The English Teacher's Handbook A to Z

The English Teacher’s Handbook A to Z edited by

Jacqueline Manuel & Don Carter

The English Teacher’s Handbook A to Z First published in Australia in 2009 Phoenix Education Pty Ltd PO Box 3141, Putney NSW 2112, Australia Phone 02 9809 3579 Fax 02 9808 1430 Email [email protected] Web www.phoenixeduc.com Copyright © Jacqueline Manuel and Don Carter All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example a fair dealing for the purpose of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. Copyright owners may take legal action against a person or organisation who infringes their copyright through unauthorised copying. All inquiries should be directed to the publisher at the address above.

ISBN 978 1 921085 94 9 Cover design by Kate Stewart Printed in Australia by Five Senses Education

Acknowledgements We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Paul Brock for extensive proof-reading and editorial advice throughout the duration of the book’s development; Colleen Cook for meticulous editing and proof-reading during the final stages; Ken Watson for ongoing editorial advice; Paul Manuel for permission to print photographs; and Tommy Murphy for permission to print photographs. We also gratefully acknowledge Paramount Studios for permission to use the copyright movie poster of Babel and Classical Comics for permission to reprint an excerpt from the Romeo and Juliet education guide. We have endeavoured to seek permission to use any material which may be in copyright. In some cases we have been unable to trace sources, or have not received replies to requests for permissions. We welcome any information which would enable us to acknowledge these sources.

CONTENTS

Introduction

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A to Z

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Appendices Notes on the Editors and Contributors Film and Visual Media Terms Professional Associations

The English Teacher’s Handbook

310 313 319

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Dedication We dedicate this book to Tony Adams (1933-2008), John Dixon and Ken Watson. Superb teachers, scholars, researchers, writers, pathfinders, and lifelong advocates for English teaching and learning of the highest quality.

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Introduction This book represents an attempt to capture a sense of the profound richness, scope and depth of English in education. It is not our intention to provide an exhaustive list of pedagogical strategies or literary terms, nor to cover in extensive detail the expansive range of theoretical principles and conceptual frameworks that have contributed to the evolution and development of English in education. Rather, the book offers teachers an accessible compilation of the major concepts, research, ideas, pedagogical approaches, historical movements, theories and debates that have informed and continue to inform teaching and learning in subject English. The entries selected are not intended to advocate any one particular point of view, theory, model or position. It is anticipated that the entries in this book will act as a springboard for teachers to investigate specific areas of interest more fully. This book is being published at a time when English, as an academic discipline and as a schoolbased subject, is once again the focus of public scrutiny: the work of teachers and the experiences of students are regularly misrepresented or partially reported in the public domain. It is not uncommon, for example, for English to be reduced to a set of basic literacy skills or knowledge about a canon of literature. We believe it is therefore important to re-emphasise the intellectual, pedagogical and historical underpinnings and scope of the subject, and to identify the corpus of knowledge, concepts, processes and practices which will not only be helpful to pre-service and practising teachers, but will also reassert what is central to the subject and to teaching and learning in the subject in the 21st century. We have deliberately included entries on the historical influences on the development of English in education. This is based on our firm belief that all practising teachers need to know and understand the roots of their professionalism and the accumulated wisdom that continues to shape their craft. As Reid observes, “Ours is a forgetful era, often oblivious to ways in which past cultural practices have shaped the foundations of much that we think and do.” (Reid, 2004: ix) It is not enough to be ‘up to date’ with the latest classroom pedagogical strategy or the latest commercially produced resource. It is vital, as a profession, to understand where the ‘latest trend’ or school of thought is situated in the evolution of the subject. It is our belief that effective practice relies on a deep knowledge of the history of English in education; an ability to identify and articulate clearly the beliefs about English teaching which underpin classroom practice; an understanding of how learning occurs in diverse classrooms and other settings; and how these beliefs reflect (or do not reflect) the major principles and theories of the subject. Subject English draws theoretically and pedagogically on other disciplines such as, for example, drama, visual art, music, film and media studies. Thus, a number of the entries and practical strategies highlight the continuities between English and these other fields. We believe that English is the “palace for thinking, imagining, creating, feeling, knowing and expressing” (de Bono, 1996:44). At its core is the commitment to students’ affective, creative, imaginative, intellectual, social and embodied learning and development. As teachers, we seek to begin where students are at, moving them forward to explore new horizons that are made possible and understood through authentic engagement with, enjoyment of and critical attention to language, literature and other texts. We believe that students are not merely ‘spectators’ but also ‘participants’ (Britton, 1975): actively ‘making and doing’; creating and critiquing; discovering and synthesising; and weighing up and evaluating the experience of others, and representations of this experience, in the light of students’ own growing and deepening understanding of themselves and the increasingly complex world they inhabit English is far more than a set of skills that can be transmitted or a body of knowledge that can be packaged and delivered in a one-size-fits-all model of curriculum. English does not merely educate students about the ‘what’ of knowledge, understanding, values and skills. Importantly, it strives to equip students with the ‘how’ of thinking and knowing, the ability to use language accurately and appropriately in a range of contexts and to reflect on and critique this language use. Such holistic The English Teacher’s Handbook

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teaching and learning cannot be atomised into discrete elements, for every encounter with language – our own and others’ – draws on the senses, the intellect, the emotions and the spirit. Such endeavours support, inform and encourage students’ curiosity and their thirst for and right to meaningful learning. Such endeavours aim to develop in all students the desire and ability to engage with and understand the ways language works to shape the personal, imaginative, creative, intellectual, ethical, social, cultural and critical dimensions of human experience. It is through sustained immersion in language, literature and other texts that English attends to the greater questions of values, meaning and purpose in human experience. Through enlightened teaching, English education, as “the meeting point of experience, language and society" (Dixon, 1967) may build resilience, empathy, increased social awareness and a sense that attention to the inner life is at least as compelling and primal as attention to the outer life. As with other well-established subjects, the specialised discourse/s of English in education reflects its complexity, uniqueness and intellectual, scholarly depth, as well as its ability to shift with corresponding developments in theory, research and pedagogy. This complexity and uniqueness can partially account for why English, as a discipline and school-based subject, is often misunderstood by the wider community and non-specialist commentators. Developments in the pedagogical practices of English teachers reflect advances in research and our understanding of how optimal learning occurs. But these developments may also at times reinforce the distance between what we do as educators and what the community understands about our work. In publishing this book, we have drawn on the expertise, knowledge and scholarship of English teachers, researchers, other educators and specialists in the fields of drama, film and media. The entries contributed by these experts are identified throughout the book by way of initials at the end of the entry. It is impossible to complete a publication such as this without reference to and recognition of seminal works with a similar purpose: in particular, Wayne Sawyer, Ken Watson and Anthony Adams’ English Teaching from A to Z (1989); JA Cuddon’s Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (1991); MH Abram’s A Glossary of Literary Terms (5th edn, 1985); C Hugh Holman’s A Handbook to Literature (1976); and Wayne Sawyer and Eva Gold’s Re-viewing English in the 21st century (2004). We are indebted to the scholarship evident in these books and acknowledge their importance in the development of this publication. As editors, we have aimed for an informed eclecticism in the decisions about what to include and to omit in terms of theory and pedagogy. These decisions have been partly pragmatic due to the limitations of space, and partly based on the recognition from research evidence that this informed eclecticism distinguishes effective teaching and learning in English. For this reason, the range of practical strategies included here should be considered contextually, as part of the integrated approach to teaching, learning and progression in English 7-12 that is advocated in this book. We have sought to reflect the integrated nature of the subject by indicating related entries and further reading where appropriate. It should also be noted that the length of an individual entry is not intended to indicate the importance of that entry in relation to other entries. Our purpose in publishing this book is to contribute to the continued professional development of teachers. It can be utilised as a reference; a resource; a stimulus for further reading and research; and a useful companion in day-to-day teaching. It is almost inevitable, given the contested nature of English education, that aspects of this book may fuel further debate about what constitutes teaching and learning in secondary English. As editors, we welcome such informed, collegial debates and consider them as the lifeblood of informed professionalism. Jacqueline Manuel and Don Carter April, 2009 References: de Bono, E. (1996) Serious Creativity, NY: Harper Collins Publishers. Dixon, J. (1967) Growth Through English, Huddersfield: OUP and NATE. Reid, I. (2004) Wordsworth and the formation of English Studies, Surrey: Ashgate Publishing.

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A Abridgement (abridged version)

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

Refers to an adapted work that has been reduced and/or condensed from its original form. Novels are often abridged for production as audio texts. Novels written for an adult audience are regularly abridged for children and young adults. Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin (2005), for instance, has been abridged for younger readers under the title The Peasant Prince (2007). William Shakespeare’s (1564-1616) plays are abridged in a great range of other forms from comic strips to narratives. Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb, illustrated by George Soper (London: Tiger Books, 1990) is an example of an abridged version of a number of Shakespeare’s plays. JM Utilise abridged versions of texts as a pre-reading or pre-viewing engagement activity. For example, use the graphic novel, Macbeth (Classical Comics, 2008). Remove the dialogue and/or speech bubbles from the visual text. Students work in small groups or pairs to interpret the graphic sequences and provide a succinct overview in prose of the storyline and descriptions of the main characters and key events. And/or, have students add brief captions and speech bubbles to the visual text. Comic versions of Romeo and Juliet, for example, are available with speech bubble text or no text (downloadable for classroom use at: www.classicalcomics.com/education/N_RJ_2009.pdf See sample page below, reproduced with permission). After sharing responses, provide the original images/comic strips to compare with students’ versions. This is a previewing/pre-reading activity that can clarify the plot and dialogue to enable access to the full Shakespearean text

Abstract A succinct overview of a longer piece of writing (e.g. a thesis, article, or conference presentation). An abstract usually precedes the full text of a paper. Its purpose is to provide the reader with a succinct overview of the key focus, methodology and findings which are detailed in the full text. An abstract may typically range between 100 and 500 words and is used to index articles for research databases such as, for example ERIC (Education Resources Information Centre). Abstract (as an adjective) is also used to refer to language, experiences, ideas and concepts: for example, love, death, joy, sorrow, compassion and empathy. See also Language. JM


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A Accent The stress placed on a syllable within a word or a word within a phrase. Stress patterns contribute to the rhythm of a text, particularly the rhythm of poetry and the sound of spoken language. Reading out aloud is the most effective way of building an awareness of the stress patterns in a text. Accent is also used to refer to the distinctive varieties of pronunciation that have developed over time according to geographical location, social conditions and contexts. Most places where English is spoken, for example, have accents that are particular to that country or geographical location (e.g. Australia, America, New Zealand, Ireland, England, Scotland). Within these broad country-based categories, there can be many variations on the ‘standard’ accent. In the simplest sense, all speakers have an accent when their spoken language is compared to that of someone from another context or place. For example, an English accent can be further defined according to the district or region: Cockney (East London); Geordie (North Eastern England); Liverpudlian (Liverpool); or Mancurian (Manchester). Accents are not only associated with geographical regions: accents may also be associated with hierarchical judgements about socioeconomic status, education, class, ethnicity and identity. Variations in accent can also be attributed to the speaker’s conscious (or otherwise) adaptation to the context in which they are communicating.

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

When an accent operates in conjunction with distinctive grammatical patterns, sayings and word choice, it is referred to as a dialect. See also Dialect, Metre, Register, Rhythm, Stress. JM Students can learn about stress, rhythm and sound, and the ways these operate in language to create mood, tone and meaning, by engaging in drama and oral performance. Select a poem or song that has a strong rhythm (for example, folk ballads, rap music). Students use their bodies and voices (feet, hands, clapping, pitch and loudness of voice etc) and if appropriate, musical instruments, to read/perform the poem/song with a focus on making the stress and rhythm prominent. Students may also transpose the original text into prose form, comparing the prose version with the original version. This activity can lead to an analysis of the effect of stress patterns on the meaning of a text. Students work in pairs to collate a data bank of common acronyms used in digital and online communication (e.g. SMS, email, MSN), analysing when, where, how, why and by whom such acronyms are employed. JW

Acronym An abbreviation made up of the first letters of a group of words. For example: ACT (Australian Capital Territory) and STELLA (Standards for Teachers of English Language and Literacy). Acronyms are employed for the purposes of brevity in written and oral language. In specialist disciplines and other contexts, such as, for example, science, education, business, technology and medicine, acronyms are part of the discourse. Understanding and using these acronyms require the specialist knowledge of the discipline or context and can therefore function as both an aid and an impediment to effective communication. Acronyms are increasingly common in popular culture and everyday communication through media and digital technologies. Corporate advertising, for example, often relies on the use of an acronym in conjunction with a logo to ‘brand’ their products (for example, ‘KFC’/Kentucky Fried Chicken; ‘IGA’/Independent Grocers Alliance). Digital communication abounds with acronyms that are both adopted and created by users. The language of Short Message Service (SMS), email, and other online communications heavily depends on and is shaped by an abundance of acronyms. This enables users to communicate effectively with brevity and also enables groups of users to create and shape their own particular language. JM

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A Acrostic poem A poem that is structured by using successive letters of a word to begin successive lines of a poem. The poem does not have to rhyme. An interactive tool which provides students with guided activities to compose and learn about acrostic poetry is available at: . JM

Act

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

A structural unit within a play. Within an act, there may be further divisions into scenes. An act usually contains action that is distinctive and thereby structured as a unit within the play, through the thematic focus, time sequences or character development. Scenes and acts are often marked by the exits and entrances of characters, changes in the set, lighting and mood, or the use of a device for closure such as a curtain. Some dramatists during the Elizabethan period adopted the five-act structure of the classical Greeks and Romans. From the 20th century on, experiments with form and structure have seen the conventional five-act play give way to three-act plays and plays that do not necessarily adhere to traditional divisions into acts and scenes. JH, JM Students develop an understanding of the structure of a play by engaging in the following activities:

∼

Complete a character grid that indicates when each character is present. The grid should contain spaces for each act and scene. Different coloured pens/ pencils can be used for each character. This enables students to readily see which characters dominate particular acts and scenes.

∼ Applying Freytag’s pyramid, students can diagrammatically map the action of the play, deciding on which acts and scenes are the climactic points, and so on.

Example of a Character Grid for Hamlet Character

Act 1 Scenes

Act 2 Scenes

Act 3 Scenes

Act 4 Scenes

Act 5 Scenes

Hamlet Ophelia Gertrude Claudius Polonius Rosencrantz Guildenstern The Ghost Laertes Horatio Marcellus Barnado Francisco

Action and Adventure A genre of fiction, film and computer gaming that includes a range of sub-genres: for example, disaster, espionage, crime, thriller, survival, superhero, adventure comedy, swashbuckler, and military. In action and adventure texts, there is an emphasis on plot with fast-paced, continuously unfolding action. With the rise of the novel in the 19th century, adventure fiction became increasingly popular, and drew on the genre of the Medieval Romance. Typically, the story is set in a realistic environment with the action taking place across a number of locations.


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A

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

The characters are often strong male heroes with exceptional physical, intellectual or other abilities that equip them to overcome adversity and confront life-threatening situations. The hero frequently meets a woman and there is a turn in the plot that separates them. The remainder of the adventure involves a movement towards their eventual reunion. There is often an emphasis on plot over intense character development in both action and adventure. These texts frequently include violence (sometimes graphic violence); intrigue; suspense; female love interests; cars; weapons; high technology devices; and military apparatus. Action and adventure films are extremely common and enduring in their popularity: many blockbuster Hollywood films of recent decades attest to the continuing appeal of this genre. Computer games and interactive fiction regularly draw on the conventions of action and adventure. See also Fiction, Film, Genre. JM Visit the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com). Students survey the movies in the “Top Movies” list, identifying how many of these are action and adventure films. Compare the popularity of these films with films in other genres. Students select one or more action and adventure films that they are familiar with. In small groups, students write and submit a review to the IMDB site, using the models of online reviews provided on the site.

Action research Research that is initiated and conducted by a teacher/s that focuses on improving pedagogy and educational outcomes for students. It is a powerful tool for self-evaluation and is an important component of reflective practice. It enables teachers to engage in problem-solving through identifying an issue and undertaking research within the classroom setting. Action research relies on a cyclical model of identifying a problem or issue to be researched, hypothesising, moment-to-moment data gathering, usually in a classroom or group of classrooms, interpretation of data, theorising and the application of findings in ‘active curriculum’ contexts. While the results of this method of research are not generalisable, the outcomes may significantly contribute to improved teaching practice and learning outcomes for students. Since action research is a teacher-driven activity, it is regarded as an effective professional development tool and problem-solving strategy. JM

Active and passive voice When the subject of a sentence controls or performs the action identified by the verb, this is the active voice. For example: At the conference Professor Smith will present her research on climate change. The subject (Professor Smith), performs the action identified by the verb (will present). The subject is active. When the passive voice is employed, the subject is acted upon. For example: Research on climate change will be presented at the conference. The active voice is the more naturalised mode for oral language and is promoted in writing that seeks to persuade, entertain and engage an audience through the use of a distinctive voice. In scientific writing, the passive voice is more common: the removal of active subjects (I, we, they) from the writing is designed to convey the impression that the information or conclusions presented are ‘objective’ rather than based on personal beliefs, attitudes or bias. The passive voice may also be adopted for rhetorical and persuasive purposes, where the composer deliberately seeks to understate or neutralise a subjective point of view for the purpose of making generalisable (and thereby apparently more authoritative) statements. Conversely, the passive voice may also be used to camouflage the import of a statement. A writer can decide to use the passive voice in order to evade identifying specifically who or what should carry out the action. This can occur in, for example, bureaucratic and legal texts such as reports, policies and legislation. Language written and spoken in the active voice is generally more engaging and often more concise than that written in the passive voice. PB, JM 6


A

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

Select:

∼ ∼ ∼ ∼

a newspaper editorial letters to the Editor an excerpt from a medical or scientific paper a set of directions or instructions.

Students read the texts, preferably out aloud, and comment on and compare the tone, point of view and ‘voice’ communicated by the texts. What are the language devices employed by texts that present a personal or direct point of view? Is it possible to detect an individual or distinctive voice in the piece? Who is the intended audience? What are the language devices of texts that present information without an explicit individual point of view? Is there a mix of active and passive voice in the piece? What is the effect of this on the reader? Why? Students evaluate the effectiveness of each text, considering the use of the active and passive voice in terms of purpose, audience and meaning.

Adage

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

A concise, memorable saying that contains a recognisable ‘truth’ or observation about the nature of human experience. It is similar to an aphorism, proverb, truism or maxim. For example: “A rolling stone gathers no moss”; “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” JM Students keep a record of all the sayings they encounter in conversation and through the media for one week.

∼ Collate these as a class and identify the most frequently occurring examples. ∼ Explore the reasons why these may be more evident in conversations or in the media.

∼ What is the purpose of adages? ∼ Research and discuss the contextual/historical nature of common adages, and the significance of these in terms of registers and dialects.

Adaptation A reworked or altered version of a novel, play or other text. Adaptation refers to a process involving the shift from one genre to another: novel into film; drama into film; drama into musical; the dramatisation of prose fiction; or more rarely, a novel adapted from a film. A poem can be adapted: for example, the poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889), “The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo” has been adapted to music in a chorus and orchestra ensemble by Elizabeth Maconchy (1978). It is not only texts that are considered classics or canonical which are adapted: contemporary works too can be adapted. Alice Walker’s The Colour Purple (Spielberg, 1985) and Toni Morrison’s Beloved (Demme, 1998) are two examples of contemporary adaptations. “Adaptations are a synergy between the desire for sameness and reproduction on the one hand, and, on the other, the acknowledgement of difference” (Hayward, 2001: 6). The word ‘adaptation’ comes from a Latin word meaning to fit to a new context, and this “recontextualisation is an important aspect of the process that leads, for example, to rewrites of Othello by black writers and women writers” (Fischlin and Fortier, 2000: 3). Deborah Cartmell (in Sanders, 2006: 20) posits three broad categories of adaptation: transpositional; commentary; and analogue. Transpositional adaptation is characterised by layers of change. For example, Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 Romeo + Juliet adapts Shakespeare’s play not only generically (through the medium of film), but also temporally, geographically and culturally. Adaptation in terms of commentary includes adaptations that comment on the politics of the original text. Patricia Rozema’s 2000 film version of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park makes explicit reference to British colonialism and the use of slaves in The English Teacher’s Handbook

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A Antigua: details which are only implied in Austen’s novel. Finally, the category of adaptation known as analogue involves recontextualisation. For example, the film Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola (1979), recontextualises Joseph Conrad’s 19th century novel Heart of Darkness from its late 19th century African setting to a Vietnam War setting in the latter half of the 20th century. MP, JM Other examples of adaptations: Novel/story to film: Emma (Clueless) Schindler’s Ark (Schindler’s List) Once Were Warriors Whale Rider The Namesake Romulus, My Father Love in the Time of Cholera Atonement Harry Potter series

Stage/drama to Film: Romeo and Juliet Billy Elliot Death of a Salesman My Fair Lady/Pygmalion Twelve Angry Men Cabaret West Side Story

When studying a text as an adaptation, it is necessary that students are familiar with the original text. This enables students to consider the relationship between the original text and the adaptation, rather than studying the adaptation as a text in its own right (which is always appropriate as a close study). In exploring the process of adaptation, students may consider the broader questions such as, for example:

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

∼ What are the similarities and differences between film and print literature or film and drama/stage?

∼ Discuss how each medium represents: storyline, plot, point of view, tone, mood, sequence of events, narrative structure and character.

∼ What are the features of the medium of production that present challenges to adapting a text to another medium?

∼ In the adaptation of a novel to a film, to what extent does a film have to be faithful to the original literary work (in terms of plot, theme, character, setting, tone and point of view)?

∼ When studying a novel or short story, students work in pairs to storyboard a scene or scenes from the text to adapt to the film medium.

∼ When studying a novel or short story, students can create ‘casting profiles’ for each character, describing the physical features of the character and possible actors to fill the roles.

∼ Students brainstorm titles of novels or other texts that they would like to adapt, preparing a one page proposal for the movie, including a synopsis, casting, suggestions for setting, a soundtrack, the intended audience, the opening sequence and the appealing aspects of the proposed film. Students may then present this proposal orally to the class in role – imagining they are trying to ‘sell’ the idea to prospective producers. References: Fischlin, D. & Fortier M. (eds) (2000) Adaptations of ShakespeareAn Anthology of Plays from the 17th Century to the Present, London: Routledge. Sanders, J. (2006) Adaptation and Appropriation (The New Critical Idiom), London: Routledge

Advertising See Media

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A Aesthetic and efferent reading In The Reader, the Text, the Poem (1978), Louise Rosenblatt (1904-2005) articulated an important distinction between two kinds of reading: what she termed ‘aesthetic’ and ‘efferent’ readings. She used the latter term, ‘efferent’ to describe the process whereby the reader seeks to ‘comprehend’ or ‘carry away’ what the text is saying. This is an information-seeking exercise: what the reader brings to the text, by way of their own past experience, is of minimal importance. When responding to the text in the ‘aesthetic’ mode, however, the reader’s past experience, the associations he or she makes with other previously read texts, along with personal thoughts and feelings, plays a significant role in the reader’s transaction with the text and the resulting ‘meaning’ that the reader comes to. Rosenblatt argued that “in aesthetic reading, the reader’s attention is centred directly on what he [sic] is living through during his [sic] relationship with that particular text” (Rosenblatt, 1978: 25). At the same time, she recognised that in reading any particular text the reader may shift along a continuum between the efferent and aesthetic experience. See also Reader-response criticism. PB References: Rosenblatt, L. (1938 republished 1968) Literature as Exploration, New York: Noble. Rosenblatt, L. (1978) The Reader, the Text, the Poem: the transactional theory of the literary work, Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.

Aesthetic/s (Greek: ‘things perceptible by the senses’) Denotes a mode of experience and knowing that relies on the relationship between the senses and emotion: “one of those distinct categories of understanding and achievement – the aesthetic and creative – is exemplified by the arts: music, drama, literature, poetry, dance, sculpture and the graphic arts.” (Abbs, 1991: 245). The aesthetic experience is not merely one of ‘response’ to a work: it is also deeply bound up in the process of creativity and judgement. As John Dewey argued: The product of art is not the work of art. The work takes place when a human being cooperates with the product so that the outcome is an experience that is enjoyed because of its liberating and orderly properties. (Dewey, 1934: 72) Abbs locates this argument in teaching and learning contexts by asserting that: Responses to art, as art, are sensuous, physical, dramatic, bodily, preverbal. For this reason the often-heard casual remark “Well what’s it do for you?” is aesthetically much sounder that the intellectual question “What is it saying?” or “What did the artist intend?” Premature answers to these latter questions take us quickly out of the aesthetic realm into the documentary and discursive. Too much theory, too much knowledge, in isolation from the aesthetic experience, can block and impede the immediate bodily response, the imaginative indwelling of mind in the pattern of sensation. (Abbs, 1991: 252) The implications of this approach is the need for teachers to encourage aesthetic response to texts prior to the intellectual, descriptive or evaluative acts of engagement that form an essential part of English teaching and learning. Attempts to define art and the concept of beauty have always figured to a greater or lesser degree in philosophy. Plato (c. 428-348 BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC) were both concerned with the question of art’s ability to convey truth and knowledge, although the term ‘aesthetics’ did not appear until AG Baumgarten (1714-1762) introduced the term in Aesthetica (1750). For Baumgarten, the term defined the specialised activities of the artist: art is generated from mental representations that are bound up with feelings and the sensuous and as such, ‘beauty’ as an artistic quality and as an abstraction, is a complex concept. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) regarded aesthetic consciousness as an important and unitary element in human experience. Kant believed that aesthetic judgment is unlike theoretical (cognitive) judgment or practical (moral) judgment because it is enacted through individual subjective means. In his Critique of Judgment (1790) Kant argued that the integration of the cognitive and moral aspects of our nature is realised through aesthetic judgement. The English Teacher’s Handbook

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A During the Industrial Revolution in England, a shift in the meanings of the words ‘art’ and ‘artist’ took place. The traditional meaning of ‘art’ referred to any type of ‘skill’, while ‘artist’ meant ‘skilled person’, synonymous with ‘artisan’. The term ‘art’ shifted in meaning to refer to a particular group of skills associated directly with the imaginative or creative arts. The term ‘Art’ with a capital ‘A’ became associated with the representation of a unique category of truth: a truth represented imaginatively through art by the artist. This capacity to represent a truth imaginatively rendered the artist an ‘aesthete’. A distinction was therefore created between an ‘artist’ and ‘artisan’ (or ‘craftsman’). This shift in etymology also reflected a shift in the meaning of ‘genius’: previously the term referred to ‘a characteristic disposition’ but came to mean ‘exalted ability’. A new term – ‘aesthetic’ - thus emerged, embodying the concept of the artist, artistic value and artistic achievement. Literature, theatre, sculpture, painting and music were regarded as part of a single continuum of artistic endeavour, with one form of art linked to another by similar attributes that rendered them distinct from other types of skilled ‘craft’. DC, JM References: Abbs, P. (1991) “Defining the Aesthetic Field” in Aesthetics and Arts Education, eds. R.W. Alexander, A. Simpson & Getty Centre for Education in the Arts, Ithaca: Illinois University Press. Dewey, J. (1938) Art as Experience, New York: Minton Balch.

Aestheticism Refers to a literary movement of the late 19th century which held that art is an end in itself and should not be driven by didactic, political, utilitarian, moral or propagandist purposes. The ‘Arts for art’s sake’ movement embodied a view which stemmed largely from the German Romantics and, specifically, from Théophile Gautier’s preface in Mademoiselle de Maupin (1836). Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), for example, argued for the separation of art and morality. Around the same time, the English Parnassians – Ernest Dowson, Lionel Johnson, Andrew Lang and Edmund Gosse - were involved in this movement but were largely concerned with issues of form rather than with theorising the separation of art and morality. In the late 20th century, philosophical debates about the aesthetic, ethics and morality in art have been advanced by the School of Ethical Criticism and through the work of literary critics such as, for example, Wayne Booth and Martha Nussbaum. DC References: Cuddon, J.A. (1991) Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, London: Penguin Books. Flew, A. (ed.) (1979) A Dictionary of Philosophy, London, Pan Books. Holman, C. H. (1976) A Handbook to Literature, 3rd edn. Indianapolis: The Odyssey Press. Watson, P. (2005) Ideas – A History from Fire to Freud, London, Weidenfeld & Nicholson. Williams, R. (1977) Culture and Society 1780-1950, Great Britain: Penguin Books.

Affective criticism Literary criticism that evaluates the worth of a text on the basis of the feelings or emotions it provokes in the reader/viewer – the text’s ‘affect’. Affective criticism, common prior to the 1930s, was rejected by the New Critics who held that such an approach was flawed due to its over-reliance on the subjectivity of the individual responder. Advocates of Reception theory and Reader-response criticism argue that the reader’s/viewer’s engagement with and response to a text is inevitably influenced by the affective or emotional experience that such an engagement engenders in the responder. See also Affective fallacy, Affective learning, Interpretation, Literary criticism, New Criticism, Reader-response criticism, Reception theory. JM

Affective Fallacy A term coined by the American literary critics WK Wimsatt and MC Beardsley (The Verbal Icon, 1954) to describe what they considered to be the flawed approach to reading in which the reader seeks to apprehend the meaning or judge the value of a work predominantly on the basis of its emotional impact on the individual reader. Wimsatt and Beardsley asserted that “the Affective Fallacy is a confusion between the poem and its results (what it is and what it does)” (1954). They rejected the subjectivity of this impressionistic approach to literary criticism, arguing that subjective responses to texts are not reliable or refutable. Instead, New Critics maintained the ‘iconic’ status of 10


A the text as a self-contained entity that could be analysed and judged by focusing wholly on the quality of its language and ideas (which, they proposed, transcended the variability of individual emotional response). Later schools of literary criticism exposed the contradictions inherent in the Affective Fallacy, highlighting the ways in which all responses to language (and texts) are necessarily shaped by subjectivity. See also Affective criticism, New Criticism, Reader-response criticism. JM Reference: Wimsatt, W.K. & Beardsley, M.C. (1954) The Verbal Icon: Studies in the Meaning of Poetry, Kentucky: University of Kentucky Press.

Affective learning Learning that legitimates and promotes affective or emotional engagement with language. Affective learning values the knowledge and understanding that emerge from an individual’s personal, felt engagement with texts. Such learning promotes the importance of asking ‘what does this text do for/ to me?’ as part of engagement, creativity and response. Most contemporary theoretical and pedagogical approaches to English education foreground the significance of affective learning in human development; cognition; communication; and response to language and literature. In the 1950s, the American psychologist Benjamin Bloom (1913-1999) developed taxonomies of learning in education and classified three primary overlapping domains: cognitive (knowing); psychomotor (doing); and affective (feeling). The cognitive taxonomy has been the most widely applied (Bloom’s Taxonomy). Affective learning involves feelings, emotions, attitudes, beliefs, values, responsiveness, engagement, enjoyment, intra-subjective capacities and the ability to demonstrate these in a variety of ways. The work of Elliot W Eisner (1933-) advances the centrality of affective learning and the affective domain in education. He defines affective learning in terms of its relationship to cognitive and psychomotor development. The affective domain is harnessed, according to Eisner, through students’ holistic engagement with the arts (through making, doing, knowing, feeling and appreciation). More recently, Terri Lagan has developed a taxonomy of affective learning which includes a hierarchy of affective experience: Bloom’s Taxonomy for Affective Learning and Teaching, . Jean Piaget’s (1896-1980) work on cognitive development had a profound effect on educational psychology, curriculum development and assessment procedures in educational institutions. It is less well known that he identified affective factors present in even the most abstract forms of intelligence but this work was not taken up as readily as his work on cognitive development. In his research and writings from 1918 to 1969 he elaborated the major stages of cognitive development from childhood to adulthood, providing evidence for the phases of development from concrete to abstract thought. His work enabled curriculum developers to base the staging of tasks set for students on sound theoretical principles. James Moffett in his seminal theory of authentic writing development and later the London Institute of Education team under James Britton, used Piaget’s work in their formulation of the stages of writing development and the concepts of audience and purpose in writing. Many in the field of English teaching and learning have acknowledged the central role played by the affective dimension in learning. Very recently the brain-based research of António Damásio (1944–) and Joseph E LeDoux (1949–) have demonstrated the vital importance of the role played by affect or emotion in shaping thought. Such findings are important for the teaching and learning in subject English because they highlight the importance of the dynamic between and among teachers and students, students and their peers, and students and the texts they are studying. See also Aesthetic/s, Empathic intelligence, Reader-response criticism, Reception theory. RA, JM References: Damásio, A. (1994) Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain, New York: Grosset/Putnam. Damásio, A. (2000) The Feeling of What Happens: Body, Emotion and the Making of Consciousness, London: Vintage. Damásio, A. (2003) Looking for Spinoza: Joy, Sorrow and the Feeling Brain, Orlando: Harcourt


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Books. Eisner, E. W. (2005) Re-imagining schools: The selected works of Elliot W. Eisner. London: Taylor & Francis. LeDoux, J. (1992) “Emotion and the amygdala” in The Amygdala: Neurobiological Aspects of Emotion, Memory and Emotional Dysfunction, ed. A.P. Agglington, New York: Wiley-Liss. LeDoux, J. E. (1998) The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life, New York: Simon & Schuster.

When engaging with a text, teachers and students can ask the following kinds of questions:

∼ Are there incidents, characters, places or dialogue in this text remind you of something you have experienced?

∼ What sorts of feelings does this text (or aspects of this text) provoke in you? ∼ Is there anything in this text that surprises or shocks you? ∼ Have your responses to this text changed after considering the text over time? If so, how and what do you think could account for this change?

∼ How are your responses to this text (or aspects of this text) similar to or different from others’?

Age of Reason A philosophical movement of the late 17th century generated and informed by the work of René Descartes (1596-1650) who has been described as the ‘father of modern philosophy’. Often the Age of Reason is also referred to as the Restoration and Augustan periods, and may be considered as part of the broader movement know as The Enlightenment. The main tenet of this philosophical movement was the insistence on the primacy of reason as the source of all human knowledge and understanding. Learning requires deductive reasoning and should not rely on the validity of knowledge gained through the senses. This period promoted the principles of order, reason, proportion, harmony, correctness, balance, attention to the study of ‘man’ and moderation in all things. The works of John Dryden (1631-1700), Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) Alexander Pope (1688-1744) and Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) exemplify the ways of thinking during this period. The period is also referred to in the study of literary history as the Neoclassical period (c. 16601780) since the writers of the time revered the work of Classical authors and promoted the need for a strict adherence to the rules of form and literary genres. It was during this period that the heroic couplet was extensively utilised in poetry as an ideal form for the expression of Neoclassical principles. Importantly, the role of art was considered didactic, with a moral and instructive purpose in addition to an aesthetic one. The prominence of satire during this period highlights the prevailing belief that literature was a powerful tool for correcting the imbalances of society and the excesses of individuals. See also (The) Enlightenment, Heroic couplet, Neoclassical period, Satire. JM

Aleatory/Aleatoric A term used to describe the creative process that relies on a degree of randomness, accident and chance in the production of a work of art (for example: writing, visual art and music). Aleatoric composition can be regarded as an experimental technique, characterised by the desire to construct a work of art from a random gathering of words, letters, images, sounds, phrases, ideas, or other components. The works of William S Burroughs (1914-1997) are examples of how this technique has been employed to produce art. JM

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A ∼ Using a magazine or newspaper, students work in pairs to select headlines, evocative phrases and emotive words. These are gathered together to form another text. The selection process involves discussion of sequencing; the relationship of the part to the whole; form; conventions; point of view; tone; voice and perspective.

∼ There are a number of commercially available resources that allow students to create aleatoric and other kinds of writing. One example is the ‘fridge magnet’ poetry resource, with hundreds of words printed on individual magnetic backing strips. These can be used by students to create poems, and students can also design and produce their own such resources.

