English Literature AS: Characterisation

A part B question may ask how authors/poets use characters to shape meanings/make something interesting/convey x/display a relationship/literally anything else. I won't go into all of it here (because I'd be talking for ages) but there are certain things you can talk about here when referring to characters.

Description

• What does the character look like?
• 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner' -  the Wedding Guest is using the Mariner's physical appearance "grey-beard loon" to characterise him as a) a bit mental but more importantly b) ancient and possibly supernatural
• 'Enduring Love' - we don't learn much of Joe's appearance, but he calls himself "large" and "balding", whereas through Joe we know Jed's appearance, and how he resembles a "pale Indian brave"...think about why this might be important (is he a strong and brave as he looks? Is he actually not brave-looking at all? In chapter seven Joe thinks Jed looks quite pathetic at first, similar to the end of chapter 10)
• 'The Great Gatsby' - we don't learn what Nick looks like, which may suggest his neutrality(?) as a narrator. Also, many of the women described sound physically similar - is this a comment on the 'flappers' of the 1920s?
• 'Godiva' - think of all the natural imagery used to characterise Lady Godiva and present her beauty. Similarly, think of the cosmic imagery used to characterise Sir Lancelot's looks in 'The Lady of Shalott'
• Certain characters may report on other characters. In the case of 'The Great Gatsby' and 'Enduring Love' in particular, the novels are (mostly) told from first-person narration, so characters such as Tom Buchanan, Clarissa, Gatsby or Jed Parry may come from other people.
• Joe characterises Jed as his "tormentor"
• Nick characterises Gatsby as "gorgeous"
• The Wedding Guest characterises the Mariner as a "grey-beard loon"
• Ulysses characterises his wife as simply "aged"

Action

• How do characters react in certain moments of action?
• Joe's thought processes in chapter one of 'Enduring Love' - a catastrophe is unfolding before his very eyes, and yet he remains surprisingly calm and rational, talking of "mathematical grace" and "angles of collision"
• Gatsby similarly remains quite calm in his heated confrontation with Tom in chapter seven of 'The Great Gatsby'
• The Mariner seems to make irrational decisions in moments of action, such as the killing of the albatross in part I which leads to his curse
• Do characters get involved in action?
•  If we take Nick Carraway, we could say yes or no. Sometimes Fitzgerald employs scenic method and presents Nick as something of a bystander, whereas in other situations Nick gets involved, like when he shouts to Gatsby about how is better than the whole damn bunch, or words to that effect
• Joe Rose arguably gets very involved in action. He starts off trying to help the Gadd family in the balloon incident, and much of the story follows Joe's motives and where he's going, whether it's to confront Parry, to get a gun from the hippies or whether it's to go to the police
• The Mariner doesn't really have much choice - he relives the actions he went through every day. The Wedding Guest, however, acts as a sort of internal audience to the narrative. He doesn't get involved in much action, but more or less just listens to the story
• Ulysses starts off inactive but decides to become involved in more adventures/voyages towards the end of the poem, like in his earlier days. Similarly the Lady of Shalott moves from inactivity to activity and then back to inactivity (nice way of saying she dies)

Thought/Conversation

• Thoughts
• Nick Carraway says "I am inclined to reserve all judgements" in chapter one but we simply know that's not quite true...his thoughts may characterise him as a neutral, unbiased bloke but at the same time may characterise him to be bland and stale, and perhaps even a little priggish
• Joe Rose seems very assertive in his thoughts and narration, and tries to set certain things in stone, such as the importance of science over religion and the arts...as the novel develops his thoughts become less rational, which may characterise him in two different ways - the man who is rational and the man who isn't - either way he is constantly trying to be assertive in the novel
• Tithonus thinks quite a lot about how bloody horrible immortality is, and goes over this quite a lot in the course of the poem
• Conversation
• Tom Buchanan seems to be more or less irritating in every conversation he is. He seems to be characterised by Fitzgerald as pompous, rude and self-righteous. He even pisses Nick off, with Nick bluntly stating "this annoyed me" when Tom callously remarks how he's never heard of Nick's bonds company
• In conversation with Joe, Jed is characterised in two ways depending on where abouts in the novel you're looking. At first, his romantic flowery language may seem to characterise him as a pathetic character who we should feel sympathy for, however later on - in chapter ten, for example - his conversations with Joe become more menacing, and he uses expletives and threats in his language

