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Paper 2 - Yeats - help needed (1 Viewer)
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AlabasterMan
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Well, what do you need help with? Not that I'm exactly going to give you my entire essay plan, but i can help...lankyone said:
Give me poems, ideas, problems...those I can handle. Generality just isn't my thing.
AlabasterMan
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Fair enough.
Well, in general I would recommend this for your essay.
For each poem (treat each separately, the point of this module isn't to make comparisons between texts), begin with an analysis using a reading or a critic's opinion. I'd usually use a reading I pretty much agree with, or same for a critic. That is pretty much the simple part. Hopefully your school has given you readings or critics so that all you have to do is learn the main points of this argument, and regurgitate it in the exam.
Then, you have to reflect on the poem, in one of a few ways. You could introduce another critic/reading and compare the 'validity' (or 'accuracy', 'bias', or any word you choose, really) of the different readings. OR, you could simply reflect on the one reading you've used in terms of your opinion, backing this naturally with textual reference.
Now, to the poems. 'Wild Swans at Coole' attracts generally two different kinds of readings, and you can use them quite easily. The first kind is Practical Criticism, and it comes from around the 1940's (use that fact if the question requires you to compare readings of Yeats OVER TIME). Practical Criticism only analyses a text in terms of the technical features of the language. So, any meaning found in the text has to be found IN the text. The context of the author (eg, Irish patriotism in Easter 1916 and Maud Gonne in Wild Swans) is completely irrelevant.
The other reading you could use for a comparison is Feminist. And it makes an awesome contrast, since a Feminist reading is concerned with what texts suggest about the relationship between men and women and representation of women within the text. So your Feminist reading will be almost ENTIRELY concerned with the meaning outside the text and the relationship between Yeats and Maud Gonne. Because these readings find two such different things from the same text, you can pretty clearly demonstrate the variety of readings of Yeats, and use that to discuss...well, whatever the question asks.
...Damn, long post.
Well, in general I would recommend this for your essay.
For each poem (treat each separately, the point of this module isn't to make comparisons between texts), begin with an analysis using a reading or a critic's opinion. I'd usually use a reading I pretty much agree with, or same for a critic. That is pretty much the simple part. Hopefully your school has given you readings or critics so that all you have to do is learn the main points of this argument, and regurgitate it in the exam.
Then, you have to reflect on the poem, in one of a few ways. You could introduce another critic/reading and compare the 'validity' (or 'accuracy', 'bias', or any word you choose, really) of the different readings. OR, you could simply reflect on the one reading you've used in terms of your opinion, backing this naturally with textual reference.
Now, to the poems. 'Wild Swans at Coole' attracts generally two different kinds of readings, and you can use them quite easily. The first kind is Practical Criticism, and it comes from around the 1940's (use that fact if the question requires you to compare readings of Yeats OVER TIME). Practical Criticism only analyses a text in terms of the technical features of the language. So, any meaning found in the text has to be found IN the text. The context of the author (eg, Irish patriotism in Easter 1916 and Maud Gonne in Wild Swans) is completely irrelevant.
The other reading you could use for a comparison is Feminist. And it makes an awesome contrast, since a Feminist reading is concerned with what texts suggest about the relationship between men and women and representation of women within the text. So your Feminist reading will be almost ENTIRELY concerned with the meaning outside the text and the relationship between Yeats and Maud Gonne. Because these readings find two such different things from the same text, you can pretty clearly demonstrate the variety of readings of Yeats, and use that to discuss...well, whatever the question asks.
