IB English HL Flashcards
Entrances and Exits
Antony and Cleopatra
To emphasise conflict
• Extravagant trains - symbolises power and leisure, no political advisors, servants only, flourish reserved for royalty, entrance of messenger ignored
•Language of Egypt - “Let Rome to Tiber melt,” fluid and sexual, “What sport tonight”
• Juxtaposed to Rome - official train, power, political officials only, polarity, lack of women present, grandeur of ceremonial exits and entrances reflects the genre
• Highlights the conflict of Antony’s dual identities which is reflective of the Renaissance
Functional Purposes
• Telescoping - removes unnecessary, uninteresting action
• Messenger (Act 2, Scene 5) - “the most infectious pestilence upon thee!” “strikes him again…she hales him up and down…draws a knife.” jealousy?
• Grandeur in Octavius’s exit “In solemn show attend this funeral”
Entrances and Exits
A Streetcar Named Desire
To emphasise conflict
• Stanley and Mitch’s entrance: Blue overalls - working class, strong colours, modernity, New South,
• “Catch meat” - imperative exclamation, traditional family role, prehistoric man, instinctive, duality?
• Blanche’s entrance: “Incongruous to the setting” - outsider status, polar/foil to Stanley, “Moth” - vulnerable, sense of doom, foreshadowing, desire, “White suit..white gloves and hat” - innocence, purity, ghost like quality, wealth, luxury, Old South, conflict that drives the play
Functional Purpose
• “Unseen by the women” - progresses the plot, creates tension, dramatic irony, added motivation, symbolically represents Blanche’s invasion into Stanley’s home, unexpressed verbally
•“He acts like an animal” - “licking his lips” “turns stealthily” - animalistic qualities, dramatic irony, instincts, danger, fear, link to final rape scene: “tiger,” shadows “ grotesque and menacing…sinuously as flames.” - moth irony
Visual Action
A Streetcar Named Desire
To emphasise conflict
To emphasise conflict
• Stanley and Mitch’s entrance: Blue overalls - working class, strong colours, modernity, New South,
• “Catch meat” - imperative exclamation, traditional family role, prehistoric man, instinctive, duality?
• Blanche’s entrance: “Incongruous to the setting” - outsider status, polar/foil to Stanley, “Moth” - vulnerable, sense of doom, foreshadowing, desire, “White suit. White gloves and hat” - innocence, purity, ghost like quality, wealth, luxury, Old South, conflict that drives the play
The importance of speech vs visual action
• Scene Two: “Not the type that goes for jasmine perfume” - reveals character attitudes and motives, bigoted view “Maybe he’s what we need to mix without blood” - adaptability/survival.
• “Pink silk brassiere” - Scene 3 - manipulation of appearance
• “Unseen by the women” - progresses the plot, createst tension, dramatic irony, added motivation, symbolically represents Blanche’s invasion into Stanley’s home, unexpressed verbally
• “He acts like an animal” - “licking his lips” “turns stealthily” - animalistic qualities, dramatic irony, instincts, danger, fear, link to final rape scene: “tiger,” shadows “ grotesque and menacing…sinuously as flames.” - moth irony
Visual Action (Waiting for Godot)
To emphasise theme of circularity
• Exercising, dancing, role playing,
• “Nothing can be done” - nihilism, WW2
• Exchange of hats - repetitive nature of life
• Mimics structure - “as before” “do not move”
The importance of speech vs action
• Cycle of “adieus”
• Characterisation through action of V and E - putting on boots, peering in hat, same conversations, failure to change
• Uncertainty of language - WW2 propaganda
Resolution
Importance of Being Earnest
Resolution of central conflict:
• Ending is ridiculous and absurd in its complexity yet it pulls everything together and offers a satisfactory conclusion to the audience who experience catharsis. In accordance to genre of Comedy of Manners
• Conflict of Class presented from the beginning e.g Lady Bracknell’s interrogation “To lose two parents suggests carelessness,”“Alliance with a parcel”
• By ending, this has been resolved, moment of comedic irony, jovial atmosphere, “Acquires some relations
Bag = symbol for scandal eventually returns, “At last” (embrace)
Character Development
• Character arc visible through the character of Jack.
Algernon’s superior repartee and visual action (“at once interferes” and cigarette case) in addition to Gwendolen (may I propose now, restrained from semi recumbent position”)
• Foil of hero archetype, (“gorgon”) yet by end of the play stands up to Lady Bracknell and states “I’ve now realized for the first time in my life the vital importance of being earnest.” Recognises faults and wants to change? “Sure to change”?
• More likely ironic and highlights superficial nature of Victorian society, how high moral standards leads to creation of moral outlets
Conflict
A Streetcar Named Desire
Conflict between New South and Old South
• Blue overalls - working class, strong colours, modernity, New South,
• “Catch meat” - imperative exclamation, traditional family role, prehistoric man, instinctive, duality?