Alienation effect Also known as “Verfremdungseffekt” (V-effekt). A term invented by the playwright Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956). Brecht espoused the need for ‘distancing effects’: devices to discourage the audience from empathising with or identifying with the characters. According to Brecht, the audience’s ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ rendered their response too dependent on feelings and emotions, thereby hindering the potential for detached reflection. The alienation effect formed part of Brecht’s politically driven concept of ‘epic theatre’: theatre that deliberately draws attention to the artifice of events and characters, with the action designed to separate and alienate the audience from the events occurring on stage. Brecht argued that in order for the audience to critically respond to, judge and learn from the thematic material and political imperatives of the play, they needed to be more detached from the characters and action and be reminded that they were watching a constructed performance. Many of the characters in Brecht’s plays are flawed and unappealing thus reducing the potential for the audience’s uncritical empathy. The alienation effect is intended to remind audiences that the play is a representation of past events: to reinforce the notion that meaning is contingent upon a range of fluid variables. If the audience could be distanced from an immediate emotional identification with particular characters, Brecht argued that the audience would be more likely to apprehend and understand the significance of the play’s ideas, conflicts and injustices and hence be emboldened to enact change in their own lives and in the world around them. See also Drama. JM

Allegory (Greek: ‘other’, ‘speaking otherwise’) An allegory is similar to a metaphor, in that one subject, idea, experience, character, concept or event is represented in terms of another. While metaphors are generally concise, an allegory is sustained throughout a novel, play, poem or other text. An allegory can be regarded as a symbolic representation: it has both a literal, surface meaning and also symbolic meanings. Often these meaning have an ethical or moral dimension. George Orwell’s Animal Farm (1945), for example, is an allegory of the politics and history of Stalinist Russia. The animal characters in the novel are representative of historical political figures. Through the fictional storyline and the use of satire, this novella exposes the themes of corruption, power, class and the manipulation of ideologies for personal gain. Allegories often also depict characters as embodiments of abstract concepts, such as, for example, vice, virtue, greed, ignorance, love, hate, envy, and hope. Allegories are commonly employed in literature, music and in the visual arts, such as painting and sculpture. They are generally understood as rhetorical: as a form of rhetoric, they seek to persuade their audience to adopt a particular point of view, political stance or moral perspective by appealing in the first instance to the imagination. While fables and parables generally contain a single moral ‘lesson’, allegories are more complex and detailed in their metaphorical representation of human experience. Some classic allegories include: Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” in The Republic (c. 380 BC); Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene (1590); John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678); George Orwell’s The English Teacher’s Handbook

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Animal Farm (1945); C.S. Lewis’ The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950); William Golding’s Lord of The Flies (1954); and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials (1995). Allegorical films include: Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); Olivera’s Una Sombra Ya Pronto Seras (A Shadow You Soon Will Be) (1995); Wachowskis’ The Matrix (1999); and Udi Aloni’s Forgiveness (2006). Examples of allegorical art include: Sandro Botticelli’s La Primavera (Allegory of Spring) (1482); Artemisia Gentileschi’s Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting (1622) and Allegory of Inclination (1613-1616); Theodore Gericault’s The Raft of the Medusa (1918); and Pablo Picasso’s Guernica (1937). JM Students explore a visual allegory such as Gericault’s The Raft of the Medusa. Describe in detail the scene being portrayed. Identify the allegorical themes of, for example, the descent into the Underworld. Read the fairy story The Pied Piper of Hamlin. Compare the representations of ‘good and evil’, ‘retribution and punishment’ in both texts, noting the ways in which each text communicates a moral or ethical position.

Alliteration Refers to the repetition of consonants in neighbouring words, particularly at the beginning of words, or stressed syllables. Alliteration is a common language device used for special effect in poetry (for example, Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy”), speech, advertising (for example, ‘Red Rooster’ and ‘Pumpkin Patch’) and occasionally in prose. Alliteration is best understood by reading alliterative language out aloud. Alliteration is a favourite technique used by the media in attention-grabbing headlines: for example, ‘Bureaucratic Bungling’ and ‘Big Bucks’. When alliteration is employed as a structural device in conjunction with stress patterns, it is referred to as ‘front rhyme’. An example of its use in poetry occurs in Gerard Manley Hopkins’ (1844-1889) Spring: What is all this juice and all this joy? A strain of earth’s sweet being in the beginning Eden garden. – Have, get, before it cloy, Before it cloud, Christ, Lord, and sour with sinning, Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy, Most, O maid’s child, thy choice and worthy the winning. See also Language. DC

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

∼ Students conduct an audit of media and their everyday environment, identifying examples of alliteration in advertising, business names, names of characters in television shows and names of celebrities.

∼ In groups, students analyse the effectiveness of the language by substituting one of the words in the alliterative phrase for another non-alliterative word.

∼ Discuss the impact of this change. ∼ Students create their own business name, pseudonym or character name using alliterative words or phrases.

Allusion Any deliberate reference in a text to a well-known object, person, phenomenon, myth, legend, event, biographical or autobiographical detail or other text. The most common allusions are to other texts, classical myths and historical events. Allusion requires and assumes that there is a common ground (in terms of shared knowledge of cultural codes and cultural experience) between the text and the reader/viewer. Without such common ground, the allusion is rendered ineffective - it will not be recognised by the responder. Some texts include explanatory notes for the allusions made in the text. TS Eliot’s The Wasteland (1922) is a well-known example. 14


A John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1831) relies heavily on allusions to Biblical stories. Allusions to other literary works, art, music, historical events and people are common in literature. More recently, the use of allusions has become a feature of many films including, for example, Shrek I, II and III (2001, 2004, 2007). The humour, plotlines and characters in these films depend on the audience’s recognition of popular nursery rhymes, fairy tales and other fictional characters beyond the world of the film. Integrating allusions into a text has a range of purposes. It may: ∼ signal the composer’s deliberate attempt to integrate his/her text into a particular established tradition, school of thought or epistemological movement, thereby investing that text with the added significance and meaning that comes with historical, cultural and artistic ‘heritages’; ∼ indicate the composer’s deliberate attempt to break with or critique established traditions by employing allusions in ways that challenge such traditions; ∼ deepen the appeal of the text by employing allusions that call on the responder’s knowledge of intertextuality; and ∼ imbue the text with nuances and layers of subtlety through allusion, rather than through explicit description, reference or explication.

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

See also Anxiety of influence, Intertextuality. JM View Shrek I or Shrek II. Students identify allusions to fairy tales, nursery rhymes, myths and popular culture. What is the purpose of using allusions? What particular knowledge and understanding do we require to engage with and recognise the allusions in film? How are allusions employed to deepen the meaning? Is the humour and the meaning dependent upon a knowledge of the allusions? Would this film have been as effective in its use of allusions if it were not an animation?

Alternate rhyme A rhyme scheme in poetry that follows a common pattern of end-rhyme in lines 1 and 3, and a different end-rhyme in lines 2 and 4. In a stanza, this rhyme scheme can be described as an abab rhyme scheme. William Blake’s “The Clod and the Pebble” (1794) employs alternate rhyme: “Love seeketh not Itself to please, Nor for itself hath any care; But for another gives its ease And builds a Heaven in Hells despair.”

JM

Alternative reading: A reading and subsequent interpretation of a text that differs from a dominant, orthodox or received interpretation. Alternative readings seek to generate new perspectives on the text by questioning the validity of the generally accepted meaning of a text. Alternative readings take into account, for example, the context of the production of the text; the cultural assumptions and experience of the reader; the binary oppositions at work in the text; gender and power relations prominent in the text; and the gaps and silences in the text. Alternative readings tend not to challenge a dominant reading but instead, exist alongside a dominant reading. Alternative readings can take the form of alternative re-writings of traditional or well-known texts in order to critique or comment upon the original. One way of introducing this form of alternative reading (and intertextuality and transformation) is to read a fairy tale, such as, for example, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. Then, read alternative versions of this such as Roald Dahl’s rewriting of it in Revolting Rhymes (1982) or Angela Carter’s “The Snow Child”. Students can explore the versions in terms of their representations of gender, romantic love, marriage, ‘happy endings’, and social codes. and can also decide whether these versions constitute alternative or resistant readings of the original story. See also Dominant reading, Interpretation, Literary criticism, Values. JM The English Teacher’s Handbook

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A Reading as ‘other’:

∼ Generate a list of types of people (may be stereotypes: e.g. rock star; homeless person; doctor; newly-arrived immigrant; unemployed person; pensioner; sculptor; sailor). Have these types on role cards.

∼ Students adopt a role, create a brief profile of the role (name, age, likes, dislikes etc).

∼ In pairs, students interview each other in role and then work in pairs to read a text (e.g. poem, short story, fairy tale) in role.

∼ Compare readings. ∼ This activity promotes an understanding of dominant and alternative readings, point of view, persona, and the potential for a range of interpretations of a single text.

Ambiguity A word, symbol, sign, tone, phrase, language or text that has indefinite, multiple, uncertain or alternative meanings. Ambiguities can be accidental or deliberately constructed for effect. Ambiguity is often used to create irony and depth in a text, especially in poetry. Ambiguity is always dependent on context. The English poet and critic William Empson (1906-1984) theorised ambiguity and explained it as “any verbal nuance, however slight, that gives room to alternative reactions to the same piece of language.” (Seven Types of Ambiguity, 1930). Through Empson’s close reading of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “The Windhover” and George Herbert’s “The Sacrifice”, he “legitimised ambiguity as a positive quality of literary texts.” (Day, 2007). Empson distinguished seven main types of ambiguity: (1) details of language which are effective simultaneously in several ways; (2) a variety of meanings that are resolved by the author into one; (3) two apparently disassociated meanings that are provided in the one word (4) a variety of meanings which act in unison to reveal a complicated state of mind in the author; (5) during the writing process, the author ‘discovers’ his/her idea; (6) when a statement which appears contradictory and requires the reader to undertake his/her own interpretation; (7) a fundamentally contradictory statement which shows that the writer is unclear about what is being said. Jokes, puns and riddles, along with other humorous texts, usually rely on ambiguity. DC Reference: Day, F. (2007) The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism

Amplification A language device used to emphasise, highlight and magnify for effect. It may involve the repetition of particular words, images or ideas to attain impact on the audience. Anaphora and epiphora are terms that describe the deliberate repetition of words at the beginning and the end of clauses, respectively, to draw attention to an idea or image and thereby amplify it. “And Death Shall Have No Dominion” (1936) by Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) is an example of how this technique is employed in verse. Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s (1809-1892) “The Splendour Falls” (1850) also uses repetition for effect in the final two lines of each stanza: Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying, Blow, bugle, blow; answer echoes, dying, dying, dying. See also Language, Poetry. JM

Anachronism (Greek: ‘against time’) Any idea, habit, theory, language, custom, artefact, object or perspective that typically is associated with an earlier time and does not suit the context in which it occurs. Something is said to be anachronistic when it is regarded as odd and incongruous because it is out of date. For example: ‘cabriolet’ for ‘cab’; ‘thy’ for ‘your’; ‘thee’ for ‘you’. DC 16


A Anachrony A technique often employed in narrative and film whereby there is a deliberate distortion of the expected chronological sequence of events. The term analepsis describes the technique of flashback, while the term prolepsis describes the technique of briefly anticipating events, scenes or people that will be more fully explored later in the story. The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981); Snow Falling on Cedars (1999); Memento (2001); and Atonement (2006), are films that rely on this technique. Examples of print texts that employ anachrony include AS Byatt’s Possession (1990) and Steven Carroll’s The Art of the Engine Driver (2001). JM

Anagnorisis (Greek: ‘discovery’, ‘recognition’) A term coined by Aristotle (384-322 BC) to describe an astonishing discovery by a character or the audience. The term was originally used in the context of Greek tragedy. Aristotle defined anagnorisis as movement from ignorance to knowledge and takes place when the hero/heroine undergoes great struggle and hardship. Anagnorisis can occur, for example, when a character reaches a moment of great insight into his/her true past or identity, or the true past or identity of another character. King Lear experiences anagnorisis in Act III, scene iv when he is on the heath with the Fool, and again in the closing scene when he is confronted with the death of Cordelia. In this way, the experience of anagnorisis is similar to an epiphany. Although this term was initially applied to Greek tragedy, it can apply to a range of other texts in addition to drama texts. Crime fiction and film, for example, generally involve anagnorisis when one or more of the characters discover the ‘truth’. JH, JM

Anagram

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

A phrase/word that has its words/letters jumbled to make another phrase or word. For example: Mary/Army; Shimmer Spoon/Homer Simpson. JM ∼ Students use their own names to create anagrams. ∼ Select well-known business names, celebrity names and names of other public and historical figures. Students create anagrams, aiming to produce anagrams that are ironic, witty or comic.

∼ Students share anagrams, with one or two clues, and others in the group try to decode these.

∼ Visit http://wordsmith.org/anagram/ Students to enter a word, phrase or name and the site provides a list of anagrams.

Analogy A comparison between two things that share a similarity but are otherwise different. It is a figurative device common in poetry. An analogy relies on comparison in order to establish, highlight or infer a relationship between two things and thereby shed light on one or both things more fully (the subject and the analog). In this way, an analogy is a simple form of metaphor or simile. The poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost (1874-1963) relies on analogy to explore the concept of change and transience. It draws an analogy between aspects of the natural world, human life and death. Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. See also Comparison, Language, Metaphor, Simile. DC, JM The English Teacher’s Handbook

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A Analysing a performance A critical response to a play must reflect the fact that the script is only a blueprint for a live performance. The realisation of such an event will require the creative input of a range of talents. The performing arts involve enactments that bond audiences and performers in a shared set of experiences to which both make differing contributions; hence each performance of the same written text is unique. The following is a performance checklist to use when analysing a performance. For each of these areas a description is needed and an analysis of the meanings conveyed. JH Checklist for analysing a performance The space of the performance: the venue

• •

What messages does the theatre itself send to the audience? Look at the architecture? Does it convey the connotation of a formal or an informal audience experience?

The audience

• • • •

What is the audience demographic? How are they dressed? How are they behaving? What is the audiences’ relationship and contract with the performers? Is the audience acknowledged as being there? Is there an expectation that the audience will actively involve themselves or are the spectators only? How is the audience situated re lights? Are they in the dark or are they visible?

Dramatic devices: scenography

• • • • • • •

How is space organised? What is the significance of the set? What is shown and what is suggested? What is the relationship between onstage and offstage? Are the scenes indoors or outdoors? How is this created on stage? Are there any symbolic meanings conveyed by the set? How does the lighting on stage create and send meaning?

The characters/actors in • the play • • • • •

Who are the characters? What do we know about the characters? What is their relationship with one another? How do we know? What sort of language do they use? How to the actors bodies relate to the space and to each other?

Focus

•

How and when do the director/actors focus the audience on an actor or group of actors? Look at lighting, actor movement or set change for example.

The plot

• • • • • • • •

What is revealed on stage? What is the story? In which genre is the play? Where are the turning points? What themes and issues are explored? What are the ambiguities and what points are explained? Are there sub plots? If so how do they intersect with the main plot? Are there any dominant symbols, images and/or motifs occurring?

The plot

• • • • • • • •

What is revealed on stage? What is the story? In which genre is the play? Where are the turning points? What themes and issues are explored? What are the ambiguities and what points are explained? Are there sub plots? If so how do they intersect with the main plot? Are there any dominant symbols, images and/or motifs occurring?

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A Music and sound effects • (FX) • •

What music and sound effects are used, and when are they introduced? What is the meaning conveyed by music and sound effects? Are dialogue and music integrated? If so, how and to what effect?

Stage props

• • • • •

What types of props are being used? What is the function of the props? What is the props’ relationship to the space. What is the props’ relationship to the actors’ bodies? Are the props symbolic?

Costumes

• • • •

What is the relationship between the costumes and the actors’ real bodies? Do they convey status or time? What is the effect of colour and material? Are they symbolic?

Pace of performance

• •

The overall pace of the play: is it steady or broken? When does the tempo change?

Cultural aspects

• • • • •

What cultural aspects did you find new and/or confusing? Look at the socio-cultural context and issues. What is the historical context? Are there gender issues. Is there an explicit ideological position presented?

Analysis The process of exploring and interpreting a text that requires particular skills, knowledge and understanding of textual features and conventions and reading practices. An analysis of a text may examine in close detail the integration of ideas and form in order to arrive at meaning. Analysis implies a careful investigation of the parts or components of a text in order to more fully understand the whole. A critical analysis seeks not only to describe, explain and illuminate the meaning and effect of the text, but also to evaluate the worth of a text. The term analysis is common in the lexicon of English education and research. Discourse analysis, document analysis, historical analysis, source analysis, comparative analysis and textual analysis are just some examples of the wide range of types of analysis that are possible when engaging with texts and language. See also Close reading, Interpretation, Literary criticism. JM Some strategies for analysing a poem through a close study of language and ideas.

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

First of all, look at the title of the poem. Without formulating too many pre-conceptions about the poem, an initial, deliberate reference to the title may often aid you in your entry into the work. Read the poem aloud at least twice. This can be done individually or with a number of voices. Listen to your voice as you read and try to decide upon the tone of the poem. Does your reading sound urgent and assertive, serious or playful? Does your voice sound measured, formal, conversational, oratory, intimate, gentle or satiric? A great deal of insight into a poem can be gained by noticing the features of your oral reading. How do you feel as you or someone else reads the poem? Do you feel curious, empathic, stunned, embarrassed, bored, confused, amused? Write down your responses using any words that come to your mind. mind Even if your reactions seem to be different from those of others, they are very important in the overall working through and expression of your interpretation of a poem.


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A Having gained some ideas on the tone of the poem, look more closely at the speaker.

∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼

Is there a single speaker? Are there multiple speakers? Is the speaker addressing a known audience, or the general 'reader'? The poem may be directed at an abstraction like ‘death’ or a season. The speaker may be a voice pondering or meditating. After asking these questions of the poem, inquire about the nature of the speaker and of the person/thing/ experience/audience being addressed.

∼ Is the speaker telling a story, or describing events? ∼ Is the speaker, persona or voice in the text inviting you to adopt particular points of view, sympathies or attitudes?

∼ Perhaps it is offering fresh insights about common, every-day things or experiences, or maybe the poem opens up the new and unusual? Does the poem ask you direct questions or require you to call up your own similar experiences? Is there a setting for the poem?

∼ If so, what information are we given about this, and what bearing does it have on

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

the tone, mood and ideas of the poem? A ballad, for example will usually have a

∼ ∼ setting, while a lyric or short, reflective poem may not. ∼ As you read the poem, notice your initial reactions to the structure. Does the poem consist of one stanza or unit? Or are there several sections? Is each stanza made up of the same number of lines, or does the poem present uneven stanzas? In itself, analyzing the mechanics of structure is of little use unless this can add to our insights about the poem’s meaning.

∼ Alexander Pope, for example, uses the heroic couplet which consists of two, wellbalanced and ordered lines of verse. This liking for a particular structure reflects this poet's thematic concern for propriety, precision and balance. His poetry is a clear example of form following function. You may find that a poem's ideas are presented in units which correspond to each stanza.

∼ Is there punctuation in the poem? If so, where and what is its purpose? ∼ The way in which something is expressed helps to determine your interpretation of what is being expressed. Language

∼ Is the language colloquial or of everyday speech; formal; or a combination? ∼ Are there any words or phrases that strike you as unusual or unfamiliar or that stand out when reading the poem?

∼ Does a study of the imagery, metaphor, symbolism contribute to your understanding of a poem?

∼ Don't be led astray by heavy concentration upon poetic features, such as imagery, rhyme, or personification in isolation from the ideas at work in the poem itself. Remember, features such as imagery and rhythm should be considered not as detachable qualities but as contributing to the whole.

∼ Always try to articulate, either orally or in writing, your responses to a poem on your initial and subsequent readings.

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A Anastrophe A figure of speech that inverts the expected or regular order of words. This technique is employed in poetry to draw attention to an idea, image or action. For instance, TS Eliot (1888-1965) writes of "arms that wrap about a shawl" rather than "shawls that wrap about an arm" in "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock" (1917). Similarly, Dylan Thomas’ poem “With the man in the wind and the west moon” employs anastrophe. In ST Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” anastrophe is evident in the final line of this stanza: He holds him with his skinny hand, "There was a ship," quoth he. "Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!" Eftsoons his hand dropt he. The English poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889) experimented with and exploited anastrophe in many of his poems. JM

Anecdote (Greek: ‘unpublished’) An informal, generally unpublished story that is often an amusing account of an incident or episode, particularly one directly experienced or observed by the story-teller. Anecdotes are generally conveyed in colloquial language by the person who experiences the event or episode, and commonly occur as part of informal conversation and everyday communication. Anecdotes occur in written prose and verse, as well as in film as part of characters’ dialogue. In addition to everyday oral communication, letters, articles, biographies and autobiographies may also include anecdotes to invest the text with colour, interest and ‘personality’. An anecdote differs from a short story in that it communicates a single episode. The term has a long history: C Hugh Holman (1976) cites early examples such as Deipnosophistae of Athenaeus, the Lives of Plutarch, the Anecdotes of Percy and the Anecdota of Procopius. DC References: Cuddon, J.A. (1991) Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, 3rd edn. London: Penguin Books. Holman, C. H. (1976) A Handbook to Literature, 3rd edn. Indianapolis: The Odyssey Press.

Anime The term broadly refers to the shortened Japanese interpretation of the word ‘animation’ referring to animated moving-image films. More specifically Anime (which itself draws heavily on the Japanese printed comic tradition known as Manga) refers to a very specific style of Japanese cartoon-like animation. Anime emphasises particular visual stylistic accents, predominantly in relation to the representation of human characters. See also Manga. KS

Antagonist (Greek: ‘rival’, ‘opponent’) A character or group of characters opposed to the protagonist (main character) in a play. It is often assumed that an antagonist is synonymous with a villain. This need not be the case: just as the protagonist is not always the hero or heroine who prevails in the face of opposition, an antagonist is not always the anti-hero. The antagonist may be a character who confronts and challenges the predominant point of view or action within a text or provides the conflict within the text. Iago, in Othello (Shakespeare, c. 1603) is a straightforward example of an antagonist. Heathcliff, in Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte, 1847) however, can be seen as both an antagonist and a protagonist. He is both a Byronic hero, driven by passions, and also a protagonist who contributes to the action of the plot through his tumultuous relationship with Catherine. See also Hero/Heroine, Protagonist. JH, JM


21

A Anthology

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

(Greek: ‘garland’) A collection of different texts or works that are collated to form a single work, usually created on the basis of an organising principle which may be based on the genre (for example: an anthology of poetry, which was the original kind of anthology; an anthology of short stories; an anthology of letters; or other forms, including musical compositions); a particular historical period, regional location, geographic features or countries (for example: an anthology of Victorian poetry; and anthology of Australian short stories; an anthology of nursery rhymes; an anthology of desert stories; and an anthology of Italian sonnets); gender or ethnicity (for example: an anthology of women’s poetry of protest); themes, experiences or life stages (for example: an anthology of stories of childhood; an anthology of letters from the First World War); or a combination of one or more of the above. JM Students in English can produce an anthology of their own texts, or an anthology of texts created by the class: for example, anthologies of favourite poems with accompanying visual texts; anthologies of short stories written by students; anthologies of writing and representations from students’ portfolios. This is an effective way of developing understanding of purpose, composing for audiences other than the teacher, and publication conventions. Students can create the layout, cover, artwork, introduction and so on. Anthologies can also be published digitally.

Anthropomorphism (Greek: ‘in human form’) The technique of ascribing human qualities (for example: imagination, sentience, speech, physical form or features etc) to animals, inanimate objects or abstractions. Fables often use this technique. Ted Hughes’ (1930-1998) poetry also provides many examples of animals and abstractions being given human qualities: for example, “Wind” and “Hawk Roosting”. This technique is similar to personification and the use of the ‘pathetic fallacy’. See also Pathetic fallacy, Personification. JM

Anticlimax (Greek: ‘down ladder’) An anticlimax occurs when an expected resolution, moment of suspense or other high point of a text or experience is not achieved, falls flat, is disappointingly resolved, or is deliberately avoided or undercut by the composer to dash the responder’s expectations. Narrative, for example, generally follows conventions which include rising action, a turning point/s, a climax in the plot and the resolution of a conflict of problem. The Booker Prize winning novel (and later film), The Remains of the Day (1989) by Kazuo Ishiguro, is an example of a text that deliberately avoids the orthodox sequence of climax and dénouement. See also Climax, Conventions, Dénouement, Narrative. JM

Antithesis A device that relies on a counter statement or opposed position. The terms thesis, antithesis and synthesis are often used in conjunction with one another to describe an original proposition (thesis), its opposite (antithesis), and the resolution of the conflict between thesis and antithesis through some means which enable the formation of a new or modified position (synthesis). The synthesis somehow retains some common idea or element that can be found in the thesis and antithesis. Basic examples of thesis and antithesis include: mortal/immortal; peace/war and freedom/imprisonment. See also Binary opposition, Dialectic, Synthesis, Thesis. DC, JM

Anxiety of influence In 1973, the American critic, Harold Bloom published a book with this title which explored the phenomenon of literary inheritance, legacy and influence, and the impact of this on the writer. Bloom argued that the enormous pressure on writers that emanates from a recognition and knowledge of 22


A all that has preceded them, leads to an ‘anxiety of influence’. Bloom’s thesis was based on a study of poetry and literary criticism of poetry. The theory posits that poets are so aware of the great history of literature (of which that they are seeking to become a part) that they may be plagued by an anxiety which manifests as uncertainty about what and how they can add to such a ‘tradition’. The anxiety arises when the writer considers how they may appropriate, transform or stand alongside the ‘great’ works of the past. Bloom also argues that literary criticism is itself is caught up in this anxiety in its own practice of comparing poets across time and place. JM

Aphorism (Greek: ‘definition’) A concise, sometimes terse statement of a principle that contains a ‘truth’ or insightful observation about aspects of human experience. For example: “Everything is relative”; “Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.” An aphorism is similar to a maxim, cliché, proverb, adage, dictum or saying. JM

Apostrophe (Greek: ‘turning away’) A punctuation mark that indicates the possessive case. For example: This is Betty’s lunch. The apostrophe is placed before the ‘s’ to denote the singular subject (Betty). The apostrophe is placed after the ‘s’ when the subject is plural as in, for example, Adam attends a boys’ high school. The apostrophe is also used to indicate the omission of letters when one or two words have been abbreviated to form a shorter word or another word, as in can’t (cannot), wasn’t (was not), isn’t (is not). The apostrophe is positioned at the point where the letters from the original word/s have been omitted. An apostrophe is also a figure of speech or literary device whereby there is a direct address to an absent person, an object, idea or abstract entity. John Donne’s poem “Death, Be Not Proud” (1633) is an example of an apostrophe since it directly addresses the abstraction of death. JM

Applied Theatre: Applied Theatre is a portmanteau term for social interventions and policy directions informed by drama theory and theatre methodologies. The field features theoretical and practical approaches informed by social work, sociology, juvenile justice, prisons and medicine (especially mental health). According to Ackroyd (2000) Applied Theatre practitioners share a belief in the power of the theatre form to address something beyond the form itself. A group may use theatre in order to promote positive social processes within a particular community, whilst others employ it in order to promote an understanding of human resource issues among corporate employees. The range of applications is cast, including theatre for education, for community development, and for health promotion. JH Reference: Ackroyd, J. (2000) “Applied Theatre: Problems and Possibilities”, Applied Theatre Researcher, 1,

Appreciation: An understanding and valuing of the qualities of a text, experience or phenomenon. The term has particular relevance to the theory and practice of English education and is central to Elliot W Eisner’s (1933-) concept of educational connoisseurship and criticism. Eisner advocates the importance of art and artistic modes of thinking in education, promoting the crucial need not only for ‘knowing’ but also for ‘feeling’. Howard Gardner’s (1943-) theory of Multiple Intelligences similarly addresses the need for education to attend to the range of ways human beings learn, understand and grow. Against a backdrop of educational practice that has too often foregrounded the technical, behaviourist and formulaic, Eisner’s work re-centres the concept of artistry, appreciation, aesthetic judgement and critical acumen as fundamental to what he calls ‘the basics’ of education. He defines connoisseurship as:


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A the art of appreciation. It can be displayed in any realm in which character, import, or value of objects, situations, and performances is distributed and variable, including educational practice. (Eisner, 1998: 63) To become connoisseurs, students draw upon a wide range of experiences, information, situations and ideas, contextualising these and making connections with the world around and within. Eisner argues that education is not only about connoisseurship, but also about criticism: If connoisseurship is the art of appreciation, criticism is the art of disclosure. Criticism, as Dewey pointed out in Arts as Experience, has at its end the re-education of perception…The task of the critic is to help us see…Connoisseurship is private, but criticism is public. Connoisseurs simply need to appreciate what they encounter. Critics, however, must render these qualities vivid by the artful use of critical disclosure. (Eisner, 1985: 92) In English, students should be immersed in a wide range of language and texts, in meaningful contexts, and engaged in the kind of experiential, imaginative, creative and critical activity espoused in Eisner’s model of arts education. JM References: Eisner, E. W. (1998) The kind of schools we need: personal essays. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Eisner, E. W. (1985) The art of educational evaluation: a personal view. London: Falmer Press. Eisner, E. W. (2005) Re-imagining schools: The selected works of Elliot W. Eisner. London: Taylor & Francis.

Appropriation Involves a process whereby aspects of an original source text are used to shape a new text. Whereas an adaptation may involve a heavy reliance on a source text and requires an explicit relationship with that source text, an appropriation decisively extends aspects of the original text and may involve a cultural shift both in terms of end product and subject. Appropriation may not necessarily involve a generic shift. For example, Tom Stoppard’s 1966 play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, is an appropriation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Stoppard’s play is an absurdist, existentialist examination of the meaning of life from the perspective of two minor characters from Hamlet, whose commentary on Hamlet’s behaviour renders Hamlet a comic figure and their own absurd position laughable but tragic. According to Sanders (2006: 57) “Seeing things from marginal, or even offstage, characters’ points of view is a common drive in many adaptations and appropriations.” See also Adaptation. MP, JM Reference: Sanders, J. (2006) Adaptation and Appropriation (The New Critical Idiom), London: Routledge.

Archaism (Greek: ‘old-fashioned’) Language (words, phrases, sayings) that is no longer in widespread use. For example, in Australia, the term ‘cove’ referred to the owner or boss of a sheep station and was current from 1870-1910. DC Reference: Partridge, E. (1972) A Dictionary of Historical Slang, Victoria: Penguin Books.

Archetype (Greek: ‘first, original model’) A common term used to refer to an idealised, ‘universally’ recognised, mythologised, abstracted or generic person; stock character; personality; image; symbol; model; phenomenon; or common human experience. Archetypes embody universally recognisable characteristics or attributes and are pervasive throughout the literature and art of diverse cultures and historical periods. Archetypes have been traced back to early forms of visual representation and over time, have been appropriated into print, other texts and popular culture. Some common archetypes are the universal Mother; the villain; the hero/heroine; the goddess; the witch; the seer; the pilgrim; the rose; the Holy Grail; the eagle; the tree; water; initiation rituals; the serpent; transformation; the journey or quest; immortality; colours; mandalas; the Garden of Eden; Paradise; and the Underworld. 24


A Archetypal themes are common in literature, film and other texts and include the individual on a quest or journey of discovery; creation; birth and death; sibling rivalry; rituals of marriage and burial; and ‘the Fall’. Carl Jung (1875-1961) developed a theory of psychoanalysis based on personality archetypes. Jung’s theory was appropriated and advanced by the work of the literary critics such as Northrop Frye in Anatomy of Criticism (1957). This approach to the study of literature became known as Archetypal (or the related Myth) Criticism. Joseph Campbell (1904-1987), the anthropologist, also identified a whole range of myths and associated archetypes across cultures and investigated the reasons for their enduring prominence. See also Archetypal and Myth criticism, Epic, Hero/Heroine. JM Textual analysis: When reading/viewing and analysing a text in terms of an archetypal model, students may ask the following questions as part of their exploration:

∼ Are there strong images or symbols in the text that are related to archetypes – for example: water, the sea, journeys, the sun, the moon, colours, circles, snakes, gardens, tree of life, desert, paradise, maternal or paternal figures?

∼ Can I identify any archetypal characters or situations in this text? ∼ Does the text allude to or explicitly refer to any well-known myths: for example,

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

creation, immortality, heroic quests, journeys and initiations?

∼ Can I trace symbolic patterns in this text and if so, are they connected to my experience and knowledge of the world today?

∼ What is the purpose and effect of employing archetypes and myths in this text? ∼ Are the myths and archetypes specific to particular cultural contexts? ∼ Do the characters and events in this text remind you of other texts or experiences? Picture Books:

∼ Use books such as The Wretched Stone (Chris Van Allsburg); Cat, You Better Come Home (Garrison Keillor, S Johnson and L Fancher); Tjarany Roughtail: The Dreaming of the Roughtail Lizard and other stories told by the Kakatja (Gracie Greene, Joe Tramacchi and Lucille Gill); The Rabbits (Shaun Tan). Also use Aesop’s Fables. ∼ Read the books by focusing only on the visual images in the first instance. Students identify strong images or symbols from the pictures and discuss the associations, meanings and cultural significance of these. Examine the sequence of the pictures, the composition of each, the visual narrative structure and the tone and mood of the visuals (colour, depth, balance of light and dark etc).

∼ If the book has words, read the story and explore how effectively the visual images represent or support the ideas in the written story. Can the two ‘modes’ (words and image) exist independently?

∼ Explore the representation of cultural myths and archetypes such as, for instance, the journey myth, the quest, the hero. Compare with poems and other stories that contain myths and archetypes (for example: “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”) References: Campbell, J. (1988) The Power of Myth, New York: Doubleday. Frye, N. (1957) Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays, Princeton: Princeton University Press. Gold, E. (ed.) (1997) Timeless Truths: Exploring Creation Myths and Dreamtime Stories in Years 7-10, Sydney: Phoenix Education.

Archetypal and Myth Criticism A type of literary criticism that examines the archetypes, myths, archetypal themes, symbols, patterns and paradigms in individual texts and groups of texts. This form of criticism has its roots in the philosophy of Plato (c. 428-348 BC) and that of succeeding philosophers who explored the recurrence of ideas, characters and events within and across time and through texts. This approach assumes the connectedness of texts and language throughout history and seeks to identify the continuities between texts in terms of their use and appropriation of archetypes and archetypal The English Teacher’s Handbook

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A themes. Archetypal criticism seeks to explain why certain universal types, symbols, motifs, situations and so on occur in literature, myth, folktales, art and religion across diverse cultures, historical periods and contexts. Carl Jung (1875-1961) proposed that the recurrence of archetypes and archetypal themes can be attributed to a ‘collective unconscious’ of humanity that finds expression in art and other contexts, throughout history. When types and experiences are repeatedly represented and normalised, they become archetypal. Identifying the archetypes in texts can, according to archetypal literary critics, yield meaningful insights into the universal human condition and patterns of human behaviour and psychology that resonate with readers/viewers across time. Notable archetypal literary critics include JG Frazer (The Golden Bough, 1890-1915); Maud Bodkin (Archetypal Patterns in Poetry, 1934) and Northrop Frye (Anatomy of Criticism, 1957). Archetypal criticism gained widespread appeal between the 1960s and 1980s. See also Archetype. JM References: Frye, N. (1957) Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays, Princeton: Princeton University Press. The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism

Argument (Latin: ‘proving’) This term has several applications in English education. Commonly, an argument is a text - written, oral, aural, dramatic or visual - that presents a case or a thesis and provides evidence to substantiate this. The purpose of an argument is to persuade or convince the audience of a particular point of view. An argument is structured in terms of a thesis or overarching position statement and proceeds on the basis of logically supporting this position through careful selection and shaping of evidence. In literature, an argument refers to an explanation that may precede a work, although this version of an argument is uncommon in contemporary literature. An argument also refers to the dialectic within a text whereby the composer sets out a position and proceeds to argue this through the form and content of the work itself. An example of an argument in a literary work is Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” (1650-52) in which the male persona presents a thesis about love and throughout the poem, argues the case in order to convince and compel the subject of the poem to embrace this argument and thereby become his mistress. See also Essay, Rhetoric. DC, JM

Aristotle’s Unities A term coined by the French critic Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux (1636-1711) in Art Poetique (1674) and was based on his interpretation of the writings of Aristotle (384-322 BC). Aristotle was a Greek philosopher, scientist and theatre critic. His Poetics describes tragedy (and unfortunately his work on comedy has been lost). It is important to note that Aristotle was describing great tragedy of his time, especially Sophocles’ work, and not prescribing as the later European neo-classists claimed. According to Boileau-Despreaux, Aristotle proposed that a great play has three unities: ∼ Time: a play should cover no more than 24 hours. ∼ Action: a play should have one predominant stream of action, with few subplots. ∼ Place: a play should not be set in many or diverse physical spaces. In fact, Aristotle only commented on the Unity of Action; he mentioned the Unity of Time but did not refer at all to the Unity of Place. Many great Ancient Greek playwrights (for example, Euripides) did not follow these conventions, and nor did Shakespeare. JH

Article A nonfiction text that may include descriptive, analytical and evaluative material. A feature article is a piece of writing, often in a magazine, newspaper or on a website, which explores in some depth a person, event, situation, theme or idea, following certain generic conventions. A feature article is usually distinguished from a news story by its ‘human interest’ focus. They may be written to inform, entertain, persuade or explore in some detail a person, event, issue or idea. Feature articles are 26


A usually written using the first person, active voice and draw on anecdote, quotations and interpretations of the subject being featured. They sometimes include visual images. DC, JM

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

∼ Select one or more feature articles from different kinds of media (for example: newspapers, magazines, websites).

