Familial Love- Sons and Lovers

Sons and Lovers- D.H Lawrence

Yes! Another Lawrence book! I'll be honest though, I haven''t read this one, I'm halfway through it though, and so far, so good. It is loosely based around the Oedipus Complex- and I love when different subjects integrate, in this case, psychology and English, but anyway, happy revising :-) 

Summary

Sons and Lovers initially starts off with the unhappy marriage of Walter and Gertrude Morel, and their four children. Mrs Morel starts to fall out with her husband, and begins to turn her attention towards their four children, of which her elder one, William, dies. She then fills her emotional void of her lack of attention from her husband and death of her son to her other son, Paul. The almost imprisoning nature of Mrs Morel's love towards Paul becomes a cripple, to any romantic relationship that he attempts to maintain, thus eliciting an abnormality in Paul's character as a result of the relationship he has with his mother. 

Theme and Analysis

A lot of the book is based around the Oedipus Complex, as I had said before, so it is awkward finding a specific theme for this book, but one thing that we have to understand now, is that Paul is not romantically linked to his mother. He is just very attached to her. Very. Attached. To the point where no woman can actually compare to how incredible he finds her. Trust me though, they are not romantically linked. Themes: 

-Familial love: Come on. That's pretty obvious. 

Important bits you can memorise: 

Family in 'Sons and Lovers'- There is this unhealthy attachment that Mrs. Morel has to her sons, and the entire Morel's family united resentment for their father. Lawrence uses this book to basically pop our happy balloons about the importance of family bonds or unconditional love. 

Quotes about this: "While the baby was still tiny, the father's temper had become so irritable that it was not to be trusted. The child had only to give a little trouble when the man began to bully. A little more, and the hard hands of the collier hit the baby." It is from very early on in the story that we notice Walter's anger, which would end up destroying him. The fact that he cannot be patient with his own baby shows what an absolute ass he was. I'm not sorry. Also there is, "The deepest of his love belonged to his mother" This kid just flat out admits it. And again, "The two shared lives... his soul seemed always sensitive to her" This may be borderline creepy, considering it is the mother talking about her son. Then again, we're dealing with Freud, can you expect any less?

Love in 'Sons and Lovers'- There is a combination of love and hate in this book. The idea being that people cannot feel love without feeling enmity at the same time. It's a pretty interesting thought actually, because love is a feeling which fulfils out desires to connect with other people, but those connections can only happen when barriers are broken down between us and other people. It is the barriers which makes us individuals. 

Quotes about this: "Whereupon he got up and went out of the house, returning presently and crossing the kitchen with averted face, hurrying upstairs. As Mrs Morel saw him slink quickly through the inner doorway holding his bundle, she laughed to herself: but her heart was bitter because she had loved him" I'll be honest with you, this quote is pretty sinister. It was said after Walter had made an empty threat to leave Mrs Morel forever, but then comes back. All the Mrs can do is laugh, but the reality of the situation is that it is super sad, as she realises she no longer loves her husband, and has become bitter thinking of how far their relationship has fallen. 

Sex in 'Sons and Lovers'- I'm going to skip this intro bit, because the quotes seem to be pretty self explanatory. Don't say I didn't warn you...

Quotes about this: "He never forgot seeing her as she lay on the bed, where he was unfastening his collar. First he saw only her beauty, and was blind with it. She had the most beautiful body he had ever imagined," Yep. It gets better, "He sunk his mouth on her throat, where he felt her heavy pulse beat under his lips" You get the hint. 

Overall Analysis

Throughout the entire book, Lawrence talks about Paul's relationships with Clara and Miriam in romantic terms, and there isn't really anything weird about it. The weird part is where Lawrence uses the same romantic terms to describe Paul#s relationship with his mother. "The mother and son walked down Station Street, feeling the excitement of lover having an adventure together." Its almost as if Lawrence is going out of his way to suggest that there is some sort of unconscious sexual deal going on between mother and son. We read later, that Paul loves sitting between his mother and his beautiful "friend", Miriam, at church, "uniting his two loves under the spell of the place of worship." The direct comparison between Miriam and his mother shows how much influence Lawrence may have had over the Oedipus Complex. There is almost this idea that the characters won't admit it to themselves.Which just leaves us in a state of confusion. 

The fact that it is written in third person allows Lawrence to make us a little more sympathetic towards characters such as Walter, that everyone else hates. 

He uses a lot of similes in his book, for example, "as if all the fire had swum down there" 

Overall, I'd recommend reading it, but its all about the familial love, if you want to ace this exam- read read read! 

Using examples, evaluate the relationship between economic development and urbanisation (10)

Using examples, evaluate the relationship between economic development and urbanisation (10)

The relationship is not straightforward. At a global scale, rapid urbanisation has occurred over the last 50 years. 50% of the world population lives in towns and cities; over 20% of the population live in cities over one million. The most urbanised continents are Europe, North America, South America and Oceania (mostly developed); the least urbanised are Asia and Africa (mostly developing). However, in terms of urban growth, the number of urban dwellers is by far the largest in Asia, with 1.6 billion people living in towns and cities, which is over 40% of the population. 

Urbanisation is increasing most rapidly in Africa and Asia- economically developing areas. This trend is expected to continue, so that by 2025, almost half the population of these continents will live in urban areas and 80% of urban dwellers will be in these areas of the world, most of which are currently developing. However, a consequence of the most rapid economic development that is taking place in most parts of China, India and south east Asia is that the level of urbanisation is increasing very rapidly. Rates of economic development and rates of urbanisation are rising simultaneously in these countries. 

Large cities, mostly in developing nations, have been faced with problems, which include inadequate infrastructure (housing, sewage and water supply) and lack of employment are rooted in their explosive population growth over the last 4 decades; a growth so rapid that it outstrips the resources or urban authorities to provide even the most basic needs to millions of their citizens. The result is poverty on an unimaginable scale. 

