English Literature IGCSE

This is a passage based essay from All My Sons by Arthur Miller *For those of you who don't know, you are required to answer one passage based question, wherein you will be given a segment of the text. This segment is from  Page 37-40 (George ’ s phone call) Question: Discuss how tension is built in this extract In this passage from ‘All My Sons’, Arthur Miller aims to develop tension and a sense of foreboding by the phone call that precedes George Deever’s arrival. The impact this has on Kate and Joe Keller reveals to the audience that they are tainted by the ‘crime’ at the factory somehow, and have something to conceal and be fearful of. Deever acts as a catalyst and unleashes the ‘winds of destruction’ upon the Keller household, much like the winds that brought down Larry’s tree. Thus, George’s arrival heralds the unraveling of the truth and he acts as a catalyst for the destruction of the Kellers’ falsehood-based sense of security. The key to building tension so

This essay is an analysis of the poem 'Lover's Infiniteness' by John Donne In the poem ‘Lover’s Infiniteness’, John Donne employs the structure of this poem as a key tool to represent the transient nature of his thoughts towards the idea of love. The effect created makes the reader believe that Donne was torn between perspectives and was facing an inner conflict while penning down this poem. Each stanza of the poem has a different tone, and represents this very change in the Donne’s perspective while simultaneously exploring the idea of “love’s riddle”. In the first stanza, Donne’s outlook is fairly defeatist. He feels if “yet I have not all thy love, I shall never have it all”. Donne’s idea of love comes across as childish, as one cannot really quantify love. Also, he seems to be too possessive. The language used here is fairly materialistic. This is attested to when he says “and all my treasure which should purchase thee”. Donne regards love as a black and whi

Although there is no hard and fast way to structure your essays, it always helps to keep in mind certain elements of the text you should discuss, so that you are able to present a deep and well thought out analysis of the same. While writing an essay make sure you cater to the: Themes Style Language and techniques (or literary devices) Structure Mood Moreover, you will also be expected to back up your analysis with evidences. Hence, you must integrate your quotes into the essay. You will gain more clarity on how to do this once you start reading the essays.  One effective strategy that many use to structure their texts is P.E.E, which essentially stands for Point, Evidence and Explanation. So make a point, integrate a quote, which is your evidence, and then, explain it further. Always remember to write about the significance or effect a certain line has, don't simply state. Also, be wary of the 'trap of summary'- don't summarise the text; analyse it.

The poems and texts the essays are based on are: Texts: 1. All My Sons by Arthur Miller 2. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson 3. The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare Poems: 1. Lovers' Infiniteness by John Donne 2. Coming Home by Owen Sheers 3. Lion Heart by Amanda Chong 4. Father Returning Home by Dilip Chitre 5. Passion by Kathleen Raine 6. She Was A Phantom of Delight by William Wordsworth 7. Song by Lady Mary Wroth 8. Stabat Mater by Sam Hunt 9. The Lost Woman by Patricia Beer 10. For My Grandmother Knitting by Liz Lochhead * Note that these are only a few of the poems present in the syllabus. Some of the essays are also comparisons between two poems, for you might be asked such questions in the exam, and it is a good idea to be familiar with the format for such essays.