Symbols/Images

• In 'The Great Gatsby', Daisy may be characterised to symbolise the types of women who are targeted by the 1920s and live luxuriously - Jordan Baker may be symbolised as the rise of modernity, whereas Myrtle Wilson may be a symbol for the American Dream
• In 'Enduring Love' it's too simple to say that Joe symbolises science, Jed religion and Clarissa the arts. All of them overlap...so if you go down that route make sure you let the examiner know it's not as simple as it seems!
• The Mariner may symbolise the journey from innocence to wisdom, which is also in-keeping with elements of Romanticism

English Literature AS: Context

As part of the exam, you're going to have to talk about the context of one text you've studied (AO4, context, is assessed in part 2 of section A), which can sometimes be quite tricky...I'll try and concisely (famous last words) go through the basic contexts for the following literature texts:

• Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby'
• McEwan's 'Enduring Love'
• Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner'
• Tennyson's collection in the anthology

Most people find context a bit daunting because they overcomplicate it for themselves. I find it easier to divide context into two types:

• Internal context - this is context within the world of the narrative. If you reference other parts of the text or explain what's going on in the character's life in terms of the story as a whole, that counts as context!
• External context - this is context outside the world of the narrative, whether it's social, historical, political or moral - this is the one people usually find difficult

Internal context is self-explanatory and dependent on what you're talking about, so I'll focus just on external context.

CONTEXT IN THE GREAT GATSBY

In my opinion, 'The Great Gatsby' is the best text to talk about with regards to context, which is why I'm probably going to talk about it in section A. 

Firstly, the fact that the novel is set in 1920s America is really important when talking about context. This is the 'Jazz Age', or the 'roaring twenties'. It's the post-war world of consumerism, materialism and opportunities. The American Dream is a new and potential concept, and modernism is cropping up everywhere (Fitzgerald may be making a comment on modernism - it is, after all, what kills Myrtle...). It's a time of prohibition, which makes Gatsby's parties slightly suspicious, and it's a time of sexual freedom and near equality for men and women, with women fighting for the vote in England and America. In New York especially, skyscrapers and innovative buildings like the Empire State Building were entering production, and surrealist art was becoming more popular. The geographical contexts of East and West Egg may also directly symbolise the rivalry between the American Midwest and East Coast at that time.

Advertisement is also incredibly popular in America at this time, as reflected by the several references to the billboard of Dr T. J. Eckleburg. Following Myrtle's death, Wilson claims that the eyes of Dr Eckleburg are the eyes of God that are constantly watching him...perhaps Fitzgerald is suggesting that advertisement has replaced God as an omniscient 'being'.

The Declaration of Independence in the 1920s promoted equality and rights to everyone - everyone was in the pursuit of happiness. There was a general belief in freedom from class (although this is arguable in the novel, particularly considering the East/West divide), race and gender. Racism and slavery are considered to be 'America's original sin', and yet it's not totally devoid of racism (listen to Tom's views in chapter one, for example). The KKK are popular in '20s America, and African-Americans were still only seen as 3/5 human. There was a strong sense of isolationism, particularly to those who were descended from immigrants - xenophobia was rife. 

CONTEXT IN ENDURING LOVE

This is probably the trickiest, seeing as it's a modern novel and we expect context to therefore be almost impossible to obtain. However, McEwan still plants bits of context through the novel...