Although world cities also suffers problems of pollution, unemployment and housing shortages, their scale and severity is much smaller than in mega cities in the developing world. Ironically, world cities face challenges due to their success in the international economy. Most obvious one being, the growing income inequality between the minority of workers engaged in the global service economy and the majority who are excluded. The outcome has been the emergence of 'cities within cities'.

COMMENT FROM ME: Again, I don't see how it answers the question entirely, but this is taken directly from the mark scheme, it makes more sense than my previous post though, I will give it that. Happy revising! :-) 

Discuss the planning and management issues that have arisen in areas that have undergone urbanisation in recent years (10)

Discuss the planning and management issues that have arisen in areas that have undergone urbanisation in the recent years (10)

Urbanisation is an increase in the proportion of a country's population that lives in towns and cities. Recently, there have been countries which have undergone rapid urbanisation in the recent years, and there are relevant planning and management issues which arise as a result of it. 

An example of an area which has had massive urban growth in the recent years is Kibera, on the outskirts of Nairobi. It faces huge social, economic and environmental planning and management issues. 

The average population density in Kibera exceeds 3000 people per hectare. It comprises of housing which are usually makeshift shacks built from corrugated iron, mud, timber and any other materials that are to cheap to hand, as the majority of the population of Kibera are not at a high state of economic development which means that people cannot afford better quality building materials for housing. 

Kibera is unplanned and lacks even the most basic infrastructure. There are open sewers along the street and roughly one million people use the 600 pit latrines. Most households have no piped water and rely on standpipes, tanks or water vendors, who would sell water door-to-door, by carrying it on their head or in a cart. Women and children would sometimes have to queue for hours to buy water. There is no organised rubbish collection, and garbage is thrown in the streets, into watercourses and along railway tracks. Only 20% of households are connected legally to the electricity grid. 

The narrow, uneven and unpaved roads are inaccessible to vehicles, which is a problem, if ever there needs to be emergency aid that needs to be provided, there are no access points for them to enter. Half of Kibera's inhabitants are HIV positive, and there are thousands of abandoned children whose parents have died from AIDS. It is through the unsanitary and overcrowded conditions that promote the spread of waterborne disease, diarrhoea and TB.

Nearly four fifths of the population is unemployed, and most people rely on self employment. Jobs in the formal sector (construction) are concentrated in Nairobi's city centre, and along the commercial/ industrial spine of Mombasa Road. Several people cannot afford transport and walk long distances to work.

Like many slum areas in the cities, Kibera suffers from high crime rates as people feel they need to resort to crime in order to obtain money to feed their families. This is due to the scarce job opportunities available to them as most of them are unskilled. 

COMMENT FROM ME: oOkaay, so I got this answer directly from the Mark Scheme of the Jan 2012 paper, I don't really see how it answered the question, if I am completely honest... but I guess that if the mark scheme says this, it must be okay? The question is about planning and management issues, I would maybe talk more about government involvement in this? A good website I found is here, which may improve this answer slightly. 

Outline the processes of counter-urbanisation and descirbe its effects (8)

Outline the processes of counter-urbanisation and describe its effects (8) 

Counter urbanisation is the process of migration of people from major urban areas to smaller urban settlements and rural areas. The process of counter urbanisation began as there was an increase in the number of people who wanted a better quality of life, away from inner cities, which suffered from a lot of air and noise pollution, as well as busy traffic, dirt and the crime of urban environments. Additionally, as GNP was rising, most people wanted larger homes, with a lot of land, which is found in rural fringes. 

The process continued developing as land on the rural fringes was a lot cheaper than in inner cities, which meant that employers were also starting to move to rural areas, and thus attracted people to move too. Between 1981 and 1996, rural areas gained more than 1 million jobs. Improvements in telecommunications, and faster Internet has also allowed people to work from home, which allowed them to move away from the louder towns and cities. Additionally, there has also been a rise in demand for homes to be bought by elderly retirees, who have higher levels of affluent. This also links with the need for rural areas to attract more incomes, for example agricultural businesses are struggling and one way for them to make money is by selling unwanted land or buildings as residential properties. 

There have been effects, of counter urbanisation, for example, the change in the layout of rural settlements. Modern housing estates are built on the edges of small settlements, and small industrial units on the main roads leading into the settlement. Former open areas are built on, old properties and some agricultural buildings are being converted and modernised. As with the gentrified areas in inner cities, there is thus tension between the newcomers and the locals. Additionally as more people want to move to urban areas there is a higher demand for housing, and so house prices increase, while this is a positive impact for landlords who live in the rural area, young people from the same area may not be able to afford that housing, and thus, the population would then be dominated by older people. 

Explain the process of suburbanisation and describe its effects (8)

Explain the process of suburbanisation and describe its effects (8) 

Suburbanisation describes the growth of the suburbs through the decentralisation of population, industry and other business activities such as retailing. In the UK, large-scale suburbanisation was essentially a twentieth-century phenomenon, though it started in the late nineteenth century. Suburban development mainly comprised low-density housing and industry on greenfield sites.

The process of suburbanisation has resulted in the outward growth of urban development that has engulfed surrounding villages and rural areas. During the mid- to late-twentieth century, this was facilitated by the growth of public transport systems and the increased use of the private car. The presence of railway lines and arterial roads has enabled relatively wealthy commuters to live some distance away from their places of work but in the same urban area. The edge of town, where there is more land available for car parking and expansion, became the favoured location for new offices, factories and shopping outlets. Suburbanisation has led to the creation of residential estates – often with associated services: schools, GP practises, pubs, parks and playgrounds, etc. In a number of cases, the ‘strict control’ of the green belts was ignored (or at best modified) in the light of changing circumstances. More recently, there has been the development of new housing areas on ‘previously developed land’, leading to the infilling of large areas of private gardens and other open spaces in urban areas, such as school playing fields.

