this a failure to take responsibility, it is downright vindictive cruelty. In the following pages (198-200), Mrs Birling then goes on to state that she has done nothing wrong, and that the true responsibility lies with the girl herself and the father of the child (an opinion which soon disappears when she realises that the father was her own son!). Investigate the parts of the text where Mrs Birling talks about responsibility, and PEE it to death! It is HUGELY important.

Lastly, we can plainly see where Eric's responsibility lies. He is/was the father of Eva/Daisy's unborn child. He has been totally irresponsible. Not only is he an alcoholic, but he also actively went out to find sex on the night that he first met Eva. We are told that he forced his way into her appartment, and can only assume that she had sex somewhat against her will. Obviously this would not have been reported as 'rape' at the time. Who would have believed a poor, working class girl over a upper/middle class businessman? In his favour, Eric tries to take responsibility for the situation by providing money to Eva once he realises that she is pregnant, but he does this in the most IRRESPONSIBLE way, by stealing money. Arguably, she acts infinitely more responsible than him by refusing to accept stolen money. Really, the responsible thing to do would have been for him to publicly admit what he had done and marry Eva Smith, but Eric proves himself to be just as spineless as his parents in terms of this. However, he certainly seems remorseful and repentant when he realises the consequences of what he has done. FIND QUOTES AND PEE regrading how he takes responsibility for his actions.

It is worth mentioning here that Eric is an alcoholic, (comment on the stage directions on page 203) AND YET HIS OWN FAMILY HAVE NOT NOTICED. They do not even take full responsibility for their own children, let alone anybody else.

The ending of the play is confusing and hugely important. Before the Inspector leaves, he delivers a few lengthy speeches regarding the family's responsibility and the state of the world. He is talking to the AUDIENCE here, as well as the Birlings. He states that there are many more like Eva SMith who still need to be helped. This is a MISSION STATEMENT. Audience members are supposed to hear this and CHANGE THEIR WAYS. We then watch the end of the play to see whether or not the Birlings take the same warning.

We could assume, for example, that if the Birlings had all said (We feel terrible. We can't believe wat we've done. We are going to live the rest of our lives making sure that the poor are treated fairly, and that we act responsibly) then the horrible ending to the play would not have happened. In literary terms, this is where the Birlings should have 'Learned their lesson', in the same way that Scrooge does in 'A Christmas Carol'. However, in this play, the family do not learn their lesson and they are effectively PUNISHED for it. Once the family figure out that Goole is not a real inspector, and that there is not really a suicide victim lying dead in the local hospital, they suddenly forget about all of the horrible, cruel things they have done, and begin to celebrate again. Provided they can 'cover up' what they have done, they will be happy. Once they have made this decision not to heed the warning of the inspector, the phone call comes through to inform them that they will now have to face the 'real life' trial concerning a 'real life' suicide (at least that is how I always read it anyway). They are given one last chance to take responsibility and repent - but they don't. Well, some of them don't anyway. The younger generation sort of do. You will need to put this isnto your own words, and use LOTS OF QUOTES from the text to back it up using PEE.

So, there you go! I've provided you with 2500 words of ideas, and you only have to write around 1000. Obviously I have not provided you with all the evidence that you need, but I have pointed you towards the right pages in most instances. Devote a couple of hours to this making notes, and you should be fine.

Essay plan is up to you. It should roughly follow this pattern,

Intro - Outlining themes and background

Around 8 - 10 paragraphs where you talk about any of the issues outlined above. How is RESPONSIBILITY important in relation to characters/text/structure/stage directions/messages to the audience.

Conclusion - summing up why responsibility was such an important issue in this play in relation to what was going on in the world at the time.

Good luck!

NW

Spread the word!

Google docs is really not being kind to me at all! I will have to just post things on here, and keep trying. If I don;t manage to get everything on tonight, it will be on in the morning. You'll still have plenty of time to prepare. Please spread the word to everyone in the class that this stuff is going online.

Cheers to everyone who has bobbed up so far.

NW

So, how to plan?

You are instructed to write about 1000 words, and you have 2 hours left to do it.

You should make around 1-2 sides of notes on A4 paper to take into the assessment with you. These should not contain CONTINUOUS PROSE.

As for what goes into the assessment, obviously that has to be up to you, and you should dedicate time preparing what you are going to write so that you are ready to begin the assessment when we get back next week.

There are many ways you could plan this.