∼ Read and analyse the articles, comparing the structure, language, tone, mood, images, layout, voice and perspective.

∼ Research other representations of the person, event, issue or idea presented in the feature articles.

∼ Students brainstorm in small groups a series of topical issues, events or people. ∼ Students select one person, event, issue or idea and use this as the basis for their own feature article. They may choose a known person or family member.

∼ Completed feature articles can be published as an anthology, in hard copy or digitally. Visual images may be included and attention should be given to layout and style.

Aside and soliloquy Techniques in drama whereby a character speaks directly to the audience, or speaks in such a way that other characters on stage are not aware of what is being said. It is assumed by the audience that when a character is speaking an aside or a soliloquy, all or most of the other characters on stage are oblivious to it The main difference between an aside and a soliloquy is the duration: an aside is usually brief, whereas a soliloquy is an extended piece. Both asides and soliloquies enable a direct address by the character to the audience. They reveal the 'true' motives, thoughts and feelings of a character: they afford the audience the opportunity to glimpse the inner life of the figure on stage. We share the secrets of which other members of the cast are unaware. Asides and soliloquies also function to position the audience as the confidants with access to privileged information that is vital to a full understanding of the character, action and events.

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

Asides and soliloquies are often indicated in the stage directions in the script of a play. They were very common in drama until the 20th century, when the emergence of more naturalistic and experimental forms of theatre dispensed with the perceived artifice of this technique. In addition, the forward thrust stage used during the time Shakespeare was writing provided a degree of intimacy and physical proximity between actors and audience, allowing the frequent use of asides and soliloquies. The proscenium arch stage, however, does not provide the same degree of actoraudience proximity so plays written for this form of stage tend not to include frequent asides and soliloquies. The convention is particularly common in farce and melodrama where the aside is an important dramatic device for heightening the comedy, satire or irony. Asides also occur in everyday communication contexts such as conversations. The equivalent of the aside and soliloquy in film occurs when voice-over techniques reveal the thoughts and feelings of a character. See also Alienation effect, Drama. JM, JH ∼ After viewing, engaging with, performing and reading a play, select one scene in which a soliloquy occurs. (Hamlet, Macbeth and Julius Caesar are good examples.) ∼ Note where the soliloquy occurs in the cycle of action. ∼ Does this character speak soliloquies and asides frequently or infrequently? ∼ What is the purpose of the soliloquy at this point? ∼ What does it reveal to the audience about the inner thoughts and feelings of the character?

∼ Remove the soliloquy from the scene. ∼ How does the absence of the soliloquy influence the meaning and the development of character and action?


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A Assessment The process of judging student achievement in relation to the aims, objectives and outcomes of a syllabus. Assessment requires the gathering of evidence about what students know and can do. Assessment is an integral component of every teaching and learning phase. It should be devised at the time of program and unit planning and regularly reviewed in the light of student learning. The purpose of assessment is to improve student learning; provide accurate information about student development and achievement; utilise this information to build upon, tailor and refine learning opportunities; assist in further planning and programming; and provide detailed reports to students, parents and others about the achievement of individual students. Effective assessment: ∼ is underpinned by beliefs and understanding about how students learn ∼ should be an integral process of course design and not ‘added on’ ∼ requires clarity of purpose, goals, standards and criteria ∼ requires a variety of measures, feedback and reflection, and ∼ is linked to real-world contexts. There is a range of types of assessment, each serving a different purpose, although there is obvious overlap between these. These can be summarised as follows. See also Evaluation, Learning-centred English, Learning styles, Student-centred learning. JM Type of Assessment Formative

Description and Purpose • •

Ongoing assessment during teaching and learning. Provides students with feedback on their progress and assists in shaping and enhancing future learning.

Practical Strategies • • • • • • •

Summative

• •

Assessment that occurs at the conclusion of a unit of work. Designed to assess students’ culminating achievements.

• •

• • • • • •

Diagnostic

•

•

Designed to gather information to identify where students are ‘at’ in their learning. Assists in shaping future learning and individualising pedagogy.

• • •

•

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Write portfolios (use of drafts and works in progress). Participate in discussions. Reading and viewing logs. Use self-evaluations and reflections. Provide abundant opportunities for workshops, discussions, group work, and regular feedback. Ensure students are immersed in a variety of engaging and purposeful activities and thinking. Provide models, facilitate research, encourage portfolio development and self and peer evaluation. Provide clear and transparent information about assessment items. Provide criteria sheets, descriptors, performance indicators and marking guidelines and ensure students are aware of how and why they are being assessed. Allow plenty of time for discussion and drafting prior to submission of summative tasks. Provide a balance in creative and critical responses. Include products of student writing, representations, reading, viewing, talking and listening. Facilitate presentations. Encourage performances Set examinations. Maintain detailed records of individual student progress, participation, attitude and behaviour. Methods of recording development can include: anecdotal records – notes on student work habits, contributions to discussions, interpersonal skills, incidents, notable experiences; criteria sheets with performance descriptors; surveys, interviews.


A Type of Assessment

Description and Purpose

Practical Strategies

Negotiated

•

Assessment designed in collaboration with students. Teacher’s goals and students’ goals are shared and a meaningful program is devised synthesising the shared learning goals of both.

Assessment for learning

•

Teachers utilise formative assessment to See Formative assessment inform their practice. A critical concept that assumes assessment is a means to learning rather than merely an end-point of learning.

Assessment as learning

•

Students and teachers reflect on the process of their learning as it is occurring, monitoring and refining learning goals. Involves metacognition.

Journals • Provide models and plenty of opportunities for discussion, reflection and group work. • Emphasise the importance of students taking responsibility for learning and development through reflective practice. • Discussions • Reading and viewing logs

•

• •

Portfolios Contracts: Individually, in small groups or as a whole class

Assessment of learning

•

Teachers gather evidence about what students know and can do.

See Summative assessment

Self assessment

•

Students monitor and judge their progress and learning using criteria designed by the students (often in collaboration with the teacher).

• • • • •

Reflective journals Contracts Surveys Logs Metacognitive organisers

Peer assessment

•

Students assess each other according to agreed criteria.

• • • •

Oral presentations Performances Productions Writing

Portfolio assessment •

Students select exemplars from their collated work. Not all work is included. Students select evidence that demonstrates achievement against known criteria (for example: demonstrates progress; addresses outcomes).

• • • • •

Writing portfolios Reading portfolios Digital portfolios Viewing portfolios Representing portfolios

Descriptive assessment

An essential component of effective teaching and learning. Teachers respond to students with descriptive statements and feedback about the student’s strengths and areas in need of development.

• • • • •

Learning journals Double entry journals Conferencing Interviews Discussions

• •

Criterion-referenced assessment

•

•

Norm-referenced assessment

•

Students are assessed against a set of • criteria which describe the specific characteristics of the required task. Criteria are made explicit to students • prior to undertaking the assessment task. •

Utilise a set of criteria which provides students with an explanation of the knowledge, skills and understanding that need to be demonstrated. Portfolios Process and products

Assessment in which students are compared to each other as part of a cohort and ranked according to their relative achievement. The ‘bell-curve’ or normal distribution is a fundamental element of this type of assessment.

Grades and marks are awarded and students are ranked against their peers in the cohort Ineffective if it does not include explicit criteria and standards so students can identify what they have achieved and how they can improve


• •

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A Type of Assessment

Description and Purpose

Practical Strategies

Standardsreferenced assessment

•

Students are assessed according to a set See Summative assessment of standards which describe what students know and can do. Students are not compared to one another, as in normreferences assessment.

Outcomes- based assessment

•

Students are assessed according to whether or not they have achieved explicit syllabus outcomes.

See Formative and Summative assessment

Formal assessment

•

An assessment task that is judged and often assigned a mark of a grade. It contributes to the overall achievement profile and assessment of the student.

• • • •

Examinations Written assignments Summative assessment tasks ‘Products’ that are required as part of the completion of a course of study

Informal assessment •

Assessment tasks which are not assigned marks or grades, but which contribute to the ongoing assessment process.

• • •

Discussions Interviews Observations

Internal assessment

•

Assessment that is designed and implemented by teachers within a class/ school context. Students usually receive detailed feedback along with a mark, grade, rank or score.

• • • • •

Portfolios Internal exams Oral presentations Performances Written and multimodal products

External assessment •

Assessment that is designed and managed by a body or organisation external to and independent of the school. Students may or may not receive descriptive feedback in addition to a mark, grade, rank or score.

• •

State and national literacy and numeracy tests External examinations

Reference:

Johnston, B. (1987) Assessing English, Milton Keynes: Open University Press. NSW Board of Studies, Assessment Resource Centre (ARC):

Atmosphere

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

The ambience or mood that is created by language, setting, dialogue, tone, description, images or sound or a combination of these. See also Depiction, Description, Mood, Setting, Tone. JM The following excerpt from Charles Dickens’ Bleak House (1853) describes London on a November winter’s day. After reading this passage, explore the ways in which the writer creates atmosphere through, for example: ∼ the use of descriptive language ∼ repetition ∼ variation in sentence structure ∼ imagery and metaphor ∼ reference to colour, light and the elements ∼ moving from the general to the particular ∼ precision in the depiction of place ∼ denotative and connotative language ∼ binary oppositions ∼ descriptions of the impact of the environment on people and animals ∼ sequencing of descriptions ∼ appeals to the senses (sight, sound, touch, smell, taste).

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Audience


A

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

Excerpt from Bleak House by Charles Dickens, p. 41 (1853, 1979, Penguin) CHAPTER I— I—In Chancery London. Michaelmas term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln’s Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill. Smoke lowering down from chimney–pots, making a soft black drizzle, with flakes of soot in it as big as full–grown snowflakes—gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun. Dogs, undistinguishable in mire. Horses, scarcely better; splashed to their very blinkers. Foot passengers, jostling one another’s umbrellas in a general infection of ill temper, and losing their foot–hold at street–corners, where tens of thousands of other foot passengers have been slipping and sliding since the day broke (if this day ever broke), adding new deposits to the crust upon crust of mud, sticking at those points tenaciously to the pavement, and accumulating at compound interest. Fog everywhere. Fog up the river, where it flows among green aits and meadows; fog down the river, where it rolls deified among the tiers of shipping and the waterside pollutions of a great (and dirty) city. Fog on the Essex marshes, fog on the Kentish heights. Fog creeping into the cabooses of collier–brigs; fog lying out on the yards and hovering in the rigging of great ships; fog drooping on the gunwales of barges and small boats. Fog in the eyes and throats of ancient Greenwich pensioners, wheezing by the firesides of their wards; fog in the stem and bowl of the afternoon pipe of the wrathful skipper, down in his close cabin; fog cruelly pinching the toes and fingers of his shivering little ‘prentice boy on deck. Chance people on the bridges peeping over the parapets into a nether sky of fog, with fog all round them, as if they were up in a balloon and hanging in the misty clouds. Gas looming through the fog in divers places in the streets, much as the sun may, from the spongey fields, be seen to loom by husbandman and ploughboy. Most of the shops lighted two hours before their time—as the gas seems to know, for it has a haggard and unwilling look. The raw afternoon is rawest, and the dense fog is densest, and the muddy streets are muddiest near that leaden–headed old obstruction, appropriate ornament for the threshold of a leaden–headed old corporation, Temple Bar. And hard by Temple Bar, in Lincoln’s Inn Hall, at the very heart of the fog, sits the Lord High Chancellor in his High Court of Chancery.

Audience A group of people (or an individual) who read, listen to, and/or view a text. The writing of texts is shaped by purpose and an awareness of audience. The term ‘responder’ has been adopted in English education discourse to refer to the wide range of ways that we engage with texts, and encompasses the roles of reader, viewer and listener. A number of critical theories give prominence to the role of the responder in the act of interpretation (for example, Reader-response criticism). In composing texts, students require an understanding of the role of audience in influencing and shaping the form and content of the text. It is important when students are composing that they be aware that they are writing, representing, performing and creating for an imagined or an authentic audience. Teachers should help students to be explicit about their purpose and their intended audience as they craft their writing and provide extensive models of others’ writing to illuminate the role of audience in the crafting of language. James Britton (Britton, et al, 1975) developed a framework identifying the range of audiences that shape writing: One important dimension in the development of writing ability is the growth of a sense of audience, the growth of the ability to make adjustments and choices in writing which take account of the audience for whom the writing is intended. This accommodation may be course or fine, highly calculated or totally intuitive, diffused through the text or explicit at particular points. (Britton, et al, 1975: 58) The English Teacher’s Handbook

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A The relationship between the writer, language, audience and purpose is central to students’ movement from expressive through transactional to poetic writing (see also Writing). The role of audience in writing, according to this model, can be summarised as follows: Audience Self Teacher Wider (known audience) Unknown

Examples Journals, notes, logs, reflections Portfolios, writing, performance, reading, representations, oral and dramatic presentations, discussions, assessment tasks, examinations As above, for peers, group work and younger audiences Publication online, anthologies, discussion boards, published texts, letters to the editor, writing competitions etc.

See also Author, Implied author, Implied reader, Reader, Reading, Writing. DC, JM

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

Reference: Britton, J. et al (1975) Development of Writing Abilities (11-18), London: Macmillan.

Select a range of types of texts and where appropriate use excerpts from these. If possible and practical, students should not be aware, initially, of the nature of the text (for example: take an excerpt from the novel, rather than use the actual book): ∼ Classic novel ∼ Picture book (such as Shaun Tan’s The Arrival) ∼ Young adult novel ∼ Popular magazine article ∼ Website Popular song Excerpt from a film Read, view, and listen to the examples. Students predict and discuss what audience – or implied reader/viewer - they think the text is appealing to and why? What features of language, style, structure, layout, tone, voice and content etc has informed this view? Compare and contrast the range of audiences; explore assumptions about audience (for example: in Tan’s book – which is aimed at an adult, as well as a younger, audience); and identify some of the techniques employed by each composer.

∼ ∼

Australian literature In the broadest sense, Australian literature encompasses imaginative and other texts created by an ‘Australian’ composer (including Indigenous, Australian-born, expatriate and immigrant); and/or with a thematic focus on, reference to, or interest in, aspects of Australian history, culture, identity, experience, landscape and society. According to Feingold, The Australian literary scene, and Australian literary production, changed considerably over the course of the 20th century. While in the earliest years of the century the Bush dominated both literary and artistic depictions of Australian life – a phenomenon that extended well into the 1950s by the Jindyworobak emphasis on a national culture dependent on the spirit of place – recent decades have seen a rapid broadening of literary expression concurrent with newer notions of what it might mean to be Australian. Women writers have challenged the hypermasculinity of the bushman ethos, and explored other ways of linking self with nation. The explosion of publications by Aboriginal authors has added new voices, new perspectives, even new genres to the literary canon. Australia no longer looks exclusively to Britain for its literary models, nor writes exclusively in reaction to them. (Feingold, 2007: 69) 32


A The works of many Australian authors, poets, dramatists and filmmakers are regularly included in English K-12. Web resources for the teaching of Australian literature include: Australian Literature Resource site: Modern Australian Poetry: National Library of Australia: Australian Poetry Internet Resources Library: See also Literature. DC, JM Reference: Feingold, R. (2007) ‘From Empire to Nation’, in A Companion to Australian Literature Since 1900, eds. N. Birns & R. McNeer, New York: Camden House.

Author (Latin: ‘originator’) One who is regarded as the creator a text. Author has come to refer to the writer of a printed text. Over the last decade, the term ‘composer’ has entered the lexicon of English education, since it is a generic term that encompasses the range of ‘creators’ of the range of texts now studied in English. While author, poet, dramatist, speaker, film-maker, photographer, painter and so on, are terms specific to the person/people who create a particular type of text, the term composer covers all of these possibilities. Expressive literary theories, such as those prominent during the Romantic period of English literature, locate the source of meaning of a work in the author/artist rather than the reader, the context, the work itself or a combination of these. In the “Preface” to Lyrical Ballads (1798) William Wordsworth (1770-1850) argued that the poetry is “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling” The New Critics reacted against the tendency for criticism to draw on information about the author’s life and times or possible contextual influences to inform the analysis and interpretation of texts. Instead, the New Critics insisted on the autonomy of the text and the importance of a close reading of the text. While this critical approach did not advocate reference to any biographical, contextual material in the study of literature, it did identify a group of exemplary authors whose work was considered to be of such supreme value that it should be ‘canonised’. Importantly, however, FR Leavis (1895-1978), while insisting on the practice of close reading, also believed in the broader social, democratising role of literature in the cultural and moral life of society, albeit in ways that have been strenuously challenged since. Building on the New Critics’ rejection of the notion that meaning emerges from gathering information about the author, in the 1960s the French critics Roland Barthes (“The Death of the Author”, 1968) and Michel Foucault (“What is an Author?”, 1969) interrogated the notion of single authorship and ‘authority’ similarly arguing that it is inappropriate to consider the author as the supreme authority when it comes to meaning. They argued that the term ‘author’ has been valorised to imply a supreme, unitary creator. Removing any sense of the ‘author’ as an ultimate source of meaning opens the text up, according to Barthes and others, to a multiplicity of meanings and allows the reader to assume a more active role in interpreting and meaning-making. Foucault explored the contextual influences on the concept of authorship and emphasised the historically and culturally contingent nature of authorship and the idea of ‘originality’. The authority of the author has also been critiqued by those who argue that there is a hierarchy of discourses such that in any narrative, there is one or more narrative voices, characters and point/s of view, and controlling all of these, at one remove, is the author. The author, then, is seen to occupy a privileged position in the text-author-reader relationship. Recent theoretical approaches regard the concept of a single author as problematic since, it is argued, one person never acts outside the influence of the cultural contexts (and by extension, the codes and conventions of language and texts) within which they write. Reception and other poststructuralist theories reject the notion of an author as the absolute originator of meaning, arguing instead, that meaning is dependent on the reader as he/she engages with the ‘author’ in the process of reading. The English Teacher’s Handbook

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A One of the most effective ways of developing an understanding of ‘authorship’ and its significance in the creation of texts and meaning, is to equip students to ‘read as a writer and write as a reader’: that is, provide opportunities for students to create their own texts and recreate the texts of others, recognising the integral relationship between reading and writing, purpose and audience, originality and inheritance, and intention and meaning. In addition, the concept of authorship can be more fully explored and understood when students have the opportunity for genuinely collaborative writing and production. See also Hierarchy of discourses, Intentional Fallacy, Literary criticism, Literary theory, Reading, Writing. JM Reference: Pope, R. (2003) The English Studies Book: An Introduction to Language, Literature and Culture, 2nd edn. London: Routledge.

Autobiography (Greek: ‘self life-writing’) The life-story of an individual, usually composed predominantly by the individual him or herself. Autobiography, as distinct from biography, is a very common and popular type of nonfiction and can be published in the form of prose, including diaries, and less frequently, poetry. Autobiography is also known as life-writing. Conventionally, autobiography is written in the first-person (‘I’), while biography is written in the third-person (‘he’, ‘she’). This distinction is not fixed, however. The composer selects material and makes subjective decisions about how to represent people, places and experiences. In this sense, both types of text rely on the imagination and intellect of the composer, and both can be considered subjective literary forms. It is rare for an autobiography to focus exclusively on one individual’s life. Rather, the representation of this life depends on the representation of ‘other’s’ lives. It has been argued, then, that autobiography and biography should be considered co-extensive and interdependent forms (Pope, 1998: 179). The earliest versions of autobiography date back to antiquity, with a famous example from earlier centuries being St Augustine’s Confessions (397-399 AD). William Wordsworth’s The Prelude (1850) can be considered a poetic form of autobiography, since it involves a sustained exploration of the poet’s experiences, attitudes, values, beliefs and memories. In this respect, The Prelude legitimised the poetic use of material drawn from the particular individual’s personal, inner life and experience to explore questions of human existence, purpose and meaning. Contemporary autobiography is often very candid and revelatory, blurring the distinction between autobiography and confessional writing. Notable autobiographies include: Peter Abelard’s Historia Calamitatum (11th century); Benvenuto Cellini’s Vita (c. 1556); Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions (1782); John Henry Newman’s Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1864); David Niven’s The Moon’s a Balloon (1972); and Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom (1995). Historically, and until recently, women’s autobiographies, and those by writers from minority groups, have not figured as prominently as they should in the public domain.

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

Autobiographies are rich texts for the exploration of identity, social and cultural conditions, the relationship between individuals and society, and the process of constructing and representing personal history and reliable ‘realities’. See also Diary, Digital narrative, Memoir, Narrative, Nonfiction, Writing. JM

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1. Select excerpts from a range of autobiographies. Students read these, comparing and contrasting the style, tone and voice. Is the language formal, informal, colloquial, descriptive, expressive or a combination of these? What can we learn about the personality of the author from reading these excerpts? 2. Students research the best-seller lists of nonfiction in Australia and other countries. Identify what proportion of these are autobiography and identify what proportion of the authors are public figures (e.g. sporting figures, politicians, media celebrities). Compare front covers of the best-selling autobiographies of the last 2 years, noting any ‘conventions’ of covers for this genre. Explore titles of as many autobiographies as possible, analysing features of the titles that may indicate the autobiographical


A

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nature of the text. Read the back cover and blurb of these texts, noting any stylistic and language features that recur (e.g. the use of emotive language; references to journeys, overcoming adversity, challenge and triumph; a heart-warming story; an inspiring story etc). 3.

Read “My Life Story”, a poem by Sheila Greenwald (in Orange Moon, edited by Boomer and McFarlane, 1975). Students generate memories about events, places, episodes and experiences from key stages in their life, modelling the progression from childhood to adolescence used by Greenwald. This can be written as a poem, stream of consciousness or narrative.

4.

Using butchers’ paper and markers, students work in pairs. With the butchers’ paper on the wall, one student stands next to it, side-on, while their partner traces a silhouette of their profile onto the paper. Students then individually reflect on an event or experience from their past. They write every word that comes to mind for one minute about this (timed by the teacher so it simulates a game). After creating this ‘word cache’, students are then given 2 minutes to use the word cache to write non-stop in prose. This is a ‘writing derby’. Using this writing as a stimulus, students fill-in their drawn silhouette with either the words or a poem made up of the words or phrases from their writing, or prose, or a combination of these. Booklets of several pages can be made in the shape of the silhouette if students have more writing and visuals to add to their autobiography.

5.

Visit a digital story website and watch a range of stories, exploring the ways in which each presents aspects of the life of the composer. Are there similarities apart from those of structure, form and use of digital narrative conventions? What makes a story stand out as unique and original?

6.

Students can create their own digital stories. (See Digital narrative).

7.

Writing and representation that draws on each student’s experiences is fundamental to development in English, and is a key principle underpinning effective language pedagogy. (See also Language). Another strategy for engaging students in autobiographical writing is based on the poem “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon. The teaching strategies for this activity can be found at:

Reference: Pope, R. (2003) The English Studies Book: An Introduction to Language, Literature and Culture, 2nd edn. London: Routledge.

Automatic writing Writing that is undertaken with no deliberate effort to control or direct the flow of ideas. It is similar to stream of consciousness and aleatoric writing. WB Yeats’ (1865-1939) wife, Georgie Hyde-Lees (George) (1892-1968) engaged in automatic writing and Yeats considered this to be a powerful form of spiritual channelling that contributed to his own creative work and his philosophy as a writer. George’s writing and contributions to Yeats’ work have been under-valued and under-researched in accounts of the latter’s achievements. JM

Avant-garde (French: ‘advance guard’) Describes a movement or type of work that is deliberately experimental with the purpose of innovation in form and/or content. Avant-garde texts are often characterised by their evocative difference from the texts that have preceded them or exist alongside them. See also Modernism. JM


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B Ballad (French: ‘dancing song’) A narrative poem that tells a story, often set to music. It may be based on an event, personality, topical issue or political theme. It can be descriptive, celebratory, satiric, comic or subversive. Structurally, a ballad is often written in stanzas of four lines – a quatrain – with a pattern of rhyme. A common technique in ballads is the use of a refrain or repetition. The repetition of phrases or stanzas makes it easier to commit the ballad to memory and enables the plot or storyline to be apprehended more readily. As an oral form (and often set to music) the ballad has a very long history, with so-called Broadsheet ballads (also known as broadside ballads) widely published and sold in the streets of London in the 16th century. Popular ballads from this time that have descended to the present include “Mary Hamilton”, “Sir Patrick Spens”, “The Unquiet Grave” and “The Three Ravens”. During the Romantic period, ballads were popularised as a form, with their folkloric roots and simple structure appealing to the writers of the time. Wordsworth and Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads (1798)are an example of the use of the form in the Romantic period.

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Literary ballads have remained current since, with many poets using the form to retell traditional stories or to take up issues of social justice and protest (for example, “Dust” by Nicki Rice). Many ballads have been set to music by classical composers such as Robert Schubert and Johannes Brahms, and have been included in operas by composers such as Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner. Ballad is a term that also refers to a type of popular song, usually characterised by the ‘romantic’ quality of the music and focus of the lyrics. See also Poetry. JM ∼ Choose a ballad that is appropriate for the class. Read the ballad out aloud. ∼ In small groups, students are allocated sections of the ballad (based on one event or episode).

∼ Each group creates a visual representation of their allocated section to contribute to a frieze. If ICT is available, this can be done using the computer (digital frieze). Or the representations are presented to the whole class and discussed, focusing on sequencing of the story, key images, symbols, places and characters.

∼ Students explore how the visual narrative can be structured and sequenced to ensure continuity and meaning, by arranging these around the wall, or around the floor..

∼ Students can collate and present their representations as a PowerPoint. ∼ Alternatively, small groups can work on creating a two-minute digital story of the entire ballad, choosing images, voice-over of key phrases (refrains, repeated words etc), and music.

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B Bard (Welsh: ‘poet’) A poet, musician, storyteller or scholar, prominent during the 14th century and beyond in Britain and Ireland. The term comes from the Celtic language. Bards were important in recording oral history and creating and disseminating tales and accounts of historical events, famous people and battles. They were learned men who were well-versed in the traditions and events of the time and the history of their particular tribe, clan or region. By recording such experiences in song and rhyming poetry, the audience was able to more readily remember and learn the songs and poems, thereby acquiring knowledge about history, events and people. Since the 18th century, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) has come to be known as The Bard (of Stratford). The term ‘bardolatry’ was coined after George Bernard Shaw (1814-1855) referred with negative connotations to Shakespeare as the ‘Bardolator’. ‘Bardolatry’ has since been a term used to describe what some judge to be the over-exuberant ‘idolatry’ of Shakespeare - The Bard - and his works. JM

Basic skills This term is sometimes used in a variety of contexts and associated with a variety of meanings.. In general terms ‘basic skills’ are those expected of the vast majority of any complete cohort of students. While the acquisition of the basic skills of Literacy is of fundamental importance in the education of school students, it is axiomatic that developing basic skills is the responsibility of all teachers, not only teachers of English. In the development of their students’ reading skills, for example, teachers of English need to include a focus on such higher order skills as: the capacity to identify and distinguish between sophisticated nuances of meaning; wrestling with complex texts; understanding the subtleties of irony, sarcasm, wit, paradox; the ability to situate later 'meanings' within the contexts of earlier 'meanings'; the sophisticated and sometimes deliberately ambiguous language deployed in more challenging poetry; distinguishing 'points of view' operating within texts; noting and reflecting on differing, sometimes even competing, ' voices'; and so on. PB

Behaviourism Advanced by RF Skinner in the 1950s and based on the work of John B Watson (who is widely regarded as the originator of a branch of psychology called Behaviourism that emerged in the early part of the 20th century). Skinner proposed that children learn language by a process of stimulus-response-reinforcement. As children are immersed in oral language, they acquire their own language competence through this stimulus, and through the responses and reinforcement they receive in the act of communication. Behaviourism stressed the view of the child as ‘tabula rasa’ or a ‘blank slate’ who required behavioural stimulus and response in order to learn. Many of the decontextualised reading programs, such as, for example, Distar, were based on the theory of behaviourism. These are now rarely used in the light of more recent research into the importance of context and meaning in the teaching of reading. Opposing behaviourism was Noam Chomsky (1928-) who argued that human beings are born with an inbuilt linguistic instinct and capacity and are therefore ‘pre-programmed’ to learn language. Chomsky’s Nativist model proposed that all human beings are born with Language Acquisition Device (LAD). Later, MAK Halliday (1925-) was to develop the influential Transactional Model of language that emphasised the significance of social context and purpose in language acquisition and communication. See also Functional grammar, Language. JM

Bell Shakespeare Company An Australian theatre company, founded in 1990 by actor/director John Bell. As a national touring company, it specialises in the works of William Shakespeare and conducts an extensive education program for teachers and students. A number of scholarships have been established such as the Young Artists Endowment, which supports new and emerging actors of Shakespeare. Educational programs such as ‘Actors at Work’ involves visits to rural and remote area schools and communities. See . DC The English Teacher’s Handbook

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B Bias (Greek: ‘oblique’) To have or display a tendency to prejudice. Though generally used as a pejorative term, bias can embody positive connotations, depending on the stance of the individual. For example, in the novel Animal Farm George Orwell (1903-1950) conveys his bias against totalitarianism and in particular, communism, through the use of allegory involving animals and as such, has been a favourite in developed western countries since its publication in 1945. The rise of the periodical journal in Europe during the late 18th and 19th centuries demonstrated bias in favour of democratic ideals in the wake of the American and French revolutions. Notoriously, Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf (1923) shows his bias in favour of the Aryan race and his extreme bias against Jews. The job of the polemicist is to promote a particular point of view based primarily on opinion: such writing and commentary is often labelled as biased and can be found in blogs, talkback radio, newspaper opinion pieces, magazines and periodicals. More problematic is the detection of subtle political bias in texts generally and in advertising and news reporting in particular, with accusations of bias made routinely against journalists. More serious examples of bias can be found in totalitarian regimes where the use of propaganda forcibly promotes the biased messages of the State. See also Polemic, Propaganda, Rhetoric, Writing. DC

Bibliography An ordered list of all works cited within a book, thesis or other extended piece of writing that has drawn on other sources. A bibliography includes other books, journal articles, creative works, websites, other articles, and any other source cited or used as a reference to create the original work. Bibliographies are generally organised alphabetically, although subsections of a bibliography may stand as discrete sections within a larger bibliography. A bibliographic work or database is a separate work or digital work that contains a list of references relevant to, for example, a particular topic, theme, subject or author. There are a number of bibliographic styles which set out the format for citations and bibliographies. Two of the more common of these are the Harvard system and the APA system (American Psychological Association). JM

Bildungsroman (German:‘formation novel’) A novel that charts the development of a protagonist from childhood to maturity. Usually portraying a male hero, though not exclusively, these fictional works depict the individual’s struggles, rites of passage and in general, their triumph over adversity. Well-known examples are Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield (1849-50) and Samuel Butler’s The Way of All Flesh (1903). DC

Binary opposition In its simplest form, a binary opposition is a pair of opposed or contrasting concepts, objects, abstractions, phenomena, experiences or ideas. The term gained currency within the context of structuralist approaches to language and the study of texts. Both structuralist linguistics and poststructuralist philosophy were interested in binary oppositions, suggesting that Western thought is based on polarities and bifurcations. We know black is black, for example, because white makes black look black. Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) suggested that much of how Western thought makes sense of itself is through binary oppositions, the primary one being the ‘signifier’ and the ‘signified’. He argued that the binary opposition is the “means by which the units of language have value or meaning; each unit is defined against what it is not”. While de Saussure tended to operate on the pretext that binary oppositions were naturally occurring phenomena, or at least that human beings had a natural propensity to make sense of the world through the rubric of binary oppositions, poststructuralist thought – particularly that of Jacques Derrida (1930-2004) in his first book Of Grammatology – suggested that binary oppositions were not what Derrida calls a “vis-à-vis” or an equal partnership, but a socially and linguistically constructed hierarchy of domination (1978: 41). 38


B Some of the binary oppositions that poststructuralists have worked with and continue to work with are: ∼ Woman/man ∼ Alive/dead ∼ Black/white ∼ Reader/writer ∼ Inside/outside ∼ Reason/emotion ∼ Theory/practice ∼ Nature/culture ∼ Master/servant ∼ Civilised/primitive ∼ Speech/the written word ∼ Sound/silence This way of knowing aligns with the ‘metaphysics of presence’ – a set of theories that proposes there is a validating reality behind language that gives it meaning. Such theories, most notably those of Plato (Ideas), attempt to find a stable and unchanging place to stand outside or above ‘reality’ in order to survey the landscape from a solid, unchanging footing: to find an ‘essence’ that exists outside the movement of difference and surmounts, transcends and conquers it. The metaphysics of presence privileges one thing over another through binary oppositions that are, in turn, interpreted as hierarchical oppositions. Some of the ramifications of exploring the concept of binary oppositions in the English classroom include (Davis, 2001): ∼ Encouraging us to identify and then think beyond the binary opposition, and to question the

ways in which the binary opposition has been constructed. In a binary opposition, is there a hierarchical opposition at play, and what ideological assumptions support that hierarchy? ∼ Once we begin asking these kinds of questions, the way in which we read encourages

different interpretations. If our understanding of texts is governed by a binary opposition that can be challenged, then by challenging the opposition, we unleash other sets of governing principles which may generate new meanings. See also Postmodernism, Poststructuralism, Structuralism. SGS, JM ∼ A pedagogical strategy that assists in understanding the ways in which some texts

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

and responses are influenced by binary oppositions is the ‘Yes, No, But’ activity (see grid below)

∼ A list of ‘black-and-white’ qualities or characteristics can be applied to a text or a character or a person.

∼ The task of deciding which of the oppositions applies more fully to the character leads students to explore the nuances and complexities of reading in terms of binary oppositions, the limitations of this and the subtleties of characterisation and representation. Use the grid below, or create your own. Small groups can focus on different characters, or the whole class can explore the same character at the same time.

∼ As students work through the list, discussing each set of oppositions in relation to a particular character, they can also refer back to the text to find examples and quotes to support their interpretations.

∼ Picture books are an excellent resource for developing students’ understanding of the ways in which binary oppositions may operate to shape meaning and response. Picture books are particularly powerful in that they often rely on both print and visual media. Simple analyses of the colours, shapes, characters and setting of such


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B texts can assist students in recognising the pervasiveness of binary oppositions. This knowledge and understanding can then be applied to other texts such as prose fiction, poetry, drama and film.