Consequently, suburbanisation had led to the urban sprawl, and loss of countryside amenity, like farmland and wildlife, in the rural-urban fringe. In England, between 1997 and 2010, around 150 km2 of greenbelt were lost to urban development and nearly 45000 houses were built in the suburbs. As more people began to commute back to inner cities, there were longer journeys to work, which in the past five decades have led to increasing problems of traffic congestion and pollution at peak times.

There has also been a demographic and economic decline of central urban areas- as population moves to the suburbs, and many services, such as retailing and office businesses have moved there too. Commercial activities in suburbs, however, offer greater accessibility as there is more space, and lower rents compared with more central urban locations which is a positive impact for the people there, as it also creates an increase in employment.

With reference to two seismic events that you have studied from contrasting areas of the world, compare the ways in which earthquakes and their impacts have been managed. (10)

With reference to two seismic events that you have studied from contrasting areas of the world, compare the ways in which earthquakes and their impacts have been managed. (10)

In 2010, an earthquake of 7.0 magnitude on the Richter Scale caused massive destruction on the Caribbean island of Haiti. This was caused by the North American plate sliding past the Caribbean plate, but travelling at different speeds, albeit going in the same direction.

A similar scaled earthquake occurred in 2003 in California, with a magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter Scale. This was along along the conservative plate margins that run parallel to the San Andreas Fault. 

Both events were similarly scaled, however, it was their impacts which had varied at a very large scale, and how they were managed which made a difference. 

In Haiti, more than 300,000 people were killed and a further 1 million were made homeless, as several buildings, including the President's Palace and 60% of the government buildings were either destroyed or badly damaged. With no strong government, nor a running police force, crime had gone up immensely, on top of the underlying problems such as diseases spreading, as more than 50 hospitals were destroyed and education neglected with more than 1500 schools collapsed. 

The effects in California, contrastingly, were far less destructive, as there was relevant planning beforehand, as they are an area prone to earthquakes. Buildings were rebuilt with reinforced concrete in order to withstand earthquake energy. So, in 2003, the death toll was one person- due to the pre-planning by scientists and government officials passing a law that buildings have to have certain features (reinforced steel and concrete, only be at a certain height, have support of ball bearings, and an earthquake panic room in schools and hospitals).

Haiti,, ultimately received millions of pounds in foreign aid, and due to its level of development (LIC), and how the media had portrayed the situation, had heightened the amount of aid it had received. Most of the recognition of Haiti came from celebrities raising awareness to the impacts, even recording a chart topping song to raise awareness for the people of Haiti,

California, however did not receive any aid due to its planning beforehand, and its level of development, being an HIC, and shows that due to its level of preparedness, as they are prone to seismic activity and so there was much better management about the consequences of earthquakes.

With reference to 2 volcanic events you have studied, from contrasting areas of the world. Compare the ways in which their impacts have been managed (10)

With reference to 2 volcanic events you have studied, from contrasting areas of the world. Compare the ways in which their impacts have been managed (10)

In the past few decades, there have been several volcanic events that have occurred and the way their impacts have been managed have differed around the globe.

The eruption of Mt. Nyiragongo, Congo, January 2002 had killed 147 people and over 350,000 people had fled the area. The local authorities initial response was to initiate a 'red alert'. This enabled Goma and the surrounding area to be evacuated and the prompt response was one of the key factors in keeping the death toll relatively low. 

The eruption of Mt. Etna in Sicily also took place in the same year as the eruption of Mt. Nyiragongo but the death toll was less than half of Congo- at 77 confirmed deaths. Although government intervention is rare, a significant early intervention did occur by the authorities. Initial attempts at halting lava flows via hastily constructed earth barriers on the approach to the town, proved to be unsuccessful. 

Two days after the eruption in Goma, humanitarian aid was provided by the United Nations. Emergency rations were initially provided, this included high energy foods like chocolates and biscuits and it was only later that more substantial food were given to local people (maize, beans, cooking oil) as communication and transport accessibility to affected areas had improved. 

However, unlike Nyiragongo, Etna has had a long history of people living nearby the mountains and consequently have gained much experience of managing the impacts. As a result, no humanitarian aid was provided by overseas agencies. 

To disrupt and redirect the lava flow, explosives were detonated near the source of the lava to break up the very efficient 'lava tube system' which was guiding the lava for some 7km down slope. None of Etna's slopes were damaged however there was some damage to the agriculture and tourism in nearby area. The Italian government had pledged immediate financial assistance of £5.6 million and tax-breaks for three months for all of the villagers. 

In Congo, however, the financial situation was not quite the same, The UN had estimated the cost of providing food, clean water, shelter, medical attention and blankets to be about $15 million.

An even higher cost was incurred to Goma's infrastructure, rebuilding homes and livelihoods. The lava flows had destroyed many businesses resulting in massive increases in unemployment in the area. So, though they had received aid from overseas, they consequently had a much harder time getting back on their feet than Sicily- and this, to a great extent, is largely due to their lack of management and awareness during the time of the eruption. 

Describe and explain the characteristics of earthquakes (8)

Describe and explain the characteristics of earthquakes (8)

Earthquakes occur when a build-up of pressure within the Earth's crust is suddenly released and the ground starts shaking violently. The point within the crust, at the lithosphere, where pressure is released is called the focus. The focus in an earthquake, can be found at a range of depths, at a shallow focus, which is 0-70km deep, at an intermediate focus which is 70-300km deep and at a deep focus, at 300-700km deep. The focus is not necessarily at a single point- it could be along a fault line. It is near the focus, where waves are stronger and cause more damage, as that is where there is the highest level of energy. 

The place at the Earth's surface immediately above the focus is called the epicentre, it is where the earthquake is felt first. It receives the highest amount of energy and so is the most potentially hazardous location.

