by melaniewp | Jul 29, 2013 | GCSE, Jekyll and Hyde, Something Interesting
In The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson brings to life one of the most compelling and original monsters ever written.The obvious monster is Mr Hyde: the snarling, feral mass of murderous impulses. First, Hyde beats up a little girl....
by melaniewp | Jul 22, 2013 | Animal Farm, GCSE, Social and Historical Context, Something Interesting
Animal Farm deals with early Twentieth Century Russia, its leaders and a brilliant but dangerous political idea that altered the course of the late twentieth century, an idea that threatened to start world war three. Want to know more? Of course you do!It all...
by melaniewp | Jul 19, 2013 | Grammar, Something Interesting, Verbs
A verb is a doing word, right? Kids are taught this from around age eight, forget it, learn it again. Aged nine, they forget it again. Eventually the information lodges in the brain as fact, where it solidifies like a nut.’A verb is a doing word’, like a...
by melaniewp | Jun 20, 2013 | AQA, Best and the Worst, Creative Writing, English Language Exam, GCSE, IGCSE, Something Interesting, Writing
The BestThe best meal I had was stolen. I wasn’t supposed to be in the Swan Bar at Shakespeare’s Globe; I was supposed to be meeting an old friend, staring at objects in a museum and having an intelligent conversation. But my friend had lost his phone – so I...
by melaniewp | Jun 20, 2013 | Hyperbole, Something Interesting, Technical Terms
Hyperbole is deliberate, sometimes outrageous exaggeration for effect.Everyday examples include: ‘I’m starving!’* (when you’re merely hungry), ‘I hate you, I wish I was never born’ (teens to parents), ‘she’s so...
by melaniewp | Jun 17, 2013 | AQA, Cambridge, GCSE, IGCSE, Something Interesting, William Blake
William Blake (1757-1827) is an early Romantic poet from the literary heritage.Largely unrecognised in his lifetime, Blake pursued his eccentric work despite massive financial hardship and misfortunes. When he died, his wife had to borrow money to pay for his...