∼ When exploring stereotypes in texts and the media, use the template of binary oppositions to highlight the ways in which stereotyping often depends on ‘either-or’ or black-and-white representations.

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

This character is:

Yes, No, But…

Assertive

Passive

Generous

Selfish

Extroverted

Introverted

Talkative

Shy

Trusting

Suspicious

Thoughtful

Impulsive

Adventurous

Cautious

Rich

Poor

Honest

Dishonest

Articulate

Illiterate

Good

Bad

Loyal

Disloyal

Industrious

Lazy

Energetic

Placid

Loud

Quiet

Dominating

Deferential

Central

Marginal

Compliant

Rebellious

Happy

Melancholy

Positive

Negative

Optimistic

Pessimistic

Sociable

Aloof

(Adapted from Hayhoe, M. (1988) Creative work ideas for Macbeth. Sydney: Phoenix Education)

References: Davis, W. (2001) “Morning Glory”, The Literary Encyclopaedia.

. Derrida, J. (1971) Spurs: Nietzsche’s Styles, trans. B. Harlow, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. Derrida, J. (1978) “Positions,” in Positions, trans. A. Bass, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

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B Biography (Greek: ‘life-writing’) A biography tells the story of an individual’s life and is written or created by another person. Biographies are often published as books and films (often also referred to as ‘biopics’), although biographical material may occur in other textual forms (such as, for example, the work of confessional poets). Since a biography draws on the experiences and events of an individual’s life, it is generally classed as nonfiction but may contain fictional elements. Biographies are generally written in the third-person (‘he’, ‘she’), with the purpose of underplaying the significance of the narrative voice in favour of the portrayal of the subject’s life, personality and character. As is the case with all acts of representation, the composer makes choices about the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of the text, rendering biography as a partial and subjective artistic form. See also Autobiography, Faction, Nonfiction, Writing. JM

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

∼ Students select a subject such as a relative, or a fictional character. Conducting

∼ ∼

∼ ∼

∼

research, students develop a profile of the person or character, beginning with descriptions of physical characteristics, age, environment, etc. Students then move on to identify important and interesting experiences, events or situations in that person’s/character’s life. Choosing one or more of these, students create a brief biography of this person/character, for a selected audience. In the role of biographer, students explore the conventions of the form and some of the ethical and other issues involved in biographical writing and representation. Make video recordings, sound recording and take still images, if appropriate. Create a digital narrative based on this research. Construct a timeline of the life of the person/character, selecting significant events and experiences. Use this as the basis for a representation of the life of the subject by using images, imaginative journal entries (based on what the subject may have written), lists of “Top 10 likes and dislikes” or “Favourite Food/Movies/Books/Places/ Hobbies etc” Construct a digital album for the subject, including material from strategies 1 and 2, music, voice-over, hyperlinks, and a reflection statement. Prepare a book proposal for submission to a publisher, detailing the focus of the proposed biography, the purpose, audience, structure, significance, and research required for the completion of the book. Create an oral biography or a video biography.

Black comedy A drama or other kind of text in which potentially tragic events or situations are the subject of wry, dark, laconic or cynical humour. A well-known example of a black comedy is Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot (1953). The characters and situation in this play are so bleak and absurd that the characters themselves derive amusement from the utter hopelessness and pointlessness of their existence. Black comedies are more common in the 20th and 21st centuries in the works of dramatists such as Beckett, Albee and Pinter. Black comedy films include Waking Ned Devine (Jones, 1998); The Rules of Attraction (Avery, 2002) and In Bruges (McDonagh, 2008). See also Comedy, Theatre of the Absurd, Tragedy. JH Black Humour Humour derived from a focus on death, the macabre, absurd, grisly or ghoulish. This kind of humour is often employed alongside satire to expose cruelty, hypocrisy, futility or paradox. Examples include: the film, Dr Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964) and the novels of Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007), Joseph Heller (1923-1999) and Tom Wolfe (1931-). The 18th century Irish writer Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” (1729) relies on black humour: he proposes, with plenty of satire and irony, that the poverty and hardship of the Irish people at the time could be alleviated if they ate their children. See also Comedy. DC The English Teacher’s Handbook

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B Blank verse: Verse that has rhythm but no obvious pattern of rhyme. Blank verse is also known as iambic pentameter. It was the common verse form for English dramatic poetry and was employed regularly by Shakespeare in his plays. In Shakespeare’s plays blank verse works in contrast to prose. It was often thought that the characters in the main plot spoke in blank verse, while the characters in the subplot spoke in prose. A closer study of the plays, however, reveals the fluidity of blank verse and prose within and across the plot and subplot. See also Metre. JM ∼ Focus on the extract below from Shakespeare’s Richard III. ∼ The extract is an example of blank verse, with most of the punctuation removed. ∼ In pairs, students read the extract out aloud, noticing the cadences of the lines, the pauses, caesura and rhythm.

∼ After reading the extract a number of times, students work in pairs, adding punctuation.

∼ Students compare their version to the original version, noting similarities and differences.

∼ Discuss the effect of punctuation on the performance and meaning of the text. Excerpt from Richard III

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

ACT 1, SCENE 1. 1 [London. A street.] [Enter GLOUCESTER, solus]

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GLOUCESTER

Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house In the deep bosom of the ocean buried Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths Our bruised arms hung up for monuments Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings Our dreadful marches to delightful measures Grim-visaged war hath smooth'd his wrinkled front And now instead of mounting barded steeds To fright the souls of fearful adversaries He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber To the lascivious pleasing of a lute But I that am not shaped for sportive tricks Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass I that am rudely stamp'd, and want love's majesty To strut before a wanton ambling nymph I that am curtail'd of this fair proportion Cheated of feature by dissembling nature Deformed unfinish'd sent before my time Into this breathing world scarce half made up And that so lamely and unfashionable That dogs bark at me as I halt by them Why I in this weak piping time of peace Have no delight to pass away the time Unless to spy my shadow in the sun And descant on mine own deformity And therefore since I cannot prove a lover To entertain these fair well-spoken days I am determined to prove a villain


B PRACTICAL STRATEGY

And hate the idle pleasures of these days Plots have I laid inductions dangerous By drunken prophecies libels and dreams To set my brother Clarence and the king In deadly hate the one against the other And if King Edward be as true and just As I am subtle false and treacherous This day should Clarence closely be mew'd up About a prophecy which says that 'G' Of Edward's heirs the murderer shall be Dive thoughts down to my soul here Clarence comes

Bloomsbury Group A group of writers, artists and other professionals who met and socialised in the Bloomsbury part of London in the early 1900s. The most famous member of the group was Virginia Woolf (1882-1941). The group also included Woolf’s sister, Vanessa Stephen (1879-1961), husband, Leonard Woolf (1880-1969), and the novelist EM Forster (1879-1970). They met regularly at Woolf’s home and as part of the social activities, explored literature, art, aesthetics and politics. The Bloomsbury Group, through its writing and dissemination of ideas, exerted a significant influence on the literary, philosophical and artistic landscape of the time and well beyond. JM

Bloom’s Taxonomy A hierarchical schema that is used to classify, measure and evaluate student learning objectives and achievement. Benjamin Bloom (1913-1999), an American educational psychologist, developed this taxonomy in the 1950s. It has since enjoyed widespread application across the curriculum. The developmental nature of the model assumes that students move from one cognitive domain to another in an ever-increasing process of higher-order, incrementally abstract thinking. The model does not include the affective and motor domains, although Bloom did begin to develop these. The diagram below conceptualises the hierarchy of cognitive skills within Bloom’s Taxonomy. See also Affective learning, Developmental model of responding to literature. JM

Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy to Goldilocks and the Three Bears Cognitive Objective

Skill required

Teaching Implications

Knowledge

To recall factual information

What are some of the things that Goldilocks did in the house? • Predictions • Timelines • Character grids • Emotion charts • Maps • Mind maps • Character and plot webs

Comprehension

To demonstrate an understanding of information and ideas

Why do you think the Three Bears left their house unlocked? • Predictions • Ghost writing • Character games • Interviews • Role-play • Translating into another medium


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B Application

To use some previously learned knowledge, skills, or understanding in a new situation/ context

If Goldilocks had gone to your home, what would she have done? • Imaginative recreations • Rewriting (e.g. as a news story, recipe, script) • Translating • Drama, role-play

Analysis

To explore parts of the whole to develop understanding of hermeneutics

What parts of the story are ‘missing’? For example, are there scenes that could be added to the story – what were the bears doing while Goldilocks was in their home? Retell the story from each of the bear’s point of view? Does this change the story?

Synthesis

To bring together ideas How might the story have been different if Goldilocks had met in a new way or dethree horses? How would this story be represented in another velop a new product medium? Use the learning from this story to create another text.

Evaluation

To judge the value of material and ideas

Do you think this text is effective? Why/why not? What sort of audience would this text appeal to and why?

Blurb A short, pithy statement that accompanies and/or describes in précis the content of a fuller text. A blurb usually draws attention to the appealing aspects of the text in order to encourage the potential reader/viewer/listener to explore the described work in more detail. Blurbs are frequently found on book covers, DVD covers, front pages of websites and in promotional materials for creative works, exhibitions and displays. JM

Bricolage (French ‘odd jobbery’) A term that gained currency with structuralist critics and was employed to describe the amalgam and exchange of ideas, concepts and materials to create a new work or develop new ways of thinking and understanding. A bricolage is a work that draws on whatever resources, inspiration and materials are at hand. Roland Barthes (1915-1980), building on the work of Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908 –), describes bricolage as the creative re-combining of components of existing language, culture and texts “with purposes that make sense to users, not just providers.” (Pope, 2008: 13) JM Reference: Pope, R. (2008) Creativity: Theory, History, Practice, 3rd edn. Abington: Routledge.

Broadside Also known as broadsheet, originally a large sheet of paper printed on one side with a ballad or other topical material and sold on the streets. Broadsides were often used to disseminate news of public occasions and controversial and sensational events such as executions, scandals and crimes. A broadside is also a term referring to a lampoon, strident criticism or attack. Broadside ballads were popular in the Britain from the 16th century. A sheet of paper was printed with a ballad, and distributed on the streets. Often the ballads had a social protest theme as in, for example, “The Poore Man Payes for All” (18th century). See also Media. DC

Brochure A printed leaflet or a small booklet that advertises and promotes a product, place, event or service. Brochures are similar to pamphlets in that they seek to convey information in a succinct and appealing manner, usually through the use of printed text and visual images. Effective brochures attend to design elements of layout, colour and balance between visual and printed material. Along with pamphlets, brochures are similar in purpose to a leaflet or a handout but tend to be of higher quality than these other types of texts. Students can experiment with digital brochure templates and compose brochures in response to, for example, issues, themes and texts being studied in class, or compose brochures to promote events. See also Representing. JM 44


B Bullock Report The Bullock Report (A language for life - Report of the Committee of Enquiry appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and Science under the Chairmanship of Sir Alan Bullock FBA, 1975) was one of the most influential reports on the teaching and learning of English in the 20th century. It was based on a large-scale survey of 2000 schools in England. The report investigated trends and attitudes to English language learning and teaching including oral language, written language, language across the curriculum, the reading process, children with reading difficulties and adult literacy. The Report concluded that “Language competence grows incrementally, through an interaction of writing, talk, reading, and experience, and the best teaching deliberately influences the nature and quality of this growth” (1.10) and “Literature brings the child into an encounter with language in its most complex and varied forms and is a valuable source of imaginative insight. It should be recognised as a powerful force in English teaching at all levels” (9.2). The report remains an important landmark in English education. See also Models of English. PB Reference: Bullock, A. (1975) A language for life - Report of the Committee of Inquiry appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and Science, London: HMSO.

Burlesque (Italian:‘jest’, ‘ridicule’) In drama, it refers to a form of variety theatre that was generally comic, parodic and musical, although some burlesque does not include music. This form of theatre originated in the mid 19th century and was a subversive form of entertainment that satirised, often through bawdy or sexually suggestive comedy, the social mores of the Victorian era. Typically, burlesque featured short pieces with women in dancing choruses, singers, male comedians and female strippers. “Without question, however, burlesque's principal legacy as a cultural form was its establishment of patterns of gender representation that forever changed the role of the woman on the American stage and later influenced her role on the screen…The very sight of a female body not covered by the accepted costume of bourgeois respectability forcefully if playfully called attention to the entire question of the ‘place of woman in American society.” (Allen, 1991: 258-259). In literary criticism, the term burlesque refers to any work that imitates another work, but does so in a satirical or parodic manner in order to produce humour. High-burlesque describes the use of a formal style or genre to represent comic or trivial matters. The incongruity between form and content that results is a mark of the work’s burlesque qualities. The mock-epic takes a seemingly trivial subject and frames it within the conventions of a classic or serious genre. Alexander Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock” (1715) is an example of this form. See also Comedy, Drama. JM Reference: Allen, R. G. (1991) Horrible Prettiness: Burlesque and American Culture, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.


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C Caesura (Latin: ‘cutting’) A pause in a line of verse, often occurring in the middle of the line at an unexpected place. This technique is designed to draw attention to the pause, to highlight the ideas or action before or immediately after the pause, and to add texture and interest to the expected rhythm of the verse. JM

Cambourne’s 8 Conditions for Language Learning Brian Cambourne’s model identifies the 8 conditions for optimal learning, where language in context in use is at the core of the meaning-making process: 1. Immersion: we learn to talk, for example, because we are immersed in oral language from the time of birth. 2. Engagement: a productive classroom engages learners in meaningful and relevant learning activities that are connected to and extensions of the ‘real’ world of the students. 3. Expectation: a key condition for learning is to always maintain high expectations of students’ capacities. 4. Demonstration: we need the chance to watch and learn, just like small children watch and learn when they are surrounded by constant demonstrations of language in use. 5. Use: to become successful at something, we have to do it, and do it a lot. Knowing the rules of a game, for example, doesn’t make you a great player. 6. Responsibility: as teachers we need to take responsibility for the sequencing of learning through careful planning and programming. 7. Approximation: this is a crucial condition for learning, but one which is often undervalued by schooling. Often the teacher’s reaction to students’ approximations (‘almost correct’) can be limiting. 8. Response: meaningful responses appropriate to the student’s needs and stage of learning are vital. See also Language, Literacy, Reading, Writing. JM Reference: Adapted from Cambourne, B. (1988) The Whole Story: Natural Learning and the Acquisition of Literacy in the Classroom. Auckland: Ashton Scholastic.

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C Canon (Greek: ‘measuring rod’) In literary studies, a term to denote a group of texts selected for their perceived artistic significance, enduring appeal and cultural value. (Originally, it denoted a criterion, a standard of judgment or the authorised list of the Bible.) These texts are generally considered to hold a privileged status in a particular cultural context. The traditional English literary canon includes a body of texts that have acquired the status of ‘classics’; writers such as William Shakespeare (1564-1616), John Milton (1608-1674), Jane Austen (1775-1817), Charles Dickens (1812-1870) and the Brontë sisters (Charlotte, 1816-1855; Emily, 1814-1848; and Anne, 18201849), among many others. Historically, the English canon began to achieve its definitive state in the mid 18th century as it became more of a form of literary history, with the publication of Samuel Johnson’s Lives of English Poets (1779-81). The canon has become inextricably linked with notions of nationalism, culture and values since the selection of certain texts over and above others suggests a preference for the values that these texts promote. The traditional canon and notions of canonicity have been critiqued from four main quarters: philosophical conceptions of language (post-structuralism); feminism; cultural materialism; and post-colonialism. Not surprisingly, each of these quarters protests against the ways in which a traditional white, male-dominated canon denies the interests of the philosophical ‘other’, the female ‘other’, the ‘other’ bound by class and birth, and the ethnically diverse ‘other’. With the rise of cultural studies and semiotics in recent decades, the traditional English canon has been seen to reify a type of elitism and privilege and as such, can carry a pejorative connotation for a range of literary critics and others. Whether we accept or interrogate these historical choices – and, indeed, whether the traditional choices are in fact representative of the white male – continues to fuel debate. These questions in turn prompt larger questions as to which values we give preference to in order to drive the formation of any canon per se, and the ultimate function and purpose of a canon. The term ‘canon’ can also relate to the accepted works within the overall body of an author’s works such as The Prelude (1850) as part of William Wordsworth’s ‘canon of work’ or oeuvre. See also Evaluation, Literature, Literary criticism, Postmodernism, Structuralism, Values. SGS, DC, JM Critiquing the process of assigning value to texts:

∼ Students work in pairs or small groups to collate a list of all books, poems, digital texts, and films they have read/viewed in English and in contexts beyond school.

∼ Students rank these texts according to their impact on and value to them person-

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

ally.

∼ Student then place these texts in one or more of the following categories: • • • • • • • • •

Literary classic Popular classic Popular Multicultural Women’s Young Adult Digital Best-seller Children’s

∼ Once students have collated and categorised, they discuss which texts have been predominantly part of their school and beyond school experience, and why. This can lead to a discussion about individual texts that have been assigned value and the possible reasons for this.

∼ Which texts from their lists do students value most highly and why? ∼ Which texts would they consider important texts for study in English and why? The English Teacher’s Handbook

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C Caption A succinct piece of writing (often no more than one or two sentences, and as brief as one or two words) that accompanies, comments on and/or adds to the meaning of a visual image. The caption may illuminate or clarify one or more aspects of the visual image, or it may be an ironic, satirical or comic interpretation of the image. Captions, like headlines and breakout sections of a text, are designed to draw attention to the key features of a larger text and do not exist as independent texts. See also Representing. JM

Caricature An exaggerated representation of an actual person or a character in literature, art, film and other texts. Caricatures are usually associated with cartoons and drawings and are used to create humour or satire. In order to stress some individual feature or quality of the character, the caricaturist grossly embellishes that feature or quality. Authors such as Charles Dickens (1812-1870) have also created ‘pen portraits’ of characters that serve as caricatures for their readers. In film, a close-up, low angle or undershot can be used to distort and exaggerate the appearance of a character on screen and create a caricature effect for the viewers. See also Character/Characterisation. KS

Catharsis (Greek: ‘cleansing’, ‘purging’, ‘purification’) A term from Aristotle’s Poetics (c. 335 BC) describing a strong audience reaction to a climactic moment of extreme emotion. The experience of emotional cleansing or release took place when an audience witnessed the dénouement of tragedy. Tragedy enabled individuals to identify with characters and to vicariously experience their torments and the outcomes of their actions and decisions without ever suffering these things directly. Aristotle argued that great tragedy was therefore beneficial because in evoking strong emotions and the subsequent release of these, individuals were ‘purified’ and thereby better able to conduct a virtuous and ‘examined’ life. Catharsis is a term that has been applied to the process of writing. Expressive writing may provide the opportunity for the writer to examine and articulate a concern and seek to solve a problem. Arnold identifies the cathartic value of writing when she observes that “What keeps the writing process going is the writer’s recognition that there is something in it for him or her…This can be establishing a discourse with one’s self and/or another or solving a problem by writing it out.” (Arnold, 1982). JH, JM Reference: Arnold, R. (1982) “Writers, learners and self-esteem”, English in Australia, 62.

Censorship The deliberate suppression, removal or destruction of any material that prevents open access to and public distribution of that material, usually for political, moral and ideological purposes. Debates around censorship are integral to concepts of ‘freedom of the press’, ‘freedom of expression’, democratic freedom and civil liberties. Censorship is often a source of controversy in English (as it is in broader social contexts) and centres on the appropriateness and content of material for use with students. There have been a number of occasions when special interest groups have succeeded in having texts removed from English reading lists on the basis of moral, religious and political objections. Among the list of books most frequently challenged between 1990 and 2000 are the following. Students may review this list and for books with which they are familiar, speculate on why these may have been censored. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier 48

The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard The Witches by Roald Dahl Blubber by Judy Blume We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier The English Teacher’s Handbook

C

C

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Harry Potter (Series) by JK Rowling Forever by Judy Blume Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger The Color Purple by Alice Walker Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Beloved by Toni Morrison The Outsiders by SE Hinton Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by AN Roquelaure (Anne Rice) The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

Particularly topical in the digital age is the issue of censorship on the Internet. More resources and information about censorship can be found at the “Censorship Pages”: . Students and teachers can access the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification to explore the criteria and rationale for rating films, computer games, books and other materials:

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

. JM Select a topical issue (e.g. controversial advertisements; junk food advertisements during children’s television viewing times) or a controversial advertisement (e.g. Benetton ad campaigns; and the Italian “No Anorexia” poster). Students explore all the ‘pros and cons’ of the issue and decide whether or not ads should be screened /published. Create a ‘for and against censorship’ table listing the arguments. Students decide which ‘side’ they will argue for. Debate the issue or students use this exploration as the basis for argumentative writing (e.g. an essay on censorship), or a debate in the roles of politicians debating the issue in parliament.

Character / Characterisation (Greek: ‘instrument for making’, ‘distinctive’) At the simplest level, characters are people or other beings created in a text by a composer. Characters may be wholly imagined, or they may be based to a greater or lesser extent on actual people. For example, the English poets Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon appear as characters in the first novel in Pat Barker’s Regeneration trilogy (1990). Similarly, Napoleon Bonaparte appears as a character in Leo Tolstoy’s novel War and Peace (1869). Characters spark and sustain the dynamism of the plot, engender empathy or antagonism in the responder, and enact and embody recognisable human qualities and experiences. Literary critic MH Abrams stated “the characters are the people, endowed with specific moral and dispositional qualities, who carry on the action…the sphere of ‘character’ can be progressively widened to include even the thought and speeches in which it manifests itself, as well as the physical actions which are motivated by a person’s character.” (Abrams, 1958: 69). Character may refer to the person who participates in, drives and experiences the action of the text, or to a persona or narrative identity in the text. Indeed, a character in a text may be an object, landscape or entity that is imbued with human qualities. The process of employing techniques to portray and represent a character is referred to as ‘characterisation’.


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C Aristotle (384-322 BC) emphasised the significance of action in developing characters, rather than the significance of the person initiating the action – the agent (pratton). The action is distinct from the ethos of the character which, in the Aristotelian sense, is added later. The actions of the agent reveal the trait/s of that agent as either ‘noble’ or ‘base’. EM Forster (1879-1970) coined the terms ‘flat’ and ‘round’ characters. A ‘flat’ or static character is one who does not change throughout the course of a narrative and a ‘round’ or dynamic character is one who changes or is even transformed through his or her involvement with the events of the plot. Many protagonists are ‘dynamic’ in that they meet and overcome the external and internal struggles and challenges of the plot. An important consideration in characterisation is the narrative point of view. A first person narrator, such as Holden Caulfield in JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (1951) allows the reader to assemble a picture of Holden and his qualities, idiosyncrasies and flaws through his quirky adolescent voice. Holden’s actions, descriptions and accounts of interactions with other characters also clearly establish the social and historical context of the novel. The third person narration in Patrick White’s The Tree of Man (1955) allows the narrator to establish and develop characters through information about the background of the central characters, Stan and Amy. Contemporary theory has argued that a character in a text is constructed to embody, promote, represent or challenge sets of norms, beliefs, values and worldviews. If characters are considered in this way, the responder can be alert to the ways in which characters engender empathy or trigger resistance. The reader/viewer can question why they respond to a character in a particular way (‘do I like/dislike, feel antipathy/sympathy for this character and why?’) and what aspects of the reader’s/viewer’s own values, beliefs, assumptions, cultural context, gender, race, and so on may be significant in shaping this response. Characters are often categorised as protagonists; antagonists; and main, central, minor or supporting characters. See also Drama, Fiction, Flat and round characters, Narrative, Reading, Writing. DC, JM References: Abrams, M.H. (1958) A Glossary of Literary Terms, New York: Chatman. Cuddon, J.A. (1991) Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, 3rd edn. London: Penguin Books.

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

Holman, C. H. (1976) A Handbook to Literature, 3rd edn. Indianapolis: The Odyssey Press.

∼ Select an excerpt from a text that rich in its description of a character (e.g. Emma in Jane Austen’s Emma; Tess in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles; Celie in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple). Explore the ways in which these characters are portrayed (techniques of description, dialogue etc). Compare the representations. Students explore what aspects of these characters appeal to them and why? What aspects of the representations are unusual, surprising or unexpected? How is this character different from/similar to familiar people in everyday life?

∼ Provide students with the first few lines of texts that provide a description of, or introduce, a character. Students work on fleshing out the description, comparing their versions with the original.

∼ View films such as, for example, Forest Gump, The Hours, Harry Potter, Faces in the Mob. Explore the ways in which character is constructed through filmic techniques (including voice-over and narration) and how the representations work to elicit certain responses from the viewer.

Chick-lit/Chick-flick Refers to fiction and film, respectively, written, produced and marketed for adolescent and young adult women. The term ‘chick-lit’ was coined by Cris Mazza and Jeffrey DeShell as part of the title of their 1995 anthology, Chick Lit: Postfeminist Fiction. The terms were originally employed ironically and now carry pejorative connotations, highlighting the categorising of this kind of fiction and film as popularist and therefore marginal to more seriously regarded literary works. It is akin to the term 50


C

C

‘poetess’ used in previous centuries to demarcate male poets from female poets, with the latter considered to be less worthy of critical attention. The sub-genre of fiction and film burgeoned in the 1990s with the widespread popularity of texts such as Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary (book, 1996 and film, 2001), Anne Brashares’ The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (book, 2001 and films, 2005, 2008), Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries (book, 2000 and films, 2001, 2004) and more recently, Lauren Weisberger’s The Devil Wears Prada (book, 2003 and film, 2006). Since the 1990s there has been a flurry of bestselling novels, films and television series targetting a young female audience, exploring the love-life, friendships, material and emotional aspirations and career experiences of mainly white middle-class urban protagonists. See also Fiction, Film, Gender. JM

Children’s Literature Literature that is composed for, selected and read by children and includes a range of genres such as picture books, stories, fairy tales, poetry and drama. It is distinguished from young adult and adult literature by its language, themes, subject matter and style. Children’s literature, especially picture books, fairy tales and nursery rhymes, are increasingly incorporated in secondary English as valuable resources, stimulus texts and texts in their own right. The first children’s book to be written and published in Australia was Charlotte Barton’s A mother's offering to her children (1841). (This book is available as an eBook at http://purl.library.usyd.edu.au/setis/id/barmoth). In 1945 the Children's Book Council of NSW was established, with the national equivalent formed 1959. The establishment of the Children's Book of the Year awards did a great deal to stimulate publication and interest in Australian children’s literature, with a concomitant rise in the literary and critical scholarship in the field. Nancy Anderson has categorised children’s literature as follows: 1.

Early childhood picture books: ∼ Concept books (alphabet, counting, general) ∼ Pattern books ∼ Wordless books

2.

Traditional literature: Myths Fables Ballads and folk songs Legends Tall tales Fairy tales Traditional rhymes Fiction: ∼ Fantasy ∼ Contemporary realistic fiction ∼ Historical realistic fiction Biography and autobiography Informational books Poetry and verse. ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼

3.

4. 5. 6.

See also Fairy tales, Literature, Picture books. JM Reference: Anderson, Nancy (2006). Elementary Children's Literature, Boston: Pearson Education.

Chronology In literature, film and other types of texts and communication, the chronology refers to the organisation and sequence of events and actions that constitute the plot. Constructing a timeline of the action of a text assists students in understanding the role of chronology and sequencing and the ways in which these may be disrupted, inverted or otherwise manipulated for a particular purpose and effect. See also Anachrony, Plot. JM The English Teacher’s Handbook

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C Cinéma vérité Roughly translates from Russian to ‘cinema of truth’ referring to a candid style of documentary filmmaking that attempts to convey realism. It includes actual people (not actors) in everyday unrehearsed situations, using authentic dialogue (not a script), natural action and locations, with the minimal amount of crew, equipment and camera work (often hand-held) and is produced on a small budget. Instead of shooting sound and pictures together, the actual conversations and interviews are recorded, the best sound grabs selected with visuals then shot to fit the sound. These elements are later assembled the editing suite. Examples of Cinéma vérité include: West 47th Street (Lichtenstein and Peoples, 2003) and Dont Look Back [sic] (Pennebaker, 1967). The recent bio-pic I’m Not There (Haynes, 2007) can be compared to Dont Look Back [sic] – both films explore the life of Bob Dylan. See also Film. KH, JM

Cinematography Refers to the overall control and design of the camera work that gives a film its particular aesthetic appeal and appearance. The cinematographer governs the operation of the cameras and the control of the shots and characters to create the visual design of the film. See also Film. KS

Cinquain A poem of five lines whose invention is attributed to the American poet, Adelaide Crampsey (18781914). Line 1 has 2 syllables (a subject or noun); line 2 has 4 syllables using a word/s that describe the subject or noun in line 1 (adjectives); line 3 has 6 syllables using words that are verbs relevant to the subject or noun in line 1; line 4 has 8 syllables using words (expressing feelings or a judgement about line 1); and line 5 has 2 syllables using a word/s which can be a synonym for the subject in line 1, or an appropriate word that draws the poem together. An example of a cinquain, by Adelaide Crampsey, is “How Frail”: How frail Above the bulk Of crashing water hangs, Autumnal, evanescent, wan, The moon. There are many types of cinquains including mirror cinquains (a cinquain followed by another cinquain with reversed syllabic form); a reverse cinquain (syllable pattern of 2, 8, 6, 4, 2); and a garland cinquain, which consists of 6 cinquains unified by a common subject or theme. Due the their simple structure and brevity, cinquains offer an accessible form for creative writing in English. In this sense, they are similar to haiku. See also Haiku, Poetry, Writing. JM

Classic Originally referred to the literature and other writing of the Ancient Greeks and Romans, since this writing was judged in succeeding centuries to be exemplary. The more common usage in English education pertains to the identification of particular texts as ‘classic’. The categorisation of texts as classic, contemporary or popular requires value-judgements about the quality and importance of such texts. Like the concept of the traditional English canon of literature, the notion of a classic text is contestable and dependent on personal, cultural, economic, historical, political and other factors. Texts that achieve prominence as classic texts often reflect and embody the values of the predominant culture of the time and arguably continue to appeal to audiences across time and place. It is helpful for students to explore the reasons why some texts have been deemed ‘classic’ during certain historical periods; if, how and why notions of canonicity evolve over time; and the implications of these processes and judgements. One way of considering the differences between texts is articulated in the following broad definitions:

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C Classic: Texts that have been recognised over time as exemplars of their type are referred to as classic texts. The historical perspectives offered by these texts enable students to evaluate the extent to which the values, beliefs and perspectives represented in such texts have shifted, or continue to have currency in their own cultural context. The reasons why some texts continue to be valued – issues of universality, relevance, cultural influences, and gender, for example – can be explored by students as part of their critical engagement with such texts. Contemporary: Texts that are valued in the contemporary context and are considered to be texts which “deal with complex ideas in complex ways”. (A Statement on English for Australian Schools, 1994: 3) These texts are typically composed in language and media that may be more readily accessible to students. They may be compared to classic and popular texts in order for students to evaluate their worth. Popular: Texts whose “main aim is to entertain…and which do not attempt to explore issues and ideas in a complex way.” (A Statement on English for Australian Schools, 1994: 4). Many popular texts may be considered less enduring in their value and appeal than classic or contemporary texts. These broad definitions may function as starting points for a consideration of notions of canonicity, the reasons why some texts are deemed ‘classic’ and the processes of assigning value to texts in a hierarchal manner. Students may also be alerted to the alternative, less freighted use of the term ‘classic’ to denote any texts or experiences in popular culture that has acquired prominent status and widespread appeal. See Canon, Evaluation, Interpretation, Values, Young Adult Literature. JM Reference: Australian Education Council (1994) A Statement on English for Australian Schools. Melbourne: Curriculum Corporation.

Classicism An approach to art that values and promotes the Ancient Greek and Roman models of literature (for example: the epic) and champions the qualities of reason, balance, moderation and proportion in art and in life. The Neoclassical period in literature spanned a century and a half, from the mid 1600s to around 1800. Classicism is often defined in opposition to the principles, philosophy and values embraced by artists and thinkers during the Romantic period. See also Age of Reason, (The) Enlightenment, Epic. JM

Claymation A style of stop motion animation in which characters are constructed from clay or plasticine. The clay characters are then arranged on the set. A film frame is taken then moved slightly again by hand. The next frame taken and so on until the characters appear to be moving by themselves once all the frames are sequenced together and rapidly played back. Chicken Run (Park and Crew, 2000) and the Wallace and Gromit series (Park, 1989 ff.) are examples of claymation films. See also Film. KH

Cliché A saying, image, idea or other aspect of language that has become too familiar, predictable and tired due to its over-use. The term usually carries negative connotations that suggest the saying, image or idea is lacking in originality, unappealing or worn-out. It can be argued that before a saying becomes a cliché it contains an insight or ‘truth’ that is so often quoted that it becomes a cliché. Examples of clichés include: ‘Live and learn’; ‘The devil’s in the detail’; ‘Over the moon’; ‘Great minds think alike’; ‘Bring it on’; ‘That takes the cake’; ‘As sick as a dog’; ‘Go like hot cakes’; ‘At the end of the day’; ‘The fact of the matter is’; ‘Make every post a winner’; ‘All’s well that ends well’; ‘The whole box and dice’; ‘Opening a can of worms’; ‘A storm in a teacup’. See also Adage, Language. DC, JM


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PRACTICAL STRATEGY

C Over the course of a week, students keep a running record of all the clichés they hear in their daily lives. Collate these in class and discuss the prevalence of clichés, the most frequently recurring clichés, and the use of clichés in media and everyday communication. Explore the reasons why clichés proliferate and their purpose in oral communication. Visit the following website which lists all of the sayings coined by Shakespeare. Identify which of these have become clichés.

Climax The culminating point in the action, plot or sequence of events in a novel, short story, poem, drama or film. The climax is often regarded as the high point of the story, where events and experiences come to a head. This may involve a dramatic incident, a turning point, a revelation or discovery, or the full exposure and resolution of a conflict, problem or event. The action and movement of the story preceding the climax generally lead towards the climax, although this may not always be the case. Some narratives and films are structured such that the climax may occur at the beginning of the story, with the subsequent focus being a retrospective chronicling of what has lead to the climax. Alternatively, the events and actions that follow the climax may be the predominant focus of the text. The climax can occur at the beginning, middle or end of a story or play, or at any other points in the continuum of the narrative or drama. The climax is part of the convention and structure of many types of drama. In Greek and Shakespearean drama, for example, Freytag has identified five ‘sections’: exposition; rising action; climax (or turning point); falling action; and dénouement. It is usually in Act III of a Shakespearean play that the turning point in the action occurs. See also Anticlimax, Drama, Freytag’s pyramid, Narrative, Plot. JM

Close reading A process of close analysis and interpretation of a text, without recourse to information about or critical approaches that rely on details of the author’s life, or social, cultural or historical contexts. Close reading was the pedagogy of New Criticism and entailed a fine-grained study of the form and content of the text, attending to its structural features, its ‘organic unity’ and its impact on the reader. Close reading promoted a ‘personal’ engagement with the text, an alertness to the text’s use of paradox, irony, metaphor and ambiguity in order to develop in the reader the critical skills to interpret and evaluate texts as autonomous artefacts. While the approach required this ‘personal’ engagement, the relationship between the reader and the text, and the reader and the received body of critical opinion about the text, was significantly different to what we now associate with ‘personal’ engagement and ‘personal’ response. See also Analysis, Interpretation, New Criticism. JM

Closure Refers to the resolution and/or completion of the action, plot and conflict in a narrative, poem, film, play or other text. The ending of a text may or may not be satisfying to the reader/viewer/listener. Not all texts (for example, stories) reach closure. Indeed, some contemporary texts deliberately disrupt the expectation of closure (or resolution) and deliberately subvert the traditional conventions of narrative in order to more powerfully represent an idea, perspective or philosophical position. See also Dénouement. JM

Code A set of rules or conventions informing and shaping communication, behaviour, language and texts. Within a particular community, there is a shared recognition and understanding of a code that enables individuals to communicate and make meaning. Codes are dependent upon social and cultural contexts and may vary accordingly. For example, some cultures have codes of behaviour that assume eye contact between people engaged in a conversation is appropriate and signals interest 54


C and engagement. Other cultures may require different practices when it comes to eye contact in conversation and may interpret direct eye contact as a sign of aggression or disrespect. Textual codes refer to the sets of rules that govern the production and reception of particular types of texts. Film, for example, has a set of rules that are encoded in the text to enable the audience to recognise the text as a film. In responding to the film, we are ‘decoding’ the text according to our understanding of and expectations about the common features and conventions of the form. The French narratologist, Roland Barthes (1915-1980), argued that narrative texts are defined by their use of five interwoven narrative codes: sets of conventions and techniques that engage us in a narrative; that maintain our interest to continue reading or viewing; that we subconsciously recognise; and that enable us to be active in interpreting meaning. His theory set out to define the system by which narratives are created. ∼

Hermeneutic code: the revelation of answers to the questions that the story sets up. As the narrative proceeds, the mysteries or ‘enigmas’ of the story are resolved and the reader can bring together the threads of the narrative to make meaning.