To begin with, you really must write an introduction which explores the background to the play, talking about why the theme of responsibility is so important, why the years of writing/setting are so important etc.

Once you have done this, you need to work your way through important parts of the play, focusing closely on the text.

In note form, I am going to provide you with some ideas. It is up to you to read what I have put and decide which things you will focus on in your assessment, adding and expanding your own ideas along the way.

Ideas in next post!

A general overview - in case you need a bit of a 'way in'

Ok,

So you've all read the play, but some of you may need a bit of a 'way in' in order to help you understand exactly what this question is asking you:

Explore the ways in which the theme of RESPONSIBILITY is presented to the audience in the play.

We are basically saying, how is Responsibility important in the play.

The main reason is quite simple really. When the play was written, the Second World War was just coming to an end. Priestley, like many other people, had heeded the warnings which the world had been given by TWO WORLD WARS. Like many, he had seen the devastation and destruction that wars could cause. He was a staunch SOCIALIST, which meant that he believed everyone should be treated equally, regardless of their class or social standing. Because of this, Priestley was a massive supporter of the introduction of THE WELFARE STATE at the end of WWII (Meaning that benefits, NHS etc were introduced to support the working class and 'reward' them for their role in fighting for their country).

At this point, Priestley probably saw our country as being at a very important CROSSROADS. The wars (particularly WWII) had forced the classes to pull together to fight a common enemy. The scale of the war had taken its toll on the country and its economy. Everyone was subject to rationing. In many ways, the CLASS SYSTEM was far less important or prominent than it had been for a long time in this country.

Many people of the time saw that 'Britain had a choice': Return to the way things used to be, or move forward, treating everybody more fairly.

At the end of the day, we are all just people: whether we are royalty or binmen. Socialists REALISE THIS and believe that the way the world works should reflect this. Nobody in this country should die of starvation (for example) when there are people just a few miles away living in stately homes.

So, to illustrate his point, Priestley decided to set the play 33 years earlier, before either of the world wars had taken place. By doing this, he could show the watching audience HOW THINGS USED TO BE and to use it as a warning of how things could turn out if they didn't show more COMPASSION for each other, or TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS.

The play is set in 1912 - the year the Titanic sank, and 3 years before WWI. By setting the play in this year, Priestley was able to present a stuck up, arrogant family to the audience who seemed completely confident in their own social standing and their sure-to-be prosperous future. We in the audience, on the other hand, know that their future holds nothing but destruction and disaster simply because the attitudes of a relatively few people in the upper classes allowed Europe to go to war when it was not necessary.

To show this in even greater detail, Priestley creates a MICROCOSM. The BIRLINGS represent the ROCHER CLASSES and their actions, whereas EVA SMITH/DAISY RENTON represents the POORER/WORKING CLASSES. By seeing how the richer characters treat poor Eva Smith, it illustrates to the audience how the actions of some can have a total and disastrous effect on others.

Quite simply, some of the characters TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for their actions, and other don't. In your essay, you need to explore:

Who does

Who doesn't

How this is shown

and

What Priestley i trying to get us to think!

The Mark Scheme - MUST READ!

As you can see, the mark scheme requires you to provide "a convincing response, supported by perceptive textual reference" if you want to achieve a band 5. This means you must ALWAYS support what you have put with evidence from the text. As we have discussed before, you will show yourself to be PERCEPTIVE by:

*Making points that the majority of people won't see.
*Backing up your points with MULTIPLE pieces of evidence, or by FORMING AN ARGUMENT showing how a character, theme etc has changed over time.
*Making assumptions and hypothesising over what the purpose to of the playwright is/was when the play was written - ie, WHAT IS HE TRYING TO GET THE AUDIENCE TO THINK?

You must also show PERCEPTIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE THEME/IDEAS.

So, you must show that you totally understand the following things:

*How is the theme of responsibility SHOWN
*Why is it presented as being such a big deal in the play?
*What was going on in the world at the time that made this such a big, important deal??

Make sure you keep this in mind as you are working folks!

NW

Preparation for the task! (Taken from BBC Website)

(Having a bit of trouble figuring out how to upload as a google doc - so I will put a bit of prep on there for you to be getting on with)

TASK - Explore the ways in which the theme of RESPONSIBILITY is presented to the audience in the play.

To begin with, it is absolutely essential that you understand the background to this play. The best way for you to get your heads around this will be for me to take some snippets from BBC’s Bitesize site, which sums up the issues surrounding this play nicely.

