MISSING CA1 COMPONENTS

Hi all

This post is meant as a reminder to all parties who owe me pieces of work for CA1. I need 2 different sets of marks to key into Cockpit for CA1 but unfortunately some people have not handed in a single piece of work.

The guilty parties have forced my hand as I believe that I have been very lenient as far as late submissions are concerned. Thus, I am now issuing this

ULTIMATUM:

Hand in the missing pieces by

12 midnight TOMORROW

(Sunday, 17 May)

or I WILL key in ZERO marks for your CA1 components and your SA1 marks will suffer terribly as a result.

Please be reminded that after this Sunday's deadline, I will no longer entertain any other submission.

I must state for the record that I am thoroughly disappointed with those who have nonchalantly ignored my sms reminders and also particularly annoyed that I have to spend my pre-natal leave chasing after you for your work.

The following students are responsible for their own CA1 component marks which currently stand at ZERO:

4BN

1. Ang Shi Chun Jennifer

2. Eng Sing Joo Laura

3. Kelly Chong Wen Ting (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

4. Chua Eng Loo Marc (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

4GR

1. Clara Poon Jiaqi (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

2. Ko Yi Fan (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

3. Maryann Chua Pei Wen (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

4. Seng Xin Yi Samantha (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

5. Sherri Lee Singh

6. Sim Si Yi Jacqueline (1 set of marks from Essay 1, Essay 4 to be re-done)

7. Su Yanyun

8. Tan Honghui Ann (1 set of marks from Essay 3)

9. Tay Xue Yi (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

10. Teo Qiu Han Chrystal (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

11. Toh Ann Gie (I only have one set of marks from Essay 1)

12. Wee Kim Mui Alicia (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

13. Yang Zhenting Kristal (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

14. Cheng Jun Ryan

15. Colin Kong Xiang Xi

16. Tan Jie Sheng Marcus

17. Teo Qi Xian

18. Yap Jia Hao Charles

4MD

1. Ang Kai Zhen Teresa (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

2. Chew Jialing Karyn

3. Fiona Teh Yong Wei (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

4. Tan Si Ying Dawn

5. Wong Yu Wen Christina (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

6. Wu Yi (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

7. Yang Rong (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

4RP

1. Allan Lim Tung Loong (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

2. Chua Boon Hee (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

3. Lian Jia Jing (1 set of marks from Essay 1)

For the lost and confused, ONLY the following are the essay questions that can be used to compute the CA1 components.

Any other pieces of work that you have done is solely for practice and will not be used for computation of CA1 marks (Thanks Charles, for clarifying!)

I will only need 2 components for MSND.

If you have handed in one, you owe me another.

For those whose names appear in RED, you urgently owe me two pieces, for now.

Essay 1: “The course of true love never did run smooth”. Show how this is true for all the lovers in the play.

Essay 2: Select either Hermia or Helena and show how far you feel sympathy for her regarding the problems she faces during the entire course of the play.

Essay 3: "A play that is all about fairies". Refer closely to the text to indicate how far it is true that the play is 'all about fairies' and what you have learnt from the play about human nature.

Essay 4: "Shakespeare wants us to smile kindly at the craftsmen, and not scorn them." Do you agree?

COMPLETE YOUR WORK AND HAND IT IN

ESSAY WRITING TIPS

STATEMENT --> EVEIDENCE/EXAMPLES --> ELABORATION

The most common way of responding to literature is through an essay in which you may be asked to 'Discuss...','Compare...','Give a personal response...' etc.

Essays like this are called literary criticism, and you need to be able to analyse the text and justify and personalize your response. There are certain basic techniques for writing in this way.

Techniques of Literary Criticism

(i) Answer the question with a statement

(ii) Support your answer with evidence.

(iii) Elaborate or explicate your statement

(i). Answer the question

Imagine you were asked one of these typical questions:
• Comment on the role of X in helping the audience understand the play.
• Compare and contrast the characters X and Y.

In order to answer the question successfully you need to be absolutely clear about what you are being asked to do. The question will definitely not ask you to retell the storyline. This is the biggest mistake students make - retelling the storyline rather than answering the question.