∼ Proairecic code: the unfolding of the action in the narrative whereby one action or event relies

and builds upon another for its meaning. This code, along with the hermeneutic code, relies on the shared assumption that the reader will move sequentially through the text from beginning to end, assimilating the sequenced content and thereby interpreting it to come to meaning. ∼ Semic or Character code: the set of conventions used by the composer to construct a character

through descriptions, speeches and dialogue. ∼ Symbolic code: the structural principles that rely on the use of opposites (or binary

oppositions). The text is structured around these ‘theses and antitheses’, such as, for example, day/night; man/woman; good/evil; reason/emotion. ∼ Cultural code: the shared knowledge and understanding of the way that a particular type of

text works; assumptions about the way the world works; and the recognition of shared values and beliefs that are evident in the text. Barthes describes these five codes functioning together like a ‘weaving of voices.’ He refers to this as the ‘multivalence of the text’ enabling the reader to interpret a text not just as a single narrative or storyline, but as a cluster of potential meanings: “The grouping of codes, as they enter into the work, into the movement of the reading, constitute a braid (text, fabric, braid: the same thing); each thread, each code, is a voice; these braided—or braiding—voices form the writing.” (Barthes, 1974) See also Conventions, Dialogic, Fiction, Heteroglossia, Narrative, Narratology. JM Reference: Barthes, R. (1974) S/Z. Trans. Richard Miller. New York: Noonday Publishers.

Collage (French: ‘pasting things on’) A popular type of text for representing in English. It is based on the artistic technique of drawing together fragments into a single visual work. Students create a collage to express responses to and interpretations of other texts or ideas through visual representation. The collage may be made up of visuals, print and material objects and is generally a stand-alone work. A collage may also be created digitally. In literature, collage refers to the technique of piecing together often disparate fragments or ideas that are apparently unified in a single work. Modernist poetry experiments with this technique in order to explore and question the concept of unity, order and cohesion. The drawing together of fragments through the single medium of production reflects the poet’s attempts to make sense of or comment on the perceived fragmentary nature of human experience. An example of this kind of poetry is found in Ezra Pound’s Cantos (1922 ff.). Other examples of collage poems include: Laurence Lerner’s “Wrong Number” and William Plomber’s “Headline History”. See also Representing. JM


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PRACTICAL STRATEGY

C ∼ Students create a collage poem using headlines from newspapers, magazines and advertising (based on a topic, concept, theme or idea relevant to the unit of work being taught).

∼ The collage poem can be an amalgam of print and visual text/s. ∼ ICT can be utilised to create and publish students’ products.

Comedy (Greek: ‘village festival’, ‘revel, merrymaking’, ‘to sing’) A wide-ranging term, encompassing but not limited to: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

comedy of manners comedy of morals realistic comedy high comedy and low comedy tragi-comedy courtly comedy comedy of humours comedy of ideas comedy of intrigue comedy of menace romantic comedy sentimental comedy musical comedy domestic comedy satirical comedy farce burlesque slapstick and black comedy.

Although comedy encompasses the sub-categories identified above, many of these are not distinct categories and in fact share a range of techniques to achieve their intentions. The primary purpose of comedy is to entertain audiences. Comedy opens up a comic world that delights in the resilience of human beings in their triumph over adversity, whether potential or actual. It celebrates the human ability to overcome, even if momentarily, the conflict, disunity and strife that is so often inscribed in ordinary life. Comedy artificially manipulates the world to manageable proportions - what could be threatening is reduced through laughter, and the failings and foibles that are common to us all are subsumed by a heartening vision of the potentialities of the individual in society. The comic world usually offers a second chance or a means of redeeming mistakes. This is in contrast to a tragic universe in which human error usually exacts a heavy price. Comedies celebrate, to a greater or lesser extent, the growth of the major protagonists from a state of initial ignorance, imbalance or folly, to a more balanced and educated state. In fact, the idea of balance and harmony is often central to comedy. Comedy differs from tragedy in that it is a lighter form of drama; it relies on dialogue that is of greater substance than farce or burlesque; and generally involves a ‘happy’ ending. In the main, comedy will utilise wit and humour which can centre on a number of elements such as the exaggerated physical and/or personality traits of characters; witticisms conveyed through the speech or dialogue of character in which the character’s deficiencies are made apparent; satirical comments by characters about each other; and social issues or the disparity between a pretence and reality. Comedy appears in each of the literary forms, particularly drama, as well as poetry, prose 56


C and to a degree, non-fiction. Greek comedy was originally associated with fertility rites and the worship of Dionysus. Aristophanes (c.448-c.380) wrote a series of comedies which combined the elements of social commentary, slapstick, lyric verse, dance, far-fetched plots and extraordinary characters. The Romans devised comedies with stock situations and characters which provided a prototype for the comedies of the Middle Ages, which was basically a poem with a happy conclusion. Both Plautus (c. 254-184 BC) and Terence (190-159 BC) wrote a number of comedies centred on love such as Cistellaria, Pseudolus and Andria and Phormio, respectively. During the Renaissance Latin comedy was rediscovered with an effort to apply the rules of classical criticism to drama and a prevailing view that comedy functioned as a corrective mode, as outlined by critics such as Sir Philip Sidney and George Puttenham. Ben Jonson used comedy to expose the recklessness and corruption of society as in Every Man in His Humour (1598) and Every Man out of His Humour (1599). Shakespeare’s comedies - The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Love’s Labour’s lost - can be described as romantic comedies. Much Ado About Nothing, which may be classified as a comedy of manners, signals an important moment in the development of comedy in that most of this play is written in prose which later became the medium of choice in the 17th century. European influences on English comedy can be identified in Restoration comedy: French influences are evident in Restoration comedy, while Italian influences are evident in Jacobean pastoral drama. Although it is difficult to categorise comedy definitively, early Elizabethan comedy was largely Romantic; Jacobean and Restoration, realistic; and sentimental comedy was dominant in the 18th century due to the revival of the Comedy of Manners that occurred later in that century. Much of the effectiveness of comedy relies on the background knowledge and intellectual adroitness of the reader/viewer in order to appreciate the humour. With the rise of the electronic media in the 20th century, new forms of entertainment such as the sitcom and reality television has seen the development of specific structures/formulae that rely upon comedic elements. The difference between comedy and tragedy is not as easy to define as one might think. There is a saying in the theatre, attributed to Mel Brooks: “Tragedy is when I cut my finger, comedy is when YOU fall into an open sewer and die”. Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) in his play Endgame has Nell declare that ‘Nothing is funnier than unhappiness…’ There is certainly some truth in this observation, especially if we think of slapstick comedy or funniest home movie shows on television. See also Conventions, Drama, Fiction, Film, Media. DC, JM, JH

Comics A popular form of visual text with sequential pictures with or without accompanying text. The visual images are sequenced to provide a ‘comic’ narrative and often include word balloons with speech and dialogue, captions or ironic comments on the content of the visuals. As a medium, the comic was popularised in the 20th century, especially in the form of serialised publication in newspapers. As a graphic, multimodal text, the comic and comic strip, rely on humour and sometimes satire and appeal to a wide range of audiences. Superheroes and superheroines often feature in comics, and there continues to be a crossover between comics, animated film and television. In recent years, the webcomic has emerged as a popular form. Comics can be an accessible and entertaining pathway text for developing readers and can stimulate interest in a range of related texts and types of texts. See also Anime, Graphic novel, Manga, Visual text. JM

Commedia Dell’Arte Commedia Dell’Arte is popular, amusing, improvised theatre that developed in Italy in the 16th century. Each actor had a character, played in a particular mask. Characters included:


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C ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼

Arlecchino (Harlequin) - a clown Il Capitano - a cavalier Colombina - a female servant (often paired with Arlecchino) Il Dottore – an old doctor Pantalone – often an old miser Pedrolino - a loyal servant Pulcinella – often is deformed but he could be clever Scaramouche- a rogue and often a coward Tartaglia – often a short-sighted old man with a stutter.

A highlight of Commedia Dell’ Arte was the Lazzi: pieces of comic and/or skilful byplay. JH

Communication The process of sending, receiving, transmitting, interpreting, encoding and decoding information. Communication requires an often complex interaction between the sender, the message, the receiver and the medium through which the information is communicated. If communication is regarded as a simple act of ‘transmitting’ a fixed and unproblematic message to a receiver, who will accept and understand it in the same way that the sender does, then we discount the importance of active interpretation on the part of the receiver and the theories of language and knowledge that argue that meaning is dependent on the capacity of the receiver/reader to make sense of the messages. Douglas Barnes (1976) describes two models of communication: the first is based on the simple concept of transmitting or transferring a package of information, analogous to sending information ‘down a tube’ to the receiver. The second model – the interpretive model - relies on theories of language and knowledge that assume communication is a complex social process requiring a transaction between the sender and receiver where a receiver assigns meaning to what the sender conveys. Effective communication occurs when sender and receiver share a set of understandings about language. Meaning in this model depends on a range of semiotic, contextual, personal and social factors. Communication can occur interpersonally: verbally (talking, writing), non-verbally (through body language, observation, listening, touching, signing); and intra-personally (self-to-self in, for example, diaries, and some forms of art). All language and texts constitute acts of communication. In English, students examine the ways in which the modes of communication operate to make (or mask) meaning. Such examination requires the developing understanding of the codes and conventions of communication as it occurs in an endless array of contexts and for an endless array of purposes. See also Language, Meaning, Talking and listening, Reading, Representing, Viewing, Writing. DC, JM Reference: Barnes, D. (1976) From Communication to Curriculum. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Comparison A technique whereby the composer compares (and possibly contrasts) two things. Often the contrast is made between an abstract experience, feeling or phenomenon and a concrete object. A comparison is similar to but less forceful than an analogy. Shakespeare’s Sonnet number 18, “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” is a good example of the use of the technique of comparison in poetry. See also Metaphor, Simile, JM

Comparative Literature Comparative literature is an approach to literary criticism, where instead of investigating a discrete text for its discrete meaning, critics draw parallels and identify differences between two texts. Historically, there have been two major movements within comparative literature; what are loosely termed the ‘French school’ and the ‘American school’. The French school of comparative literature tended to be more interested in formal comparisons, and is characterised by an empiricist approach to the text. The American school were more interested in using the comparison to identify similar and differing interests and values in the text, to determine what common view of humanity held two 58


C cultures together or whether indeed a common humanity exists at all. For the American school, which has largely permeated Australian study, the two texts will often come from different cultures or even languages, and so the ensuing investigation is one that deals with different traditions and different perspectives on nationalism. Critics investigate the ways in which the text speaks from and to its culture, and thus the idea of the inherent quality of one culture’s literature over and above another is called into question. Comparatists are also interested in the assumptions according to which comparisons are made: how do we decide what aspect of a text we will compare, and what does that reveal about our own cultural understanding of a literary text? Apart from studying texts from different linguistic contexts and different nations, some forms of comparative literature study can examine two or more texts from different genres, particularly genres that are not equally valued as ‘literary’. A novel may be compared, for example, with a film from popular culture, and thus the same destabilising effect is achieved. In addition, comparative literary study can also be undertaken across different historical periods, with texts composed in the same national and linguistic context. In this case, the interest would be in the morphing of values across time, and the critic’s interaction with the assumptions of both texts. See also Interpretation, Literary criticism. SGS Reference: The American Comparative Literature Association: .

Composer (Latin: ‘to put in place’) In addition to its more conventional use with regard to music, it is often used in subject English as a collective noun to include novelists, poets, playwrights, screen and speechwriters, film directors and so on. Here is a word bank to assist students when exploring and articulating what it is that a composer may do in a text. When they are composing their own texts, students can use this word bank as a starting point for reflecting on and evaluating their own and their peers’ compositions. A composer, through a text, may: Demonstrate

Present

Reflect

Reveal

Illuminate

Indicate

Consider

Expose

Explore

Manifest

Contemplate

Explain

Portray

Communicate

Clarify

Display

Capture

Refine

Explicate

Create

Uncover

Critique

Express

Delineate

Enlarge

Amplify

Discern

Apply

Entertain

Stimulate

Inform

Transform

Represent

Compare

Contrast

Suggest

See also Author, Composing, Implied author. DC, JM

Composing The process of creating a written, spoken, visual or other text. In addition to engaging with texts composed by others, students themselves are consistently engaged in composing a wide range of texts in English. This activity of composing is central to the underpinning assumption that English involves students in both responding and making and doing. Students are at once readers and writers, viewers and creators, critics and artists. Ian Reid’s seminal book, The Making of Literature: Texts, Contexts and Classroom Practice (1984) sets out an integrated model of English that argues for a ‘workshop’ approach where students are actively engaged with language and texts. This The English Teacher’s Handbook

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C model is in contrast to what he defines as the ‘gallery’ model which positions students as more passive responders to the texts produced by others. The texts composed by students are considered as part of the continuum of textual practice, contributing to the history and evolution of literary, linguistic and cultural experience. The concept of students engaging in a continuum of making and doing has been embedded in English syllabus documents since the paradigmatic shift in the subject that took place post-Dartmouth. Elliot W Eisner (1933-) similarly argues that students must not only engage in the process of appreciating, but equally, in the process of creating: “the most complex and subtle forms of thinking take place when students have an opportunity either to work meaningfully on the creation of images – whether visual, choreographic, musical, literary or poetic – or to scrutinize them appreciatively… To be able to create a form of experience that can be regarded as aesthetic requires a mind that animates our imaginative capacities and that promotes our ability to undergo emotionally pervaded experience.” (Eisner, 2002: xiii). See also Audience, Co-operative learning, Personal Growth model, Reading, Student-centred learning, Representing, Talking and listening, Viewing, Writing. DC, JM References: Eisner, E. W. (2002) Arts and the Creation of Mind, Yale: Yale University Press. Reid, I. (1984) The Making of Literature: Texts, Contexts and Classroom Practice, Norwood: AATE.

Composition Refers in English education to both a process and a product. Students compose texts in a wide range of forms, media and modes. Composition has traditionally referred to written composition, with English classes being organised around units often titled and dedicated to ‘composition’. Historically, composition has also been predominantly associated with creative writing, although it is now more broadly defined as any act of creating and the text or artefact that results from that process. Composition has a particular meaning in relation to visual texts. See also Film, Representing, Visual text, Writing. JM

Comprehension The ability to decode grapho-phonic, semantic and syntactic cues in a text in order to make meaning. The ability to ‘read’ a text at the basic linguistic level is not an indicator of comprehension: we may be able to read a text fluently but not understand its meaning. Comprehension is a central part of all communication and occurs in a myriad of contexts every day. The capacity to comprehend is influenced by a range of variables including the language competence of the ‘sender’ and ‘receiver’ in the communicative act; the relationship between them; the context in which the communication takes place; the value system of the ‘text’ and the responder; and the responder’s knowledge of the conventions and codes of communicative texts. There are many strategies to assist students in engaging with and comprehending what they read/ view/hear. Traditional approaches to comprehension have involved low-level thinking and questioning that require students to simply recall, retell or summarise information. These types of comprehension exercises often atomise a text into discrete parts and do not address the need for students to read holistically and synthesise the parts with the whole as they interpret what they read. There are many more effective approaches to assessing comprehension that rely on higher-order thinking, interpretation, synthesis and deep understanding. A range of practical strategies for building students’ comprehension skills is described in the entry on Reading. PB, JM Reference: Hamlin, M. & Jackson, D. (1984) Making Sense of Comprehension, London: Macmillan.

Computer graphics In film, computer graphics refers to images (or parts of images on the screen) that have been created electronically (or digitally) on a computer. They are often used for special effects, to manipulate photographic images, or to integrate animated and real images. See also Film. KS 60


C Conceit (Italian ‘concetto’) A figurative language device that sets out to compare two apparently incongruous ideas, objects or experiences. The creative act of melding in thought and language two diverse things often results in a surprisingly clever and unusual perspective. Conceits are a feature of Petrarch’s love poetry. Conceits were developed by and very common in the poetry of the Metaphysical poets who delighted in displaying the intellectual virtuosity and playfulness of comparing highly unlikely things to produce an often startling and convincing case. John Donne’s poetry provides a wealth of examples of conceit. Two well-known conceits are those in the poems: “A Valediction, Forbidding Mourning” (1633) and “The Flea” (1633). In “A Valediction”, Donne devises an ingenious comparison between the experience of love and a pair of mathematical compasses. The conceit reaches a high point in the final four stanzas of the poem. The argument ‘forbidding mourning’ is served by the extended metaphor of the metaphysical inseparability of the speaker and the subject: Our two souls therefore, which are one, Though I must go, endure not yet A breach, but an expansion, Like gold to aery thinness beat. If they be two, they are two so As stiff twin compasses are two ; Thy soul, the fix'd foot, makes no show To move, but doth, if th' other do. And though it in the centre sit, Yet, when the other far doth roam, It leans, and hearkens after it, And grows erect, as that comes home. Such wilt thou be to me, who must, Like th' other foot, obliquely run; Thy firmness makes my circle just, And makes me end where I begun. The conceit is clearly evident in the final two stanzas where Donne brings the compasses image to its climax. JM

Concrete Poetry Also known as shape poetry or poetry that forms a particular structural pattern that is relevant to the content, title or theme of the poem. See also Poetry. JM

Confessional Poetry A form of poetry that emerged in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a kind of ‘lifewriting’ that is deliberately inclusive of the private, often gritty, confronting and highly personal thoughts, feelings and experiences of the poet. Confessional poetry absorbs some of the features of diary writing in that it is explores subject matter that had hitherto been considered taboo for expression in poetry. Critics have argued that the ‘unmasking’ of the poet and the removal of the cloak of ‘persona’ or ‘speaker’ has been a powerful rebuttal of the prevailing view at the time that ‘good’ poetry required the effacement of the personality of the poet. TS Eliot’s (1888-1965) concept of ‘impersonality’ in poetry has been directly challenged by the work of the confessional poets. These poets included John Berryman (1914-1972), Robert Lowell (1917-1977), Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997), Anne Sexton (1928-1974), and later, Adrienne Rich (1929-), Sylvia Plath (1932-1963), and Sharon Olds (1942-). See Author, Autobiography, Diary, Poetry, Writing. JM


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C Connotation The meanings of a word, phrase, other text or image that are implied or hinted at but not stated directly. The connotation of a word is a secondary or associative meaning that is additional to its denotative or literal meaning. For example, the word ‘sea’ denotes a body of water. The connotations of the word, however, may include: vastness, discovery, tranquillity, restlessness, fury, etc. Connotative language is highly significant in the shaping of a reader’s or a viewer’s response to a text. Careful selection of language by the writer, for example, can trigger a range of associations for the reader, well beyond the literal meaning of the text. The connotations that are stimulated by words and images are dependent upon the responder’s experience of the world, an awareness of the associations that have been built up around that word as part of the social use of language, and of the context within which they are responding. Connotations are to a certain extent unstable and contingent on multiple variables. A word or text may therefore evoke a range of associations and these may in fact be conflicting. Poetry relies heavily on connotation through the use of figurative language since poetry aims to evoke responses with an economy of words, so the secondary or implied meanings of those words become crucial. Take for example, the opening stanza of “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (1798) by S.T. Coleridge: It is an ancient Mariner And he stoppeth one of three. - ‘By thy long grey beard and glittering eye, Now wherefore stopp’st thou me?’ If we substitute some of the connotative words in this stanza with less connotative words, the evocative power of the stanza is diminished: He is an old sailor And he stoppeth one of three. - ‘By your facial hair and unusual eye Now how come you are blocking me? See also Language, Reader-response criticism. JM

Constructivism A philosophical framework that conceptualises the: ∼ nature of learning ∼ processes, conditions and pedagogies that facilitate the acquisition of knowledge, skills and

understandings ∼ nature of the learner as an active agent in constructing meaning from incoming information ∼ the process of the learner making connections with prior understandings and knowledge, and ∼ the testing of the new learning by applying it to real-world contexts and situations.

Constructivism – as theory and practice - gained widespread appeal in education in the 20th century. It was influenced and developed by figures as diverse as Giambattista Vico (1668-1744), John Dewey (1859-1952), Jean Piaget (1896-1980), Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934), and Jerome Bruner (1915-), with the latter three figures generally attributed with the development of the theory in educational settings. In English, John Dixon argued that “…at the level of language…we make for ourselves a representational world…making it afresh, reshaping it, and bringing into new relationships all the old elements” (Dixon, 1967: 9). The following table provides an admittedly simplified overview of the key components and principles of constructivism.

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C The Learner

• • • • •

The Teacher

• • •

• •

The learning process

• • • •

• • •

Individual background, language, experience and needs are central to learning Social and cultural interaction, context and experience are central to the shaping and acquisition of knowledge and understanding Learning is an active process with the learner assuming increasing responsibility for learning and their own processes of learning Motivation and confidence emerges from increasing challenge and achievement (intrinsic motivation) Learning tasks should be designed so that they are appropriate and challenging for the needs, interests and capacities of the individual student, building on Vygotsky’s theory of the ‘zone of proximal development’ (1978) Facilitates and guides the learner, designing purposeful learning opportunities for active meaning-making and skills development Understands and applies knowledge of learning styles and individual needs Values and promotes the role of discussion, inquiry, questioning, hypothesising, discovering, speculating, testing and creating new knowledge, and applying this to new situations and contexts Learning activities should promote active engagement, choice and cater for increasing learner independence Learning is scaffolded so that students are supported and guided in activities Learning is an active process of synthesising and making sense of information and experience by connecting it to established knowledge structures and patterns Learning is a social process that depends on the learner’s engagement and interaction with others in purposeful real-life contexts Effective learning environments contextualise learning Learning occurs when there is a balance between structured learning experience and the flexibility to enable the teacher to take advantage of the ‘teachable moment’ when it arises Learning occurs when students are engaged and challenged in appropriate ways with appropriate levels of guidance, scaffolding, information and support Collaboration and cooperation can build knowledge and understanding and occurs in small group learning situations, problem-solving tasks and reciprocal teaching Learning depends on language and according to Vygotsky, optimal learning occurs when talking, making and doing converge (Vygotsky, 1978)

If we view learning in this way, classrooms become places for students to be active and productive (‘making and doing’), rather than merely receiving and regurgitating information. In such classrooms, students are engaged in a reflexive and recursive process that makes explicit the purpose and the nature of the learning activity. Effective teachers of English are discerningly eclectic in their pedagogy, drawing on a repertoire of strategies to cater for their students’ needs, interests and abilities. Such teachers strive for balance between a range of approaches and recognise the need to be both an interpretive and transmission teacher (Barnes, 1976). For example, Nancie Atwell’s writing workshop model exemplifies a constructivist approach to learning that also stresses the need to transmit content by intervening at the point of need. This is achieved through what she describes as the ‘mini-lesson’ – a phase of direct instruction to teach students required skills, knowledge or concepts to enable them to grow and develop as writers. See also Group work, Student-centred learning, Zone of proximal development. JM References: Atwell, N. (1998) In the Middle: New understandings about writing, reading and learning, NJ: Boynton/Cook. Barnes, D. (1976) From Communication to Curriculum, Harmondsworth: Penguin. Bruner, J. (1990) Acts of meaning, Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press. Dixon, J. (1967) Growth Through English. Huddersfield: OUP/NATE. Lee, C. & Smagorinsky, P. (2000) Vygotskian Perspective on Literacy Research: constructing meaning through collaborative inquiry, New York: Cambridge University Press. Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind and society: The development of higher mental processes, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.


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C Context The web of influences, variables and background conditions which exist outside the text, but which can be argued to have influenced the composer, the process of production of the text, the distribution of the text, and the audience’s reception of the text. Contexts that shape and influence human communication and the meanings of a text include: personal, social, historical, economic, political, cultural, situational, geographical and material contexts of the communicator/receiver or composer/responder. Context may refer to the learning context and the language context. Some literary critical methods and approaches to the study of texts have foregrounded the importance of considering the role of context in the production of the text and in the responses to it. Historical criticism, for example, emphasises the significance of the study of the historical context of the composer and text in order to more fully understand and make meaning from the text. Similarly, Biographical criticism relied on details of the composer’s life and experiences to inform the study of a text. Cultural Studies and Critical Literacy both emphasise the social constructedness of language, knowledge and thought and consider social and other contexts to be highly significant in the shaping of meaning. The concept of context is not unproblematic. Firstly, context is a highly malleable and contested concept reliant upon historical accounts or other mediated records of the time that are in turn dependent on the historian’s purpose, position and perspective. The context of a text’s production is not a single, stable or unified phenomenon: it will always be constituted by a host of differing and even competing perspectives, values, norms and beliefs. Arguably, an authoritative, definitive knowledge of a context is eternally elusive. The context in which Thomas Hardy wrote Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1891), for example, can be researched to more fully understand the moral imperatives and the social, cultural and other conditions of the time that may have influenced the writing of the text. We can speculate on the nature and significance of contextual factors such as, for instance, the social mores and expectations of the time that may have influenced the ideas, style, plot, characterisation, representations of gender and power relationships and dénouement in a novel such as Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813). We can also gather general historical evidence about, for example, the political and economic conditions of the time. But this understanding will be necessarily partial, perhaps contradictory and open to question. Secondly, it is often impossible to gather valid and reliable evidence about the personal context of the composer when he/she created the text. When considering context in the study of texts, it is therefore important to ask the question ‘whose context and whose interpretation of the context are we relying on?’ Thirdly, alongside the context of the text is the context of the reader/viewer: a number recent contemporary critical approaches consider this context be vital in the process of engaging with the text and coming to meaning/s. Context also refers to the context established or shaped within a text. See also Intentional Fallacy, Interpretation, Literary criticism, Reader-response criticism. JM

Contract in English A pedagogical tool that reflects a valuing of: ∼ a level of student-initiated and directed learning ∼ experiential learning ∼ a co-operative relationship between student and teacher ∼ a negotiated curriculum ∼ and negotiated assessment. Contracts in English can range from straightforward agreements between a teacher and a student about a wide-reading program, to more detailed contracts that establish the content and process of student learning. Contracts signal to the student that they are expected to take responsibility for their own learning, fulfil the agreement to achieve or complete the tasks set out in the contract, and 64


C move towards increasing independence and autonomy in their learning. Contracts also contribute to the development of metacognition skills. See also Constructivism, Student-centred learning. JM

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

Contracts can take a number of forms, including:

∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼

Wide Reading contracts Reading and response contracts Writing contracts Portfolio contracts Contracts for composing and representing and the use of digital technology.

What to include in a contract:

∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼

Name Title/s and publication details of book/s to be read Reading tactics (see MyRead.org): Pre-reading, during reading, after reading tasks Timeline for reading Possible response tasks Outcomes to be achieved Signatures of teacher and student.

Contrast A technique that seeks to draw attention to the differences between two or more ideas, concepts, situations, events, people, things or qualities. Contrast is frequently used to deepen an understanding of and throw into sharp relief the differences between two contrasting things. Conversely, it can be used to explore the ways in which differences can be harmonised or unified within the context of an overarching idea or theme. An example of this technique is found in Robert Browning’s poems “Meeting at Night” and “Parting at Morning” (1845). JM ‘Meeting at Night’ The grey sea and the long black land; And the yellow half-moon large and low And the startled little waves that leap In fiery ringlets from their sleep, As I gain the cove with pushing prow, And quench its speed i' the slushy sand. Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach; Three fields to cross till a farm appears; A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch And blue spurt of a lighted match, And a voice less loud, through its joys and fears, Than the two hearts beating each to each! ‘Parting at Morning’ Round the cape of a sudden came the sea, And the sun looked over the mountain's rim: And straight was a path of gold for him, And the need of a world of men for me.


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PRACTICAL STRATEGY

C To increase students’ skills and understanding in using the language of contrast, have them brainstorm a list of contrasting objects or experiences. Using this list, students create succinct descriptions of each pair, aiming to capture in precise language the essential differences between them. For example:

∼ ∼ ∼ ∼

sand/stone summer/Winter velvet/pumice silence/a city street

∼ ∼ ∼ ∼

sunrise/sunset bitter/sweet orange/broccoli ocean/mountain

Convention A technique, device, distinguishing feature, structure, method of characterisation, subject matter or elements of literature and other texts that are accepted by both composer and responder as specific or traditional to a particular genre or type of text. Conventions are recurring features of a form that are recognisable by the audience and are appropriated, modified or subverted by the composer. The traditional Shakespearean sonnet, for example, has a set of conventions: 14 lines of verse, an iambic pentameter metre, a rhyme scheme and a thematic focus on love. (See Stephen Spender’s “15 Line Sonnet in Four Parts” for an example of how conventions are deliberately questioned and subverted). The epic requires a questing hero or heroine and a stock of standard phases of the journey. The canonic elegy is characterised by a number of conventions such as the pathetic fallacy; the use of images, myths and symbols such as, for example, flowers, processions and paeans; the valorisation of the deceased; and the metaphorical movement from grief to consolation. (See poems such as Amy Clampitt’s “Procession at Candlemas”, Marge Piercy’s “Burying Blues for Janice” and Anne Sexton’s “Sylvia’s Death: For Sylvia Plath” for examples of how the conventions of the canonic elegy are subverted and redefined.) Although the conventions of a form may not be strictly adhered to, they provide a set of parameters for composing and responding to the text, and for working against the tradition that such texts represent. All texts operate according to a set of conventions shaped by the literary, historical, social, cultural and other contexts within which and from out of which the texts are generated and read. These may be described as textual or generic conventions. These conventions are particularly important in dramatic texts where the audience accepts the dramatic conventions such as, for example, the convention that the audience are ‘spectators’; that they willingly suspend disbelief so that the setting, characters and timeline of the play are accepted as part of the illusion of the drama; that elements of the play such as, for instance, a soliloquy, is a speech that cannot be heard by other characters on stage, and so on. Without these conventions, the process of engaging with a text would be rendered difficult and complex as would the task of composing which usually relies heavily on a knowledge of the inherited conventions of a particular form. See also Code, Drama, Fiction, Film, Genre. JM

Common conventions in Shakespeare’s comedies Convention (dramatic device) Masks and disguise

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Purpose and examples The use of masks and disguise by the characters is part of the artifice of comedy, and although the audience realises the improbability of many scenes relying on disguise, this device enables the characters to manipulate situations and to buy time. It also affords the individual the opportunity to participate at one remove from 'reality'. The masked or disguised protagonist is often able to execute plans more freely than would their 'true' unmasked character. Further, the device of disguise forces questions about the nature of appearance and reality, deception and self-deception. In Twelfth Night, for example, Viola disguises herself as the man, Cesario. The English Teacher’s Handbook

C Convention (dramatic device)

Purpose and examples

Eavesdropping, games/ There are numerous examples of the way in which eavesdropping enables the fighting and the play-within- spread of information in a plot, whilst contributing to or maintaining the elea-play ment of intrigue. Antics like wrestling and sword-fighting are also not uncommon - (Viola/Cesario - Andrew episode in Twelfth Night). The play-within-aplay is a device that calls attention to the whole notion of acting and performance. Often, the interior play will take up and examine a pressing issue of the macro-drama. The most immediate example of this occurs in The Tempest when Prospero directs the masque. Tokens and rewards

In comedy there will often be a token such as a ring, an emblem or a birthmark, that functions either as a symbol of achieved unity and harmony and/or a 'reward' for a character who has overcome ordeals. In Twelfth Night the ring assumes this token-like significance.

