iGCSE English Literature CAIE

This subject offers 762 topics in 48 modules:

  1. 1984 6 topics
  2. Antony and Cleopatra 15 topics
  3. Death and the King's Horseman 20 topics
  4. The Namesake (Jhumpa Lahiri) 17 topics
  5. To Kill a Mockingbird 18 topics
  6. A Midsummer Night's Dream 19 topics
  7. An Inspector Calls 18 topics
  8. A Raisin in the Sun 6 topics
  9. A Separate Peace 6 topics
  10. A Streetcar Named Desire 11 topics
  11. A View From the Bridge 6 topics
  12. Carol Ann Duffy 15 topics
  13. Carol Ann Duffy Anthology 15 topics
  14. Crumbs from the Table of Joy 16 topics
  15. Cry, the Beloved Country 6 topics
  16. Death & the King's Horseman 15 topics
  17. Great Expectations 20 topics
  18. Hard Times 6 topics
  19. In Custody 6 topics
  20. Journey's End 6 topics
  21. Life of Pi 17 topics
  22. Macbeth 6 topics
  23. Mansfield Park 6 topics
  24. Of Mice and Men 22 topics
  25. Othello 6 topics
  26. Picnic at Hanging Rock 13 topics
  27. Poetry: Gillian Clarke 15 topics
  28. Poetry: Purple hibiscus 15 topics
  29. Poetry: Songs of Ourselves Vol 1 98 topics
  30. Poetry: Songs of Ourselves Vol 2 90 topics
  31. Purple Hibiscus 21 topics
  32. Rebecca 17 topics
  33. Romeo and Juliet 6 topics
  34. Songs of Ourselves, Vol. One, Part Four 20 topics
  35. Songs of Ourselves, Vol. One, Part Three 23 topics
  36. Songs of Ourselves Vol. Two, Part Four 15 topics
  37. Songs of Ourselves, Vol. Two, Part Two 15 topics
  38. Stories of Ourselves (Anthology) 1 topics
  39. Stories of Ourselves, Volume Two 10 topics
  40. Ted Hughes Anthology 15 topics
  41. The Crucible 7 topics
  42. Their Eyes Were Watching God 6 topics
  43. The War of the Worlds 13 topics
  44. The Winslow Boy 6 topics
  45. Things Fall Apart 21 topics
  46. Twelfth Night 6 topics
  47. Unseen Poetry 20 topics
  48. Washington Square 5 topics
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  • 48
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  • 762
    topics
  • 266,644
    words of revision content
  • 34+
    hours of audio lessons

This page was last modified on 28 September 2024.

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English Literature

1984

1984: Book Summaries

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1984: Book Summaries

Background

  • 1984 is a dystopian novel by George Orwell published in 1949.
  • It explores a future where citizens are controlled by the totalitarian regime of the Party and its leader, Big Brother.
  • Winston Smith is the main character. He's a low-level Party member in the Outer Party who starts to question the society he lives in.

Part One Summary

  • Winston Smith, wrestling with his repressed thoughts, starts keeping a forbidden diary in secret.
  • Set in Airstrip One (formerly England), in a nation named Oceania, Winston navigates the constant scrutiny other citizens and telescreens.
  • While attendance at the 'Two Minutes Hate' session, Winston identifies his enemies - the Party's face, Big Brother, and an apostate named Emmanuel Goldstein.
  • Winston, also develops an unusual attraction towards Julia, a co-worker. They both acknowledge their hatred for the Party.

Part Two Summary

  • Winston and Julia start an illicit romance, which is a rebellion against the Party. They secretly meet in a rented room in Mr. Charrington's shop.
  • Winston pays a dangerous visit to the proles (proletariat) district, who exist outside the Party's reach, seeking for the elusive truth.
  • Both Winston and Julia are approached by O'Brien, whom they believe to be a part of a resistance group (The Brotherhood).

Part Three Summary

  • O'Brien turns out to be a loyal Party member, traps Winston and Julia and gets them arrested by Thought Police.
  • Winston undergoes brutal torture and brainwashing sessions at the Ministry of Love. O'Brien controls his re-education.
  • Through the process of doublethink, Winston learns to simultaneously hold two contradictory beliefs in mind. He becomes genuinely loyal to the Party.
  • The novel ends tragically with Winston loving Big Brother, indicating that the Party has won.

Key Themes and Symbols

  • Physical control and psychological manipulation: Highlighted through the Party's control over its citizens.
  • Revisionism and erasure of past: Exemplified by the Party's altering historical records.
  • Language as mind control: Seen through 'Newspeak', a language designed to limit thought.
  • Symbols: Include Big Brother, telescreens, the paperweight, and the 'Victory' products.

Remember it's important to critically analyse Winston's struggle and transformation throughout course of the novel and its implications from within the dystopian genre.

Course material for English Literature, module 1984, topic 1984: Book Summaries

English Literature

Poetry: Songs of Ourselves Vol 1

Farmhand: Structure & Language Techniques

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Farmhand: Structure & Language Techniques

Structure

  • Farmhand is a poem by James K. Baxter and follows a free verse structure. This lack of a traditional rhyme scheme enhances the candid and casual narrative style.

  • The poem is divided into three equal stanzas, each containing five lines.

  • The regularity in the stanzas may reflect the regular and routine nature of the farmhand's life and duties.

  • Each stanza details different aspects of the protagonist's character – his physicality, internal loneliness, and interaction with others.

Language Techniques

  • The bleak imagery used, such as "shy as a rabbit" and "dancing awkward as a cart-horse", highlights the farmhand's insecurity and discomfort in social settings. It creates a sombre and solitary image of the protagonist.

  • The use of metaphors such as "rippling muscles on his back" and "a phoenix pulsing with a million hearts", are utilised to illustrate the protagonist's physical strength, vitality, and dedication to his farmwork.

  • The poem utilises juxtaposition to highlight the protagonist’s different personas. In the fields, he's portrayed as powerful and skilled, while at the community dance, he is uncomfortable and awkward.

  • The personification of the tractor as the love rival – "His red machine, his heart's companion" – portrays the farmhand's isolation and implies his only 'relationship' is with his work tools.

  • The intense descriptive language, particularly related to colour – "his red machine", "fire-studded darkness" – enhances the vividness of the rural setting and the protagonist's intense feelings.

  • Bates uses a rhetorical question at the end – "Who will remember your fingers alive on the grain in the golden autumn?" – to not only underscore his despair but also invoke empathy from the audience.

  • The language and structure techniques used in Farmhand collectively build a vivid and poignant image of a solitary figure battling with his internal conflicts and societal expectations.

Course material for English Literature, module Poetry: Songs of Ourselves Vol 1, topic Farmhand: Structure & Language Techniques

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