Science is given priority over art and religion by Joe - why is this? Joe talks a lot about Neo-Darwinism and contemporary science in the novel, and seems to suggest that because it is newer than religion and art it therefore has priority over them. Both religion (Jed) and art(s) (Clarissa) date back to the beginning of humanity, but science is much more recent in terms of facts and theories. You could therefore talk about how context is used to separate Joe from Jed and Clarissa.

Apart from that, it's quite hard to pick out contexts. You could gauge a lot from Keats and his relationship with Fanny Brawne, and how Joe and Clarissa may be a modern representation of the two. You could also talk about the concept of post-modernism and how Joe argues that there is no objective truth - moral and ethical issues such as fate, chance and duty are all brought up in the first two chapters alone, and may be interesting to link to religion and/or science.

CONTEXT IN RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER

Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner' was first published in 1798 in 'Lyrical Ballads', a collection of poems by Coleridge and Wordsworth. However, Wordsworth notified Coleridge that there were perhaps too many archaisms in this version, and so Coleridge wrote and published another version in 1817. The fact that the poem is written in standard ballad form (mostly) and uses lexical archaisms suggest that Coleridge is trying to replicate a 13th century ballad.

Early nineteenth century was a time where Romanticism was rife, and there are many Romantic elements in the poem, such as:

• the journey from innocence to wisdom
• the conflicting notions of goodness:
• 1) all men have innate goodness
• 2) all men will create their own downfall in order to know true goodness
• nature 'refreshing' the soul
• Dark Romanticism - outsiders and outcasts who are alone and misunderstood (NOT emos)

Coleridge's religious views may also be good talking points when referring to external context. At first he believed in pantheism - the belief that God and nature are 'as one life'. He later rejected this, and then held the permanent belief that "nature is the eternal language which God utters". The religious context in the poem seems to be Christian - with the albatross as a symbol of Christ - but there are strange warps on Christian morals - after being 'forgiven' the Mariner is still cursed...the moral/religious context isn't as generic as we might think at first.

CONTEXT IN TENNYSON'S POETRY

Many of Tennyson's poems in this collection are depictions of stories from Ancient Greece (Ulysses, Tithonus) or medieval folklore (Godiva, The Lady of Shalott). Some are even stories about characters from other published works (Mariana). It's therefore possible to mention the context of the original stories.

Lady Godiva, for example, is a story from the 11th century, where women are - let's face it - not as equal to men as we'd like. Therefore you could talk about why that makes her act of riding through Coventry naked on the horse even more shocking (and perhaps inspiring?). If asked about women in a part 2 section of section A it would be interesting to mention context and the roles of women. In Ancient Greek lore, women were never the adventurers...Ulysses calls his other half an "aged wife" and we don't hear of her again. Conversely, women may be presented as figures of beauty (Lady Godiva and the Lady of Shalott) or even as goddesses (Aurora in 'Tithonus').

Tennyson also lost his greatest friend Hallam during the writing of some of his poems. This greatly influenced his attitude to life, and this can be seen explicitly in the change of tones in 'Ulysses' and 'Tithonus'. In 'Ulysses' the message is all about taking life as it comes and seizing the day, whereas 'Tithonus' is about how death is some kind of release and how life - particularly eternal life - can be worse than death in many ways.

History AS: Henry VII and Government

Like finance, this is usually an area people forget/hate. It's not the most entertaining thing in the world but if it comes up and you haven't revise it you'll be the one who feels like eating sandpaper when you're sat in the exam...

THE ROYAL COURT


There isn't much judgement here...you just need to know that the royal court was basically divided into the following:

• Service Department
• Privy Chamber
• The Chamberlain
• Guard Chamber

THE COUNSEL

Henry ruled through the counsel by issuing various decrees and proclamations. The rules and procedures were very flexible...that's about it really...

COUNCIL LEARNED IN LAW

The Counsel Learned in Law (CLiL) was originally set up to deal with the King's personal interests, but is perhaps better known as a 'debt-collection agency' of the Tudor times...the first leader of the CLiL was Sir Reginald Bray, but the wealthy didn't like him because he enforced harsh bonds on them. After his death, Empson and Dudley took over. They were possibly more hated for being harsh and ruthless...when Henry VIII came into power, he executed both Empson and Dudley.

