Week 3 Lesson 2 Oscar Wilde & Literature

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 6

learning goals

I will have checked how well I can answer questions about The Picture of Dorian Gray. 

I will know how to formulate an answer to test questions. 

What can you expect?

Periode 1: mondeling (boek) + examenvaardigheden

Periode 2: kijk- en luistervaardigheid + literatuur + leesvaardigheid

Periode 3: leesvaardigheid

Periode 4: examen leesvaardigheid

Literature: how to study?

• Make sure to read summaries of Pride and Prejudice, Frankenstein, Jane Eyre and The Picture of Dorian Gray. Practice with quizzes on Sparknotes.
  
• Make sure to study all the elements of the Victorian Age and Romantic Period (know the difference between them)
• You need to know the poems by Wordsworth, Coleridge and Blake 

Literature: how to study?

• Practice/study the slides I have shared with you
• You also need to know how to apply the seven elements of fiction to the novels. 
• On the test you get a mix of open and multiple choice questions (R, T1, T2 and I)
• We want you to write in English, but Dutch is also acceptable if you cannot find the right words. 

Homework: discussion questions

1. Relate at least 2 Victorian elements to the novel. Make sure to explain your answer by using an example from the novel. 

2. Which conflict would you say is present in the book? (man Vs. man, man Vs. society, man Vs. nature) Explain your answer.

3. How can The Picture of Dorian Gray be considered an example of the Aesthetic movement? Explain your answer. 

4. Find a quote by Oscar Wilde that you like and explain it. 

Victorian Era: Characteristics

• daily life
  
• moral purpose
• idealism/ideal life
• pessimism
• visually descriptive
• dramatic monologue
• takes inspiration from renaissance

Which quote by Oscar Wilde have you found?

Why was the novel successful? 

1. intended for middle class

2. flexible

3. escapism (industrial revolution Vs. refuge in nature)

4. realistic

5. solutions to complex issues

Characteristics of Victorian Novel: 

1. Standard middle-class (bourgeoisie) habits and standards of behaviour.

2. The most popular topic is the adaptation of the individual to society. (Was this similar to the Romantic era?)

3. Emphasis on the way that characters develop. 

(lower class described in a boring manner, aristocracy portrayed in a jealous/arrogant manner). 

1. Relate at least 2 Victorian elements to the novel. Make sure to explain your answer by using an example from the novel.

2. Which conflict would you say is present in the book? (man Vs. man, man Vs. society, man Vs. nature, man Vs. self) Explain your answer.

Themes explained

• Aesthetic Movement:  Victorians believed art had to have a clear objective: educate masses, distinguish good from bad, be beautiful. The aim of art was to have no aims = Art for Art's sake.
• Hedonism: the theory that pleasure (the satisfaction of desires) is the highest good and aim of human life. 

Aestheticism

How is the picture of Dorian Gray an example of Aestheticism: 

Real art takes no part in molding the social or moral identities of society, nor should it. Art should be beautiful and pleasure its observer, but to imply further-reaching influence would be a mistake. The only purpose of life Dorian has in mind is pleasure seeking and nothing else. 

Practice questions 

Which one is not an element of the Victorian age?

1. nature as godlike
2. focus on the common man
3. escapism
4. takes inspiration from the renaissance

What is the cyclical nature of life?

cyclical nature of life

with God

Child with subconscious remembrance of life with God

corruption by society

How can Frankenstein be considered a Romantic novel?

7. Which few traits do you think best describe the following characters?

Mr Collins

Lady Catherine de Bourgh

Lydia

 Mrs Bennet

vain, hypocrite, snob

meddlesome, arrogant, a schemer 

 flirt, man-chaser 

foolish, fickle, ill-informed

Who does Jane marry in Jane Eyre?

1. Mr. Rochester
2. Mr Brocklehurst
3. St. John Rivers

What could be a theme in Pride and Prejudice? Use 1 example

Exam strategies

Open questions: Als er een citaat staat in de vraag wat doe je dan?

voorbeeld antwoord open vraag:
ze hebben andere sleep methods nodig. Wat is hier fout?

Kijk/luisteren VWO Engels

• globaal luisteren of kijken: hier mag je de vragen nog niet lezen. Je kijk/luistert naar het fragment, maakt aantekeningen en dan beantwoord je de vragen. 
• voorspellend luisteren: hier moet je het juiste woord invullen op de plaats van de pieptoon. 
• selectief luisteren : hier mag je de vragen al wel lezen (2/3), dan luister je naar het fragment en vervolgens beantwoord je de vragen 
• Daarnaast nog gewone kijk/luister vragen