Music and song

Music, together with song and poetry, is indeed central to comedy. In addition to their obvious entertainment value, these elements may be seen as thematic correlatives. Music, in particular, is the embodiment of the ideal of harmony and order. Poetry too is a heightened use of language that relies on precision and balance. Both song and verse function to interrupt the dialogue, thus drawing attention to themselves, and also encapsulating a thematic concern in a concise, aesthetically-pleasing and enjoyable way. The Tempest relies to quite a degree on music and song. JM

Cooperative learning: An approach to teaching and learning and problem-solving in English that values the role of collaboration, interaction and intra-subjectivity. Cooperative learning is a key pedagogical strategy in student and learning-centred models of English, since it promotes active student participation; the role of talking, listening, (discussion); a community of readers, viewers and writers; an interpretive community; and the importance of shared endeavour. Cooperative learning also prepares students for beyond-school contexts, such as the workplace, where collaboration and team-work are mainstream practices. Moffett and Wagner (1992) remind us that the “art of conversing is at once a profound social and cognitive activity based on real respect, not etiquette.” Teaching and learning in English assumes and requires an abundance of opportunities for students to engage in collaborative learning situations that are structured, managed and facilitated, but not exclusively controlled, by the teacher. The ‘talking space’ of the classroom is thereby opened up and distributed more equitably than would be the case if the teacher occupied the central role in all learning experiences. There are a number of considerations in establishing and facilitating cooperative learning, and these include managing small and larger groups; ensuring students take responsibility for their role in a group task; the quality of the questions generated and asked during discussion; and the opportunity for teacher and peer-evaluation of the outcomes and effectiveness of cooperative learning experiences. See also Constructivism, Group work, Literature Circles. JM Reference: Moffett, J. & Wagner, B.J. (1992) Student-Centred Language Arts, New Jersey: Boynton Cook

Couplet Paired lines of verse that generally rhyme, have the same metre and are composed as a single unit. There is a range of kinds of couplets that are distinguished by their metre or their place within a poem. The heroic couplet, for example, is a pair of lines of verse written in iambic pentameter. Rhyming couplets are extremely common in poetry and in the language of many cultures. An epigram is a type of text written in a couplet. Following are examples of the couplet: So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. (From Sonnet 18, “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day”, William Shakespeare) The English Teacher’s Handbook

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C In silent night when rest I took For sorrow near I did not look I wakened was with thund’ring noise And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice. (Anne Bradstreet, “Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of Our House July 10th, 1666”, 1678) All things human are subject to decay, And when fate summons, monarchs must obey. (John Dryden, “Mac Flecknoe”, 1681) See also Poetry, Writing. JM

Course Prescriptions Refers to a mandated text list set as part of a course of study. Such lists, often referred to as ‘prescriptions’, are found in courses such as English, Drama, Languages and Dance and are usually issued by a curriculum authority. In the past, a prescribed list of texts set for study in English would include poetry, prose fiction and drama texts. More recently, prescribed lists for English have also included film, media, nonfiction and multimedia texts, reflecting changing attitudes to what is considered as a ‘text’ and worthy of study. Proponents of such inclusions cite the popularity of film, media, nonfiction and multimedia texts and a corresponding need to for students to develop knowledge, skills and understanding through engagement with, composition of and response to these texts. The process for developing a prescribed text list generally involves wide consultation with teachers, key groups and the community, following which recommendations are presented to the curriculum authority for final approval. DC

Cox’s Models of English In 1989, British Professor Brian Cox published a report on the teaching of English: English for Ages 5-16, which came to be known as the Cox Report. Drawing on the work of John Dixon (1975), who identified three views of English (Cultural Heritage, Skills and Personal Growth), and The Bullock Report (1975) which added to Cultural Heritage and Skills a further view of English as “an instrument of social change” (DES, 1975), the Cox Report defined five interrelated approaches (or models) that constitute English. The influential Report has since been critiqued and contested (see Marshall, 2000, for a full analysis). The five models are as follows: 1. Personal growth 2. Cross-curricular 3. Adult needs 4. Cultural heritage 5. Cultural analysis See also Models of English. JM Reference: Marshall, B. (2000) English Teachers: The Unofficial Guide. Researching the Philosophy of English Teachers. London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Creatives The collective noun ‘Creatives’ refers to all the participants in a production whose job it is to help realise the play text from the page through to performance. ‘Creatives’ includes the director, the designer, the actors and may also include the writer, if the work is continuing to be developed through the rehearsal process. Depending on the budget there may be many designers - wardrobe, set, sound and lighting - and there may also be original music scored for the production, which would involve yet another ‘creative’: a composer. The term implicitly acknowledges the imaginative and visionary aspects of the different kinds of contributions made by those mentioned above, as generally any production attempts to create a unique interpretation of ultimately a fixed text. JH 68


C Creativity The process of initiating, developing and/or producing new ideas, concepts, ways of thinking and feeling, knowledge and products. It is a concept that has applicability across the range of cognate and artistic disciplines, and in everyday contexts. Creativity in English refers to the creative ‘process’ of using language to think, feel, interpret, synthesise ideas and compose creative ‘products’ (in print, oral, visual, or multimodal forms). In ancient cultures, and to an extent during the Romantic period, creativity was considered to be a result of metaphysical inspiration or the ‘muse’. More recent scientific research, however, has illuminated the complex ways in which creativity – the creative – is activated, applied and understood in human experience and its integral relationship to the ‘critical’. Pope draws attention to the fact that “the first recorded use of the abstract noun ‘creativity’ is as recent as 1875…Certainly cognate forms such as ‘creation’, ‘creator’ and ‘create’ were around much earlier first with religious and then with artistic senses.” (Pope, 2003: 1). While some periods of history have envisioned creativity as the province individual genius or divine inspiration, more recent theorising has examined its socially-contingent nature, its range of manifestations (including ‘recreation’), and its reliance on a dynamic process of moving from the ‘known’ to the ‘unknown’ (Pope, 2003: 11) A number of educational and psychological theories have also emphasised the relational nature of creativity and the role of creativity in learning, problem-solving, innovation and invention. Strategies such as, for example, brainstorming, representing through collage, creating bricolage, the use of de Bono’s ‘6 thinking hats’, imaginative re-creation, creative resourcefulness, and the use of extensive stimulus to trigger new ways of thinking and knowing have been widely adopted in English pedagogy. While there is a tendency to demarcate the ‘critical’ and the ‘creative’ in English, the distinction between the two is a false one, since any act that requires the use of language to imagine, express, shape or produce something ‘new’, relies on creativity and often, on collaboration. As Carter argues, “linguistic creativity is not simply a property of exceptional people but an exceptional property of all people” (Carter, 2004: 13). Ken Robinson in his address – “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” – makes a compelling case for the crucial role of creativity across the breadth of educational experiences. It is available as a podcast (on the TED – Technology, Education, Design site) at: The ‘Creativity in Education’ site provides a range of resources and research on creativity across the curriculum: . See also Bricolage, Collage, Composing, Constructivism, Experiential learning, Group work, Imagination, Representing, Writing. JM References: Pope, R. (2008) Creativity: Theory, History, Practice, 3rd edn. Abington: Routledge. Williams, R. (1977) Marxism and Literature, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Carter, R. (2004) Language and Creativity: The Art of Common Talk, London: Routledge.

Crime/detective fiction and film A genre of fiction that includes murder mystery, ‘whodunit’, thriller, spy, suspense, ‘locked room’, ‘hard-boiled’, criminal and forensic fiction and courtroom drama. Like other genres of fiction, there is considerable overlap between the sub-genres of crime and detective fiction, but the common elements are: ∼ criminal activity including murder, conspiracy, fraud and corruption ∼ intrigue, subterfuge, mystery and deceit ∼ danger, conflict and a clash of value systems ∼ the discovery of motives and evidence ∼ the resolution of the criminal case ∼ retribution, punishment or redemption.


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C It is generally agreed that crime fiction emerged as a popular genre in the early 1900s. The rise of the mass media during the 20th century saw the widespread practice of serialised publication of fiction, with many of the early forms of crime fiction popularised through radio, film, and television. The early work of Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849) is considered to be a landmark in the development of the genre, with stories such as “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841) and “The Purloined Letter” (1844) being among the most popular at the time. The iconic Sherlock Holmes mysteries (Arthur Conan Doyle, 1887), also originally published in serialised form, stands as a model for later writing within the genre. Around this time, a set of conventions emerged which have since been appropriated and developed by 20th and 21st century writers and filmmakers. Agatha Christie was, and remains, one of the most popular, indeed prolific, 20th century writers of crime fiction whose work has also enjoyed ‘translation’ into film and television. Among her most popular novels are The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926), Murder on the Orient Express (1934) and And Then There Were None (1939): the characters of Poirot and Miss Maple enjoy iconic status in crime fiction. Lynda La Plante, similarly popular and prolific, is a contemporary exponent of this genre. Many of her numerous works were written specifically for television. Her novels include Bella Mafia (1991), Civvies (1992), Entwined (1992), Framed (1992), Seekers (1993), The Governor (1995), Sleeping Cruelty (2000) and Royal Flush (2002). There is a vast range of crime and detective fiction and film that can be accessed at the Crime Fiction Database: . PB, JM

Criteria (Greek: ‘to judge or decide’) In English education the term ‘criteria’ is often deployed in the context of establishing standards, defining qualities or characteristics that are used to assess and/or evaluate the quality or effectiveness of a text, performance or other forms of process and product. Criteria are commonly employed to assess student responses and are based on the learning objectives and outcomes that have shaped the nature of the particular task. Marking criteria or marking guidelines set out and describe the cognitive and affective knowledge, understandings and skills that are to be demonstrated. Students should be aware of the assessment criteria prior to undertaking the particular assessment task. See also Assessment, Evaluation. DC, JM

Critical blueprint A model designed by the Australian author Aiden Chambers (1934-) to assist young readers in engaging with responding to literature. This model may be adapted for viewing activities. 1. What happened to me as I read? 2. What influenced my responses? ∼ the book as object ∼ my personal history ∼ my history as a reader ∼ the text alone (how the author tells the story and what the author tells) 3. What does this book ask of readers? (what reader is the author writing for?) 4. Why is this book worth the reader's time? (the qualities of the book itself and the needs of young readers) 5. Background of the book (context, personal history of the author, etc.) See also Reading, Viewing. JM Reference: Adapted from Chambers, A. (1983) Introducing Books to Children, 2nd edition, Boston: The Hornbook.

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C Critical Literacy A form of pedagogy, among many others, that is used within English teaching and learning – although it has also had application in the visual, musical and dramatic arts. Critical Literacy places a focus on the importance of the reader exercising critical judgement, and of being prepared to adopt a healthy scepticism when engaging with texts. It emphasises the importance of becoming aware of and critiquing such factors as the culture within which the text has been written and is being read; any purpose that the author might be pursuing in writing the text; and, in general, enabling the reader to be more informed about the contexts within which reading and writing can take place. Some of the fierce opponents of Critical Literacy, while acknowledging the value of retaining a critical perspective when engaging with a text, nevertheless claim that an ideologically driven ‘critical literacy’ approach can lead to distortion of engagement with and response to imaginative literature. That encouraging the reader to be ‘resistant’ to the text invalidly presumes that the text is there to be resisted. That such an approach undervalues responses such as just enjoying what has been written. Delighting in the content and form of the text. Inhabiting the text. Playing around with ideas and emotions evoked by the text. Advocates of Critical Literacy emphasise what is best described as a political dimension to the acts of communication: arguing for the need for students to recognise dominant, oppressive structures, and then to be able to articulate and work for a better, more inclusive world. Critical Literacy developed from the ideas of educator Paulo Freire (1921-1997) who lived and worked in Central and South America. He sought to raise the consciousness of those he taught to become critical of the ways in which they were immured and trapped in a culture that was essentially oppressing them (Freire, 1985). Freire’s thought influenced many educators, particularly in Australia: among them Peter Freebody, Allan Luke, Wendy Morgan and Ray Misson, who articulated a critical literacy appropriate to the Australian context. For well over a decade the term Critical Literacy has assumed a significant role in the definition of some English curricula. The American critic Robert Scholes published the influential Textual Power in 1985, setting forth the tenets of a critical pedagogy and arguing for the importance of students’ lived experiences and social understanding of the self and the world as pivotal parts of the dynamic of teaching and learning. He argued that: In my view the literature classroom should be the most exciting and productive in the whole school – not because it is a shrine for great works but because it is a place where students experience their own productive possibilities, the place of entry, for them, into the cultural web of textuality: the place where they can see the textual apparatus from the inside and learn how to pull the strings themselves. To make this possibility a reality in our classrooms, we must begin by doing one big simple thing. We must accept as the centre of our enterprise they study of all the forms of sign and symbol that seek power over us or offer us pleasure. (1985: 37) A critically literate reader understands that any one particular text may be open to a variety of meanings; and considers not only what is included in a text, but what has not been included, when exploring and responding to the meaning or meanings of a text. While critical literacy encourages the reader to ‘resist’ what it sees as the intention of the composer to manipulate/position the reader to adopt particular meanings, the concept of the Intentional Fallacy, posited by the New Critics, problematises this approach. The New Critics argued that it is impossible to ascertain with any degree of authority what the composer ‘intended’ to do, unless the artistic work is accompanied by the composer’s explanation (which itself can be subject to critique). In addition, recent debates about the pedagogy of Critical Literacy have focused on the need for a more inclusive view of the reading process and its relationship to the other language modes. The impact of Critical Literacy pedagogy on the aesthetic dimensions of engagement with texts has also been the subject of recent scholarship (Misson and Morgan, 2006). See also Interpretation, Language, Models of English. SGS, PB, JM The English Teacher’s Handbook

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C References: Freire, P. (1985) The Politics of Education: Culture, Power and Liberation, Trans. Donaldo Macedo. London: Macmillan. Misson, R. & Morgan, W. (2006) Critical Literacy and the Aesthetic. Illinois: NCTE. Morgan, W. (1997) Critical Literacy in the Classroom: The Art of the Possible, London and New York: Routledge. Morgan, W. (2004) “Critical Literacy”, in Reviewing English in the 21st Century eds. W. Sawyer & Gold, Melbourne: Phoenix Education. Scholes, R. (1985) Textual Power: Literary Theory and the Teaching of English. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Criticism (Greek: ‘to judge’) Refers to the systematic activity of responding to a text, usually in written form. A critic generally approaches and interprets a text in terms of one or more traditions of criticism, each of which values different methods of and assumptions about criticism, texts, readers and contexts. Recent theoretical criticism has suggested that criticism itself creates texts, and so there is little difference between writing a creative text and writing criticism. See also Analysis, Critique/ Critiquing, Interpretation, Literary Criticism. SGS

Critique/Critiquing (Greek: ‘judgement’) In English, students critique language and texts through discerning and exploring the ideas, language techniques, medium of production, contextual factors and the impact of the text, in order to arrive at an informed critical view and interpretation of that text. In the more formal sense of the term, critiquing a text usually requires a set of critical tools or practices, based on one or more critical frameworks, theories or approaches. The work of New Critics such as, for example, IA Richards and FR Leavis, developed a critical model for the study of literature which sought to validate literary criticism as a disciplined, theorised practice and thereby redeem it from the preceding impressionistic, historical and biographical approaches that had characterised so much of the scholarly discourse prior to the establishment of English as a discrete subject in universities and the school curriculum. Since the mid 20th century, a range of evolving and at times competing literary critical approaches and theories have occupied a central place in the discourses of English education. See also Analysis, Close reading, Evaluation, Interpretation, Literary criticism, Reading, Representing, Viewing, Values, Writing. JM

Cultural Literacy The knowledge and understanding of the ways in which cultural, historical, political, social and personal contexts, values and assumptions are shaped and communicated. In English, students are encouraged to consider the implications of such contextual factors, values and assumptions as they engage with and interpret language and texts and create their own. Cultural Literacy was the title of an influential book published by ED Hirsch in 1987. The book advocated a return to the study of the classics, a shared discourse and common ‘culture’. The appendix to this book listed 5000 dates, events, names, places, terms, concepts and other ‘facts’ that the author considered essential for every American student to know. This view of cultural literacy – which fuelled the standards movement in the USA – is distinct from the view of cultural literacy which is embedded in many English syllabus documents. The latter assume pluralism, the critiquing of culture and an understanding of the ways in which culture is maintained, manifested, influenced and transmitted. JM

Cultural materialism A school of literary criticism that emerged in Britain 1980s, sharing some of the principles of the less politically driven American New Historicism. Cultural materialism is associated with the work of Raymond Williams and is a form of Marxist literary and cultural critique that sets out to resist and subvert orthodox readings of texts for a wider social and cultural purpose. Two prominent Cultural materialists define the approach to texts as one which attends to the historical context; a theoretical method; political commitment; and textual analysis. The term ‘cultural materialism’ refers to the emphasis on ‘culture’ as a shaping force in the creation of texts (in opposition to the view of texts as 72


C transcendent, autonomous literary artefacts) and ‘materialism’ as the opposite of ‘idealism’ or an idealised view of the text as a naturally occurring reflection of fixed, universal truths. In this way, Cultural materialism represents a rejection of many of the tenets of New Criticism: for example the self-contained, iconic status of the text. JM

Cultural Studies Cultural Studies developed into a discipline – although one that rejected the notion of ‘a discrete discipline’ as valid – in the 1960s and 1970s. Taking its cues from Marxism and Marxist literary theory, Cultural Studies also upholds the notion that texts and the study of texts grow from the hierarchical culture in which they are produced and received. Adopting a Marxist view of the class system, Cultural Studies is deeply suspicious of traditional notions of literature per se, arguing that the orthodox canon protects the interests of the bourgeoisie and the upper class, and that the latter’s emphasis on aesthetic study of magisterial texts acts as a ruse to maintain the status quo. Cultural Studies takes the view that literature is a cultural artefact; far from being an essential piece of art, to be viewed only with aesthetic lenses and to be viewed with awe and respect, Cultural Studies suggested that cultural norms could be protected and espoused through the text. Cultural Studies suggest that texts are gateways to a variety of rituals and systems that make up the hierarchical class system of a particular society, and as such can be interrogated for the ways in which they either uphold or challenge this system. There are, broadly speaking, two positions taken within Cultural Studies as it relates to literary criticism. There are those critics who assume that capitalist forces create and sustain pop culture, such that the working class imbibe messages and values that keep them oblivious to their own incarceration in a system that oppresses them (Theodor Adorno, 1903-1969 and Max Horkheimer, 1895-1973, are among proponents of this view). Alternatively, British Cultural Studies has tended to see mass culture as an example of the ways in which the working class answers back to the mainstream canon through alternative media. As such, ‘pop’ texts become important cultural artefacts to be valued for the ways in which they launch legitimate protest against domination by the bourgeoisie. Thinkers like Richard Hoggart (1918-), Raymond Williams (1921-1988) and EP Thompson (1924-1993) took this view. To further this line of inquiry, the work of Stuart Hall, through the Centre for Contemporary Culture, has examined the ways in which youth in the UK reacted against a media controlled by capitalism and the ruling classes with alternative expressions of self; through dress, music, and dance. In a sense, Stuart Hall takes account of both positions in that he suggests that the working class can subvert the very institutions that oppress them, and thus gain emancipation. Critically, because it interrogates the institution of the traditional literary canon, Cultural Studies challenges the value of the ‘literary’ text over and against the ‘popular’ text. Cultural Studies would maintain that there is no intrinsic merit to the literary text, over and above what the dominant class attributes to it. Because the working class have as much claim to expression and protest, their texts become as culturally important as any other. Thus, for Cultural Studies, the literary canon is a construct to be deconstructed and interrogated for its complicity in maintaining and promoting particular world-views; and there can be no aesthetic distinction between a literary and non-literary text. See also Canon, Culture, Interpretation, Literary criticism. SGS, JM References: Inglis, F. (1995) Cultural Studies, Oxford, UK & Cambridge, USA: Blackwell Publishers. Peel, R. (2004) “The ‘Cultural Studies’ model of English, in Reviewing English in the 21st Century eds. W. Sawyer & Gold, Melbourne: Phoenix Education. Rivkin, J. & Ryan, M. (2005) Literary Theory: An Anthology, 2nd edn. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers.

Culture The meaning of the term ‘culture’, like many words in the English language, has changed over time. At the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, the word culture shifted in meaning as a response to social and political changes. It had meant a ‘general state or habit of the mind’ and was closely allied to the idea of human perfection. It came to mean the general state of The English Teacher’s Handbook

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C intellectual development in a society as a whole. Further, the term became associated with ‘the general body of the arts’ and ‘a whole way of life’ (Williams, 1977: 16-17). Thus, the term now has several meanings, depending on the context in which it is used. It refers to the values, norms, beliefs, ideologies, processes, and products that influence and are influenced by individuals and groups within a given social setting. Culture is created, maintained and shaped by the communicative and relational experiences of human beings (that is, through language), so that patterns of behaviour, ways of thinking and ways of living come to be naturalised (regarded as natural rather than as constructed by the values, beliefs and practices of individuals and groups). Culture is not a single, fixed phenomenon: it is protean, complex and contingent on, for instance, the social practices, power relations and dominant discourses operating within and beyond the group. In English education, the term culture refers to the beliefs, values, ways of living and perspectives that are represented by a text and embodied in the responder. Texts play a significant role in the shaping and evolution of culture, as well as in representing aspects of a particular culture through language and ideas. Culture may also refer to ‘high culture’ which carries with it the assumption that some works of art and experiences are more valuable and worthy of attention and acclaim. ‘Popular culture’ is a term used to refer to any activity, experience or product that is associated with mass entertainment. The Cultural Studies movement has suggested that the term ‘culture’ has become much broader to mean any expression of a particular culture: the whole gamut of signs and systems, procedures and rituals that govern human life in communities (Rivkin and Ryan, 2005). In this sense, texts are cultural artefacts that give us some sense of how and why culture is being re-produced. The term ‘culture’ within the discipline of Cultural Studies, carries with it the sense that a culture is loaded with the hierarchical structures that permit or sanction particular activities, for different segments of that culture. In that sense, the proper focus for the Cultural Studies’ literary critic is not so much the text, but the culture it represents, challenges and speaks to. See also Cultural Studies, Literary Criticism. SGS, DC References: Rivkin, J. & Ryan, M. (2005) ‘Introduction: The Politics of Culture’, in Literary Theory: An Anthology, 2nd edn. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 1233-1234. Williams, R. (1977) Culture and Society 1780-1950, Great Britain: Penguin Books.

Curriculum / Curricula (Latin: ‘racecourse’) The term used to describe both a student’s formal courses set for study, and the student’s experience of those courses. The term ‘curriculum’ can refer to both the declared ‘official’ written curriculum – what Goodson refers to as the “preactive curriculum” (Goodson, 1992) – and the “interactive curriculum” (Goodson, 1992). The former is the document created by a formal, centralised body and the latter is what actually takes place as the document is enacted in classrooms. The hallmarks of an effective curriculum are its consistency, continuity and flexibility. Consistency refers to the way in which the learning goals, content, theory and assessment are conceptualised and aligned within and across the various strands that constitute the curriculum. Continuity refers to the need for scope and sequencing in learning experiences. Flexibility assumes the potential to reshape and rework parts of the curriculum in response to student needs and diverse contexts, without the requirement to redesign the entire curriculum. The curriculum as a generic term may also refer to particular subject strands within the broad curriculum. For example: the English curriculum sets out the broad framework for teaching and learning in subject English. Any curriculum embodies and reflects, and can indeed be regarded as a crucible for what is considered to be of value in a particular society and culture. It is informed by views about: what knowledge, skills, understanding, values and attitudes are worthwhile; the learner and the nature of learning; the purpose of formal education; the nature of knowledge; and the desired goals or outcomes of formal education. In this sense, the curriculum is an ideal vision of the kinds of learning, development, skills, understanding, knowledge, dispositions and values that students should experience. Curriculum as a concept and a process, however, is not unproblematic or value-neutral. 74


C Michael W Apple’s seminal work on curriculum – Ideology and Curriculum (1979, 2004) – explores the relationships between schooling, education, knowledge and power, situating education as part of a society’s broader structures, and political, economic and value systems. In constructing a curriculum, the following questions are among those that typically drive the design process: ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼

How will the curriculum be developed (what development model will be adopted and why)? What are the rationale, goals and expectations? Who is this curriculum being designed for? Who will be included in the development process? What will be included in the curriculum and why, and who will decide this? How will the curriculum be structured (e.g. according to learning areas, knowledge, skills)? How will the components of the curriculum be assessed and evaluated? How will the curriculum, assessment, evaluation and pedagogy be aligned? What are the ethical implications of these decisions? How will it be implemented and what strategies can be employed to determine if and how well it is being taught?

Decisions about how the curriculum will be structured and manifested in terms of disciplines is similarly contingent upon what a given society considers worthy and important for the development of an educated citizenry. Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Politics set out the writers’ visions of an appropriate curriculum for an ideal state at a time when education became democratised in Ancient Greece (around the 5th century BC). The curriculum established in Medieval universities consisted of the Trivium (‘three roads’): logic, grammar and rhetoric. Logic is the art of thinking; grammar, the art of inventing symbols and combining them to express thought; and rhetoric, the art of communicating thought from one mind to another, the adaptation of language to circumstance. (Joseph, 2002) This was followed by the Quadrivium (‘four roads’): arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy. This could in turn be followed by the study of philosophy and theology. The structure of contemporary Australian curriculum documents, for example, are similarly characterised by divisions into discrete subjects or learning areas. The prominence and relative weighting of each of these in the curriculum reflects what is considered to be of most value in a particular society. JM References: Apple, M.W. (2004) Ideology and Curriculum. NY: RoutledgeFalmer. 3rd edition. Goodson, I. (1992) History, Context and Qualitative Methods in the Study of Education, University of Western Ontaria: Division of Curriculum Studies, Faculty of Education. Joseph, Sister Miriam (2002)The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric. New York: Paul Dry Books Inc.


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D Dactyl (Greek: ‘finger joints’) A metrical foot in verse. It is defined by a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables (hence the association with a finger joint which has one longer bone and two shorter bones). This metre is the opposite of anapaest metre. Dactylic metre is not common in verse, although it was used by poets such as Lord Byron (1788-1824), Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892), Robert Browning (1812-1889) and Thomas Hardy (1840-1928). Thomas Hardy’s poem “The Voice” (1914) is an example of the use of the use of dactylic meter: Woman much missed, how you call to me, call to me, Saying that now you are not as you were When you had changed from the one who was all to me, But as at first, when our day was fair. See also Metre. JM

Dartmouth Seminar This event, held at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, USA, between 20 August and 16 September 1966, was the catalyst for a resurgence and reframing of English/Language Arts teaching and learning which sustained its vitality well into at least the late 1980s. Conceived as the first AngloAmerican dialogue or confrontation of ideas on the teaching of English (or Language Arts, as the subject is described in North America) the conference brought together fifty teachers, scholars and researchers. Representatives came from the USA’s National Council for the Teaching of English (NCTE) and the Modern Language Association (MLA); the National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE) in England and Wales; one observer from Canada, and two from Australia. The conference provided the opportunity for serious and collegial contestation of ideas and practices. Some of the most significant developments emerged from the small groups into which participants were placed or placed themselves. One of the most enduring outcomes of the conference was John Dixon’s Growth Through English (1967). In it Dixon described three models of English teaching: ‘cultural heritage’, ‘skills’ and ‘personal growth’. Growth Through English proceeded to explore the theoretical and practical dimensions of the third model, based on Dixon’s synthesis and development of the major themes that were developed at the Dartmouth Conference. Another significant and enduring product of the conference was the establishment of an international English teaching professional body. Initially this was the International Steering Committee (ISC). Eventually this led to the formation of the International Federation for the Teaching of English (IFTE). See also Models of English, Personal Growth model. PB 76


D DEAR The acronym for ‘Drop Everything and Read’, a reading program that occurs in schools which allocates class time to independent, silent reading. Students bring to class self-selected reading material. The teacher may provide guidelines for the type of reading that can take place in DEAR time. DEAR may occur once a day, once a week, or more or less frequently. The goal of this reading program is to encourage and support students’ development in sustained, engaged reading for pleasure and enjoyment. Reading undertaken during DEAR time is not generally linked to class assessment – an important principle for ensuring the reading in managed and owned by the students themselves. See also Literature Circles, Reading, Wide reading program. JM

Debate (Old French: ‘to discuss, argue’) A formal discussion in which opposing arguments are presented. This may involve a specific motion which is discussed, followed by a vote. In school debates, two teams of four people are assembled to debate a specific proposition. Each team has three speakers and a non-speaking fourth member. One team is designated as the Affirmative and speaks in favour of the proposition while the Negative team speaks against the proposition. An important element of this type of debate is engagement with the arguments and claims of the opposing team in order to refute those claims. See also Argument, Rhetoric. DC

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

Debating topics:

∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼

That teenagers spend too much time on the Internet That school uniforms are worthwhile for all students That education is the key to success That imprisonment leads to more crime That global warming is a beat-up That spectator sports are a waste of time That fast food is killing us That advertising is the opiate of the masses That small is beautiful That cricket is based on a bat and boredom That there will never be equality in society That the car has had its day That rock music is dead That contact sports promote violent behaviour

Deconstruction A term used in literary criticism, philosophy and a range of disciplines in the social sciences. It is best described as a strategy for or a practice of working with language and texts. Deconstruction seeks to destabilise the structures and assumptions on which a text is based, bringing about a ‘trembling’ that shows the internal contradictions in a text, resulting in what Jacques Derrida (1930-2004), called ‘aporia’ – an impasse in meaning, or puzzlement. Deconstruction is best known through the work of the philosopher Derrida and became popular during the 1960s. However, deconstruction (or deconstructive practices) is not monolithic; even within Derrida’s work and across his career, deconstruction shifts with different iterations and interpretations of its practice. Apart from Derrida, other philosophers and literary critics who could be called deconstructionists (although Derrida himself abhorred the idea of deconstruction having a discrete definition or a set of practitioners) are: Paul de Man (1919-1983), J Hillis Miller (1928-), Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (1942-), the Yale School (USA), Julia Kristeva (1941-) and Geoffrey Bennington (1956-). The English Teacher’s Handbook

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D Deconstruction is essentially a philosophy of language, and has been adopted by disciplines across universities; philosophy, literary criticism, architecture, sociology, linguistics, and cultural studies, among others. It is, as Derrida maintains, essentially an ethical posture: ‘deconstruction is always concerned with the ‘other’ of language’ (Kearney, 1984: 123). ‘The other’, according to deconstruction, is the philosophical entity that is suppressed and oppressed by the dominant philosophical reality. For example, in the man/woman dichotomy, the woman is ‘the other’; in the speech/writing dichotomy, writing is ‘the other’ and so on. Deconstruction works to show the ways in which the dominant power structures within a text and within language itself – what Derrida termed the ‘transcendental signified’ and ‘metaphysics’ - in fact need the dominated entity to exist (see Binary opposition). Deconstruction claims to free ‘the other’ from the dominator through its textual practice. Deconstruction suggests that the literary critic’s job is not to find the one true, discrete and immutable meaning in a text, but to destabilise the text so that these hierarchies become obvious. As Derrida explains, “[Deconstruction] does contribute something to literature ... by exposing the philosophical and theoretical presuppositions that are at work in every critical methodology, be it Formalism, New Criticism, Socialist Realism or an historical critique. Deconstruction asks why we read a literary text in this particular manner rather than another”(1984: 124). Jonathan Culler posited that “to deconstruct a discourse is to show how it undermines the philosophy as it asserts, or the hierarchical oppositions on which it relies” (1982: 86). As an approach to texts and language, deconstruction requires the close reading advocated by the New Critics, but with a far sharper recognition of the contextual and ideological forces that shape meaning and a diversity of (possibly competing) interpretations. Critics have levelled at least two key charges at deconstruction that are somewhat contradictory. Some critics argue that deconstruction is relativist, allowing no meaning to be ascribed to anything; while others have asserted that deconstruction is totalitarian in its view that all texts yield ‘aporia’ and in its inbuilt suspicion of power structures. Still more critics have suggested that the two criticisms are interrelated (Valentine Cunningham, MH Abrams, H-G Gadamer, Denis Donoghue, the later Terry Eagleton). See also Interpretation, Literary criticism, Postmodernism, Poststructuralism. SGS

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

When reading/viewing a text you may ask:

∼ What are the values and belief systems in this text and are these promoted, challenged or questioned by characters or other aspects of this text?

∼ Can you see any binary oppositions working in this text – e.g. black/white, male/ female, mind/body, fire/water, physical/spiritual etc.?

∼ How are these oppositions treated in the text? Is one more prominent than the other?

∼ What are the ‘gaps’ in this text? What is missing? (e.g. minor characters’ views, scenes, attitudes, perspectives?)

∼ Whose voice/s or perspective/s dominates this text and why? ∼ If you were to recast this text from another point of view, in what ways would this differ from or align with the original text?

References: Culler, J. (1982) On deconstruction: theory and criticism after structuralism, Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Kearney, R. (1984) ‘Dialogue with Jacques Derrida,’ Dialogues with Contemporary Continental Thinkers, Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Decode The practice and process of obtaining meaning from a language code. Such codes may be linguistic, visual and non-verbal. Decoding language, images and non-verbal communication requires an ability to recognise, understand, interpret and translate the signs and symbols of the particular language code into meaningful expression and communication. Decoding is only one step in the 78


D process of comprehending and understanding the meaning of language, images and non-verbal communication. It is possible, for example, to decode a particular text at the grapho-phonic and syntactic levels, but not to comprehend its meaning (on a semantic level). Part of the process of analysing a text requires the capacity to decode the generic codes and conventions of the text: for example, the generic codes and conventions of crime fiction or the Shakespearean sonnet. See also Code, Comprehension, Reading. JM

Dénouement (French: ‘an untying’) The unravelling of a plot’s complications at, or towards, the end of a story, film or play. It refers to the final outcomes, solution, finale, conclusion, termination or end. It may be the event or events following the major climax of the plot. See also Anticlimax, Climax. JM

Depiction A particular kind of representation, often associated with visual images such as, for example, paintings and sculpture. A depiction in words is a vivid, evocative and graphic portrayal of a person, place, experience, object or entity. A depiction is not only descriptive, but also generally metaphorical since it aims to capture more than merely the mirror image of something: it requires a degree of imaginative interpretation on the part of the composer. See also Atmosphere, Character, Description. DC, JM ∼ Read out aloud the excerpt below from Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. ∼ Students draw their interpretation of the depictions portrayed in the excerpt (the bee, the range of people and places mentioned, the notable objects and actions).

∼ Students in groups then compare their visual representations, discussing how different interpretations have been shaped by the language and imagery of the text.

∼ Discuss how Tolstoy uses language to evoke, expand and deepen the reader’s perception of the bee.

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

∼ Explore the written text in detail, examining how these language features, tone, mood and the use of metaphor combine to the add depth and uniqueness to what would otherwise be a descriptive passage about a bee. Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace (2007 edn: 1269) A bee settling on a flower has stung a child. And the child is afraid of bees and declares that bees exist to sting people. A poet admires the bee sucking from the chalice of a flower and says it exists to suck the fragrance of flowers. A beekeeper, seeing the bee collect pollen from flowers and carry it to the hive, says that it exists to gather honey. Another beekeeper who has studied the life of the hive more closely says that the bee gathers pollen dust to feed the young bees and rear a queen, and that it exists to perpetuate its race. A botanist notices that the bee flying with the pollen of a male flower to a pistil fertilizes the latter, and sees in this the purpose of the bee's existence. Another, observing the migration of plants, notices that the bee helps in this work, and may say that in this lies the purpose of the bee. But the ultimate purpose of the bee is not exhausted by the first, the second, or any of the processes the human mind can discern. The higher the human intellect rises in the discovery of these purposes, the more obvious it becomes, that the ultimate purpose is beyond our comprehension. Reference: Tolstoy, L. (1868-69, 2007 edn.) War and Peace, Penguin Classics, London: Penguin Books


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D Description (Latin: ‘to copy off, to write out’) In literature, a representation in words, often using figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, contrast, concrete language and alliteration. Descriptive language assists the composer in setting a scene and creating atmosphere, tone and mood. Effective description often relies on precise attention to detail, often appeals to the senses and seeks to evoke in the responder the capacity to imagine the appearance and demeanour of a character, the features of a landscape or setting and the ambience of the scene. See also Atmosphere, Character, Depiction, Narrative. DC

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

∼ Describe one of the people in a play, novel, or poem you are reading. Would you like to meet them? Why/why not?

∼ Describe a person who is a bully, a liar, or a cheat. ∼ Describe someone obsessed with sharks, birds, money, combs, chips, ants, stamps, chocolate.

∼ Describe a city street. Speak for it. ∼ Invent a planet. Describe the scenery. ∼ Describe a hospital ward, an airport, a car park, a theatre, a playground, an internet café, concentrating on familiar and/or unique qualities of these places.

∼ Find a rock. Describe it as precisely as you can to distinguish it from other rocks. ∼ Do the same for a shell, or a leaf, or a feather. ∼ Describe a snail, a bookshelf, a wet dog, an egg, a letterbox, or an empty house.

Descriptive criticism A critical approach to the analysis of texts that sets out to describe in detail the distinguishing features of an individual text. Such an approach seeks to avoid reference to broader literary, cultural or social theories. Instead, descriptive criticism focuses wholly on the particular text, delineating its distinctive qualities and features. See also Interpretation, Literary criticism. JM

Deus ex machina Means literally ‘god from a machine’. The term refers to a crane used in ancient Greek theatre to lower an actor playing a god to the performance area in order to solve difficult plot problems in a play. The term now refers to an imposed, and often improbable, solution used to resolve a plot problem. See also Conventions, Drama. JH

Developmental model of reading literature The Australian educator and researcher Jack Thomson (1987) established a model of reading that identifies the processes involved in and the kinds of ‘satisfactions’ experienced by students when they engage with literature. The model is developmental in that it describes the stages of engagement, interpretation and response that students move through as they read. The model is recursive in that students can move back and forth between each stage as they become more immersed in the process of making meaning. The model provides a valuable way of identifying students’ stage of engagement and enables teachers to assist students in moving towards informed and meaningful response to literature. See also Literature, Reader-response criticism, Reading, Wide reading program. JM

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D Thomson’s model (1987: 360-361) Process Stage: Process Strategies: Kinds of satisfaction (requirements for satisfaction at all stages: enjoyment and elementary understanding) 1. Unreflective interest in action

•

Rudimentary mental images (stereotypes from film and television) Predicting what might happen next in the short term

2. Empathising

• •

Mental images of affect Expectations about characters

3. Analogising

•

Drawing on the repertoire of personal experiences, making connections between characters and one’s own life

4. Reflecting on the significance of events (time) and behaviour (distanced evaluation of characters)

•

Generating expectations about alternative possible long-term outcomes Interrogating the text, filling the gaps Formulating puzzles, enigmas, accepting hermeneutic challenges

5. Reviewing the whole work as the author’s creation

• •

Drawing on literary and cultural repertoires Interrogating the text to match the author’s representation with one’s own

6. Consciously considered relationship with the author, recognition of textual ideology, and understanding of self (identified theme) and of one’s own reading processes

• •

Recognition of implied author Recognition of implied reader in the text, and the relationship between implied author and implied reader Reflexiveness, leading to understanding of textual ideology, personal identity and one’s own reading processes

•

• •

•

Reference: Thomson, Jack, (1987) Understanding Teenagers’ Reading: Reading processes and the teaching of literature, 1992 edn. Norwood: AATE.