JPs

JPs (or Justices of the Peace) were like a local police body, who could enforce the law on issues such as rioting and gambling (or both if you're mental). However, Henry treated them quite poorly, and issued a manual for them telling them how to do their jobs in 1506! They were rarely rewarded and so often performed poorly.

PARLIAMENT

Parliament was often called when Henry was in moments of insecurity of King...a couple of examples of parliamentary acts are:

• The 1495 De Facto Act
• Extension of the role of JPs (so they could punish people for all offences except murder)

ADMIN

Henry used old, experienced judges from the time of Richard III such as William Huse. He also passed 'in forma pauperis', which allowed the poorest of the poor to be able to sue.

STAR CHAMBER

Henry set up the Star Chamber in 1487 as a conciliar committee to allow the powerful to be prosecuted, but it was very rarely used. It was Wolsey who really utilised the Star Chamber much later on.

History AS: How did Henry VII secure his reign?

This could come up as a 12 marker or could even be part of a 24 marker, e.g. 'How successful was Henry VII in securing his position as King in 1485?' so I thought I'd go through it briefly - it's very simple!

• Henry backdated his reign to the 21st August, one day before the Battle of Bosworth. This way he was able to accuse everyone who fought against him as traitors
• Henry's coronation was expensive and extravagant (which weirdly seems unlike Henry VII). The ceremony was supervised by the Earls of Oxford, Pembroke and Nottingham, and Henry wore velvet robes...what a fashionista. He also bought golden cloth that was £8 per yard
• Henry went to Parliament to declare his title officially. He also reversed/issued Acts of Attainder and Acts of Resumption for those who fought with/against him at Bosworth
• Henry got on good terms with the Pope, which more or less put him on good terms with most of the people
• Henry married Elizabeth of York, which was a powerful dynastic symbol of unity - plus she gave him two heirs, Arthur and Henry!

And that's it! Easy!

History AS: Yorkshire Rebellion

I won't write up about the Cornish, because a) you don't need to know much and b) I'm pretty sure it came up in last year's paper as a 12 mark question. The Yorkshire rebellion is good for 12 markers or as an example in a 24 marker though!

1. Henry goes to parliament to get a subsidy for the conflict between France and Brittany.
2. The Earl of Northumberland is given the task of collecting the money for the subsidy, but the people of Yorkshire protest, and a rebellion starts...
3. The rebel leader, John a Chambre, meets to 'talk things through' with Northumberland...and Northumberland ends up dead (woops)
4. The rebels crap themselves and ask Henry for a pardon, but he refuses, and sends out an army to Yorkshire. John a Chambre is later hanged.
5. The rebels find another leader, Sir John Egremont, but he proves to be unreliable and flees to Burgundy.
6. Henry learnt from the rebellion and never raised tax for Yorkshire again.

History AS: Lambert Simnel Rebellion

The bare details of what you'll need to know (exam-wise) for the Lambert Simnel rebellion. It may come up as a 12 marker, or there may be a 24 marker on rebellions. You could also talk about it in a 'rebellions' paragraph in a 24 marker about Henry VII being a good king/bad king/just right king...

1. In Oxford, the 10 year old Lambert Simnel is recognised by his tutor Richard Simons as having potential to go on to do something big (think the American Dream but not American and a few centuries too early...'Tudor Dream' sounds crap). Simons tutors Simnel on areas such as languages and politics.
2. Simons decides to make Simnel pretend he's the Earl of Warwick, who has a strong claim to the English throne.
3. A rebellion begins! Margaret of Burgundy supplies the Yorkist rebellion with 2,000 German merceneries.
4. Simnel is 'crowned' in Ireland, which gives him a lot of foreign attention and support!
5. The Yorkists invade England and move down from the North, picking up support (remember the North was where Richard III had his power base, so it's good for finding angry Yorkists!). Then Henry pulls out a twist and reveals the real Earl of Warwick...then, in true Shakespearean 'Comedy of Errors' style, everyone gets a bit confused...
6. It ends up at the Battle of Stoke, which is very reminiscent of Bosworth. Henry wins, and gives Simnel a job in his household. Simnel proves to be totally loyal later on.