1. Start by underlining or writing out key words from the questions, and then make notes; plan your essay. In your notes you should be writing down the key points you will make in your essay.
2. Write in substantial paragraphs, usually two, three or four to a side of A4. •
3. Use an introduction if you need to define the title, or explain your approach to the questions. Otherwise, dive straight into your first point.
4. Use cohesive devises to add variety and clarity to your writing: however, although, therefore, then, at first, later...and so on.
5. Show that you are answering the question by echoing its phrasing at the start of a new paragraph. (Linking back to the demands of the question)
6. Avoid sounding like you are having a chat with your best friend

(ii) Support your answer with evidence

1. Select and mention the most relevant evidence to subtantiate your point first. Leave the less substantial evidence or example to the end of your paragraph / argument.
2. Evidence chosen must show clearly how it supports the stand that you are trying to make.
3. Evidence must support your statement and answer the requirements of the question.

(iii) Elaborate or explicate your statement

1. One of the most important techniques when writing literature essays is to use quotations to support your ideas. There are two ways of using quotations:

• Place long quotations (more than one sentence) in a separate paragraph
• Embed short quotations into your own sentences.

Finally there is no substitute for detailed knowledge and understanding of the text. Students who demonstrate they are extremely familiar with the characters, action and background of a text generally score better in the exams.

Take time to reread each book, play or poem studied.

CRITICAL ESSAY: THREE WORLDS IN AMSND

Introduction
A Midsummer night’s Dream is a romantic comedy play. This play was written in the 1590s by William Shakespeare. The play consists of two pairs of lovers who run away into the wood on a midsummer’s night. While sleeping in the wood the king of the fairies, Oberon tells his servant Puck to drop flower drops onto the eyes of Lysander and Demetrius. This causes confusion because both men fall in love with Helena. Also in the wood a group of workers are rehearsing a play for the wedding of Duke Theseus. Because Oberon’s wife won’t give him an Indian boy, he turns Bottom’s head into an ass’s head and makes his wife fall in love with him for revenge and amusement. In the end all the problems are worked out. The lovers are reunited and the mechanicals perform their play at the wedding ceremony. In this play Shakespeare creates three distinct worlds on the stage: the world of the court, the world of the mechanicals and the world of the fairies. He creates these worlds through his choice of language, settings and the characters themselves.


The World of the Court
In the world of the court we are introduced to some of the main characters and themes of love and enchantment. The people in this scene are upper class. The very first scene of the play is set in the palace of Duke Theseus, The Duke of Athens. Preparations are going underway for the Duke’s wedding. He is going to marry Hyppolita in four days. He can’t wait to marry her as the text shows: “Methinks how slow this old moon wanes.” (L3). The mood soon changes when Egeus arrives, bringing with him his daughter Hermia and her two suitors, Lysander and Demetrius. Egeus wants Hermia to marry Demetrius. If she disobeys him then he will have her killed. Hermia does not want to marry Demetrius as she is in love with Lysander. Theseus tries to persuade Hermia to marry Demetrius: “Demetrius is a worthy gentleman.” (L52). He also gives a third option to become a nun. They argue and she sticks up for herself. In the days when this play was written, it was against the law for daughters to disobey their farther, so Hermia keeps on refusing to marry Demetrius. Every one leaves except Lysander and Hermia. They plan to run away across the forest the following night to one of Lysander’s aunts. Helena enters the scene. Helena loves Demetrius but Demetrius does not love Helena. Hermia and Lysander confide their plan to Helena. In this scene Shakespeare presents the world of the court to the audience. He does this in a variety of ways. The main characters of Act 1 Scene 1 are wealthy as we get the impression of importance, power, and sophisticated when we read Act 1 Scene 1. Several points show us this. The names of the characters are all formal, elegant and serious. Theseus is a duke who is marrying a queen, which means that they must be aristocratic. Theseus gives orders and commands: “Go, Philostrate” (L12) He is also obeyed. The attendants call Theseus “My noble lord” (L24) and “My gracious duke” (L26). Another way Shakespeare presents the world of the court is in the language he gives his characters. They all speak Standard English. We know that these characters are upper class because Shakespeare always wrote their scripts in blank verse which is decasyllabic which means that each line has 10 syllables. This text is also written in an Iambic pentameters format which means the rhythm is unstressed followed by stressed syllables. Lines 1 - 10 are written in blank verse and Iambic pentameters format: Now, fair Hyppolita, our nuptial hour Draws on apace: four happy days bring in the end words of each line in this verse rhyme with the end word of the following line, which in this case is “mind” and “blind”. This is called rhyming couplets and suggests that the characters have been well educated. The language is formal and stately. Another way that tells us that the characters have been well educated is the way Lysander refers to Greek mythology: “I swear to thee by cupid’s strongest bow” (L169). Lysander uses the language of Elizabethan love poetry when he says to Hermia: How now, my love? Why is your cheek so pale? How chance the roses there do fade so fast? in Shakespeare’s time poets often compared their lover’s faces to roses and cherries.