From the focus, there are seismic waves which travel out. There are three main types: Primary (P) waves, which are the fastest, are those that can travel through solids and liquids, they can travel through the mantle and the core. The waves push and pull the earth in the same direction as the wave is travelling. Secondary (S) waves can also travel through solids, but not through liquids- so they can travel through the mantle but not the core, so they cannot be measured at a point opposite the focus or epicentre. They move the earth at 90 degrees (at a right angle) to the direction of travel. They do a lot more damage than P waves due to their shearing effect. Surface waves travel the slowest, but cause the most damage. They are further split into surface love (L) waves- which are the slowest waves and cause most damage or Rayleigh waves, which radiate from the epicentre in low-frequency rolling motions.

Comments: 8/8 well done. Some sort of conclusion would help, if time permits. 

Describe and explain the characteristic features of various types of volcanoes (8)

Describe and explain the characteristic features of various types of volcanoes (8) 

There are a variety of diverse volcano types which vary in characteristics. 

Composite volcanoes, sometimes called Strato cones, occur on destructive margins and are the classic pyramid-shaped volcanoes consisting of layers of ash from initial explosive phases of eruptions and subsequent layers of lava from the main eruption phases. The eruptions from these volcanoes may be from pyroclastic flows rather than a flow of lava. A pyroclastic flow is a super heated mixture of hot steam, ash, rock and dust. It can travel down the side of a volcano at very high speeds with temperatures over 400 degrees Celsius. The eruptions are fairly explosive due to the thick, highly viscous lava. An example of this is Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines.

Secondly, there are shield volcanoes, which often occur at constructive plate boundaries, formed mostly from basaltic rock, which thus produce fast flowing (less viscous) lava that can flow for many miles, They are low lying, with gently sloping sides, with eruptions that are typically non-explosive, frequent, but relatively gentle. These eruptions can destroy property, however, due to how predictable they are, injury and death to humans is rare. They can sometimes be found at volcanic hot spots, including Mt, Kilauea in Hawaii.

A third type of volcano is a dome volcano (acid volcano), which are steep-sided, convex cones, consisting of viscous lava- which is mostly rhyolitc- very thick and sticky, which does not usually flow far, before t cools and hardens. An example of this is Puy de Done in the Auvergne region of France, which last erupted over a million years ago.

Another type of volcano is caldera, which forms when the build-up of gases beneath a blocked volcano vent becomes extreme and a huge explosion removes the summit of the cone, leaving an opening several kilometres in diameter. Calderas volcanoes, such as Krakatoa in Indonesia have large, deep openings, filled with water. Calderas have steep slopes due to rhyolitic lava- which is erupted from them. They frequently emit smoke and ash, but erupt irregularly and violently, due to how viscous they are.

Comments from sir: If you can revise all of this within the time allocated, then you have nailed it. Well done. 8/8
Characteristic features are common to all and must be mentioned: shape, ferocity, viscosity etc. 

Geography A Level Revision

Hey guys!

In order for me to properly revise, I've decided to type up all of my good answers, including the feedback I've gotten from Mr. Pinto, I plan on doing at least one Plates, World Cities and Globalisation and possibly unit 4 investigation answers too.

These may or may not help you, but they are here for you guys to look at, if you like :-)

Hope they help!

Sheena xx

Romantic Love- Love Sonnet 17

Love Sonnet 17- Pablo Neruda

This is quite a cute poem, which you can read here, about romantic love.

Summary

The general idea behind this poem, is that the narrator is in love. The speaker is addressing his lover, saying why he does not love her the same way someone would love beautiful flowers- essentially, he does not love her superficially, but he loves her for he she is on the inside. There is an interesting metaphor about this poem, about the aroma of ta flower, being like the love he carries inside him. His love for her is simple and humble, and there is an image in the way that he ends the poem, with him and his lover being intertwined as if they were one body, and one soul. 

Breakdown

Stanza 1- This poem is considered to be a direct address: where the speaker uses the second person point of view to speak directly to the addressee of the poem. He uses contrast by starting the poem with how he does not love this woman, but it is not apparent until later in the sonnet. "Carnation-arrow begot in flames" is a phrase he uses to describe the brightness of a carnation to a flaming arrow, which shows his passion for this woman. It initially may come off as an anticlimax because roses and carnations are common symbols of love, but this can be interpreted to say that it shows how unique his love is, that isn't like any old rose or carnation.

He then goes on to tell us that he loves the other the way people love "dark things", "in secret, behind shadow and soul."  It shows there is possibly a conflict between the shadow and soul, the conflict which goes behind keeping their love a secret from the rest of the world, making sure its something that stays between them. 

Stanza 2- He talks about the woman as if she were a barren plant, one that does not "flourish", but keeps its beauty hidden. There is a strong imagery in a flower being hidden in winter, when it is not in bloom and looks dead, but we know that during spring, "hidden" beauty will appear. He loves her, from the inside out. 

This is also when Neruda begins to appeal to the sense, this is a very sensory poem (read the overall analysis later, to get a better idea of this).

Stanza 3- This stanza is the one that always gets me. The speaker loves this woman, plain and simple. He does not specify why, he "simple" loves her. It shows the complexities of love, which is one that cannot be explained, it is a feeling which cannot be put into words.

He can only love when "I am not and you are not.". It is a very powerful poem, where two individuals become one, and can no longer be their individual selves, and become one instead. There is repetition as the speaker has now said "I love you" three times now. It is considered an anaphora, because it is always in the beginning, and is there for emphasis.  

There is a beautiful metaphor in the way the speaker describes the way he loves: they are so close that they switch body parts. Her hand in his and her eyes seeing his dreams. It is a love where there are no barriers. 

Overall 

The form of this poem is almost Petrarchan, where it is divided into two quatrains and then two tercets. The first eight lines are filled with metaphors in explaining his love, the next six are him giving up, because he cannot put his feelings into words. There is no rhyme scheme at all, however, which makes it unlike a normal Petrarchan sonnet. There are some rhyming words in the original, Spanish version of the poem, but it is not sustained throughout the piece. This may explain his love for her not being defined by a given set of rules? It would help to draw your own conclusions about this. 