History AS: Wolsey's Domestic Reforms

Most people's dreaded topic (it's actually one of my favourites to talk about) is what Wolsey did in terms of domestic policy. In some areas, the answer is lots. In others, not so much. 

WOLSEY AND LAW

Positives

• Wolsey was Lord Chancellor, and often sat in the Star Chamber to ensure he was at the heart of all things legal (that wasn't his catchphrase though)
• In 1516 Wolsey put forward a plan to try and make the legal system cheaper and more efficient
• The Star Chamber took on many more cases. In Henry VII's reign it took on roughly 12 cases per year, but under Wolsey this reached an average of 120 cases a year. An example is the case of the Earl of Northumberland, who was sent to Fleet Prison in 1515
• Wolsey also sat as a judge in the Court of Chancery
• Land enclosure was banned, making it fairer on ordinary people

Negatives

• The huge number of cases the Star Chamber took on led to the system becoming overworked
• The popularity of the Star Chamber somewhat overshadowed Wolsey's work in the Court of Chancery
• Wolsey may have banned enclosure to spite nobles who hated him as opposed to banning it in the name of equality and fairness

WOLSEY AND FINANCE

Positives

• Wolsey invented the parliamentary subsidy, which was flexible and based on the taxpayer's wealth - this raised £300,000 for the crown
• There was a tax reform, which was overseen by John Hales
• Wolsey got a subsidy from the Southern Convocation
• Wolsey carried out a military survey called the General Prescription, which allowed for loans of £260,000 to be collected

Negatives

• People didn't like the parliamentary subsidy, believe it or not...
• Despite the General Prescription, no military reorganisation was carried out even though it needed doing. Also, the loans were supposed to be refundable but Wolsey sort of ignored that bit
• Parliament was called once, and following complaints about abuses in the church was never called again
• Most of the people if parliament hated Wolsey, and saw him as a social climber
• Many argue that Wolsey never understood the importance of foreign trade, and the 1517 'Evil May Day' saw anti-foreign merchant riots in London

WOLSEY AND GOVERNMENT/ADMIN

Positives

• The 1526 Eltham Ordinances - this was an administrative reform from Wolsey. Wolsey reduced the Privy Council from 12 people to 6, to make the system more efficient
• He sent loyal servants of the King to work in different localities to build up Henry's reputation across the country
• He often sent nobles who he didn't like out into the country so they wouldn't pose a problem
• Historian Dawson stated that Wolsey "pursued his centralising drive with some success"
• Wolsey ensured that the JP system kept developing

Negatives

• The Eltham Ordinances led to the removal of key figures such as William Compton, the Groom of the Stool...who's going to wipe Henry's arse now?!
• In 1519 and 1526 Wolsey prepared plans for government reforms, but they were never carried out

WOLSEY AND THE CHURCH

Positives

• Wolsey was papal legate, and so had the power to reform the church
• He centralised church affairs, showing state control and authority

Negatives

• Despite being papal legate, Wolsey didn't do much to reform the church
• Centralising church affairs led to the church feeling a lack of independence
• Wolsey was the Abbot of St. Albans but wasn't even a monk...
• He was guilty of nepotism, absenteeism, pluralism and had illegitimate children
• He once said "If only I had served God as diligently as I have done the King"
• He often interfered with church affairs for personal profit
• Many bishops simply hated it!
• In 5 years, 30 religious houses were dissolved 
• He appointed foreigners as bishops, which led to absenteeism as many couldn't regularly maintain their positions in England