It is essential that your introduction outlines these issues:

*What was the world like when the play was written?

*What was it like when the play was set?

*What are the playwright’s main messages and lessons to the watching audience?

Etc.

John Boynton Priestley was born in Yorkshire in 1894. He knew early on that he wanted to become a writer, but decided against going to university as he thought he would get a better feel for the world around him away from academia. Instead, he became a junior clerk with a local wool firm at the age of 16.

When the First World War broke out, Priestley joined the infantry and only just escaped death on a number of occasions. After the war, he gained a degree from Cambridge University, then moved to London to work as a freelance writer. He wrote successful articles and essays, then published the first of many novels, The Good Companions, in 1929. He wrote his first play in 1932 and went on to write 50 more. Much of his writing was ground-breaking and controversial. He included new ideas about possible parallel universes and strong political messages.

During the Second World War he broadcast a massively popular weekly radio programme which was attacked by the Conservatives as being too left-wing. The programme was eventually cancelled by the BBC for being too critical of the Government.

He continued to write into the 1970s, and died in 1984.

During the 1930's Priestley became very concerned about the consequences of social inequality in Britain, and in 1942 Priestley and others set up a new political party, the Common Wealth Party, which argued for public ownership of land, greater democracy, and a new 'morality' in politics. The party merged with the Labour Party in 1945, but Priestley was influential in developing the idea of the Welfare State which began to be put into place at the end of the war.

He believed that further world wars could only be avoided through cooperation and mutual respect between countries, and so became active in the early movement for a United Nations. And as the nuclear arms race between West and East began in the 1950s, he helped to found CND, hoping that Britain would set an example to the world by a moral act of nuclear disarmament.

This was the period of the Russian Revolution, two appalling world wars, the Holocaust and the Atom Bomb.

This table describes what society was like in 1912 and in 1945

An Inspector Callsis set in 1912	An Inspector Calls was written in 1945.	Images
The First World War would start in two years. Birling's optimistic view that there would not be a war is completely wrong.	The Second World War ended in Europe on 8 May 1945. People were recovering from nearly six years of warfare, danger and uncertainty.
There were strong distinctions between the upper and lower classes.	Class distinctions had been greatly reduced as a result of two world wars.
Women were subservient to men. All a well off women could do was get married; a poor woman was seen as cheap labour.	As a result of the wars, women had earned a more valued place in society.
The ruling classes saw no need to change the status quo.	There was a great desire for social change. Immediately after The Second World War, Clement Attlee's Labour Party won a landslide victory over Winston Churchill and the Conservatives.

Priestley deliberately set his play in 1912 because the date represented an era when all was very different from the time he was writing. In 1912, rigid class and gender boundaries seemed to ensure that nothing would change. Yet by 1945, most of those class and gender divisions had been breached. Priestley wanted to make the most of these changes. Through this play, he encourages people to seize the opportunity the end of the war had given them to build a better, more caring society.

Bitesize also offers some points/notes about responsibility which will be worth reading to help with your planning etc:

In An Inspector Calls, the central theme is responsibility. Priestley is interested in our personal responsibility for our own actions and our collective responsibility to society. The play explores the effect of class, age and sex on people's attitudes to responsibility, and shows how prejudice can prevent people from acting responsibly.

So, how does Priestley weave the themes through the play?

Responsibility

Enlarge image

The words responsible and responsibilityare used by most characters in the play at some point.

Each member of the family has a different attitude to responsibility. Make sure that you know how each of them felt about their responsibility in the case of Eva Smith.

The Inspector wanted each member of the family to share the responsibility of Eva's death: he tells them, "each of you helped to kill her." However, his final speech is aimed not only at the characters on stage, but at the audience too:

One Eva Smith has gone - but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives, and what we think and say and do.

The Inspector is talking about a collective responsibility, everyone is society is linked, in the same way that the characters are linked to Eva Smith. Everyone is a part of "one body", the Inspector sees society as more important than individual interests. The views he is propounding are like those of Priestley who was a socialist.

He adds a clear warning about what could happen if, like some members of the family, we ignore our responsibility:

And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, when they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.

What would Priestley have wanted his audience to think of when the Inspector warns the Birlings of the "fire and blood and anguish"?

Probably he is thinking partly about the world war they had just lived through - the result of governments blindly pursuing 'national interest' at all costs. No doubt he was thinking too about the Russian revolution in which poor workers and peasants took over the state and exacted a bloody revenge against the aristocrats who had treated them so badly.