How to study lear (1 Viewer)

[arpit]

Hi, we studied lear in class, but our teacher was extrememly vague about the whole thing. He basically gave out some notes, got us to read through the play in class, then made us watch peter brooke's production, as well as another one. WHat I'm confused about is how to study the text. What is the BOS looking for when they set their questions? Ive seen all sorts of questions , mainly to do with interpretations of the play, but also to do with ideas in the play. How well do I need to know each ? Will i need to refer to different prooductions in the exam?
thanks

 

[da_butterfree]

hey i m in the same boat as u are..
our teacher did the same thing..
i guess we need to know the different readings (marxist, feminist, etc)
and relate it to the different interpretations of the text..

btw, what school do u go to?

 

[da_butterfree]

i am in the same boat as you are.. our teacher did the same thing.. thats why, i've practically done some stuff by myself.
i guess u need to know the different readings (feminist, marxist, nihilistic,etc) and then relate them to the actualy play and other productions. then using all this as evidence, answerng the question.

btw, what school do u go to.

 

[Horsegal98]

You DEFINATELY need to refer to at least three texts/readings and perhaps even refer to about 5. They could include films, essays, and theatrical productions.

-Mel

 

[chuckles]

Yeh my teacher did nothing on Lear except give us piles of notes, but didn't really explain anything to us. I guess just know the different readings, or at least that's my plan because my teacher is so hopeless! He means well I suppose, but he spends too much time rambling and is such a pushover so we're never really made to do any work... and we moved through Lear so quickly I don't even remember it and we only finished 3 weeks ago!!

 

[silvermoon]

apparently the important things are:
- context
- values
- readings
- textual integrity

they're interested in what sort of ideas u can extract from different productions, so be sure 2 mention as many techniques and how they link 2 meaning as often as u can.

3 productions is enough.

remember, is not always an essay though - sometimes is conversation etc, so really depends on q.
however, shakespeare isnt the only text in this module, so under the new syllabus they need questions which are easily comparable across all texts within the module - therefore, u wont get any very specific questions such as explainging the representation of a particular value.

 

[!!belle!!]

is there any good notes on textual integirty values and other performances on this site?

 

[angelduck]

Ahhhhhhhhh

Thank god for the changed syllabus, now i dont need to know specific values, thankyou BOS!!!

Thats the smartest thing they ever did!

 

[silvermoon]

Ahhhhhhhhh

Thank god for the changed syllabus, now i dont need to know specific values, thankyou BOS!!!

Thats the smartest thing they ever did!

didnt stop english fac settin us specific values question 4 our assessment tho, did it ange? god that sucked!

 

[classics_chic]

Well I did it another way, which makes it tough to begin with but easier to study. We had to make up our own production based on interpretations in the play (e.g. feminist, Elizabethan, psychoanalytical, family psychological drama...). It is more work, but you understand the text better (although the rainforest my teacher gave me scared me a little). Look at the way the productions display certain values- I'd have 3-4, to be safe- and be able to quote the play (i.e., the written play), explain it, and show how certain aspects of the production show those values. But don't go overboard with explaining the production! If you do that you can seriously lose marks!

Good luck!

 

[brunette]

OMG! now that ive read this im stuffed for my trial tomorrow
our teacher has told us nothing...she has given us nothing...i know nothing...
good bye to get a decent mark in english

 

[Cab31]

OMG! now that ive read this im stuffed for my trial tomorrow
our teacher has told us nothing...she has given us nothing...i know nothing...
good bye to get a decent mark in english

look olly,
seriously stop pretending to be dumb. you do really well in english and your teacher has given you more than enough notes. everybody is in the same boat as you and considerring the marks you got in the king lear assesment i wouldnt be claiming you have no chance to get a good mark in engligh.

 

[SUNIL]

I agree

look olly,
seriously stop pretending to be dumb. you do really well in english and your teacher has given you more than enough notes. everybody is in the same boat as you and considerring the marks you got in the king lear assesment i wouldnt be claiming you have no chance to get a good mark in engligh.

i totally agree, it pisses me off when people come here and pretend to be dumb!

 

[angelduck]

ahhhhhhhhhh
but reni, our english faculty is stupid

BUT I GOT 13!!!!!!!!1

woooooooooo
13/15!!! Go me!!! (sorry, King lear - not my forte, actually, english isn't, thankyoiu rhiannon!!!!!)

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Praise to the goddess of Pluto. Now i know why i sit next 2 ya in english all the time!

 

[brunette]

look olly,
seriously stop pretending to be dumb. you do really well in english and your teacher has given you more than enough notes. everybody is in the same boat as you and considerring the marks you got in the king lear assesment i wouldnt be claiming you have no chance to get a good mark in engligh.

omg who are u people...its not my fault i dont understand the play
i dont know who u are but if ur in my class or whatever my teacher doesnt teach and hence i have to research stuff on my own...maybe for others she is good but i frankly dont understand her
how do u know what i got in the king lear assessment?? how can justify my understanding of this play bcause i could analyse film techniques
if u havent noticed this module needs interpreations and readings and whatever else things that i still dont understand and am gonna research after the trials

i dont understand y u are accusing me playing dumb i wouldnt waste my time on this forum if i understood the stupid play use ur commonsense

 

[silvermoon]

well, without knowing you brunette, personally, i couldnt say whether you are 'playing dumb' or not - but it is really annoying when that happens. maybe they have confused you with someone else? look, from this post it seems like you are wasting your time trying to go too deep into the play. Obviouslyyou must know what the play is about to pass, however, this is not close study of text and you do not have to understand every detail of it. If you can analyse film techniques then you can say what the composers purpose in using that technique is and therefore extrapolate what reading he/she is pushing across. since this is, after all, the aim of this module, im sure your doing fine.

 

[silvermoon]

i wouldnt waste my time on this forum if i understood the stupid play use ur commonsense

thats a shame brunette - to say that if you felt comfortable with the module you wouldnt visit the forum. Take me for example, i feel completely comfortable with this module, i love shakespeare - thats why i am here...to give help to people like you who claim that they dont understand it. its fine to come here to ask for help, but you should also come here willing to help others - thats what makes this forum work. we need people who 'understand the stupid play' to help explain it to others, otherwise we simply have the blind leading the blind and people extorting the forums.

 

[nessie_lee]

good call silvermoon...

 

[silvermoon]

thanx nessie_lee, it just irritates me sooo much when ppl want help but arent wlling to help others, u know?