There is a strong sense of intimacy in the poem, especially when he says "So close that your hand on my chest is mine/ So close that your eyes close on my dreams." The setting that comes across is quiet and isolated, and since the poem talks about secrets, it adds to the intimacy of them being on their own. I told you this would be a good poem, guys. It just sends butterflies everywhere. It's great. 

Forbidden Love- Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet- William Shakespeare

The supposed greatest love story of all time. (Truth be told, I liked the movie version with Leo-bae) 

Summary

Though I am pretty sure no-one needs a summary about this love story, here is one anyway which may provide a sort of recap. Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet are 'star-cross'd' lovers destined to die, because it says so in the chorus. Romeo gets the hots for Juliet at a party that he was not invited to and they fell in live and got hitched a few days later. A few murders and arranged marriages and fake poisons later, Romeo stumbles upon a fake-dead Juliet, is overcome with grief, takes real poison, fake-dead Juliet wakes up to find real-dead Romeo had died for her so fake-dead Juliet becomes read-dead Juliet by stabbing herself. Pretty simple. Of course they are now dubbed as the greatest couple known to man. Please, my boyfriend got me a candle for my birthday a few years ago, how's that for a keeper?  

Theme and Analysis 

So there are, obviously loads of themes which come across from the story, here are a few: 

-Romantic love- Romeo and Juliet are the archetype lovers, Romeo is depicted as a Petrarchan lover, with the use of classical poetry, and imagery and wordplay. They often talk in sonnet, "Palm to palm is holy palmer's kiss", which signifies their love for each other. Juliet is described by Romeo using religious imagery, whereby her lips are a 'shrine'. They are obviously romantically involved, because they are willing to die for each 

-Familial love (kinda)- Juliet is a daddy's girl. "Earth hath swallowed all my hopes but she" but then her parents are presented as unloving, uncaring and lacking any understanding for her. This is a form of dramatic irony, as Lady Capulet is overcome with guilt by the end of the play.

-Fraternal and Platonic love- There is a serious bromance between the male characters in the play, to the point of Romeo killing Tybalt for murdering his BFF, Mercrutio. 

Important bits you can memorise: 

Love in 'Romeo and Juliet'- The thing about love in this story, is that its almost forbidden. Everyone knows that if someone tells you not to push the big shiny red button, you're going to want to push the shiny red button, and that is what Romeo and Juliet is. They appear even more attractive to each other because they are forbidden fruit, it makes it more exciting, and they crave that love and excitement in their lives, which are controlled by their parents. It really makes you want to believe in true love, simply from the beautiful and passionate way that Shakespeare has written in.You could argue that it is puppy love that Romeo had for Rosaline before he met Juliet, and that she's simply a rebound.  

Quotes about this: "ROMEO: Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs;/Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes:/Being vex'd a sea nourish'd with lovers' tears:/What is it else? a madness most discreet,/A choking gall and a preserving sweet."  You need to remember that Romeo was a teenager at the time, so this is pretty impressive. He uses abstract language- love as 'smoke', 'fire' as a 'sea' as 'madness'. It shows that Romeo is actually in love with Juliet and his emotion is accurately expressed through his language and diction. 

Sex in 'Romeo and Juliet'-If you read my blog about Lady Chatterley's Lover, and how sex is a very apparent theme in the book, this one is dialled back about ten notches... but it's still there. In the novel, practically everything is about sex, everything is a dirty joke and violence is heavily eroticized, and it creates a very sexual atmosphere which may lead to the interpretation that the protagonists young love is just them wanting to get some... but I'm going to opt out and say that there is more to love than just sex- but feel free to interpret this one on your own.

Quotes about this: "The bawdy hand of the dial is now upon the prick of noon" This is Mercrutio talking about something simple, the time of day, yet it has a sexual connotation about it, reflecting how most jokes usually are sexual, and nonchalant. Also, "JULIET 'Give me my Romeo, and when I shall die/ Take him and cut him out in little stars,/ And he will make the face of heaven so fine" So, here, there is a link with 'die' being slang for an orgasm... so when she dies.. she.. you know. Yep. Also when her father finds her dead, and talks of how she has been 'deflowered'. Yep. English. It is interesting though, how there is almost an irony as sex is supposed to result in the creation of life, not the death...Again, make your own conclusions to this

Transience in 'Romeo and Juliet'- Think about the story long enough, and you will realise that Romeo and thirteen-year-old Juliet fall in love at first sight, get hitched within 24 hours and die in each others arms a few days later. There is some correlation, that can be made between the fleeting nature of time and youth in the story. 

Quotes about this: "ROMEO 'Lady by yonder blessed moon I swear/That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops-' JULIET' 'O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,/That monthly changes in her circled orb,/Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.' This is the part where I would go 'OHHHHH' because my girl, Juliet slayed. English banter, you guys... I live for it. 

Marriage in 'Romeo and Juliet'- In terms of context at the time this play was written, marriage for love is a pretty radical and dangerous choice- especially for rich kids, because they have influence in society (poorer folk could marry whoever, because they have nothing to lose). Romeo and Juliet pay the ultimate price for marrying for love... their death. However, they did almost resolve their parents battles...so it was worth it... right?

Quotes about this: "LADY CAPULET' Marry, that 'marry' is the very theme/I came to talk of. Tell me, daughter Juliet,/How stands your disposition to be married?' JULIET 'It is an honour that I dream not of.'" This is around the beginning of the play, when we are introduced to what Juliet is like as a (bratty) teenager. Yet, she winds up marrying Romeo 24 hours later after the party- way to stick to your guns, Juliet. 

Tone and Analysis Overall

Shakespeare uses a lot of oxymoron in this play, which kinda help to get the point across. Juliet's cry in "My only love, sprung from my only hate"  is an example of the oxymoron that is used in the play. By using oxymoron and paradoxes in the play, Shakespeare manages to make the form match up with the content. 