Dialect (Greek: ‘way of speaking’, ‘language of a place’) A distinctive variation in oral language that is specific to a particular region, social group or historical period. A dialect is recognisable through the patterns of vocabulary, accent, pronunciation and syntax that differentiate it from other dialects or the so-called ‘standard’ language. Often, a dialect is maintained through oral communication and may not be evident in written texts. If the language in use is particular only in terms of the pronunciation of words, then it is more appropriately referred to as an accent rather than a dialect. Popular television soap operas, such as, for example, Neighbours, Home and Away and a number of British serials, often incorporate dialect and ‘non-standard’ language, although it can be argued that such ‘non-standard’ language use is indeed ‘standard’ for many people. These programs provide students with a sense of variations in language use and encourage them to become more sensitive to the nuances of dialect and register. Imaginative texts can also incorporate dialect and non-standard usage. For example: Charles Dickens’ Hard Times (1854); a number of Thomas Hardy’s Wessex novels; Henry Lawson’s short stories; Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood (1972); Toni Morrison’s Beloved (1987); and Peter Carey’s True History of the Kelly Gang (2001). The inclusion of dialect in imaginative texts invests the story with an authenticity of characterisation that serves to highlight characters’ distinctive social, cultural, economic, regional or political position. Such distinctiveness is generally central to the plot, ideas and purpose of the text. Post-Dartmouth developments in English have stressed the centrality of valuing the language each student brings to the classroom, since language is integral to identity, learning and relationships. The English Teacher’s Handbook

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D Importantly, non-standard dialect, like, for example, non-standard Australian English, should not be judged as sub-standard or deficient. Indeed, The non-standard social dialects are just as effective types of language for their own environments as the standard dialect is for its environment, All dialects have rules and are properly constructed: it is that the rules may be expressed differently. We have sub-standard language when the rules of a particular dialect – non-standard or standard – are not adhered to. It is not the unsuccessful or erroneous use of dialect. (Eagleson, et al, 1982: 12) Drama as a learning medium is a very effective pedagogical tool for enabling students to actively experiment with embodied language in a range of different roles, contexts and registers. See also Language, Standard Australian English. JM ∼ Below is an extract from Chapter 1 of DH Lawrence’s novel, Sons and Lovers (1913). The scene occurs when two of the characters – Gertrude and Walter – meet at a dance. It exemplifies Lawrence’s use of dialect to represent character.

∼ Students, in pairs or small groups, read the extract out aloud. Or the extract may be read by the teacher.

∼ During reading, students listen for variations in language (dialect). ∼ Identify any unfamiliar words or expressions. ∼ Discuss the meanings of these words and expressions and their relationship to any words or expressions that are familiar to students.

∼ Look closely at the dialogue. ∼ Consider the differences between the language of the characters, Gertrude and Walter, and notice any differences between the characters’ language and that of the narrator.

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

∼ From their conversation, language, and the narrative descriptions, what images or perceptions of the characters are evoked? What do we learn about the characters from their conversation and distinctive use of language?

∼ Students may replace the unfamiliar or distinctive language with familiar language. Read the revised passage out loud and compare this to the original, considering how the differences in language shape response to the characters and scene. What is lost and/or gained by replacing the dialect with ‘standard’ English? Extract from Sons and Lovers (2003 edition:13-14) He came and bowed above her. A warmth radiated through her as if she had drunk wine. “Now do come and have this one wi' me,” he said caressively. “It's easy, you know. I'm pining to see you dance.” She had told him before she could not dance. She glanced at his humility and smiled. Her smile was very beautiful. It moved the man so that he forgot everything. “No, I won't dance,” she said softly. Her words came clean and ringing. Not knowing what he was doing--he often did the right thing by instinct--he sat beside her, inclining reverentially. “But you mustn't miss your dance,” she reproved. “Nay, I don't want to dance that--it's not one as I care about.” “Yet you invited me to it.” He laughed very heartily at this. “I never thought o' that. Tha'rt not long in taking the curl out of me.” It was her turn to laugh quickly.

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D “You don't look as if you'd come much uncurled,” she said. “I'm like a pig's tail, I curl because I canna help it,” he laughed, rather boisterously. “And you are a miner!” she exclaimed in surprise. “Yes. I went down when I was ten.”

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

She looked at him in wondering dismay. “When you were ten! And wasn't it very hard?” she asked. “You soon get used to it. You live like th' mice, an' you pop out at night to see what's going on.” “It makes me feel blind,” she frowned. “Like a moudiwarp!” he laughed. “Yi, an' there's some chaps as does go round like moudiwarps.” He thrust his face forward in the blind, snout-like way of a mole, seeming to sniff and peer for direction. “They dun though!” he protested naively. “Tha niver seed such a way they get in. But tha mun let me ta'e thee down some time, an' tha can see for thysen.” She looked at him, startled. This was a new tract of life suddenly opened before her. She realised the life of the miners, hundreds of them toiling below earth and coming up at evening. He seemed to her noble. He risked his life daily, and with gaiety. She looked at him, with a touch of appeal in her pure humility. “Shouldn't ter like it?” he asked tenderly. ‘'Appen not, it 'ud dirty thee.” She had never been ‘thee'd’ and ‘thou'd’ before. The next Christmas they were married, and for three months she was perfectly happy: for six months she was very happy.

References: Eagleson, R. D. et al (1982) English and the Aboriginal Child, Canberra: Curriculum Development Centre. Lawrence, D. H. (1913 republished 2003) Sons and Lovers, Barnes and Noble Classic series, Spark Educational Publishing. Pope, R. (2003) The English Studies Book: An Introduction to Language, Literature and Culture, 2nd edn. London: Routledge.

Dialectic (Greek: ‘art of discourse’) The systematic discussion and examination of an idea orpoint of view. Dialectic is characterised by disputation and logical argument. Socrates (c. 469-399 BC) was famous for his exploration of philosophical concepts through dialectical inquiry. Dialectic assumes that there will be a progression from an initial position to a final position of ‘truth’, based on the gathering of evidence ‘for and against’ and the rejection of opposed ideas. Dialectic also assumes a thesis, antithesis and final synthesis. The German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (17901831) proposed that all human history is defined by a dialectic whereby new knowledge, understanding and ‘truths’ are arrived at by the existence of a thesis, which is challenged by its antithesis. This, in turn, gives rise to a synthesis or new thesis. ST Coleridge’s Biographia Literaria (1817) is an example of a form of dialectic which involves a sustained argument explicated throughout an entire work. See also Antithesis, Argument, Synthesis, Thesis. JM

Dialogue (Greek: ‘to converse’) Paulo Freire (1921-1997) described dialogue as ‘the encounter between men [sic] mediated by the world, in order to name the world’. Common in fiction, drama, scripts, film, short stories, media and everyday contexts, dialogue refers to the communication between two or more people. Dialogue can perform a number of functions. It can: aid in constructing characters and reinforcing aspects of their identities and personalities; accentuate the dynamism of a story by revealing or concealing details integral to the narrative; add authenticity to characters who have The English Teacher’s Handbook

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D been situated within a specific social, cultural and historical context in the narrative; establish and develop relationships between individuals; and highlight the interplay of ideas central to the aim of the composer. Dialogue is a term also used to describe a genre of philosophical, rhetorical or expository writing exemplified by Plato’s Dialogues (4th century BC) and Thomas More’s (1478-1535) Utopia (1516). As part of a communicative mode, dialogue is critical to a number of educational theories, particularly constructivist and experiential approaches, both of which emphasise the centrality of the dialogic process in learning. In the context of education, and particularly pedagogy, the function and purpose of dialogue has been theorised by thinkers such as Paulo Freire (1921-1997), HansGeorge Gadamer (1900-2002), Jürgen Habermas (1929-) and Martin Buber (1878-1965). David Bohm (1917-1992) regarded dialogue as distinct from discussion, with the former being a ‘process of awakening’ to new ideas, solutions and creativity: Dialogue…is a way of exploring the roots of the many crises that face humanity today. It enables inquiry into, and understanding of, the sorts of processes that fragment and interfere with real communication between individuals, nations and even different parts of the same organization. In our modern culture men and women are able to interact with one another in many ways: they can sing dance or play together with little difficulty but their ability to talk together about subjects that matter deeply to them seems invariably to lead to dispute, division and often to violence. (Bohm, Factor & Garrett, 1991) ∼ Students are given or select a character – using visual stimulus (postcards, images of people from magazines etc).

∼ Each student briefly prepares their character profile (name, age, where they live, what era/culture, family, etc).

∼ Students then work in pairs, engaging in a dialogue in role. Use a scenario to guide students in this activity (can be drawn from a text being studied).

∼ After engaging in a oral dialogue, students can work together to shape their

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

conversation into a written script.

∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼

Possible scenarios: Caught in a lift together Meeting online in a chatroom Sitting next to each other on the train/bus/plane. Dialogue scripts can be performed. Take an excerpt from a play that provides a good example of the effective use of dialogue (e.g. Waiting for Godot; The History Boys).

∼ Explore the features of this excerpt to identify the ways in which the text works to shape character, meaning and response.

∼ Construct a brief dialogue between each of the two characters using the scenarios below. Use the setting and the characters’ personal qualities as a basis for the interaction: Setting

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Character 1

Character 2

Scenario 1 Busy shopping mall a few days before Christmas

Middle–aged male; impatient and confident

Teenage male shop assistant; quietly spoken, unassuming

Scenario 2 Crowded peak hour train. Young female listening to iPod

Young female; single-minded and articulate

Young male; outgoing and careless

Scenario 3 Veterinarian practice – an old couple bring in their sick pet

Young male vet; quietly confident and compassionate

Old man; short tempered and volatile


D When characters converse, the author enhances the reader’s understanding of the conversation by including what is called a ‘tag’. The example: “’Go away!’ Harry shouted” signals ‘shouted’ as the tag and lets the reader know how Harry uttered this sentence. Varying the tags in writing helps to paint a picture of the incident and clarifies the characters’ intentions. The following are some possible tags to use in constructing dialogue. Add to this list: DC, JM asked

said

retorted

replied

snarled

requested

rebuked

snapped

responded

declared

sniggered

sneered

complained

pondered

wondered

exclaimed

offered

cried

enthused

enquired

suggested

called

screamed

yelled

shrieked

Reference: Bohm, D., Factor, D. & Garrett, P. (1991) ‘Dialogue –

Dialogic A term employed by the Russian critic Mikhail Bakhtin (1895-1975) who categorised texts as dialogic or monologic. Dialogic texts present a range of voices and points of view, disrupting the authority of a single, sustained or unitary voice. Bakhtin argued that Dostoyevsky’s novels are dialogic in that they allow a plurality of ‘unmerged’, independent voices to flourish, without the ‘constraining’ control of the author. He posited that the novel as a form is essentially dialogic since it allows for a multiplicity of points of view through characterisation and dialogue. Others argue that the role of the composer as ‘omnipotent’ remains a complex and central one in the creation and interpretation of texts. See also Author, Implied author, Narratology, Narrative, Point of view. JM

Diary (Latin: ‘daily’, ‘daily allowance’) A personal, private written record of the daily experiences of an individual (thoughts, reflections or musings on events, people, places, and so on). Diary is a form of nonfiction, and a type of autobiography. The diary relies on expressive language of the self, with an audience of the self. Diary writing is characterised by its qualities of inner speech, stream of consciousness and an unmediated recording of the flow of daily experience. There is rarely an effort to deliberately select, order and shape such writing. Instead, the diary captures the unedited, direct and unfolding experience of quotidian life. There are several famous examples of diaries (including the diary of Samuel Pepys, 1633-1703) that stand as valuable historical documents, illuminating not only the events, values, beliefs and perspectives of a particular cultural context, but also the idiosyncratic dimensions of the individual interpreting these experiences. Although the well-known diaries are those authored by men, the diary has been a distinctively female form. Women throughout the ages have kept diaries, as records of family and domestic life, and also as spaces for exploring and shaping individual identity. Traditionally, diaries, and especially women’s diaries, have remained on the peripheries of publicly acclaimed and canonised literature. Recent research and scholarship, however, has seen a burgeoning of interest in the diary as a form and a process, (particularly the diaries of women throughout history) and as a manifestation of increasingly popular ‘life-writing’. Features of the diary have been appropriated in fictional texts. John Marsden’s So Much to Tell You (1987) is an example of the fictional use of the diary form. Diaries, and versions of these are now proliferating in digital, multimodal forms. Blogs and networking sites (such as, for example, MySpace and Facebook) can be regarded as versions of the traditional diary. What distinguishes these forms, however, is the broader audience and the medium, the various conventions and codes that shape the writing (and representation, through, for instance, the use of visual and moving images), and the immediacy of the communication of information to a range of audiences. What they share with the The English Teacher’s Handbook

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D diary form is the focus on recording the flow of daily personal experience, the externalising of inner speech and ideas, the construction and often reconstruction of identity and the reliance on expressive language. See also Author, Autobiography, Nonfiction, Writing. JM

∼ Diary entries are an accessible way for students to engage with the inner life and the experiences of a fictional character. Students can ‘write in role’ for a character/s, moving from expressive to poetic writing.

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

∼ Analyse a series of personal blogs – identifying the form and features of this form of online diary writing. What are the main differences between this form of diary and the traditional print forms? Does the medium influence the substance of and response to the diary? Explore the differences between a diary that catalogues and chronicles ‘external events’ and a diary that focuses more on the inner life and experiences of the writer.

∼ Select an extract from a well-known diary such as the diary of Samuel Peyps (see http://www.pepysdiary.com/about/ for background information and extracts). Examine the content, language, intended audience and voice of the extract. Compare this to a more contemporary diary, such as, for instance, the diaries of Sylvia Plath.

∼ Compare nonfiction diaries with the use of diary conventions in fictional texts. What are the key differences and similarities? What do composers choose to shape texts, or aspects of texts, as diary entries?

∼ Debate the ethical issues involved in publishing diaries. For example, is it ethical to publish the diary of a deceased person? What are the reasons for the publication of such diaries?

Diction The distinctive vocabulary (choice of words and style of expression) selected in an act of oral communication or in composing a text. Diction may be formal, colloquial, abstract, concrete, figurative, literary, demotic, descriptive, poetic or elaborate. Diction contributes to the overall style and tone of the work or the communication and the consequent effect on the audience. Particular types of texts are distinguished by conventions that may include expectations about the kind of diction that is appropriate. A formal piece of writing, such as, for example, an application for a job, would generally not include colloquial, literary or poetic diction. See also Accent, Dialect, Language, Register, Talking and listening, Writing. JM

Didacticism (Greek: ‘skilled in teaching’) Used to describe a work which is intended to instruct through the communication of an explicit moral, ethical, religious or political message. Didactic poetry for example, has a long history from Ancient Greek poetry such as Hesiod’s Works and Days, through to works from the Middle Ages such as Gower’s Confession Amantis (1318). John Oldham’s literary collection Poems and Translations (1694) and Alexander Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock” (1712-14) are examples of didactic poetry. Samuel Johnson’s (1709-1784) didactic romance Rasselas (1759) was written in one week after his mother’s death to defray the expenses of her illness and funeral. It is not only texts for adult audiences that may didactic: fairy tales, parables and other types of children’s literature can also be didactic in their intent. DC

Diegesis Refers to the direct narrative and the created, fictional world of the text that includes all of the characters, setting, action and events. In drama and film, diegesis is the music, sound-effects, voiceovers or any narrative comment on the action. It is the opposite of mimesis. Diegesis is the reporting of any element of the primary narrative. It is about ‘telling’ and reporting rather than about ‘showing’ and ‘representing’. See also Drama, Fiction, Film, Mimesis, Narrative, Narrator. JH, JM 86


D Difference/Différance Jacques Derrida (1930-2004) coined the neologism ‘différance’ to refer to the movement of meaning in language. Drawing on Ferdinand de Saussure’s (1857-1913) structuralist linguistics, which suggested that words do not refer to meaning so much as to other words (for instance, we know ‘cat’ not because it immutably refers to the four legged creature that is a cat but because it is not ‘mat’). Derrida suggested that meaning never ‘touches down’, so to speak. In this sense, différance is in direct contrast to traditional notions of the way a word or a text means, in that it suggests that words do not neatly refer to a thing or idea, but to other words. Différance merges the two meanings of the French word différer: to differ and to defer. In other words, meaning is difference (in space) and is always deferred (in time). Derrida himself describes différance like this: The play of differences supposes, in effect, syntheses and referrals which forbid at any moment, or in any sense, that a simple element can function as a sign without referring to another element which itself is not present...Nothing, neither among the elements nor within the system, is anywhere ever simply present or absent. There are only, everywhere, differences and traces of traces. (Derrida, 1981: 26). He advances the notion that meaning incessantly moves from one word to another to describe the movement of meaning in entire texts, traditions and across time. This has radical implications for what can be understood as a ‘text’. If différance suggests that meaning never settles, then it also means that a single text never has a single meaning. Derrida asserts that “a ‘text’ is henceforth no longer a finished corpus of writing, some content enclosed in a book or its margins, but a differential network, a fabric of traces referring endlessly to something other than itself, to other differential traces” (Derrida, 1979: 84). According to Derrida, meaning is always ‘to come’ and the task of readers and critics, then, is not so much to secure meaning for a given text, but to ‘trace (the) traces’ of the ‘web’ left behind by the movement of différance. Derrida would see contrary attempts to ‘freeze’ meaning into fixed elements as an act of violence against the delicate movement of difference and he would see this tendency to snuff out the free play of différance as emblematic of traditional philosophy, and by extension, traditional literary criticism. SGS References: Derrida, J. (1979) ‘Living On,’ trans. James Hulbert, in ed. H. Bloom, Deconstruction and Criticism, New York: Seabury. Derrida, J. (1981) ‘Semiology and Grammatology: Interview with Julia Kristeva’, in Positions, trans. Alan Bass, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Differentiation: An approach to pedagogy and learning that has been a hallmark of effective teaching in English. It is driven by a recognition and understanding of individual learning styles, abilities and the need to address outcomes and learning goals according to the diversity of the students in a class. Differentiation is based on theories of how students best engage and learn in English. Differentiated teaching and learning involves: ∼ knowledge of the abilities and capacities of all students and recognising individual ∼ ∼ ∼ ∼

differences; configuring and facilitating learning in a range of ways (individual, pairs, small group, whole class); catering for a range of learning styles (such as for instance, those described in Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences model); allowing choice in learning activities and assessment in order to provide an authentic range of ways for students to demonstrate what they know and can do; and devising and implementing learning activities that have purpose and meaning for all students and can be connected to students’ lives.

See also Assessment, Group work, Learning styles. JM


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D Digital narrative Also known as a digital story. A brief, personal multimedia story or narrative produced through digital media. Digital narratives are generally written and told in the first person, in 250 words, with around 12 photos, and run for approximately 2 minutes. Daniel Meadows characterises the digital story as “multimedia sonnets of the people. Digital Stories are best made in workshops where participants come together to share skills and benefit from the assistance of facilitators. A workshop gives its participants courage, for making a Digital Story isn't easy. It can, though, be remarkably empowering and, when imagined as a tool of democratised media, it has, I believe, the potential to change the way we engage in our communities.” (http://www.photobus.co.uk/). For examples, visit Daniel Meadows’ site, Photobus, and The Centre for Digital Storytelling (http:// www.storycenter.org/). Both sites contain examples and resources for creating digital stories. See also Multimedia. JM

Digital texts Any text that is produced, disseminated and/or located and/or stored in a digital form such as, for example, websites, blogs, music, podcasts, vodcasts, other audio files, visual images, film, and email. Digital texts are an integral part of English and are both created and critiqued by students. Digital technology allows for the application of pedagogical strategies that build on and develop students’ capacities to ‘read’, interpret, be discriminating and evaluate the complex discourses and shifting conventions of the digital world in which so many are immersed. See also Multimedia. JM ∼ Students research their use of digital technology. ∼ Keep a log of the types of digital texts they engage with and produce over the course on one week.

∼ Identify the type of digital text; the time spent reading/viewing/writing digital forms; differences in language, conventions and dissemination of various types of texts; considerations of form and content, and the immediacy of communication made possible by these digital forms; ethical practice; censorship; access and equity issues; time spent on online social networking; the major purpose and audience of the writing done by the student in a digital medium.

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

∼ Students prepare a report on their use and production of digital texts using the familiar ‘star’ organiser: what, when, who, where, how, why.

∼ Students reflect on the outcomes of their research and share these findings with the class.

∼ One particular form of digital text may be further researched by small groups of students.

∼ In exploring issues of cultural expression, students look at the following together with film extracts from A Knight’s Tale and The Cup and the opening sequence of The Guru. ∼ and ∼ ∼ View the opening of film, The Guru (note Coca-Cola advertising - Coke banned in India until 1990s). Then view the Pepsi advertisement made for India on the CDROM Voices and Visions of India.) KS

∼ Students explore examples of poor website design: ∼ has a ‘daily sucker’ and links to past ‘winners’ of the sucker award. An important site as people who nominate a ‘sucker’ have to give reasons why. Good to help students’ own evaluations.

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D ∼ - a website for graphic designers. Note the home page design that provides the ‘written text’ for designers to work with. Then follow links to the designs other people have been created using same written text. Good for compare/contrast and evaluation:

∼ ∼ - an example of poor design. Too much white space. Ordinary font. Looks like nothing happens until you pass over the car grid on the left – then it comes alive. KS

Discourse Refers to the linguistic, cultural and institutional parameters that invest communication with meaning. A discourse is a system that an individual lives within and oftentimes individuals are unaware of the way that a particular discourse structures what we say and think. Drawn from the work of Michel Foucault (1926-1984), the term ‘discourse’ can also refer to the way in which one discourse may be set up in opposition to another. Similar to the term ‘ideology’, a discourse operates outside of individual will, yet operates on an individual. In order to become emancipated into other discourses, one must become aware of the particular discourse one operates within and in so doing expose the assumptions of that discourse. A discourse can be regarded as a kind of specialist language: there is the discourse of the medical profession, the legal profession, discourses of religion and the discourses of literary criticism. These discourses operate in particular ways to define the nature of knowledge and communication within the discipline, control power relations, and can work to include or exclude participation. Discourses that embody the prevailing values, attitudes and worldview of a society or culture are often referred to as dominant or privileged discourses since the language operates to maintain and serve the interests of particular groups. SGS, JM Reference: Mills, S. (2005) ‘Discourse’. The Literary Encyclopedia.

Discussion An exchange (usually oral) of ideas, perspectives and points of view about any topic. Discussion is a central component of learning in English, since students require the opportunity to verbally hypothesise, test out ideas, share responses and explore new knowledge through oral language. Discussions may take place in pairs, small groups or whole class configurations. The smaller the group, the more opportunity there is for individual students to utilise the limited ‘talking space’ available in the classroom. Often, such discussions will enable the student to begin the writing process with heightened confidence, focus and purpose. Discussion, then, is an important pre-writing strategy, although it is also an important experience in and for itself in the development of language. Discussion also refers to a particular type of written text that sets forth points for and against an argument, issue, topic or question. See also Communication, Group work, Talking and listening, Writing. DC

Distance In his essay “The Function of Criticism at the Present Time” (1864), Matthew Arnold argued for the importance of a degree of distance or detachment on the part of the responder in order to effectively evaluate and appreciate a text. The concept of critical distance has since become a tenet of a number of literary critical approaches that insist on an ‘objective’ analysis and judgement of a work (e.g. New Criticism). Other approaches to texts contend that affective, subjective and personal response is necessary and indeed unavoidable in any process of engaging with and evaluating a text (e.g. Reader-response criticism). See also Alienation effect, Interpretation. JM


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D Docudrama A fictional theatre, film or television production based on real events and real people. It often focuses contemporary events or well-known figures such as politicians. An example is the TV series America's Most Wanted. See also Drama terms. JH

Documentary A text that draws on and seeks to ‘document’ real-life events, people and situations to create an historically and factually accurate portrayal or reconstruction. A documentary is frequently presented through film, television or other visual media and is intended to inform and educate the audience and/or expose evidence about an event, person or situation. Although a documentary relies on actual historical evidence and is not an imaginative text, it is nevertheless, like all texts, shaped by the composer’s purpose, particular point of view, subjectivity, context, medium of production and choice and arrangement of material. Mike Moore’s Farenheit 9/11 (2004) and Bowling for Columbine (2002) are examples of documentaries that have a strong political agenda. David Attenborough’s Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth (from 1984) series is another example of a documentary that is less explicitly political but is also designed to educate and persuade the audience to embrace a particular point of view about the environmental issues that are at the centre of the documentary. See also Film, Nonfiction, Representing. JM

Dominant reading Texts can be read in different ways, depending on the personal perspective, beliefs, values and context of the reader and the reading practices and critical lens that the reader employs to make meaning. Different readings of the same text may produce different interpretations and meanings. It is argued that a dominant reading is the particular reading and consequent interpretation which the text and cultural context seem to invite or promote or which has been received as the orthodox and authorised reading. Gunther Kress referred to the reading position as the particular version of reality that the text invites us to adopt. See also Alternative reading, Critical Literacy, Interpretation, Literary criticism, Reader, Resistant reading. JM

Double entendre A figure of speech marked by word/s, phrase/s or other texts that have a double meaning. The literal meaning may be quite distinct from the other suggested or implied meaning. Often, the second meaning of a double entendre is of an indelicate or sexual nature. Like the device of innuendo, a double entendre conveys implied meanings over and above the literal ones and is often a clever or ironic play on words. See also Pun. DC

Double plot Elizabethan and Jacobean plays often include a main plot and a double plot (generally referred to as a subplot). The main plot dramatises the action of a group of characters, often from a particular social class or context. The subplot mirrors the action, relationships and thematic focus of the main plot and dramatises the action of a group of characters who resemble those of the main plot, but who are distinctive in key ways. The subplot often serves to throw light on or contrast with the action of the main plot, thereby enriching and deepening the interest of the play as a whole. Shakespeare’s plays provide abundant examples of double plots. In Henry IV, Part 1, for example, the main plot includes the royal or courtly characters, while the subplot contains scenes and characters from the ‘working class’ world, with many scenes taking place in the tavern. It is rare for a character in the subplot to enter into the main plot, although it is usually the case that at least one of the characters from the main plot will appear in the subplot. Prince Hal, for instance, is part of the main plot and the subplot of Henry IV, Part 1. See also Drama, Plot. JM

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D Drama At the core of drama is the experience of an imagined existence, which may or may not have happened. The portrayal of this experience can range from absorbing imaginative child’s play to complex multi-art theatrical productions. In drama participants enact and audiences experience bodies in space, or as Peter Brook the great director put it, drama is filling up the empty space: ‘I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all I need for an act of theatre to be engaged’ (Brook, 1968: 1). In schools, drama has three main purposes: the exploration of drama as an art form; drama as a learning medium; and drama for personal development. Drama therapy also exists as a discipline but usually in specialist counselling settings. Also, drama is an engaging form of entertainment. Most drama syllabuses define the following as the key elements, or building blocks, of drama: ∼ Focus - the frame that directs attention to what is most significant and intensifies the dramatic ∼ ∼

∼ ∼ ∼

meaning. Tension - the force that engages the performers and audience in the dramatic action. Space - the personal and general space used by the actors. It focuses on the meaning of the size and shape of distances between actor and actor, actor and objects (props and sets) and actor and audience. Mood - the atmosphere created. Mood concentrates the dramatic action and moves the audience in emotionally appropriate directions. Contrast - the use of difference to create dramatic meaning. Symbol - the use of objects, gestures or persons to represent meaning beyond the literal.

See also Drama as a learning medium, Drama terms, Embodied knowledge. JH Reference: Brook, P. (1968) The Empty Space London: MacGibbon & Kee. DET Curriculum Support for teaching in Creative Arts 7-12 Vol 5 No 1 2000)

Drama as a learning medium in English It is well understood that drama invites students to bring a text to life, not merely through ‘acting it out’, but through more sophisticated means of engagement. It allows students to be physically active, disrupting an otherwise predominantly static physical environment of the classroom, especially when the experience of reading fiction is so often construed as a physically isolated, private, still, individual act of transaction between reader and text. Drama encourages students to ‘gain authority as readers and interpreters of literature’ (O’Neill & Rogers, 1994: 47) through embodying ideas and by dealing directly with such ideas, events, characters and action in, for instance, interactive, social and collaborative ways. Somers argues that drama as a pedagogy can be seen as a democratic endeavour that offers the potential for meaning to be ‘socially negotiated’ (Somers, 2005: 6). At the simplest level of dramatising aspects of a fictional text, students gain direct experience of the: ∼ deliberate processes involved in the crafting and construction of that text ∼ artistic, often contested interpretation and representation of characters: their actions, motives,

values, beliefs and relationships ∼ shaping of tensions and dénouement, catharsis and anagnorisis ∼ concept of viewpoint(s), time and sequence ∼ world through the prism of ‘other’ ∼ ways in which drama and fiction differ in these crucial areas. The English Teacher’s Handbook

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D

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

Drama as a learning medium promotes a heightened awareness and understanding of audience and the art and craft of selecting materials, and experimenting with and shaping ideas and experiences through language by becoming the composer, the character or ‘the expert’ (Hughes, 1992; Moffett & Wagner, 1992). Such approaches offer meaningful insights into the structures and conventions that constitute any piece of writing. It epitomises what Ian Reid saw as the essential difference between the ‘gallery’ and the ‘workshop’ approach to English (Reid, 1984). In short, “whereas narrative (as fiction) summarises drama, drama elaborates narrative” (Moffett, 1968: 62). See also Drama, Drama terms, Embodied knowledge, Engagement, Fiction. JM Stages of engagement

Strategies

Whole class, small group, pairs,

Before reading: Getting ready for the text

Enactment of a parallel story, situation or event Identify a key concern, idea, issue or episode of the text. Students generate scenarios set in a contemporary context to build interest in the idea and explore its significance in their own and others’ lives. Alternatively, the teacher can construct the scenario and have students explore this in a range of ways that involves enactment, staging, roleplay and discussion.

SG, P

Visual, aural, tactile stimulus and Mystery Box WC, SG Introduce visual, aural and/or other stimulus connected to the people, places or events in the text. Students hypothesise about the ‘who, when, where, how, and why’ of such items, building a sense of anticipation for the text. For a Mystery Box, collect items relevant to the text in a box, chest or bag. The teacher can describe these items, asking students to draw what they think each item is, before revealing them. Or, students can work in pairs, with one student in each pair taking one item from the box, without the partner knowing what it is (partner can be facing away). Student describes the item, and partner draws it. All items are then returned by each student to the box, while the class watches, in silence, emphasising the dramatic elements of ritual and ownership. Ensuing discussion could focus on the items, their significance and their CSI or Scotland Yard inquiry SG, preIn small groups, students are provided with a descriptive character role sented to WC card, a map and/or visual stimulus, and a brief list of key incidents (based on the actions or events that occur at the beginning of the story of the text). In role (as a group of detectives), students develop possible scenarios for the outcome of the actions and events. Whole-class discussion to follow. Emphasise speculating, inquiring, problem-solving and hypothesising. Sculpting emotions, freeze-frame or tableaux P, SG, preIdentify one or some of the key human emotions explored in the text. In sented to small groups, students are offered one or more of these (on cards, for WC example), and are then required to use their bodies, as a group and/ or individually to represent the emotion. Examples may include: anger, vengeance, wonder, curiosity, confusion, happiness, sorrow, fear, joy. Small groups then present their representation, without words, to the ‘audience’ of the class for comment, reflection and discussion. Each group can represent the same emotion (for comparison), or different emotions, depending on the aim of the task.

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D Stages of engagement

Strategies

Whole class, small group, pairs, individual

Talk show SG or WC Create a talk show theme that is relevant to a key idea or ideas explored in the text. Students take on the roles of host(s), guests, audience and ‘experts’. This can be done as a class, or with two groups. Students are encouraged to create characters in role and perspectives on the theme or issue, thereby experiencing a sense of the other, as well as point of view. Can also be employed during the after-reading, ‘response’ stage.

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

Parallel texts SG, P, preSelect a short poem that explores a key idea of the text. Students can sented to WC then dramatise the poem, with or without props and music. Alternatively, students may translate the text into a simple playscript, depending on the nature of the poem.

During reading: Immersion in the text

Sequencing and narrative Using the opening scenes or events of the text, divide the narrative into sections. Alternatively, use a single extract from the opening. In small groups, students are given this extract (or one of these excerpts) to explore how this may be staged (setting, characters, lighting, dialogue) for a contemporary audience. What aspects of the text would be selected, shaped and reworked? Ensuing discussion could focus on the conventions of narrative, sequencing of action, the role of time and plot, point of view and narrative voice.

SG, P, followed by WC discussion

Director’s log As the students read the text, they are encouraged to keep a running director’s log (as a variation on a reading log). As they read, students include in their log idea - for instance, for casting characters, setting, costuming and music if they were to make a movie or produce a play of the text. Sections of the text that may be emphasised, deleted or reworked would be included. Ideas will develop and be modified as students continue to read.

I

Drawing, mapping, character trees, character grids, timelines I Encourage students to include in their log drawings, maps, character trees (showing connections between characters), character grids (indicating who is on and off centre stage during each chapter or section) and evolving timelines as they read the text. This encourages an awareness of theatrical devices and staging techniques. It also draws attention to the differences between the dramatic and narrative fiction forms. P, I Ghost scenes, conversations, dialogue and perspectives During reading, students draw attention to missing scenes, action, dialogue and perspectives. They may hypothesise about and speculate on why certain points of view are presented and not others. The notion of voice and point of view could be explored during reading with an eye to if, how and why these shift, evolve or remain static, and the implications of this for the reader or potential audience. Students may also predict dialogue, conversations and narrative voice.


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D Stages of engagement

After reading: Responding to the text

Strategies

Whole class, small group, pairs, individual

Sculpting the characters and themes SG, P Select one or more excerpts from the text (preferably studentgenerated selection) that capture a key moment of incident for one or more of the characters. As one student from the group reads the excerpt, one or more students ‘sculpt’ the character or characters into the scene (or sculpt the theme) and freeze as the text is read as voice over narration.

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

Scripting SG, P Students in small groups select a significant episode from the text. The episode forms the basis of a script for performance. Emphasis should be on staging, with a focus on character, setting, space, dialogue and dynamics. Many variations on this basic task can be employed for a variety of purposes. Hot spot and hot-seating Students (in role, if appropriate) interview other students in role. Central characters and minor characters can be the focus. Questions should be carefully generated to enable a productive explication of ideas and perspectives.

WC, SM, P

SG And Why game In small groups, students are given two decks of cards, turned face down. One deck of cards consist of Character cards, and each has the name of a character on it (on the face downside). The other deck of cards is the And Why cards, which have a series of questions on them, such as: ‘When your character first appears, what is she thinking, and why?’; ‘Who are the other characters with whom your character is in conflict, and why?’; and ‘What is the key moment in your character’s experience, and why?’ Students, in turn, take one Character card from the deck, and one And Why card from the other deck. They must then respond to the And Why question either in role or out of role. Writing can follow. (Mike Hayhoe, 1988, Creative work ideas for Macbeth. Sydney: Phoenix Education) Interviews and investigations SG In small groups, some students take on the role of, for example, a detective, lawyer, oral historian or journalist. In role, they interview or interrogate the character(s) with a focus on issues such as conflict, motive, action, events and turning points in the narrative. Students can then swap roles. Writing tasks, such as feature articles, journal entries, reports, stories and expressive writing, can follow. Conscience corridor WC Select a key episode from the text that involves a character making a decision, experiencing a crisis or facing a dilemma. One student takes on the role of a character in the text. The class is divided into two groups. Each group forms two parallel lines to create a ‘corridor’. The character walks slowly down the corridor, with the other students verbally seeking to influence the character in making his or her decision. The character must have made his or her decision by the time of reaching the end of the corridor. There is an emphasis on exploring thoughts, feelings and actions of characters.