• Blanche’s entrance: “Incongruous to the setting” - outsider status, polar/foil to Stanley “compactly built”
• “Moth” - vulnerable, sense of doom, foreshadowing, desire, sympathy
• “White suit…white gloves and hat” - innocence, purity, ghost like quality, wealth, luxury, Old South, Southern Belle, conflict that drives the play,
The role of death
• Symbolically drinks alcohol - self destructive nature
• Flower seller
• Desire = destructive (Alan’s death)
• Link to final rape scene: “tiger,” shadows “ grotesque and menacing…sinuously as flames.” - moth irony
Conflict
Antony and Cleopatra
Conflict between East and West
Extravagant trains - symbolises power and leisure, no political advisors, servants only
Language of Egypt - “Let Rome to Tiber melt,” fluid and sexual
Ignored entrance of messenger, flourish, reserved for royalty
Official train - symbolises power, political officials only, polarity, lack of women present, flourish
Conflict of honour - seen throughout the play e.g. Pompey on ship, Octavia and Octavius, Dressed like a “market-maid” - ties ideas of power with appearance and reflects Elizabethan ideals
Conflict of gender roles - Queen Elizabeth
The role of death • "Immortal longings," pharaohs • Internal conflict, awe vs fear • "kills and pains not" • Desire to triumph over Romans through death
Resolution
Waiting for Godot
Lack of resolution of central conflict:
• Ending is foreshadowed in end of Act 1 (as before) and they say they should “go” but “do not move”
• Theme of circularity and repetition - pair is unable to break from their life of habit
• Theme of absurdity linked to repetition - Hat scene represents repetitive nature of their own lives
• Our expectation that Godot will come is absurdy and real life is rarely so accommodating
• Wilde’s bizarre coincidence links to idea of ridiculing traditional theatrical conventions and all the immoral characters being rewarded represents the corrupt nature of Victorian society
Lack of Character Development
• Vladimir = intellectual (peering inside hat), Estragon = earth (boots) represents whole human race. Therefore their failure to change (Vladimir peers inside hat at end) conveys bleak message about dangerous reliance on higher powers
• “I resumed the struggle” = Vladimir’s existence= audience’s experience of play
• V and E’s hope “Tomorrow everything will be better”, “leaves” mirrors our own yet nothing happens
• Resolution is not meant to be clear since play is a lesson about realities of the absurdity of life and how we can only rely on ourselves to make change
Underdogs
A Streetcar Named Desire
Blanche as weak and vulnerable:
• “Fluffy wide bodice,” juxtaposes “denim work clothes” of Stanley and Mitch
• “Incongruous to the setting” - outsider status, polar/foil to Stanley
• “Moth” - vulnerable, sense of doom, underdog, foreshadowing desire
• “White suit..white gloves and hat” - innocence, purity, ghost like quality, wealth, luxury, Old South, conflict that drives the play
• “The loss… the loss” of Belle Revy =sympathy for Old South despite Blanches destructive nature and unpleasantness e.g. Complicit in own demise, alcoholism, kisses the Young Collector, condescending attitude - “polack” “barbarian”
• Represents Old South = too greedy = downfall
• I need kindness now (3)-> I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers
Stanley as an underdog
• The oppressed worker where Blanche consequently represents the malicious, wealthy elite.
• Scene four - Stanley’s prescene unknown, dramatic irony, tension, Blanche urges Stella to leave Stanley, visually represent Stanley’s viewpoint
• Symbolically drinks Stanley’s alcohol in the first scene, occupies Stella when she would be usually making Stanley dinner and frequently insults him which leads to Stella making her own criticisms of Stanley.
“Pig.” Stanley is normally “king” of traditional structure.
• Stanley emerges victorious, reflecting the industrial New South’s overtaking of the agricultural Old South.
Social Message
Importance of Being Earnest
Jack
Social Message
A Streetcar Named Desire
New South
Multiculturalism
Homosexuality
Antony and Cleopatra Context
- The struggle between emotion and reason reflected the intellectual questioning of belief during the Renaissance
- Honour debate reflective of feudal values in Europe
- Depiction of the East based on discovery of New Worlds in need of “taming”
- Cleopatra’s power reflects the power of Queen Elizabeth although her strength and power is attributed to her use of logic and reason in defeating the Armada
The Importance of Being Earnest Context
- Victorian society had incredibly high and constraining moral standards which were impossible and unnatural. This led to an obsession with style and appearance over substance as reflected in play’s false identities
- Victorian Double standards: pornography, criminality
- Marriage viewed as a material exchange or commodity that was a method of gaining wealth or status rather than consolidating love.
Waiting for Godot Context
- After World Wars, faith became questioned leading to the idea that everyone is alone and helpless in a meaningless world
- Society is always needed
- WW1 and 2 Propaganda highlighted the abuse and uncertainty of language and miscommunication
Comedy
Godot and Earnest
