Hello all,
Here is the title for your essay on Auden's Miss Gee:
Write about the ways in which Auden tells the story in Miss Gee.
The deadline is Monday 29th September.
Some advice:
The exam board constantly stress that they don't want lots of disjointed language analysis. The task is to write about the writer's methods in telling the story, so this means a big emphasis must be on form and structure.
In particular, make sure your response is built around an analysis of how the poem is constructed. This means taking a methodical look at:
1) how the story is set up (initial characterisation/settings)
2) how it develops
3) how the story ends/how the ideas are tied up.
Think of the story as a journey. The ideas/themes/message of the story are the destination. How does Auden take us there?
Here is an idea for an opening to get you started:
Miss Gee is written in a detached, 3rd person voice in the style of a blues song. This is immediately signposted through the regular rhyme scheme and pacy rhythm provided by the general pattern of three stress lines:
"Now let me tell you a little story
About Miss Edith Gee..."
This formulaic bluesy opening has an immediate effect on the tone of the poem and sets up our expectations. Perhaps it leads us to expect...
From this opening, you can get into Auden's characterisation and use of setting, before getting into the complication of the dream. By this time, we have started to get a sense of Miss Gee's problem and Auden is ready to give her her ironic death in order to drive home his message.
Remember, your focus is on AO2: language, form and structure. So consider:
Here is the title for your essay on Auden's Miss Gee:
Write about the ways in which Auden tells the story in Miss Gee.
The deadline is Monday 29th September.
Some advice:
The exam board constantly stress that they don't want lots of disjointed language analysis. The task is to write about the writer's methods in telling the story, so this means a big emphasis must be on form and structure.
In particular, make sure your response is built around an analysis of how the poem is constructed. This means taking a methodical look at:
1) how the story is set up (initial characterisation/settings)
2) how it develops
3) how the story ends/how the ideas are tied up.
Think of the story as a journey. The ideas/themes/message of the story are the destination. How does Auden take us there?
Here is an idea for an opening to get you started:
Miss Gee is written in a detached, 3rd person voice in the style of a blues song. This is immediately signposted through the regular rhyme scheme and pacy rhythm provided by the general pattern of three stress lines:
"Now let me tell you a little story
About Miss Edith Gee..."
This formulaic bluesy opening has an immediate effect on the tone of the poem and sets up our expectations. Perhaps it leads us to expect...
From this opening, you can get into Auden's characterisation and use of setting, before getting into the complication of the dream. By this time, we have started to get a sense of Miss Gee's problem and Auden is ready to give her her ironic death in order to drive home his message.
Remember, your focus is on AO2: language, form and structure. So consider:
- sequence, structure
- the connection to the blues
- repetition
- language - connotations of words
- imagery (think about religion, death, decay)
- sounds
After you've zoomed in on a quote, make sure you zoom out to consider the effect of Auden's methods and any wider significance or connections to themes, ideas and motifs which recur throughout.
If you need any help on this task, please leave a comment below or send me an email.
Good luck,
Mr M
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