The World of the Mechanicals
In Act 1 Scene 2 we are introduced to the world of the Mechanicals. This scene is set in Peter Quince’s abode (house) in Athens. A group of men have got together. They are all working class. They are going over which parts they are going to play in a performance “Pyramus and Thisby.” This play is going to be performed at the Duke’s wedding. A character called Nick Bottom wants to play all the characters parts because he thinks he is better than everyone else. The scene ends where they decide to meet in the wood the following night, where they will secretly rehearse. In this scene Shakespeare presents the world of the mechanicals to the audience. He does this in a variety of ways. All of the characters in this scene are working class. Therefore all of the characters have jobs. Their names are comical and also associated with their jobs. Peter Quince is a carpenter. “Quince” is similar to “quine” which is a wooden wedge. Nick Bottom is a weaver. Weavers unwind thread from a “bottom.” Francis Flute is a bellows mender. A “flute” is a pipe on a bellows powered organ. Tom Snout is a tinker. “Snout” is similar to “spout” – a part of a kettle. Snug is a Joiner. Joints are usually referred to as “snuggerly tight.” Robin Starvling is a tailor and they are traditionally undernourished. Peter Quince is in charge of the performance probably because he is more sensible and a little more educated than the other workers. Bottom is going to play Pyramus in the play. Flute is playing Thisby. Snout plays Pyramus’ farther. Snug plays the lions part and isn’t very bright: “for I am slow of study.” (L60). Starvling plays Thisby’s mother. In Shakespeare’s time women’s parts where played by men as women where not allowed to act. Some of the comical aspects of the play come from this scene, especially Bottom, who is arrogant, disruptive and child like. He has self importance; He is easily flattered and gullible when he is told that he has to play that part because it is important and no one else can do it. Despite his immature behaviour he has enthusiasm for acting, advising and encouraging. The craftsmen are naive because they are convinced that that the audience will not be able to tell the difference between a real lion and Snug in a costume. The craftsmen reveal vulgarity. They talk about French crowns which refer to gold coins but also refer to baldness caused by so called French disease “syphilis” which would be considered rude in the day the play was written. This can be found in line 85: “Some of your French crowns have no hair at all.” The language of scene 2 is al lot different from scene 1. They do not speak in blank verse; instead they speak in prose, which has no rhythm and Shakespeare always writes lower class characters in prose. The characters try to use educated language but they get it wrong and it sounds silly. This is called a malapropism, like in line 95: “We will meet and there we may rehearse most obscenely” instead of saying “obscurely.” Another example of a malapropism is on lines 71-72: But I will aggravate my voice so, that I will roar as gently as any sucking dove. instead of saying “aggravate” they should of said “moderate.” Characters also use colloquial expressions like “Nay” in line 40. A colloquial expression is a slang word. If I was presenting this scene on stage I would set it outside in a market place of the town. The back drops and flaps would have images of ancient Greek buildings which would help to set the scene of that day. I would also have some stalls set out on stage where actors can buy or sell pottery or food. I would have the characters wearing old clothing, not very colourful and unwashed. This gives the impression of working class. They could also wear cheap jewellery and beads. The male characters would have long hair to suggest that they can’t afford a hair cut. I would have a background noise of people chatting because it will not be quiet in the centre of a town. The scene will be bright because it is set outside.