Shakespeare writes in blank verse, which is essentially saying that he writes in unrhymed iambic pentameter. You should know the drill by now, of coming up with conclusions about why this is the case. Overall this is a play everyone should be quite familiar with it, and just for the banter, here is a link which I found pretty funny about the 'sex' in this story. Hope this helps calm some stress! 

Illicit Love- Lady Chatterley's Lover

Lady Chatterley's Lover- D.H Lawrence

If you know me at all, you know I absolutely love D.H Lawrence- I have read practically everything he's written. Not that that's of any importance to you, I just figured I should mention it :-) 

Summary

The story was written in 1928 (modernism), about a woman, Constance (Lady Chatterley), and her affair with the gamekeeper, Oliver Mellors. Her upper-class husband, Clifford Chatterley, has been paralysed from the waist down due to a war injury. It was Lady Chatterley's unsatisfaction with her marriage to Clifford that led her to have her affair with Oliver. It is through her affair that she realises that love is a physical experience, not a mental one. Why should you take some time out of social media and read this book? Dude, its porn. No really, a lot of sex in this one. In detail. Trust me. 

Theme and Analysis

Its love in a physical form which is apparent in this book, some themes which I noticed were: 

-Sex- NSFW, I'm warning you now. Don't open this link unless you're truly ready for it

-Lust- There is this strange idea in the book, of lust, even though Oliver speaks of the degradation of women, the same way Clifford does, Lady Chatterley laps up anything Oliver says but can't stand it when Clifford does... she's attracted to him physically, a lust for him, which binds this relationship together.

-Illicit Love- This is pretty obvious too, there is an affair which happens between Lady Chatterley and Oliver, its scandalous because she's still technically married to Clifford. 

Important bits you can memorise

Sex in 'Lady Chatterley's Lover'-  This book is pretty dirty, if you haven't already noticed. However, the way sex is described is a whole lot more philosophical, so don't expect any 50 Shades of Grey in this book. Lawrence describes sex as the way for two people to connect. It is the way to restore beauty and realism in life. Good sex gives wholeness not just bragging rights. 

Quotes about this: "It is curious what a subtle but unmistakable transmutation it makes, both in the body of men and women: the woman more blooming, more subtly rounded, her young angularities softened: the man much quieter, more inward, the very shapes of his shoulders and his buttocks less assertive, more hesitant." All I can say... 

Love in 'Lady Chatterley's Lover'- In this book, sex precedes love. Lawrence in his modern vies, insists that you cannot have love without sex, and its the only way love can really be expressed. There is no such thing as meaningless sex. This is because, sex connects two people to become a whole lot closer, which is what sparks love (I swear, this is according to Lawrence, I make no comment about this). So basically, first comes sex, then comes love, then comes a marriage, then comes a baby in a carriage (the nursery rhyme really skipped out on the order of this) 

Quotes about this: "She felt a sudden, strange leap of sympathy for him, a leap mingled with compassion, and tinged with repulsion, amounting almost to love" Here, Connie is unsure whether or not she loves Oliver, or if its just sex, but later, realises that its because of the sex that she is in love with him. 

Freedom and Confinement in 'Lady Chatterley's Lover'- Connie- like everyone in this book, if you think about it- is alone. She realises that Clifford's company is not actually a substitute for human interaction. They find that the way to human connection is real, human sex. I really feel like all I have talked about so far is the importance of sex. I mean, you really need to read the book to get it, I swear that's practically all its about! There is a lot of entrapment in the book, where Connie is in an unhappy marriage, Clifford is in a wheelchair, Hilda is trapped in a prison of convention. There is no real sense that it is so easy to break out of. Even divorce isn't the easy way out, as you would tell by the end of the novel, where Clifford doesn't agree to a divorce. 

Quotes about this: "One was less in love with the boy afterwards, and a little inclined to hate him, as if he had trespassed on one's privacy and inner freedom. For of course, being a girl, one's whole dignity and meaning in life consisted in the achievement of an absolute, a perfect, a pure and noble freedom" This is about how Connie realises she needs to be free from Clifford, that was, until she met Clifford and went on a wild crazy sex journey with hi, you know, usual standard stuff. 

Tone and Analysis Overall

Lawrence writes in free indirect discourse, whereby we get the chance to go inside everyone's minds. The idea is to combine elements of narrators voice, with elements of the characters voice, without using quotation marks or 'he said' 'she said' tags. There are also a lot of nature imagery which is sprinkled through the book, but this is less important, I find. Also, he uses irony, even when he names the characters, the main characteristic of 'Constance' (as in one who is faithful and not going to cheat) is the one who ends up having an affair. Ah, I love Lawrence. 

Power of Love- I carry your heart with me (I carry it on)

(I carry your heart with me (I carry it on))- EE Cummings

Probably biased with this one, because this is one of my favourite love poems of all time, luckily our English exam is about love, and it gave me a good excuse to analyse this poem in depth- it's only three stanzas, read it here

Summary

The poem opens with the speaker declaring, " I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart)." Its a poem about the sense of unity he has with the person that he loves, whereby everything he does and feels is connected to her. It is, essentially the unconditional love expressed from a man to a woman and it is about how love shapes the people that we become. Read it, and you will notice a whole bunch of punctuation, metaphors, and motif, which really emphasises the way he feels about the one he loves. 

