The art of studying short stories

Short stories are sometimes rather tricky to answer on in an exam.

With a novel or play you can:

• Trace the development of characters
• Work out how the plot is layered and structured
• See how recurrent imagery develops themes the writer wants to convey.

Studying a collection of short stories is rather different, particularly if they do not contain recurring characters or settings.

• As opposed to novels, short stories frequently start in the middle of events, rather than providing significant exposition of character and situation
• Rather than showing the long term development of a protagonist, they capture a moment in a person’s life and/or a shift in awareness
• Instead of the satisfaction of a ‘closed’ ending, short stories often leave the reader to suppose what might happen next and create their own resolution. 

A collection of short stories is inevitably a more multi-faceted way for an author to communicate their ideas. They can play with different perspectives, bring out contrasting nuances, experiment with different styles. Because of this, the student needs to engage in each individual episode, yet also be able to stand back and pick out key similarities and ideas which run throughout the collection.

A new text guide on James Joyce’s Dubliners

Launched today is a helpful, free student guide to help you get to grips with Dubliners, by James Joyce. Dubliners is a collection of fifteen short stories that depict the everyday lives of the inhabitants of early 1900s Dublin, Ireland.

Each story focuses on different characters, but the Dubliners text guide demonstrates how several themes recur throughout the book:

• Religion
• Politics
• The backwardness of Ireland
• The desire for escape
• The passage from childhood to adulthood. 

The collection starts and ends with death - the passing of an aging priest and the loss of a young lover.

An alien culture

As the title suggests, all Joyce’s stories are linked by being set in one Irish city, which has its own distinctive culture. Because the Dublin slang and customs of the early 1900s may faze some readers, the Crossref-it.info Dubliners text guide provides clear and concise explanations of unfamiliar terms to help you navigate your way through the narratives.

Meanwhile, as a handy reference, you can also read each Dubliners story online.

Teaching Peter Shaffer’s Equus

Help when you need it most

We’re getting to that point in the term when energies are starting to run low and inspiration is drying up. That’s not just A Level Eng. Lit. students but their teachers too! Yet, before mocks kick off just before or after Christmas, exam texts need to be completed and revision undertaken.

Thank goodness help is at hand for anyone studying Peter Shaffer’s Equus. Launched this week are a series of Equus worksheets for teachers full of ideas for the classroom which get across to students the key aspects of the play. When you just can’t think what to do in your next lesson why not explore what’s on offer?

The free, downloadable pdf files cover subjects such as:

• The way Shaffer has structured the drama
• The impact of it’s opening and ending
• How the play was originally staged
• Analysing the effect of the influences on Alan, such as:
  • His parents
  • Religion and worship
• The outworking of specific imagery through the play.

Not only are these resources brilliant for teachers, they’re also a great help for students who need to catch up missed work (after absence) or revise the play.

Clarity for the confused

There is already a helpful guide to Equus at Crossref-it.info, which offers scene synopses, commentary and in-depth analysis. As with all Crossref-it.info material, there is lots of help to explain the context of the text. For example:

• On-site you’ll discover how the play shows the influence of Bertolt Brecht, as well as using symbolic and expressionist theatrical elements (see http://www.crossref-it.info/articles/519/Twentieth-century-experiments).
• The many pagan and biblical allusions (which are challenging for twenty-first century students and teachers) are all made clear, so that you can zip through each scene.

Although Equus was written in the 1970s, it has a lot to say about today’s culture, which can lead to thoughtful debate. May you have enough energy left to make the most of the play!