The world of the Fairies
The setting of this scene is in the woods outside of Athens. Here we encounter the character of Puck, a mischievous spirit who has the power to cast spells and to fly at lightening speed, also known as Robin Goodfellow. Puck speaks with one of the enchanted forest's fairies before their king, Oberon and their queen, Titania arrive in the middle of an argument about an Indian boy which Titania has taken but Oberon wants. She refuses to give the boy to her husband, and when she departs with her train of woodland fairies, Oberon devises a scheme to punish her through a joke. He instructs Puck to obtain a magic flower extract, which he will then apply to Titania's eyes as she sleeps. This particular ointment has the power to make Titania (or anyone else) fall in love with the first warm-bloodied creature they see upon awakening. While Puck goes on this task, Demetrius enters, followed by the lovesick Helena. After watching Demetrius cruelly reject Helena, Oberon tells the returned Puck to use some of the same love potion on Demetrious and to arrange for Helena to be the first thing he sees and falls madly in love with. In this scene Shakespeare presents the world of the fairies to the audience. He does this in several ways. We know that some of the characters in this scene are fairies because of the way Puck talks to one of the enchanted fairies. They greet each other with, “How now, spirit!” They also discuss things like, “Make the flowers sparkle.” And “Creep into acorn cups.” Puck is also known to be mischievous, evidence of this is that he frightens people in the village and he makes humans lose their way when walking through the wood. Another way Shakespeare presents the world of the fairies is in the language he gives his characters. Fairies make use of rhyme when chanting spells and charms. Short-lined passages are rhymed creating a song like quality, like in lines 2 - 5: Over hill, over dale, Through bush, through briar, Over park, over pale, Through flood through fire. like in Act 1 Scene 1, some of the text is written in blank verse and in an iambic pentameters style: These are forgeries of jealousy; And never, since the middle summer’s spring, The poetic language is out of place in the mouths of humans. Titania creates a vivid impression of the countryside. She personifies the wind, rivers, seasons and moon which suggest her supernatural intimacy with the forces of nature.

CRITICAL ESSAY: ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND'S FAIRIES

Hi all, here is a critical essay that may enlighten some of you as to how Shakespeare's fairies came about...

One of the most noticeable and entertaining elements of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream is the presence of the fairies. Titania, Oberon, Puck, and the attendant fairies all affect the human beings in the woods, and provide glimpses into the fairy realm. Although Shakespeare applies several important aspects of the Elizabethan belief in fairies to A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare alters the conception of fairies not only within the context of the play, but for all time.

Fairies in Elizabethan England were of the same basic size and shape as humans. People were often mistaken for fairies because the size of a fairy was thought to be that of a short human, so there would be no noticeable difference in physical size. Since Elizabethan fairies looked like humans, they, of course, did not have wings. Elizabethan folk also thought that fairies were beautiful and of dark complexion, which reflected their association with wickedness. They often dressed in green due to their association with nature. Shakespeare, who was of course familiar with these ideas of fairies, presents the fairies of A Midsummer Night's Dream as beautiful and associated with nature, but this is where the physical similarities to Elizabethan folk beliefs ends. In the play, Shakespeare describes his fairies as tiny creatures with wings, and this is the first time in literature that fairies are described in this manner. It is not the last, as the poets and playwrights of his time adopted Shakespeare's diminutive description of fairies.

Shakespeare also alters the Elizabethan conception of the identity and behavior of fairies. One of the most striking aspects of Elizabethan fairy behavior was that fairies were linked closely with the home and the farm. Elizabethan fairies loved cleanliness enough to reward humans for keeping their homes clear of dirt and clutter, and they often punished messy people. They also needed humans for beef, bread, drink, and bath water, which people, fearful of fairy wrath, willingly supplied. What fairies wanted most, however, was milk and cream. Because of this, fairies were often associated with the dairy industry, and were frequently possessed herds of cattle because of their fondness for dairy.

Fairy reward and retribution was often swift and significant because of their wickedness. The Elizabethans thought that fairies either were fallen angels, the souls of dead humans, or beings without souls that existed between Heaven and Hell. Because of this supernatural status, fairies had magical powers that they put to use for their own benefit. When humans followed fairy dictates, fairies were known to cure diseases, bring an abundance of food (including fairy bread, which was considered to be nearly divine), clean houses, protect, bring fortune, and tell the future. However, the foolish mortals who did not appease the fairies could suffer a variety of punishments. The most popular fairy punishment was pinching, which often left victims with blue bruises all over their bodies. Fairies were also known to create changelings (babies who were born one gender and changed to the other), to abduct both children and adults, blight crops, destroy livestock, and bring disease. The "commoners" of the Elizabethan period were afraid of fairies and tried to appease them. This representation of fairies as malicious beings is quite different from A Midsummer Night's Dream, where fairies are harmless sprites who may play tricks on humans, but eventually help them without being bribed to do so. Titania cares for the Indian boy out of love for her late votress, and Oberon orders Puck to resolve the Athenians' love situation without any kind of reward. Both rulers even bless the bridal beds at the end of the play. This beneficence is a far cry from the fear-inspiring fairies to which Shakespeare's Elizabethan audiences were accustomed.