...Damn, long post.
alrity, that seems simple enough, lol ... now all i have to do is read his poems and ill be right
jokes jokes.
nah thats some good advice for wild swans at coole. so heres what i was planning to do:
establish reading, then context and the substantiate the reading with techniques ... sound alrite? oh and ofcourse write a few prac papers
jokes jokes.nah thats some good advice for wild swans at coole. so heres what i was planning to do:
establish reading, then context and the substantiate the reading with techniques ... sound alrite? oh and ofcourse write a few prac papers
AlabasterMan
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I'd suggest that, no matter what readings you use, you follow this routine.lankyone said:alrity, that seems simple enough, lol ... now all i have to do is read his poems and ill be right
nah thats some good advice for wild swans at coole. so heres what i was planning to do:
establish reading, then context and the substantiate the reading with techniques ... sound alrite? oh and ofcourse write a few prac papers
Establish the reading BY USING THE SPECIFIC INTERPRETATIONS FROM THE TEXT THAT THE READING MAKES, AND STATING THE PERSPECTIVE THE READING TAKES. So, in some readings, context plays a part and you discuss it. In the readings in which context plays no part, then you need to establish the contrast between readings. eg "the Practical Critic fails to examine potentially significant areas related to the poem, like the background of the author. For instance, at the time 'Wild Swans' was written, Yeats had just....[blah]"
Autobiographical is pretty straight forward if you have a decent knowledge of some of the events in Yeat's life (Maude Gonne, Hermetic Society of the Golden Dawn, Easter 1916 etc). All you really need to do is show a correlation between his life events and features in his poetry and how they reflect each other. Cyclical things can be linked to his interests in the theosophical, love related things to Maudde and political to his various relationships with Irish republicans.
AlabasterMan
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The autobiographical sounds like the awesome version of the Feminist, because it lacks the high levels of suckitude present in Feminist readings. I'd go the autobiographical, in conjuntion with Practical Criticism.lankyone said:
Just bear in mind that you can't use a critic's interpretation if the question asks you for a personal one, which they have been leaning towards in recent years. Mrs Guy (major marker for BOS) said even a fleeting mention to a critic can put markers on the trail of a reading which has just been swiped off the net.
As for Wild Swans at Coole I talk about it as being a poem about Age and Continuity - sepparate from Yeats' personal angst at Maude Gonne and being too old for her. From the start in "the trees are in their AUTUMN beauty" to the contrast between the eternal youth and vibrance of the swans who are the only thing in the poem who are powerful and that clamour sound imagery blehgblehg.
Hope that's helped...it probably hasn't.
As for Wild Swans at Coole I talk about it as being a poem about Age and Continuity - sepparate from Yeats' personal angst at Maude Gonne and being too old for her. From the start in "the trees are in their AUTUMN beauty" to the contrast between the eternal youth and vibrance of the swans who are the only thing in the poem who are powerful and that clamour sound imagery blehgblehg.
Hope that's helped...it probably hasn't.
AlabasterMan
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Do the markers mind if you establish a critic's opinion in order to make a contrast with your own?Meldrum said:
I dont think thats correct. Even if they do ask your understanding of Yeats' poetry, you can discuss how the interpretations of others have reshaped your understanding of Yeats' poetry and then you can agree or disagree with the critic and give reasons.Meldrum said:
For example i discussed the second coming from Orwells fascist perspective and then i went on to say that even though this reading seems radical, after closer analysis of Orwell's context, i have come to appreciate that Orwell's perspective is valid as it is based on his context.
I think that the markers expect you to make reference to critics, you just need to discuss how your understanding has been reshaped by them. ie, that Yeats' poetry has no correct reading!
AntiHyper
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In English, we can't write about our own perspective of the text.. it has to be basically a carbon copy of the perspective your teacher and the whole English staff gang's perspective (seriously.. the English teachers are like robots, single minded :| ).lankyone said:
I tried to write about my own perspective in the trials and I failed since I write something that they don't want to hear because they haven't thought of the unique perspective.
yeh ... we have been told to have our own interpretations of the texts plus 2 or 3 others for 2 or 3 texts ,,, what a wank .. im doing mine and 2 others for 2 texts .. lol, bare minimum... i failed my trial for yeats too, 7.5 outa 20 yerw i kick arse
yerw i kick arse