Breakdown

Stanza 1-  There are already major topics you can write about here, for example how Cummings uses a modern spin on the poem, using the  zany lowercase, syntactical, punctuation experiments. He uses figurative language because he cannot literally 'carry' her heart... because she'd be dead. Instead, he means he can feel her presence and love around her at all times, he carries it in him. He uses a lot of parenthetical clauses (duh), and we can gather that the parenthesis are within the adjacent word, like they are connected. It shows the unity with his lover as he is quite literally, next to it- so visually and contextually, we are under the impression that the two are connected.
Remember, parenthesis are supposed to add something to the text already provided without interrupting the flow of thought entirely, but here, they serve the purpose of visually connecting the speaker and the lover.
There is also parallelism in the third line, with " i go" and "you go". 
By the time the 5th line rolls around, we notice the enjambment between the lines, this is to help clarify what the lover is feeling, we thus recognise "fear" as an individual feeling, literally alone on the page for the reader to see.
Cummings also uses personification with the idea of the "sun singing". Obviously, the sun doesn't really sing, but if it did- it would sing about the speaker's lover. That is how awesome and cosmic their love is. All together now: aww.
Overall, these first few lines ( I know, we're not even halfway through yet), are all about her being with him in spirit and how a part of her will always remain inside him. The fear, pain and potential loss of losing someone you adore is unimaginable and deserves its own line to emphasis his apprehension.

Stanza 2-  The third stanza starts with anaphora of "here is the" which make the poem sound very lyrical and romantic. There is ambiguity when he talks of "deepest secret nobody knows" which leads us to question its mystery... maybe that was what he was getting at, how love is the greatest mystery of all. There is reference to their love as symbolic foundations of life. How you cannot have trees without roots or pretty flowers without buds. It is an extended metaphor, as he uses roots and buds to represent his love as foundations.
Obviously, this is all nature imagery and metaphors which keeps the whole flow of the poem very relaxed and natural (make your own conclusions up about why he uses nature). He also uses repetitionof the "of the" clause- Cummings is using syntax to not only keep things sounding lyrical but also to be as efficient and precise with his language as possible.
Overall, he makes references to real life ideas like the sky and the trees and once again to the stars. These lines are used to make the reader anticipate the release of his secret and draw them into his 'grand finale'.

Stanza 3- The speaker ends by (almost) perfectly referencing the title, in true Romantic poetry style, with the omission of "with me". After all the nature blah blah, we're back to where we started, with the speaker carrying the idea that love is within him at all times. We're also reminded of the unity he feels with his lover, with the parenthesis. This stanza only has one line. So Cummings is making it clear that line 15 is the entire point of the poem. It gets its own stanza because its so important and special.

Overall

There really isn't much else you can tackle with this poem, unless you want to go into whether it is free verse with occasional trochees, but that's pretty self explanatory, but if you don't understand those- Get Revising has some pretty good pointers on poetic diction, which is worth checking out. If you still feel like it isn't enough, some girl made a pretty cool essay on it (pft, what a saddo, who blogs about English revision.. am I right? Am I right? No... okay), which is worth a read. 

Jealous Love- Othello

Othello- William Shakespeare

Summary:

The tale of the eponymous Othello, a black general who marries a white woman, and his subordinate officer Iago. Othello's marriage challenges the prejudices and conventions of Renaissance society, allowing Iago to spin a complicated web of lies and deceptions that corrupts Othello and leads to tragedy. (source: Sophie's Desk). It was published in 1602 (Elizabethan times).

Theme and Analysis: 

It is pretty clear that through Othello, there are many themes which are quite prevalent (below), but there are other factors which you can bring up when you talk about this book, such as imagery, allusions and hamartia. The imagery which is associated with jealousy suggests the destructive, terrifying and almost unnatural qualities of this emotion, "The green-eyed monster which doth mock/ The meat it feeds on." - Iago uses dramatic irony, when pretending to warn Othello not to be a jealous man. Othello's hamartia (downfall) is his jealous nature. He becomes ruthless, and will not have a piece of mind until Desdemona is dead. Some themes which I picked up on were:

-Forbidden Love: The relationship between Othello and Desdemona is clandestine because of Othello's racial origins.

-Jealous Love: There is a parallel in the jealousy between Iago and Othello. It is interesting that Iago uses jealousy against Othello, yet jealousy is likely the source of Iagos' hatred in the first place. It is, ultimately, destructive.

Important bits you can memorise: 

Possibly the best summary of Othello 

Jealousy in 'Othello'-  In Othello, the hero succumbs to jealousy when Iago convinces him that Desdemona has been an unfaithful wife- in the end, Othello murders his wife, but then kills himself upon realising she was innocent. In Othello, jealousy takes many forms, from sexual suspicion to professional competition, but it is, in all cases, destructive. 
Quotes about this: "One Michael Cassio, a Florentine,/A fellow almost damn'd in a fair wife;/That never set a squadron in the field,/Nor the division of a battle knows/More than a spinster; unless the bookish theoric,Wherein the toged consuls can propose/As masterly as he: mere prattle, without practise,/Is all his soldiership. But he, sir, had the election:/And I, of whom his eyes had seen the proof/At Rhodes, at Cyprus and on other grounds/Christian and heathen, must be be-lee'd and calm'd/By debitor and creditor: this counter-caster,He, in good time, must his lieutenant be" Okay this is a bit lengthy, I know, but all its about is Iago frustrated that Cassio is promoted to a greater position than Iago, so he's jealous, pick and choose which part of his monologue you'd like to use- but its all pretty interesting. 

Sex in 'Othello'- Remember, this play is written in the Elizabethan times, and the common 16th century anxieties about miscegenation (interracial sex and marriage) are examined; a black man marries a white woman, gets mad and accuses her of cheating- and thus strangles her in bed. In Othello, most male characters simply assume that the women are extremely promiscuous, which explains why all three women in the play are accused of infidelity. It makes sense, how easily Othello is swayed by Iago into believing that his wife has had an affair. Also, and though I wouldn't look too deep into this factor, there is a homoerotic theme which can go about between Othello and Iago, but if you are deeply curious, look here.
Quotes about this: IAGO "Even now, now, very now, an old black ram/Is topping your white ewe." If you have read the rest of this, its pretty self explanatory.

Tone and Analysis Overall

The entire tone of Othello is dominated by Iago's voice. It is cynical. It is paranoid. He is the only one in the play who speaks to the audience and has bitter rants about Othello and Cassio, his casual dismissal of women as worthless prostitutes... even Othello begins to mirror Iago's tone in his own rants about jealousy and sexual impurity. Also, its worth mentioning that the play is written in iambic pentameter. Which means you can draw your conclusions about how 'free' or 'restricted' the speaker might be... you've done English, you can figure that part out... its a good read, but a bit complicated to follow along, unless you're really into Shakespeare-talks... hope this helps! 