One aspect of fairies that Shakespeare left intact was their enjoyments. Shakespeare's fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream enjoy dancing and music, which was the favorite pastime of the fairies of Elizabethan folklore. Fairies were thought to dance in fairy circles, which humans were forbidden to see. Any person spying on fairy circles would be punished by pinching.

Shakespeare's correlation of fairies to night is also consistent with the folklore of his time.
Although the fairy "hours" were midnight and fairies were occasionally known to work magic in the day, the main time for fairies was night. Fairies were also active in the summer, and not known to appear after All Hallows' Eve (Halloween). Shakespeare is consistent with this idea of "fairy time" in the play.

Shakespeare departs again from the Elizabethan conception of fairies, however, when it comes to the characterizations of his fairies. While the idea of Oberon as the fairy king was familiar to the Elizabethans, the name of Titania for the fairy queen was not. Titania's name was probably taken from Ovid's Metamorphosis, which describes the fairy queen in a similar vein to the moon goddess Diana. Despite this difference, Titania's train is consistent with the folklore—her time is from midnight to sunrise, she and her fairies sing and dance, she has jewels, and she has possession of a changeling. Shakespeare does add flowers to Titania's image, which had not been previously associated with fairies.

Oberon's character in the play appears to be consistent with the folklore in the beginning, but changes significantly by the end of the play. When Oberon and Titania meet, Oberon's anger over Titania's refusal to give him the Indian boy has caused Oberon to take his frustrations out on the weather and on the humans around him. He also wants to use the love juice in order to make Helena run away from Demetrius. This lack of regard for mortals is exactly what the Elizabethans would have expected from the fairy king. By the end of the play, however, Oberon orders Puck to cure Lysander while leaving Demetrius under the love spell. Oberon has changed from the stereotypical fairy into a benevolent one for no reason other than to avoid any further conflict.

Another difference in the depiction of fairy characters is Robin Goodfellow, or Puck. Robin Goodfellow was a familiar figure to the Elizabethans. His laugh, sense of humor, and reputation as a prankster made him a popular folk character. He was not, however, a fairy, because his tricks were never fatal. Only practical jokes and humorous accidents were attributed to him. Robin Goodfellow was also a spirit of the home, and was often depicted with a candle and a broom because he loved to clean houses as a reward for bread and cream. (This is the reason why he is shown with a broom at the end of the play). While Shakespeare maintains Robin Goodfellow's mischievous personality, he completely changes some significant facets of his character. As mentioned previously, Robin Goodfellow was not a fairy. Shakespeare not only makes him a fairy in A Midsummer Night's Dream, but he also makes him Oberon's jester and servant. The change of Robin Goodfellow's name to Puck is also significant. A "puck" is a devil, not a joker, which directly contrasts Robin Goodfellow's character not only in Elizabethan folklore but in the play as well. Robin has no interest in the humans in the play other than for sport, and he has no association with the home save for carrying the broom. Although A Midsummer Night's Dream marks Robin Goodfellow's first appearance on the English stage, only his sense of humor and prankish nature remain from the famous figure of Elizabethan folklore.

Shakespeare, then, transforms the whole conception of "fairy" from wicked tricksters to harmless "shadows." Robin highlights this transformation in the epilogue to the play:
If we shadows have offended,Think but this, and all is mended.That you have but slumb'red hereWhile these visions did appear.And this weak and idle theme,No more yielding but a dream (V, i, ll. 412-417).

For the first time, fairies are no longer to be feared but dismissed as nothing more than a dream. Because of the beauty of the fairy imagery and the immense popularity of both Shakespeare and the play, Shakespeare's literary contemporaries perpetuated his descriptions of fairies given in A Midsummer Night's Dream. The fact that we now see fairies as tiny, harmless creatures with wings and magical powers that live in the woods is due to this play. Although Shakespeare gives prominence to the Elizabethan folk belief of fairies by highlighting them in the play, he changes the popular idea of fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream from wicked spirits to shadows and dreams, a transformation which lasts to this day.