Comparative Literature – the 10 Commandments

Following a most enjoyable and informative workshop “The Comparative Study in Focus – Thinking about the Major Issues“ facilitated by Ray Frawley, we thought you might like to look at what Ray termed the 10 Commandments when tackling the Comparative Literature question.

• Analyse the question and answer it.
• Understand two of the Prescribed Modes and how they relate to the texts.
• Have key moments / references / quotes well rehearsed in advance.
• Avoid detailed summary of the plot / key moments, concentrate on its effect in relation to the mode.
• Keep personal response in mind all of the time
• Know texts and authors and how you will identify them. Make sure to use the correct spelling of the characters names.
• Think in paragraphs and watch punctuation.
• Take care with the links between paragraphs.
• Vary compare / contrast language eg likewise, similarly, on the contrary, whereas, in a different way, the complete opposite, on the other hand, quite reverse, reminiscent of etc
• Consider strong opening and closing paragraphs

This workshop will be held in various venues during October and November. Teachers interested should click here for further information.

English Teachers Conference 2011

Hotel Kilkenny will host the annual English Teachers Conference on October 8th. There are places for 200 teachers  but with over 600 members nationwide they are sure to fill up quickly.

Presentations include Finding Shakespeare in Unlikely Places, The Language of Film, Using Web Tools in English Teaching and The ‘Can Do’ Approach to Short Story Writing.

To find out more about INOTE and the conference, click here.

Hamlet at the Helix

This April, students in Ms Egan’s, Ms Donlon’s and some from Mr Brannigan’s classes attended The Second Age Theatre Company’s comtemporary production of Hamlet. Directed by Aoife Spillane Hinks, the performance successfully captured one of the greatest tragedies of all time. A story of intrigue, treachery and tragedy.

Conor O’Rourke from fifth year gives his thoughts on the performance.

I enjoyed the production of Hamlet. It was interesting to see the play as it would have been performed when first written. The character of Hamlet was very convincing and he showed his emotions well. I thought Claudius was quite good also, but he tended to overdo the part in the second half of the play. Polonius and Laertes were both excellently portrayed, with Polonius being the stronger of the two. He was nosey and interfering just as Shakespeare created him. Gertrude was okay but she didn’t impose too much on the action. The character of Ophelia was quite poor and failed to capture the girl’s madness in later parts of the drama.

I thought the use of the stage was really ingenious and the change of scenery by moving the walls was nicely done. The setting was appropriate to the drama and it was strange to be so close to the actors. The actors themselves were quite good and in particular, Hamlet was most entertaining. The use of props such as brandy glasses and the way in which the ghost was captured, behind a thin wall, was an interesting way of dealing with such a dramatic device. I liked the way the characters were dressed in modern yet formal clothing and the modern props such as guns, road works. Even with these the play managed to keep to the story and swords were used in the final scene.

Overall I thought the play was excellently produced. The only short-coming being the length. The first section of the play seemed to drag on a bit and it was difficult to pay attention to the things that were going on but the second section was livelier and the play ended well.

Leaving Certificate 2013, Prescribed Texts

Students who are due to commence the 2013 Leaving Certificate course next September might be interested in viewing the list of prescribed texts.

Macbeth makes another appearance in the Single Text section, while there are quite a few interesting and challenging texts included for comparative study.  Why not read some of them over the summer holidays?

Click here to see the list.

World Book Day 2011

World Book Day will be celebrated on March 3rd this year. The aim of the day is to encourage children and young people to explore the pleasure of books and reading them by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own.

English teachers will be distributing €1,50  book tokens to students during the week. They are valid in all participating bookshops and will be valid until March 28th. Why not treat yourself to a new book?

We also intend to compile a list of favourite books as chosen by pupils and maybe even some of our teachers!

Creative Writing and Storybird

We tried out something new with Transition Year students today. Rather than the traditional approach to Creative Writing we used the Storybird site which offers an new way to encourage writing.

They begin with a visual image and then the writer creates the story. There is a vast array of different images to choose from and for those still needing inspiration, there are themes in the form of tags. Once an image is chosen a variety of other images appear and students can begin to create their story books. It’s easy to add or remove pages and once you’re happy with your creation it can be saved.

As the different story books started to come together there was a real sense of pride in the creations. We used the lesson today to find our way around the site but next time the serious writing begins.

The story books looked so good that students suggested that we print off the stories and include them in their their Transition Year portfolios.

Reading Ulysses

Ulysses is a challenging book and has a reputation for being difficult. In preparation for Bloomsday 2011 Seamus Cannon offers the opportunity to master the text through a series of six talks on the novel between now and June 16th.

The focus of the talks will be on reading Ulysses. Each chaper will be introduced and discussed. Seamus also hopes to conduct a number of evening walks along the routes travelled by the principal characters in the novel.

The first lecture in this series will happen in the Blackrock Education Centre on Febuary8th at 7pm.  The remaining lectures will take place on the first Tuesday of every month.

To book a place you should register here.

‘Hamlet’ Resources

For 5th and 6th Year students who are studying Hamlet for their Single Text question, here are some resources that we thought you might find useful as you revise the text.

• Produced by RTE Radio 1, Alan Stanford gives a four part masterclass on Hamlet. To listen back to the series click here.
• If you would like to download the whole text of the play to your computer, click here.

Snow II

With the return of the wintry weather we thought you would like to read another of our favourite poems about snow.

Taken from Emily Dickinson’s Poems, Series 2: III – Nature, this poem entitled The Snow conveys the beauty of the grounds around the Coláiste Éanna today.

 

THE SNOW

It sifts from leaden sieves,

It powders all the wood,

It fills with alabaster wool

The wrinkles of the road.

It makes an even face

Of mountain and of plain, –

Unbroken forehead from the east

Unto the east again.

It reaches to the fence,

It wraps it, rail by rail,

Till it is lost in fleeces;

It flings a crystal veil

On stump and stack and stem, –

The summer’s empty room,

Acres of seams where harvests were,

Recordless, but for them.

It ruffles wrists of posts,

As ankles of a queen, –

Then stills its artisans like ghosts,

Denying they have been.

Christmas Wish List…

With less than two weeks to Christmas we thought you might like some present recommendations.

Book tokens make great gifts for young and old but if you’re looking for something to wrap up then here are a few suggestions…

• Postcards from Penguin-100 covers of old Penguin books (available from Amazon for around €10)
• Clip Book Light (available from most bookshops)
• Kindle Reading Device (if money is no object!)
• Electronic Dictionary and Thesaurus
• Famous authors posters, mugs, tshirts (from www.authorspictures.com)
• Books, books and more books