AO2 focus for the opening pages of "Brighton Rock" by Graham Greene (1938)

It's my first effort -  and there is a lot in this Prezi to promote active learning. Maybe I'll add music next time! You need to open it up in full screen by putting the cursor over "More".

How does Graham Greene present Hale and Pinky in the opening pages of "Brighton Rock" (1938)? AS English Literature on Prezi

Critical Views of "Othello" - over time

Click here for an excellent resource from the website, More Learning for a range of critical writing about Shakespeare's play. This will be invaluable for the all important AO3 for AS coursework in English Literature.

"Eleftherios K. Venizelos" the main political influence on Dr. Iannis

In Chapter 9 of Captain Corelli's Mandolin Dr. Iannis describes his political views as being "Venizilist;"by this he means he follows the liberal politics which are not extreme. He is a follower of "Eleftherios K. Venizelos" Stamatis is a Monarchist and on the right; Kokolios is a communist and on the left. Both men's politics could and did lead to totalitarian dictatorships.

Eleftherios Venizelos (full name Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, Greek: Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος; 23 August 1864 – 18 March 1936) was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century.Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932. Venizelos had such profound influence on the internal and external affairs of Greece that he is credited with being "the maker of modern Greece",and he is still widely known as the "Ethnarch" ( leader ).

From Wikipedia

"Captain Corelli's Mandolin" by John Mullan and The Guardian's Book Club Readers

Professor John Mullan's article from 2007 on The Guardian Book Club readers' meeting with Louis de Bernieres on Captain Corelli's Mandolin. Worth reading once you have finished reading the novel.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/sep/15/louisdebernieres

The widow seeks her goat in the Kephenion - from "Zorba The Greek" (1964)

"You know how they treat widows." spoken in coversation in the kaphenion in Chapter 9 of Captain Corelli's Mandolin.


Note how in Chapter 9 of CCM how politics is argued over and how it creates divisions between Stamatis, Kokolios and Dr. Iannis. What unites these characters of different viewpoints towards the end of this chapter and why are they united in this way?

The Widow (Irene Papas) looks for her goat which the "mangas" have sadistically hidden in the Kaphenion. The coffee house in "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" seems less threatening but it is still a place in which the men gather to drink coffee and smoke while talking politics, business, etc. Women are not expected to enter. And it seems, The Widow, like Pelagia, keeps at least one goat. Set in Crete, "Zorba The Greek" has several disturbing scenes which depict cruel, patriarchal attitudes in Greece, particularly on its islands, before growing commercialism softened them from the late 1960s.

Passages for deeper analysis from Chapters 5-6 of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

Iannis Metaxas - Prime Minister April -August 1936 and dictator of Greece from August 1936 until his death in January 1941.

As a student of English Literature moving A2 you need to sharpen your analytical reading skills by practising on brief passages; this will enable you to analyse broader passages and chapters more skilfully on your own.
Where appropriate you could analyse the passages for any of the following:

• Narrative viewpoint and voice: the attitude(s) of the narrator/speaker and direct and reported speech.

• Tone – and whether the narrator is emotive, objective, reflective, judgemental, etc.

• Intrusive narrating – whether de Bernieres is giving his opinions and ideas about a character, event, etc.

• imagery: explore its deeper meanings.

• Dialogue and description – how used and the balance between the two.

• Language and its purpose, i.e. irony, for humour, to impress, to reflect mood, etc.

• Themes or ideas and how these are explored.

• How characters are developed or remain flat.

• The use of style – whether the passage is active or passive and the meanings you can deduce from that.

• Other stylistic devices such as syntax (sentence construction) repetition, rhetorical questions, motifs, foregrounding, references to other texts, etc.

• Structural devices such as parallel narratives, charactisation, etc.

• Form and historical fiction and how passages/chapters relate the attitudes, behaviour, culture and history of the past – but from a modern vantage point of 1993!

Passages for practicing your skills ( in pairs or on your own )

1. Chapter 5, page 33: “ He remembered . . . to the top of page 34, “ . . . an absurd little man”.
2. Chapter 5, page 34: “But I have done my best” to “ . . .evil times have passed”.
3. Chapter 5, bottom of page 34: “Was it not a form of irony” to page 35 “ . . .every subversive fart in Greece”.
4. Chapter 6, page 37: “ I, Carlo Guercio” to “ . . . my mother’s womb”.
5. Chapter 6, page 39: “We were all young together” to “ . . . against people who fought like gods.
6. Chapter 6, bottom of page 39: “ I am not a cynic” to “ Page 40 “ . . . make me sad”.

Try an English quiz to learn key terms for novels and prose

What a great website for for making English seem like fun!  And you're learning at the same time!

Try the scatter game first to see what you know.

You need to drag the term over its answer to make them disappear. It's timed, too!

Quiz 1 English terms
Quiz 2 More English Terms
Quiz 3 Reading and Literature  (more challenging)