1 CRITICAL ESSAY WRITINGNATIONAL 5 ENGLISH

2 FIRSTLY, PICK THE RIGHT QUESTIONEach question will ask you to do TWO things: Choose a suitable text for the question. Carry out the task the question asks you to do. (Usually two parts to the question)

3 5. Choose a poem which describes a person or a place or an event in a memorable way.By referring to poetic techniques, explain how the poet makes this poem so memorable. 6. Choose a poem which deals with a powerful emotion. By referring to poetic techniques, show how the poet creates the powerful emotion. 5. Choose a poem in which setting is an important feature. By referring to poetic techniques, show how setting contributes to your appreciation of the poem as a whole. 6. Choose a poem which makes you think more deeply about an aspect of life. By referring to poetic techniques, show how the poet explores this aspect of life. 5. Choose a poem which you find particularly thought-provoking. By referring to poetic techniques, explain how the poet makes this poem so thought-provoking. 6. Choose a poem which deals with human experience. By referring to poetic techniques, show how the poet makes this experience come alive and helps you appreciate the poem as a whole.

4 The single most common fault in the critical essay is failure to focus on the question asked.

5 The second part of the question will set your task.Choose a poem which deals with a powerful emotion. By referring to poetic techniques, show how the poet creates the powerful emotion. What is the emotion? Who is showing it? Why is he showing it? How does he deal with it? What is the technique? Where is it used? Why is it used? What effect does it have?

6 Highlight the key words … use them and answer them!Choose a poem which deals with a powerful emotion. By referring to poetic techniques, show how the poet creates the powerful emotion.

7 What are you being asked to do?What his the emotion? Who is showing it? Why is he showing it? How does he deal with it? What do we learn? (Themes/ideas)

8 You must also refer to APPROPRIATE LITERARY TECHNIQUES.

9 How to Write an Introduction …An introduction need not be very long – i.e. 3-4 sentences. It must: State the name of the text and the author Restate the question inserting the relevant information that you intend to write about. (“Remove the vague ….put in the specifics”) You may give a brief summary of the text – or leave this until the next paragraph. Mention the techniques being explored. Explain how this (focus) has helped you to understand the idea/theme of ….

10 e.g. ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ by Robert Browning is a poem in which the powerful emotion of love is shown through an insane man’s dramatic monologue. Set in Victorian times, the poem is about a man with untold insecurities who takes the life of his lover in order to ensure that she never leaves him. Browning uses poetic techniques including word choice, pathetic fallacy and structure to convey a sense of the speaker’s strange state of mind. It is through these techniques that we begin to understand that there is a difference between love and obsession.

11 Now begin answering the questionWork your way through the key events of the poem… in the order of the story i.e. what happens first - then what happens DO NOT MAKE YOUR ESSAY TECHNIQUE DRIVEN 2. As you do this, name and analyse the techniques that are used 3. Keep referring to the questions key words (i.e. powerful emotion) and what you are learning about his powerful emotion.

12 S.E.X.Y P.E.A.L Q+C+E …. Keep linking back to the focus of the question to show relevance of your comments.

13 What is SEXY S = Statement Make a short clear comment (Topic Sentence)E = Explain this statement in much more detail (Tell more more) X = Example. Quote, Comment and Effect any techniques used in detail. Y = Your opinion. (do this occasionally, not always) * How does this make you feel? * Link back to the focus of the question (i.e. powerful emotion) and what you learn.

14 Quoting Little Quotes: words and short phrases can be placed within the sentences for a continuous flow. e.g. The constant repetition of the word “and” suggests that … Big Quotes: must be centred and on a line of their own… then analysed well.

15 The poem begins with the narrator waiting for his lover, Porphyria, in his cabin during a bad storm. The word choice used to describe the violence of the storm could also be seen as reflecting the melancholy mood of the narrator. “The sullen wind was soon awake, It tore the elm-tops down for spite” The words ‘sullen’ and ‘spite’ suggest intense emotions of anger and cruelty, whilst “tore” foreshadows a potential violence in the speaker’s actions. Perhaps he wonders if she loves him enough to brave the storm. We begin to feel uncertain about the nature of his love for Porphyria as he seems more angry than concerned about her.

16 It is obvious from Porphyria’s actions when she soon arrives, that she dearly loves the speaker. Her willingness to brave the storm and her creating warmth in the cabin, all reflect the love and passion she feels for him. She willingly “stoops” and “kneels” before him in submissive gestures to show her determination to please him. In contrast, the narrator appears to be obsessive and withdrawn towards the woman he claims to love. The constant repetition of the word “and” throughout the poem suggests that the speaker watching Porphyria’s every move in a way that is possessive and alarming rather than loving. This fixation makes the reader feel uncomfortable and begins to questions whether the emotion he feels for her is actually love. He remains sullen and forces her to demonstrate her love to reassure him she… called me. When no voice replied,  She put my arm about her waist,  The caesura after “she called me.” effectively creates a long and sinister pause and foreshadows a darkening in the narrator’s mood towards his lover.

17 What else???? Follow the notes in your planning ….Stick to the question Analyse techniques in detail. What is used? Why is it used? How does it affect you as a viewer? Relate scenes back to how it helps you to understand a theme/idea/message in the film. Keep using key words and link your comments back to the question to show that you are not wandering away from the topic.