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Stages of engagement

Strategies

Transformations In pairs, students (or the teacher) should select a significant episode from the text. Students then generate ideas about how this episode could be transformed into another medium specifically for performance, such as a poem, speech or soliloquy.

Whole class, small group, pairs, individual P

Representing without words SG, P Students in small groups select an episode from the text that highlights some aspect of human relationships. The small group then experiments with representing this episode by using body and space. Students are encouraged to think symbolically and metaphorically about character, relationships and feelings. After response: Beyond the boundaries I, P Going beyond the Students, individually or in pairs, create a scene that takes up the text story from where the text ends. Students may develop a short script, or another form of writing that emphasises audience and experiments with time and context. TV interview or documentary SG, P In pairs, students can set up a TV interview with the author of the text, exploring the other texts written by this author. Alternatively, students can create a documentary that explores the genre of the text, such as adventure, fantasy or crime, using digital technology for production and publication.

References: Manuel, J. (2007) “Drama and the Teaching of Fiction”, in Drama and the Teaching of English, eds. M. Anderson, J. Hughes & J. Manuel, Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Hughes, J. (1992) “Enactment of the Expert: Drama and Reading Comprehension”, NADIE Journal, Autumn. Iser, W. (1980) “Interaction Between Text and Reader”, in The Reader in Texts, eds. S. Suleiman & I. Crosman, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Moffett, J. (1968). Teaching the Universe of Discourse. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Moffett, J. & Wagner, B.J. (1992) Student-Centred Language Arts, New Jersey: Boynton Cook. Rosenblatt, L. (1978) The Reader, The Text, The Poem: The Transactional Theory of the Literary Work, Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. Somers, J. (2005) Drama as Alternative Pedagogy, Aims, Learning and Curriculum Series, Discussion Paper 10, Exeter: Nuffield Review of 14–19 Education and Training.

Drama terms The table sets out a list of commonly used drama terms and should be considered in conjunction with the range of practical strategies used in the English classroom. See also Drama, Drama as a learning medium. JH Terms

Definition

Affective space; affective dimension

In drama Improvisation work, this is the safe and supportive atmosphere within the drama space, created by the facilitator that allows students to feel sufficiently confident to take risks.

Alter ego

A rehearsal technique whereby two actors play each character, one of whom represents the stage action and the other the character's hidden thoughts.


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D Analogy

A strategy by which a fictional situation is selected and enacted without addressing the subject directly.

Boundary setting

The process of setting up rules for trust and engagement within groups. Protocols for emotional and physical safety are also negotiated within the group.

Blocking

This is what the director does when she or he plots the movement of the actors, scenery, props etc of each scene in a performance. Note it has a different meaning in improvisation. See also Improvisation.

Bump in

A theatre term for the process of setting up backstage and the stage for the opening of a production. The lighting, the sets, the costumes etc are all put in place. ‘Bump out’ is the process of removing the production from the theatre.

Conscience alley

A form of thought-tracking employing very high tension. The participants face each other in two lines, while the character under scrutiny walks slowly between them, running the gauntlet of their comments.

Debriefing

The encouragement of students to articulate the feelings and observations that have arisen from the drama work, during which process the teacher becomes an accepting and attuned listener who can ask for appropriate elaboration should a student have difficulties with verbalisation.

Director's log

A journal of the directorial decisions taken by the director as part of the production process.

Double intention

An improvisation technique for concealing the real motives of any interaction, used to provide students with character complexity and subtext within improvised drama or video.

Dramaturge

A person who works with a director and/or writer to develop, help refine and/or stage on a play. The dramaturge is often the researcher in the writing of a play or the production of an historical play.

Flats

This is a shortened term for Scenery Flats or scenery on stage, often painted to provide the image of a background.

Fly system

This is the way scenery and other theatrical devices descend or are elevated to or from the stage. Hence to ‘fly in’ a set. They are operated by the stage technical crew and often involve ropes and pulleys.

Freeze-frame

Within a freeze-frame, sometimes known as a 'tableau' or 'still image', actors are arranged in a posture or series of postures representing a particular moment, or moment in a play or improvised drama, and remain immobile for observation or reflection by an audience.

Frozen effigy

A useful technique that starts with a prepared freeze-frame, which is slowly brought to life, one character at a time, allowing the watchers to reflect on or interrogate the details of the situation as they slowly emerge.

Gossip mill

A dramatic method during which students in role mill together in a space and, on a signal from the teacher, stop and instantly share one piece of information or gossip with one other person. This sequence is repeated a number of times.

Green room

This is the room, back stage, where the actors congregate when not on stage. Ironically, green is considered, by many theatre people, to be an unlucky colour so it is almost never painted green.

Hot-seating

The interrogation of a character in a drama or other form of literature, whereby one person takes the 'hot seat', speaking as that character, to provide information, background or advice to the other participants.

Improvised video

Scenario-based rather than script-based improvised dramatic performances recorded on video.

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D Living display

Still images, simple props and set that are used to create dioramas of events. As the audience observes a particular image, the participants (or a participant) briefly 'come to life' and speak aloud key information.

Masque

A form of theatre for the private entertainment of the aristocracy especially in the 16th century. It often included songs and dance.

Meeting in role

A convention by which students participate in role in a formal meeting. The expectation is that the class will maintain the roles for the duration of the meeting and interact according to the characteristics of those roles.

Monologue

An extensive speech by a solo performer. If it is a revelation of personal thoughts said out loud it is known as an aside or soliloquy (e.g. “To be or not to be…” in Hamlet).

Morality play

Popular religious drama in Europe in the 15th and early 16th centuries. They were dramatic allegories that extolled, usually, Christian virtues. The purpose of such plays was to provide moral instruction to the audience about how to live a virtuous life and save their souls from eternal damnation. One of the most famous morality plays is Everyman (late 13th century, author unknown).

Out of role

Discussion or planning related to shaping or modifying dramatic action. Once the next stage or dramatic event is decided, the students continue the drama in role.

Pageant

(L. ‘scene of a play’) In Ancient Greece, this term originally referred to the portable stage on which plays were performed. The more common usage refers to a dramatic presentation, tableaux, exhibition or scene which is extravagant in costuming and often props. There is generally little or no dialogue in a pageant.

Parallel role -play

Parallel role-plays engage students (and actors in rehearsal) in role activities which parallel a text to be explored. For example, students studying Romeo and Juliet might role-play teenagers from contemporary, rival ethnic gangs, two of whom, from opposing sides, fall in love.

Passion plays

Performances which dramatise significant events in the life of Jesus Christ, based on texts from the Bible, often set outdoors. A famous example is the Oberammergau Passion Play, begun in 1633 and still regularly presented.

Playbuilding

A process of using active, collaborative techniques to create group or self-devised works. A variety of approaches are used including attention to setting, theme, narrative, character, issues and personal experiences. Students use the elements of drama such as tension, moment or symbol to create narrative structures to convey dramatic meaning through the development of various plot structures. Students experience ways to develop different styles of group devised plays by drawing on community sources such as local identities, Indigenous communities, media, government bodies and institutions, libraries or the internet.

Pre-text

In process drama, this is the identified symbol, artefact, image or piece of text that sets up the drama and provides the stimulus for the drama that evolves. A pre-text should define the dramatic world that will be explored and imply the roles for the participants. Reference: O’Neill, C. (1995) Drama worlds, USA: Heinemann.

Process drama

An improvised drama form for active participants with no performance or external audience. It comprises structured role-play techniques, including experiential role-play, combined with other theatrical conventions and rehearsal exercises. JH Reference: O’Neill, C. (1995) Drama Worlds, USA: Heinemann.

Prompt copy

The script of the play that includes all the instructions the director wishes to convey to the actors.

Readers' theatre

The type of theatre where student actors read directly from script. During the performance, the actors stand in front of the audience and do not look directly at each other, even when exchanging comments. Instead, each actor focuses on a fixed point in the audience to suggest this interaction.


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D Resonance

Existing film or video that either thematically or stylistically shares the concerns of the proposed or performed improvisational work.

Role-based scenario

Drama based on improvised performance in a given situation.

Role-card

A card or other document providing key characteristics of the role that a student is to play. It may include contextualised information about the situation, details of events or facts that will be shared while in role.

Role-play

The projection of participants into a fictitious situation and the assumption of attitudes that are not necessarily their own. The role-players accept that they are working in an imaginary context and agree to believe in that context for the purpose of working through a dilemma or issue.

Role protection

The dramatic distance provided by the assumption of a persona, allowing for an authentic emotional response.

Semiotics

The complex systems of visual, aural, physical and gestural languages and other signifiers that are present in live performance. Focusing on a semiotic reading of a play or a performance would draw attention to the effects of such things as light, colour, sound and movement and examine the audience's, actor's, designer's and director's contributions to the theatrical event.

Spect-actors

A term coined by Augusto Boal to referrer to participants in an improvisation who are sometime acting and other time observing others performances. Often switching roles quite frequently.

Still image

A convention by which members of a group use their bodies to make an unmoving image or tableau, capturing an idea or moment in time.

Teacher-in-role

The taking part of teachers in process drama or role-play themselves, as characters within the situation, in order to advance the action, provide a source of tension pose a problem or challenge or control the action from inside without stopping the drama.

Thought-tracking

A dramatic convention by which a character in role can be frozen and asked by the teacher or other students to express what is going on in his or her mind at the particular moment. It can be used within a freeze-frame or frozen effigy. Sometimes called Tapping in.

Verbatim theatre

A playwright interviews people who have usually been part of some heightened or charged experience and from their direct quotes creates a performance. For example, Alana Valentine’s Parramatta Girls. See also Docudrama.

Veridical representation

‘Veridical’ means truthful so a veridical representation is representation of social reality in drama.

Writing-in-role

The students write from the point of view of a character they are developing or playing. Writing-in-role is a rich virtual dramatic experience, by which students play out and negotiate some of their own experiences.

JH

Dramatic irony A technique employed in plays that allows the audience to be privy to more information and knowledge about the plot and action than some or all of the characters on stage. A most powerful example of this occurs in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex (430 BC). The audience is aware of the fact that after killing his father, Oedipus marries his mother. Oedipus himself is not aware of this truth until the final, tragic dénouement. JH

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D Dramatic monologue A poem in which a single persona speaks. There are several important aspects of this type of poetry that distinguish it from other forms of verse. Firstly, the monologue occurs at a moment of conflict, anxiety or crisis. Secondly, there is always an implied audience: the persona speaks to another person (or people) and the literal thrust of the monologue is that of explanation, direction, deception, self-justification or persuasion. Thirdly, a dramatic monologue presents a character who, in the act of self-expression, unintentionally reveals aspects of his/her character. There is always a discrepancy between the image of self that the persona thinks he/she is projecting and the image that they actually do project. The effect of this is to produce irony. Robert Browning’s (1812-1889) dramatic monologues demonstrate a masterful and innovative handling of the form. With Browning's fascination for the naturalistic impulses of human nature, the subtleties of individual temperament and the relationship between our use of language and our communicated meaning, the dramatic monologue is a particularly appropriate form. It affords the poet the opportunity to create and manipulate characters, personae and masks, while maintaining the immediacy of direct speech. Through the dramatic monologue Browning is able to explore both the complexities of the human psyche and the dynamics of human interaction in a concentrated, focused and intense manner. In addition, the setting or the life-situation exposed in the monologue is of crucial importance to an understanding of the poem. Often the character will be reflecting on a past event. Frequently, the dramatic monologue portrays a human being in the process of seeking to control, dominate or gain ascendency over another. The two poems “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria's Lover” are particularly striking examples of the form. See also Persona, Poetry. JM

Dreamtime Aboriginal stories of spirituality and creation. “The expression 'Dreamtime' is most often used to refer to the 'time before time', or 'the time of the creation of all things', while 'Dreaming' is often used to refer to an individual's or group's set of beliefs or spirituality” (Australian Museum, 2004). The Indigenous Australia webpages at the Australian Museum site have many stories of the dreaming, available in audio-format: . See also Myths, Legends. JM Reference: Gold, E. (ed) (1997) Timeless Truths: Sydney: Phoenix Education.

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

∼ Select one or more stories from the Australian Museum site, or other sources. Select a range of picture books or visual images that focus on similar Dreamtime stories.

∼ Read the stories out aloud to the class. Discuss the ideas and images evoked by the story. Discuss connections between the Dreamtime story and myths specific to other cultures and places.

∼ Listen to the music of Garramul Yunupingu: ∼ ∼ Students in groups select a story and/or a song, and research this, exploring its origins, versions, language, imagery and connection to place.

∼ Students work in groups to create a digital representation of a story or song, using visual images and selected words or excerpts from the chosen text. Students write a reflection statement to accompany their creative work.

Dystopia The representation of an imaginary world that is unappealing, indeed repellent, usually combining threatening and dehumanising perspectives and experiences. Texts that portray a dystopian world often combine elements of fantasy, science fiction, thriller or apocalyptic literature, or an amalgam


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D of these. Such texts present a disturbingly bleak vision of human existence and human relationships in which violence, suffering, misery, fear and hopelessness are the dominant characteristics of society. George Orwell’s novel 1984 (1949) and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932) are well-known examples of fictional dystopian universes. Ridley Scott’s film, Blade Runner (1982) and George Miller’s Mad Max (1979), are similarly powerful representations of a dystopian realm. The purpose of dystopian texts is to confront and challenge the audience with extreme visions of humanity, thereby encouraging thinking about values, power relations, ways of organising social and personal relationships and the nature of individual experience. Representations of dystopia are in stark contrast to those that portray an earthly paradise or utopia. See also Eschatology. JM

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E Edwardian period Considered to be the period when Edward VII reigned in England, from 1901 (the death of Queen Victoria) to 1910. This period, immediately preceding the First World War, saw an abundance of writing from novelists such as, for example, Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling and Henry James. Thomas Hardy and W B Yeats were also publishing a wealth of poetry during this time. Critics have commented that the literature and drama of this period addressed wider issues of social change, dislocation and a fracturing of the received values and ways of thinking that characterised the Victorian period. With the advent of the War, the Edwardian period is considered with some nostalgia, since the War (1914-1918) had such a dramatic impact on all aspects of social and personal life. JM

Ekphrastic literature Literary texts that are inspired by an actual or notional artwork or artistic representation. Essentially, in both its focus and form, ekphrastic literature is ‘art about art’. The Oxford Classical Dictionary defines ekphrasis as ‘the rhetorical description of a work of art’ while James A. W. Heffernan refers to it as “the literary representation of visual art”. (See http://www.people.virginia.edu/~djr4r/anth_ekphrasis.html) Art about art has a long tradition. During the Renaissance poems described paintings and scenes from nature in order to debate the claims of art and nature and celebrate the triumph of art over nature. Romanticism was also concerned with ideas and questions about art and life and this is reflected in texts such as John Keats’ (1795-1821) “Ode on a Grecian Urn” and William Wordsworth’s (1770-1850) “Elegiac Stanzas Suggested by a Picture of Peele Castle in a Storm, painted by Sir George Beaumont”. Traditionally, ekphrastic texts describe and represent specific artworks but they can do so in a number of ways. Classic paintings such as Jan Vermeer’s (1632-1675) “Girl with a Pearl Earring” and Pieter Brueghel’s (1525-1569) “Icarus” may represent the core of the subject matter of a text, as in Tracy Chevalier’s novel Girl With a Pearl Earring (2001) and WH Auden’s (1907-1973) poem “Musée des Beaux Arts”. Alternatively, real-world artefacts, places or objects may inspire the imagination and literary responses of writers as is the case in Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn”. In some cases the artwork or scene inspiring the text may be a figment of the writer’s imagination, as in ST Coleridge’s (1772-1834) poem “Kubla Khan”. During the 20th century the ekphrastic genre evolved further as art about art began to be combined with the theme of the portrait of the artist. Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) and James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) are part of this tradition and contemporary films such as Il Postino (1994), Pandaemonium (2000), Dead Poets’ Society (1989) and The English Teacher’s Handbook

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Amadeus (1984) are examples that extend the genre further in focus and form. Other possibilities within the ekphrastic genre are reflected in literary texts that comment on their own nature as an aesthetic object or encourage meditations on the aesthetics of writing. An example of this latter form is Italo Calvino’s (1923-1985) If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller (1981). The study of ekphrastic texts is usually geared towards understanding the relationship between visual art and the literature that describes and represents it. A comparative study of art-inspired literature and other texts that explore ‘art’ worlds, ‘art’ movements, ‘art’ works and ‘artists’ can provide us with a heightened understanding of the aesthetic appeal of texts and aesthetic theory as well as insights into ekphrastic literature and possible developments in this genre. Michael and Peter Benton's books Double Vision (Hodder & Stoughton 1990), the companion volume Painting with Words (Hodder & Stoughton,1995) and Picture Poems (Hodder & Stoughton, 1997) all explore the interplay of poems and paintings, with visual reproductions of the art. Ken Watson and Paul Richardson’s Postcards from Planet Earth: an anthology of international poetry (Oxford University Press, 1990) also includes excellent resources for the study of poems and matching paintings. For links to a range of online ekphrastic poems and their paintings see

See also Aesthetics, Intertextuality. KS, JM Resources: Resources

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

∼ WH Auden’s poem “Musee de Beaux Arts” ∼ Three paintings by Brueghel: The Masscare of the Innocents; Landscape with the Fall of Icarus; Numbering at Bethlehem. Procedure:

∼ In pairs of small groups, students explore and analyse the visual texts (see Image for strategies). Compare the images, focusing on the mood, perspective, colours, people, events and layout. Explore common features and move towards a discussion of the ideas and ‘story’ being represented.

∼ As a class, share interpretations from each group, identifying key points and features of the texts.

∼ Read Auden’s poem out aloud to the class. ∼ Explore the poem, focusing on the way the speaker alludes to, appropriates and connects the ideas from the paintings, and the relationship between the themes of the poem and the themes of the paintings.

∼ Reflect on the way composers use memory, experience, observation and other stimulus as a source of inspiration for their work.

∼ Students explore other art works that have been the source of inspiration for literature.

Elegy (Greek: ‘lament’) A type of lyric poem of mourning on the death of an individual. It may also be a reflective poem on the concept of death and grief. Elegy is one of the oldest poetic genres, originating with the laments of the Greek poets Theocritus (3rd century BC), Bion (3rd century BC) and Moschus (c. 150 BC). Its conventions are based on ancient rituals of mourning and burial. From the work of these Greek poets, it is possible to trace a process of the accretion of meaning and conventions in elegy whereby the death of a shepherd-poet, Daphnis, was poeticised in terms of the death of the dying spirit of nature, Adonis; the poet-shepherd-hero was associated with Daphnis through the use of the pastoral form. Not only was Daphnis the idealised vegetation god, but also the epitome of the artist - the celebrant of the idyllic world of Arcadia. It is this mythic figure who is the precursor of almost every elegised subject in canonised elegies in 102


E English, providing the fundamental trope by which poets construct versions of immortality. By identifying the deceased with the returning, regenerative capacities of nature ‘he’ is absorbed into a mythology that ensures his – the poet’s - eternality. Typically, canonic elegies require a male poet mourning the death of and deifying a male poet. Despite the fact that the Sappho (c. 630BC) was writing poetry of grief and mourning, invoking goddesses like Aphrodite in her lamentations several centuries before Theocritus, the latter is credited as the ‘father’ of the pastoral elegy. The prominence of goddesses like Aphrodite in the earliest rituals of mourning is indisputable from evidence contained in fragments of writing by women poets of antiquity. But the place and role of these female deities undergo significant transformations within the history of the formal elegiac canon in English; that is, the goddesses that preside over the ceremonies of mourning in poetry like that written by Sappho, have been relocated in peripheral rather than central roles by male elegists throughout the history of the western elegiac genre. Well-known canonic elegies include: John Milton’s “Lycidas” (1637); Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Adonais” (1821); and WH Auden’s “In Memory of WB Yeats” (1940). Elegies by women poets include: Judith Wright’s “Remembering an Aunt”; May Sarton’s “Letter from Chicago”; Muriel Rukeyser’s “Käthe Kollwitz”; Alta’s “The Vow”; Adrienne Rich’s “A Woman Dead in Her Forties”; Elizabeth Jennings’ “After a Time”; Lucille Clifton’s “harriet/if i be you”; Marge Piercy’s, “Burying Blues for Janice”; Maxine Kumin’s “On Being Asked to Write a Poem in Memory of Anne Sexton”; and Robyn Rowland’s, “The Final Voyage (for Virginia Woolf, 1882-1941)”. See also Dirge, Encomium, Eulogy. JM

Elizabethan age Refers to the period of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603). This period is often regarded as a Golden age which saw the flourishing of literature and the arts – particularly drama – discovery and science. The Elizabethan age occurred at the height of the Renaissance and is often described as a time of harmony, peace and political stability. Theatre thrived and developed during this period under the influence of the great dramatists – William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) and Ben Jonson (1573-1637). Although this period is perceived as a time of harmony, stability and growing prosperity, a great majority of the population in England were still of the working class or poor – and Shakespeare’s plays were written for performance to entertain people from a wide spectrum of society. The majority of the audience for his plays at The Globe Theatre, for instance, were known as ‘penny-stinkers’ or ‘groundlings’– the people who paid one penny to stand in the open area in front of the stage where space was at a premium and rubbish and effluent from the audience was commonplace. The seating was reserved for the wealthier classes and the aristocracy. The theatre of this time was very much part of popular culture, created primarily to entertain audiences. See also (The) Globe Theatre, Shakespeare. JM

Ellipsis A device used in poetry to ensure the economical use of language. Words that may usually be included in a line may be omitted in order to make the line or poem succinct. An example would be, ‘Some lads are wise; some otherwise.’ The words ‘lads are’ have been omitted without changing the meaning of the line. JM

Emblem An image or badge used to represent an individual, family, nation, idea or abstract concept. Examples of emblems include a red cross on a white background for humanitarianism (and this is the symbol the Red Cross); scales as an emblem of the law or justice; and a dove as an emblem of peace. Emblems are common in imaginative texts, and in the media. Emblems are similar to symbols in that they carry strong associations. Symbols, however, are distinguished from emblems in that they are so closely associated with the individual, object or idea that long-standing shared meanings are usually recognisable to a very wide range of audiences. An emblem may operate in a more limited context for a more specific purpose. Flowers – such as the Waratah and Sturt Desert Pea, for The English Teacher’s Handbook

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PRACTICAL STRATEGY

example – are used as emblems of Australian states and territories. See also Archetype, Logo, Representing, Symbol. JM ∼ Create emblems for characters in texts being studied. ∼ For example: a coat of arms for the Capulet and Montague families in Romeo and Juliet. (Note the use of emblems and symbols in Lurhmann’s film adaptation) a car number plate for a character an image accompanied by a caption a profile for MySpace that contains an emblem or symbol representing the character/s.

∼ Students can also research the pervasiveness of emblems in the media and everyday contexts as well as the origins and meaning of emblems associated with nations.

Embodied knowledge Knowledge and understanding that is derived from lived experience through the senses. In English, drama as a medium for learning is a powerful means of enabling students to explore ideas and concepts through embodied experience. Students may, for example, dramatise a poem using only body language and actions. If students are provided with abundant opportunities for active, creative ‘making and doing’ they are more able to embody and apply new knowledge and skills that may otherwise remain abstract. See also Drama, Drama as a learning medium, Experiential learning, Group work, Learning styles. JM

Empathic intelligence A concept formulated by Arnold (2005) to describe a sustained system of psychic, cognitive, affective, social functioning. Empathic intelligence is a way of using various intelligences and sensitivities to engage effectively with others. Such engagement involves, in part, creating a dynamic between thinking and feeling within a climate perceived as caring and affirming. Empathic intelligence is derived from the ability to: ∼ differentiate self-states (both thoughts and feelings) from others’ states through self-

awareness, reflection and applied imagination ∼ engage in reflective and analogic processing to understand human dynamics ∼ mobilise a dynamic between thinking and feeling in self and others to enhance learning ∼ demonstrate enthusiasm, expertise and the effective engagement of others in meaningful tasks ∼ work creatively, guided by observation, attunement and adaptive capacity ∼ demonstrate intelligent caring ∼ use mirroring and affirmation effectively ∼ commit to the well-being and development of self and others.

Empathic intelligence is essentially concerned with the dynamic between thinking and feeling and the ways in which each contributes to the making of meaning. The word dynamic is important because it highlights the psychic energy generated when one mobilises both thought and feeling in creating and understanding experience. When there is intensity of feeling matched with intensity of thought, transforming learning experiences may occur. See Affective learning, Experiential learning. RA Reference: Adapted from Arnold, R (2005) Empathic Intelligence: Teaching, Learning, Relating, Sydney: UNSW Press.

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E Empathic model (Writing) An empathic model of writing recognises that writers’ internalised experiences of self-as-writer can have a very significant effect upon their confidence as writers. Writing teachers can build upon such experiences by affirming positive aspects of the writer’s text, while guiding writers to various models of writing which they might emulate for different audiences and purposes. Likewise, writers’ internalized experiences as readers and observers can provide rich resources for writing and reflection. An empathic model of writing recognizes that to write effectively for different audiences and purposes writers have to be able to imagine how potential readers will respond to their writing and then shape their writing accordingly. The empathic ability to understand one’s own thoughts and feelings, and those of others is a basic tenet of an empathic model of writing. See also Writing. RA

Empiricism (Greek: ‘concerned with experience’) A theory of knowledge that posits that the only way to know anything is true is to experience the world through the senses, as opposed to relying on intuition, reason or logic. In this way, empirical truth is truth that is arrived at through observing the natural world and detailing quantifiable, observable results. Empiricism in the Western tradition began with John Locke (1632-1704), who proposed that the mind was a tabula rasa – a white tablet – and that knowledge is acquired through sense experience and not through anything inherent or innate. The tenets of Empiricism have exerted a significant influence on English and Drama education, since both rely on holistic student engagement and promote experiential, embodied learning. See also Affective learning, Constructivism, Drama as a learning medium, Embodied knowledge. DC

Encomium (Greek: ‘celebration’, ‘praise’) A literary work, in prose or verse or a speech, that warmly and enthusiastically praises and pays high tribute to a person, idea or event. A famous example is “Encomium of Helen” (written in praise of Helen of Troy) by the Greek sophist Gorgias of Leontini (487–376 BC). Another example is Anne Bradstreet’s (1612-1672) elegiac poem, “In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet, Who Deceased August, 1665, Being a Year and Half Old”. JM

End-rhyme A poetic device where the syllable/s or words at the end of two or more lines of verse rhyme. This is the most common form of rhyme in poetry. This example, with an end-rhyme scheme of aabb, is from William Blake’s (1757-1827) poem “The Tyger”: When the stars threw down their spears, And water’d the heaven with their tears, Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee? See also Poetry, Rhyme. JM

Enactment of the expert Enactment of the expert is a modified version of Mantle of the expert. It involves the students adopting a high-status role, such as professors: and exploring an issue. It is not as sustained or involved as Heathcote’s role activity (see Hughes, J. & Arnold R. (2008), “Drama and the teaching of poetry” in M. Anderson, J. Hughes & J. Manuel (eds) Drama and English teaching: Imagination, action and engagement, South Melbourne: Oxford University Press, pp 88-103). See also Drama, Drama as a learning medium, Embodied knowledge, Mantle of the Expert. JH


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E Engagement In an empathic intelligence model of pedagogy (Arnold 2005) engagement is an: ∼ ability to attract and hold students’ attention, directing it to centred, purposeful interactions with others and with learning materials ∼ ability to mirror the thoughts and feelings of others to enhance communication and commitment ∼ ability to channel teacher-power/authority/charisma for the benefit of students’ learning.

Engagement can be modelled by teachers through their focus on the learning needs of their students, and through their students’ perception of their being wholly present in the processes of teaching and learning. Teachers’ deep engagement in pedagogy is both a source of insight into effective practice and a model for students of a critical element in effective learning. See also Embodied knowledge, Student-centred learning. RA Reference: Arnold, R. (2005) Empathic Intelligence: Teaching, Learning, Relating, Sydney: UNSW Press.

Enlightenment (The) Also known as the Age of Reason, this historical period was characterised by progressive and liberal ideas that emerged in France in the 18th century. The ideas and ideals of The Enlightenment led to the French Revolution and became the core of Western intellectual and scientific thought. It stemmed from the 17th century Scientific Revolution and the ideas of Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), John Locke (1632-1704) and Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727). Its basic tenet was the superiority of reason as a guide to all knowledge and human affairs. From this belief followed the idea of unfolding human progress and a challenging of traditional Christianity. Although difficult to pinpoint a starting date, the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688-89 in Britain is sometimes suggested as a trigger. The Enlightenment constituted a way of thinking as much as an historical period and was hugely influential on the cultural and intellectual life of European countries and Britain’s North American colonies. The Enlightenment gave rise to the development of naturalist, empiricist and materialist doctrines as well as strident opposition to the doctrines of the Church. It was not a uniform movement, as denoted by the materialism of the French ‘Encyclopedists’ such as Jean le Rond d’Alembert (1711-83), Denis Diderot (1713-84), Voltaire (1694-1788); the Scottish interest in political economy by figures such as David Hume (1711-76), Adam Smith (1723-90), Gilbert Stuart (1742-86); and the cultural concerns of the Germans, as reflected in the writing of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), Johann Gottfried von Herder (1744-1803), Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-81), and Johann Christoph Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805). Two general principles of The Enlightenment were that virtue consists ultimately in knowledge and that all virtues are compatible with one another. The major ideas were published by Paul Henri d’Holbach (1723-1789) in the Système de la nature (1770) in which he asserts that nature is knowable through human experience and thought and not through the teachings of the Church. Reason was seen as the basis for moral systems. Berlin maintains that the principles of The Enlightenment were: 1. all genuine questions can be answered. If a question cannot be answered, then it is not a question 2. all genuine questions have knowable answers, discovered by methods that can be learnt and taught to others 3. all answers must be compatible with one another, otherwise chaos will ensue – one answer to a question cannot contradict another answer to another question. Therefore, one proposition cannot contradict another 4. deductive reasoning provided the method to obtain all answers. (Berlin, 2001: 21-24) Much of the writing, including poetry in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, imitated writing from 106


E the period of the Roman Emperor Augustus (27 BS – 14 AD): Horace (65-8 BC), Virgil (70-19 BC), Homer (c. 8th century BC), Ovid (43 BC – 17 AD) and Tibullus (55-19 BC). Such imitation suggested a preference for an urbane and classical elegance in writing and the principles of harmony, decorum and proportion rather than a reliance on emotion and the imagination. See also Age of Reason, Neoclassical period. DC References: Berlin, I. (ed.) (2001),The Roots of Romanticism, The A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts. The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Bollingen Series, xxxv: 45. Cuddon, J.A. 1991, Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, 3rd edn. London: Penguin Books Flew, A. (ed.) (1979) A Dictionary of Philosophy, London: Pan Books. Holman, C. H. (1976) A Handbook to Literature, 3rd edn. Indianapolis: The Odyssey Press. Watson, P. (2005) Ideas – A History from Fire to Freud, London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson. Williams, R. (1977) Culture and Society 1780-1950, Great Britain: Penguin Books.

English as a Second Language (ESL)/Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Students whose native language is not English are commonly referred to as students from ‘language backgrounds other than English’ (LBOTE), students from ‘non-English speaking backgrounds’ (NESB) or ‘ESL students’. These students may be newly-arrived in the country and are beginning to learn English, or students who have been born in the country into a family from a non-English speaking background where English may not be spoken in the home – or at least not regularly spoken in the home. In schools, funding and the development of teaching/learning programs centre on developing English language skills and knowledge. Newly-arrived students may be enrolled in a specialised English centre and then move to mainstream school following intensive English language tuition. Schools often employ ESL teachers who have specialised knowledge and skills in addressing the needs of such students and use a variety of models to accommodate ESL students. These models may involve separate classes comprised solely of ESL students, ESL students integrated into mainstream classes in a team-teaching situation, or withdrawal of ESL students at strategic points of the teaching/learning cycle. Another name for the undertaking of teaching such learners is TESOL – ‘Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages’. DC

Epic (Greek: ‘speech’, ‘word’, ‘song’) An ancient genre of narrative verse. An epic is an extended poem that typically extols the virtues and triumphs of a hero. The hero undertakes a quest or journey, overcomes all adversity, and returns to his home as a transformed superhuman figure. The hero is celebrated as a model, archetype or exemplar of the qualities and moral virtues admired at the time. Originally an oral form, the epic was structured in smaller units or episodes to enable the story to be more easily memorised by the poet or performer and the audience. The earliest known exemplar of the genre is Gilgamesh, a Sumerian epic dating from circa 2700 BC. Other examples are Beowulf (c. 8th-11th century), Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey (9th-8th century BC), Virgil’s Aeneid (c. 30-20 BC), The Tale of Heike (14th century Japanese epic), John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667), Dante’s Divine Comedy (c. 1304-21), and Ezra Pound’s Cantos (1915-1969). Epic poems (and other epic texts) usually contain six key elements: ∼ The epic hero is a well-known, superhuman figure. ∼ The hero journeys through adverse terrain and situations, often spanning many countries or the

entire universe. Virgil’s hero, Aeneas, journeys into the Underworld and this theme has been taken up by many later poets (for example: Dante, c.1265-1321), novelists, dramatists, filmmakers and artists. ∼ During the quest, the hero demonstrates exceptional courage and bravery to overcome all obstacles in his path and the victory is often marked by a wound or scar of some kind. The hero is often assisted by someone or something as he seeks to secure the prize for his efforts. The English Teacher’s Handbook

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E ∼ The hero encounters supernatural forces such as demons, angels and mythic figures. These may

assist the hero in his quest, or pose obstacles that are eventually defeated. The hero returns with the prize. ∼ The style is formal and elevated. ∼ The epic is told or performed in a formal manner. Epic poems are not common in contemporary literature, although the recognisable elements and archetypes of the epic are apparent in a wide range of types of texts, including novels (for example, Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, 1865-1869, and James Joyce’s Ulysses, 1922). Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” published in Leaves of Grass (1855) is an innovation of the traditional epic poem, in that the ‘self’ of this poem is not an elevated or heroic figure. The epic hero, along with the concept of the quest, is also very common in popular texts and media, especially in film and advertising, with many cultures and ages creating their own versions of the epic hero/heroine. Several episodes of The Simpsons appropriate, parody and satirise the hero’s journey: for example, the episode titled Homer's Odyssey (1990). The conceptual frame of the ancient epic and the idea of the hero’s quest are very common throughout the literature of many cultures. Students can compare and contrast representations, appropriations and allusions in a wide range of texts from print, film, media, multimedia and nonfiction. Picture books are also a rich source of stimulus for the exploration of themes related to the epic adventure. See also Hero/Heroine, Archetype. JM

PRACTICAL STRATEGY

∼ Take sections from The Odyssey (Book XI); The Aeneid (Book IV); and The Divine Comedy (Canto VI, lines 7-57). After comparing the hero’s journey in these texts, read Wilfred Owen’s “Strange Meeting” and identify the ways in which this poem appropriates and represents the idea of war as a journey into the Underworld. As visual stimulus, use the visionary English poet and artist, William Blake’s paintings (e.g. of Dante’s Inferno, Dante Running with the Three Beasts) and engravings representing and critiquing the work of the Ancient Greek poets. Students select compelling lines or sections of each printed text and interweave these to create a new ‘epic’. Visual representations may accompany this.

∼ There is a vast range of resource material online that covers themes of the epic hero and the hero’s journey.

∼ Students can participate in webquests that develop skills in writing, drawing analogies, representing, narrative structures and sequences that are non-linear; and the productive use of ICT. Participation also enhances understanding of myth, archetype, legend and epic.

∼ An interactive webquest that draws on elements of the epic is The Hero’s Journey: .

∼ Students can create their own mythical adventures and stories on this and similar sites such as, for example: