Again, brief. This is to help with understanding the most basic information about Jekyll and Hyde.
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Context
The novel was written by Robert Stevenson. He was born in Scotland in 1850. His family background included scientists, engineers, and a religious priests. When we discuss this idea of religion vs science throughout the novel, you can see that this was reflected in Stevenson's life. In 1859, Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species which made it impossible to believe that God created the world in seven days. This made many people see it as an attack on religion. Darwin's theory came at a time of divide between the scientific community and religious community. Many thought that you had to choose between the two. There was no way you could believe in both. Many members of the religious community viewed science and scientists as meddling in matters only God should meddle in. This is essentially what Dr. Jekyll does in the novel.
This novel also came at a time when Victorians viewed people as having a dual nature. That means that people were viewed as being both good and evil. It just depended on what we let people see.
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Plot
Here's the deal. I'm going to break down the plot for you, chapter by chapter, in one sentence. (Side note: there is a belief that if you can't explain something in one sentence, you don't really know it, so do with that what you will).
Chapter 1 - Story of the Door
Enfield and Utterson pass a door which reminds Enfield about a story he heard about a strange man named Mr. Hyde that trampled a girl then paid off the family after entering the door and coming out with a check for a large amount of money.
Chapter 2 - Search for Mr. Hyde
Utterson has heard the name of this man before and starts to investigate it because the name is also on his friend, Dr Jekyll's, will and Utterson is worried Hyde wants to kill Jekyll to benefit from the will.
Chapter 3 - Dr Jekyll was Quite at Ease
Utterson speaks to Jekyll about his worries which Jekyll brushes off while assuring Utterson that he can be rid of Hyde any moment he chooses.
Chapter 4 - The Carew Murder Case
An elderly man is murdered by Hyde using half of a walking stick given to Jekyll from Utterson years earlier but there is and has not been any sign of Hyde for two months (though there are witnesses to state he was indeed the one to murder the old man).
Chapter 5 - Incident of the Letter
Jekyll assures Utterson that Hyde will never been seen or heard of again because of a letter that Hyde had written but when the letter is compared to Jekyll's own handwriting, Utterson is forced to believe that Jekyll forged the letter to cover up for Hyde.
Chapter 6 - Remarkable Incident of Dr Lanyon
Lanyon is on his deathbed (he blames Jekyll) but hands Utterson a letter that he says will explain everything (including his own sickness) but not to open it until Jekyll is missing or dead and then Lanyon dies.
Chapter 7 - Incident at the Window
Utterson and Enfield spot Jekyll in a window looking like a prisoner but Jekyll's expression changes to absolute terror, so much so that it "froze the very blood" of the two below.
Chapter 8 - The Last Night
Utterson breaks into Jekyll's lab to find a body that may or may not be his on the floor near a will that has crossed out Hyde's name and has put Utterson instead.
Chapter 9 - Dr Lanyon's Narrative
Lanyon's letter that was given to Utterson is read and describes how a small looking man took a potion and turned into Jekyll before his eyes, causing Lanyon to become ill.
Chapter 10 - Henry Jekyll's Full Statement of the Case
Jekyll tells the story of how he turned into Hyde and how he became addicted to his dark side and how it was so powerful it overtook him.
Monday, March 6, 2017
Responding to Poetry
A quick look at BBC Bitesize will tell you what you need to know about how to respond to poetry. If you need things broken down further for you, that's what this is here for!
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One rather important thing to remember when responding to poetry is that while your opinion is important, you also need to include a critical analysis of the poem. Often times, students will do one or the other, usually with the focus on how the poem makes them feel.
You know you are going to be asked to compare two poems for your GCSE. There's no way of getting around that. By mixing your personal response and your critical analysis, you can be sure to hit your AOs.
But first, what is your personal response?
Your personal response goes beyond "I like this poem. It is a good poem." While it's fine and dandy that you like this poem, this doesn't really say anything of substance. I like cats. That means nothing to you, right? But if I said, "I like cats because they have the cutest little paws. You can never tell what they're thinking or if they are planning your murder. Plus, you can give cat's catnip and watch them go psycho for a while." In your mind, you're either going "Miss is right! Cats are the cutest!" or "Miss has no idea what she's talking about. Dogs are the best." Either way, you've formed an opinion off of what I said. You're either agreeing with my personal response or disagreeing to it.
Let's look at an example from BBC Bitesize.
Dusting the Phone by Jackie Kay
I am spending my time imagining the worst that could happen.
I know this is not a good idea, that being in love, I could be
spending my time going over the best thing that has been happening.
Sample response:
We can see that the speaker is 'in love' and she imagines 'the worst that could happen'. This is striking because we imagine being in love as being something that makes people happy. However, the first stanza shows that this isn't always the case and that love can make someone anxious and worried.
What do you notice?
The response uses the pronoun 'we'. This is because the response writer is referring to themselves as part of the collective "reader". Not once has the response writer used "we know this because". That is implied information. This personal response is built around textual references and opinions that we can make based off the text. The response writer forms an opinion and backs it up with references from the text.
When forming your response or opinion to the poem, here are some questions to keep in mind.
- how does the poem make me feel?
- are there particular parts of the poem that stand out to me? why?
- what is the poet saying or how is the poet expressing themselves to make me feel this way?
- are there other ways someone might interpret the poem?
- what are the details that might support another interpretation?
-------------------
So you have your personal response, but now what? You need to think more in detail about the effect on the reader and what the poet is doing to get this effect.
Questions to consider:
- is it clear what the poem is about?
- could the poem be about different things? why do you think this?
- are there key lines or phrases that stand out to you?
- are there clues in the title or start/end of the poem?
-------------------
Structuring a Comparative Essay
There is no way to effectively write this essay without planning it first. Writing without planning is only setting yourself up for failure. It takes 5 minutes to make a plan. Do it.
There are two common structures for comparing poetry. The first is simple but it doesn't allow for much critical analysis. This is:
- Introduction
- Poem A
- Poem B
- Conclusion
While this structure allows you to speak on both poems separately, it was by comparing poetry on different aspects (theme, language, etc) that shows higher thinking.
This is why I suggest using structure B.
- Introduction
- Poems A + B Themes
- Poems A + B Structure
- Poems A + B Language
- Conclusion
The topics of each paragraph can be changed. For example, you can change out Themes with Context.
------
The last thing of note is to remember to see your ideas through. The most common mistake made in your mock exams was that your ideas were there, but they weren't sufficient. Really good ideas were mentioned in passing, as if you weren't sure if they were good enough, but then never mentioned again. Be confident in how you approach the poetry, the language, structure, themes, attitudes, contexts. You've got this!
---------
One rather important thing to remember when responding to poetry is that while your opinion is important, you also need to include a critical analysis of the poem. Often times, students will do one or the other, usually with the focus on how the poem makes them feel.
You know you are going to be asked to compare two poems for your GCSE. There's no way of getting around that. By mixing your personal response and your critical analysis, you can be sure to hit your AOs.
But first, what is your personal response?
Your personal response goes beyond "I like this poem. It is a good poem." While it's fine and dandy that you like this poem, this doesn't really say anything of substance. I like cats. That means nothing to you, right? But if I said, "I like cats because they have the cutest little paws. You can never tell what they're thinking or if they are planning your murder. Plus, you can give cat's catnip and watch them go psycho for a while." In your mind, you're either going "Miss is right! Cats are the cutest!" or "Miss has no idea what she's talking about. Dogs are the best." Either way, you've formed an opinion off of what I said. You're either agreeing with my personal response or disagreeing to it.
Let's look at an example from BBC Bitesize.
Dusting the Phone by Jackie Kay
I am spending my time imagining the worst that could happen.
I know this is not a good idea, that being in love, I could be
spending my time going over the best thing that has been happening.
Sample response:
We can see that the speaker is 'in love' and she imagines 'the worst that could happen'. This is striking because we imagine being in love as being something that makes people happy. However, the first stanza shows that this isn't always the case and that love can make someone anxious and worried.
What do you notice?
The response uses the pronoun 'we'. This is because the response writer is referring to themselves as part of the collective "reader". Not once has the response writer used "we know this because". That is implied information. This personal response is built around textual references and opinions that we can make based off the text. The response writer forms an opinion and backs it up with references from the text.
When forming your response or opinion to the poem, here are some questions to keep in mind.
- how does the poem make me feel?
- are there particular parts of the poem that stand out to me? why?
- what is the poet saying or how is the poet expressing themselves to make me feel this way?
- are there other ways someone might interpret the poem?
- what are the details that might support another interpretation?
-------------------
So you have your personal response, but now what? You need to think more in detail about the effect on the reader and what the poet is doing to get this effect.
Questions to consider:
- is it clear what the poem is about?
- could the poem be about different things? why do you think this?
- are there key lines or phrases that stand out to you?
- are there clues in the title or start/end of the poem?
-------------------
Structuring a Comparative Essay
There is no way to effectively write this essay without planning it first. Writing without planning is only setting yourself up for failure. It takes 5 minutes to make a plan. Do it.
There are two common structures for comparing poetry. The first is simple but it doesn't allow for much critical analysis. This is:
- Introduction
- Poem A
- Poem B
- Conclusion
While this structure allows you to speak on both poems separately, it was by comparing poetry on different aspects (theme, language, etc) that shows higher thinking.
This is why I suggest using structure B.
- Introduction
- Poems A + B Themes
- Poems A + B Structure
- Poems A + B Language
- Conclusion
The topics of each paragraph can be changed. For example, you can change out Themes with Context.
------
The last thing of note is to remember to see your ideas through. The most common mistake made in your mock exams was that your ideas were there, but they weren't sufficient. Really good ideas were mentioned in passing, as if you weren't sure if they were good enough, but then never mentioned again. Be confident in how you approach the poetry, the language, structure, themes, attitudes, contexts. You've got this!
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