Obsessive love -Lolita

Lolita- Vladimir Nabokov

Summary: 

Regarded as a tragicomedy, the story revolves around the narrator, Humbert and his seduction of his teenage stepdaughter, Dolores - 'Lolita', it was a story which was quite controversial during its publication in 1955 (modernism). The portrayal of Humbert and Lolita is complex and ambiguous- some readers claim that Humbert is the victim of a manipulative underage seductress while others see the other view by which Lolita is the innocent victim of a dangerous predator. (source: Sophie's Desk)

Themes and analysis: 

The novel is a 'banned book' and is extremely controversial. There is an exploration of the psyche of a sociopath and paedophile and his attempts to rationalise his behaviours which he knows are wrong. Humbert is an insane, unreliable narrator- which makes the novel interesting to read. The themes which I came across were: 

-Unrequited love: Lolita's unreciprocated feelings for Humbert

-Illicit love: She's his stepdaughter... he is sexually attracted to her- red herring flags everywhere for this one

-Destructive love: Lolita, quite literally drives Humbert mad, yet he is completely infatuated with her, and continues to love her

Important bits you can memorise:

-Language & Communication in 'Lolita' - Humbert does confess to his bad behaviour, but he still offers highly poetic descriptions that serve to distract the reader from the subject at hand. If it were not for his skill with language, we would be faced with the reality of the situation, a story of rape, paedophilia, incest, murder and explotiation- and yet he manages to turn it into a beautiful 'enchanting' novel, whereby the reader symphatizes with him 

Other forms of diction that he uses is making appeals through legal language, sneaking in justifications and defences of his behaviour

Quotes about this: ''Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta." --Everything about Lolita fills Humbert with pleasure, even the feeling of saying her name, there is no single part of her that he does not turn into a fetish object. 

Love in 'Lolita' - There is an argument, that Humbert doesn't love Lolita, as he is the narrator and he controls the images that we see in the play, and therefore it is difficult to know if he is using love as some perverse excuse for his behaviour. Its also difficult to understand his feelings as he has written the book in retrospect- reflecting and recording his story after many years of the events occurring. 

Quotes about this: "I knew that I had fallen in love with Lolita forever; but I also knew she would not forever be Lolita" There is an expression of genuine feelings of love for Lolita, but its difficult to process because the love, it would seem, would be dead as it is congintent on Lolita being a nymphet. 

Sex in 'Lolita' -  Humbert describes Lolita as ''Fire of my loins'', but then also calls her ''Light of my life''. It questions which one it is. There is indeed, a lot of lust in Lolita, mostly revolved around Humbert and Quilt, though Lolita participates in her fair share of voluntary sexual activity- at Camp Q especially.

Much of the sex in the book is very dark and perverse, almost criminal with rape and paedophilia and incest at the front of the line. 

Quotes about this: ''Her legs, her lovely live legs, were not too close together, and when my hand located what it sought, a dreamy and eerie expression, half-pleasure and half-pain, came across over those childish features.'' This is pretty self-explanatory...

Youth in 'Lolita'- It is obvious by now, if you've been paying attention to this, that Humbert is sexually obsessed with the younger girl, Lolita, her youth. He has an obsession with 'nymphets' with college-age girls being way past his age-range. He does recognise, however, the unrefined silliness and consumer vulgarity of youth, but that's a small price to pay. Sitting on a park bench watching young girls play hopscotch and skip rope, Humbert is in bliss, ''Let them play around me forever. Never grow up''

Quotes about this: "Now I wish to introduce the following idea. Between the age limits of nine and fourteen there occur maidens who, to certain bewitched travellers, twice or many times older than they, reveal their true nature which is not human, but nymphic (that is, demoniac); and these chosen creatures I propose to designate as ''nymphets''." Humbert has a very precise definition of nymphet- and wants to make sure we, as readers know exactly which kind of girl he adores. It is almost incriminating. 

Innocence in 'Lolita'- Humbert knows of the lack of innocence in Lolita, and he always seems to take advantage of it, simply because of his lack of it. He is, after all, telling this story from jail, where he rots because he had murdered someone. Even though he doesn't try to play off that he did no wrong, he still tries to win the reader to his side. In other words, he is not innocent. 

Quotes about this: "...it was she who seduced me." I mean, COME ON. Really? Even after he revealed his perverted actions about what he'd do to her. 

Tone and Analysis overall:

With Humbert as our controlling, and slightly insane, narrator, the tone comes across as sly, superior, darkly comic and intellectual, alternating between bemused weariness and sweeping Romanticism. He uses dark humour and wit, and it serves as part of the narrative's smoke and mirrors, seeking to erase some of the horror in trivialising the subject matter by offering jokes where shock may be more readily expected. 

His writing style is deeply poetic, with a humorous and ornate style as a result of double entendres, multilingual puns, anagrams and coinages. The style is also highly visual, with Humbert often compelling the reader to see what he sees, "You can always count on murder as a fancy prose style". He is blunt, but in the most refreshing way possible, basically, guys, read this book if you can- its actually quite interesting, not even for the exam, but just as general reading- its not badly written for a guy who didn't even speak English as his first language, you go, Vladimir! 

English! Wider reading- Love through the ages

Hey Guys!

Okay so I'm basically going to be putting up a bunch of notes I have made on English Wider Reading for the exam for AQA LITA3, they may or may not help you out, I found that by typing them out, they help me revise too- so enjoy, hopefully they help you out- and good luck!

Sheena x

Topics:
OBSESSIVE LOVE
JEALOUS LOVE
POWER OF LOVE
ILLICIT LOVE 
FORBIDDEN LOVE
ROMANTIC LOVE