Mar
26

VCE English Outcome 3: Language Analysis

2 Comments

 I’m planning here to present through a series of posts the recorded course of activities and discussions that a Year 9 student and I pursued recently. The purpose was to advance the student’s skills in creating and composing poetry. The student immediately achieved excellent ideas and could beautifully describe them in writing, yet lacked an awareness of how such writing was received: she was unfamiliar with the structures, tones, forms and composition of successful poetry. This led us to examine the role and function of writing in its meta-literary relationship between the writer and the audience, which is very much the outcome tested in VCE Language Analysis.

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After an introductory session that included defining poetic techniques, comprehending and analysing poetry from the Romantics, and considering model analytical essays and poetry appreciation essays, the student immediately drafted her response to “Lockers” – see the following post.



Posted in Advanced Studies in English SEAL Programs for Year 9+ VCE English Tuition
2 Comments Posted by Uncle Gus

2 Responses to "VCE English Outcome 3: Language Analysis"

  • Tracychen321 says:
    April 1, 2011 at 8:21 pm

    “Lockers” by Erica Fryberg

    As our lives are plagued with plight and our hearts grow heavy to face it, there are moments when we wish these issues were forced aside for-evermore. Thus, the theme of the poem is this desire for utopia through the eyes of a straitened student. Erica Fryberg ingeniously constructs a parallel between a literal view of school lockers and the negativity that one wishes to banish in a metaphorical locker.

    The author commences by describing the storage spaces strewn with “tuckshop debris”. This initial standpoint is a more objective view addressing the stereotypical valley girl’s collection of items. Notwithstanding, it is emphasised that this chaos belongs to “other girls”, leading to the subsequent stanza related to the repository of the storyteller.

    The succeeding verse is a more personal perception of the narrators own locker. From the text, it can be assumed that the narrator is a lonesome individual who somewhat prefers private places. This is depicted through “I treasure private places” and “Loneliness, bitter ostracism”. Hence, the reader may interpret the personality of the character within the writing.

    Furthermore, amid the third stanza, the protagonist ponders more philosophical notions regarding academic demands. This is elaborated through “Tests, deadlines, homework… pressure”. The narrator imagines burying the issue in a “prison”; a place where the guilty and wrongdoing are held captive. This is the stage in which she begins to equate her repository to a chamber where she can banish poisoned roots of strife. Nonetheless, her predicaments are not only educational, but also social.

    The conclusion of the poem details the agonist’s despondent isolation. The line, “loneliness, bitter ostracism” is a clear indicator of this message. She dreams of locking away the tortures of high school hierarchy, which are illustrated by the first three lines.

    Throughout this witty work of literature, there is one principal theme: lockers and the action of locking. The audience is prompted of this link after each verse when a repeating motive is used. Utilizing a variety of verbs followed by “…the door and turn/lose the key”, Fryberg engages her readers and encourages them to recognize this association. In “Lockers”, Erica Fryberg effectively captures the common essence of isolation and the will of eradicating quandaries.

    • Uncle Gus says:
      April 13, 2011 at 11:24 am

      You’ve done wonderfully! We shall discuss your drafting tomorrow.

      Clearly you:
      – demonstrate a strong (and exceptional) understanding of the key ideas of the text
      – appreciate the structural principals of the poem with respect to order/sequence
      – describe metaphors and explain their meanings
      – recognise the intended purpose of the author, and the audience’s reaction
      – express yourself clearly, fluently, and brilliantly
      It’s a great essay.
      It’s not as strong a poetry analysis as you might wish (which is fine, because you haven’t been taught). Yet let me inform you: I spend a lot of time and effort with Year 12 students doing their Language Analysis for Outcome 3 trying to undo the lessons of bad learning. I have to convince many that it is the ideas they need to discuss in their analysis, instead of the techniques used by the writer to express those ideas. Of course you’re supposed to do both, but most students don’t know that the techniques are only used to express the ideas.
      Your essay isn’t always explicit about the poetic techniques used, and would benefit from more use of evidence. Yet I’d prefer to teach a student who immediately appreciates ideas any day! Your position in your reading comprehension is markedly different from (and superior to) that of many other students, because you realise the meta-literary relationships between author, audience and text.
      .

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