Writing Across Cultures

Dylan Thomas' lyrical radio drama revolves around one day in the life of the citizens of a small Welsh fishing village Llareggub ('bugger all' spelled backwards). We start with the villagers dreaming, then as they wake follow them here and there throughout the day until nightfall. See the previous post for details about Dylan Thomas.

William Butler Yeats (Irish) The Second Coming The Lake Isle of Innisfree The Stolen Child When You Are Old Dylan Thomas (Welsh) Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night In My Craft or Sullen Art And Death Shall Have No Dominion Fern Hill D.H. Lawrence (English) The Snake Whales Weep Not and Whales Weep Not (Leonard Nimoy) Piano and another version to compare readings ( The Piano ) The Ship of Death

Let's take a look at 15 contemporary (or mostly contemporary) poets from Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Those of you most inspired may get ideas for your own poems or writing from these. As you read today, keep your notebook nearby and jot down ideas as they come to you. Eavan Boland Seamus Heaney Eileen Carney Hulme Patrick Kavanagh Spike Milligan Paul Muldoon Lewis MacNeice Carol Ann Duffy Marriott Edgar Roddy Lumsden Edwin Muir Roald Dahl Arthur Symons Edward Thomas R. S. Thomas

After your test on The Invisible Man & The War of the Worlds , please continue watching Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (based on Daphne du Maurier's novel of the same name.) On Friday, you will continue and complete your viewing of Rebecca . Information about the author, Hitchcock, and E.M. Forester can be found below. Information for Maurice, The Edwardian Age You may use this information to help you understand the morality of the times, as well as for your own fiction set in an Edwardian society. HOMEWORK: Please read the novel Maurice .

Without plot, we do not have a story. A plot is a plan or groundwork of human motivations, with the actions resulting from believable and realistic human responses. In simple terms, plot deals with CAUSE and EFFECT. E.M. Forester : “The king died, and then the queen died.” To have a good plot, a sequence of events must include motivation which is based on reaction to action. “The king died, and then the queen died of grief.” Events and time in a story are not important in and of themselves but because one thing happens because of another thing (i.e. cause and effect). Conflict is the essential element of plot because this is where human responses are brought out to their highest degree. Once two (or more) forces are in opposition, there is doubt about the outcome, thus producing tension and suspense as well. Today, after all this, and a period reading, let's begin "Rebecca" by Daphne Du Maurier. Here's some info. Daphne Du Maurier Alfred Hitchcock

The Victorians - Brief Background Victorian Age (1830-1901) England Expands! 1. London becomes most influential city in Europe (population rose from 2 million in 1830 to 6.5 million by 1901) – England becomes an urban based economy 2. Inventions galore make England wealthy and culturally advanced! a. Steam power b. Fast railways c. Iron ships, first motor cars d. Improved printing presses, typewriters e. Telegraph, intercontinental cable f. Photography, phonographs g. Universal compulsory education 3. Problems rose from “culture shock” as technology alienates people a. Science fights with religion (Darwin, Freud vs. church) b. People suffered from a sense of lost innocence Early Victorian period (1830-1848) 1. The passing of a reform bill allows the middle and lower classes to vote. 2. By 1840, widespread unemployment and appalling work conditions, child labor, and overcrowding create a “Time of Troubles” and a severe depression. Twain begins publishing. Middle V

At the end of the Victorian period, England had some rather stuffy notions about humanity and social behavior. They were dealing with the weakening and collapse of their world power (as America gains foothold). Fear from outsiders and strangers are evident in latter Victorian literature. War of the Worlds & Dracula both exemplify this idea. Wells' intention in The Invisible Man was to experiment with the limits to which a person might go if he/she were released from the bonds of social restriction. It is an ethical book, stressing ethical questions. Will science corrupt us? What does society do to ensure safety for its members? How does the outsider to a community cause trouble with the group? Wells attended the Normal School of Science in London where he gained a romantic conception of science, which is subsequently reflected in his writing. His books are not so much "true" or "hard science" but speculative ("What if...?") The Time Machine

There's no easy way to boil down over a hundred years of British films, directors, and entertainment. Instead, I'll pull a few bits and pieces together that you may find interesting. Alfred Hitchcock: before he emigrated to America, Hitchcock cut his teeth in several well directed British suspense and mystery films. Here are a few clips of his best. The Man Who Knew Too Much (the entire film) The 39 Steps (1935) The entire film: The 39 Steps http://www.hulu.com/watch/63050/ the-lady-vanishes (1948) (the entire film) Shlocky Horror in Hammer Studios through the 1950-1970's (most starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee): The Horror of Dracula (1957) The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) The Mummy (1959) The Gorgon (1964) The Plague of the Zombies (1966) And many more, here's a tribute . James Bond: 007. Before there was Austin Powers, there was the man himself, 007. Based on Ian Fleming's spy thrillers, Sean Connery was perhaps the most popular

Deconstruction is a term that French philosopher Jacques Derrida introduced in 1966. It is a controversial school of literary criticism. Initially considered elitist, nihilistic, and subversive of humanistic ideals, deconstruction has been much debated in academe and has gained more widespread acceptance, although it still remains, to an extent, a radical way of analyzing texts. Deconstruction theory embraces the precept that meaning is always uncertain. It is not the task of the literary critic to illuminate meaning in a given work. Derrida began with Saussure's ideas of the signified and the signifier . This idea is rampant in a field called semiotics. Saussure is important to the field of Semiotics. How deconstruction works: An idea (the signified) is represented by a sign (the signifier. for example, a word), but the sign can never be exactly the same as the idea. The word LOVE can approach the idea of LOVE, but it isn't exact. The word or signifier LOVE may not