New, free A Level text-guide on The Taming of the Shrew

Shakespeare’s early ‘comedy’, The Taming of the Shrew, has posed a number of problems in production since its original performances from 1593 onwards.

A play of its times?

The play reflects three cultural strands of the late Elizabethan era, which Shakespeare weaves into a narrative that can be played in a variety of ways:

• Since medieval times, there existed a rich seam of misogynistic stereotyping about women who defied the culturally desirable norm of female gentleness and obedience. Such women were branded ‘shrews’ or harridans
• Arriving from Europe, the Commedia dell’Arte stock plots and characters influenced the English theatrical world and resulted in farcical comedies where young lovers sought to thwart self-deluding and/or authoritarian old men
• Echoing late Elizabethan court life, upwardly-mobile young men dressed to impress so as to acquire status via marriage (or the personal attention of Elizabeth I). To succeed, elaborate versification and skillful social maneuvering were required.

Whilst drawing on this background, Shakespeare also challenges it. In The Taming of the Shrew:

• The ‘shrew’ becomes the most desirable wife
• The man seeking advancement is deliberately offensive in his wooing
• The knockabout farce places the innocent in genuine jeopardy and discredits the lovers.

Launched today

Now students have got an invaluable free guide to the play, accompanied by an online text: The Taming of the Shrew text guide. Targeting the many A Level English Lit. students who are studying The Taming of the Shrew (which appears on the AQA and Edexcel specifications), the new Crossref-it.info text-guide provides everything a student needs to help them enjoy the play and answer confidently when it comes to assessment.

As you might expect, it contains:

• Handy synopses and commentaries on every scene
• Character studies
• An exploration of the play’s language and the impact of its structure
• Summaries of the themes and recurring imagery of the play.

There are also sections detailing contextual aspects such as sport and marriage in Shakespeare’s era, the prevailing patriarchal culture and how critics have responded to the play – all vital to understand for success at A Level.

Make up your own mind

The Taming of the Shrew is regarded as one of Shakespeare’s most problematic dramas. As well as studying the text, why not try and see a live performance to help you make up your mind about how to interpret it? There’s still time to catch the current production of The Taming of the Shrew at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London, running until 6 August (020 7401 9919).

www.shakespearesglobe.com

For an entertaining cultural spin-off, devised in the twentieth century, you might also check out the Welsh National Opera Company’s musical, Kiss Me Kate, which is touring from September 29th until December 10th 2016 (see www.wno.org.uk for details).

Will you want to laugh or cry?

The Color Purple: Lesson ideas for A Level Eng. Lit. teachers

A fortnight ago www.crossref-it.info launched a comprehensive new guide for A Level Eng. Lit. students examining Alice Walker’s classic text, The Color Purple.

Now there is help for teachers.

As from today, the text-guide is accompanied by two sets of freely downloadable worksheets:

• Investigate The Color Purple handouts pose exploratory questions on each letter of the novel, helping students build up a valuable bank of notes. Collated from the textguide in three handy worksheets, these are invaluable for helping students revise, catch up missed work or simply to set for homework. http://crossref-it.info/textguide/the-color-purple/42/3322
• Exploring aspects of the novel and its world in greater depth and breadth, there are six new collections of lesson ideas on the following areas:
• Celie’s narrative voice, the way it develops and is depicted through the novel
• The presentation of abuse in the text, through its various aspects
• How effectively the ending of the narrative embodies the resolution of the plot and reconciliation of the characters
• The way Walker’s characters defy gender roles and expectations
• An examination of the significant female bonds through the story
• An exploration of the impact of patriarchy and religion on the main characters and their culture.

Most are accompanied by easily photocopiable student handouts, saving teachers valuable time. http://crossref-it.info/textguide/the-color-purple/42/3322

Text-guide links

Each worksheet suggests where students can find handy information to help them deepen their knowledge by linking back to relevant pages within the new text-guide on The Color Purple. From there they can follow other links or simply roam through the wealth of material provided.

As a teacher you can be assured that all crossref-it.info material is written by UK A Level English teachers, examiners and academics – writers who want to open up the riches of literature, whilst understanding what the syllabus requires of students.

We also know how much pressure teachers are under. Here’s hoping that the resources offered here will make your life just that bit easier!

New, free text-guide on Alice Walker’s The Color Purple

Launched today is a comprehensive new guide on Alice Walker’s classic text, The Color Purple. Spanning the first half of the twentieth century, the novel details two sisters’ experience of culture, racism and gender relations in the American South and in Africa. The stories of Celie and Nettie are powerful and raw, reaching out to readers of all ages.

The Color Purple features on the specifications of AQA, Edexcel and WJEC exam boards. As ever, 25% of marks awarded to students are based on their comprehension of the world the novel refers to and within which Walker was writing.

Context made clear

For readers in the UK, it may be hard to grasp the ramifications of the novel’s context. However, extensive sections in the new Crossref-it guide cover areas such as the Social / political world of the novel, with information about:

• Colonialism and slavery
• The black civil rights and black power movements
• Women’s liberation and the sexual revolution.

Alice Walker had an individual take on mainstream religion, which is shown in the development of her protagonists. Sections about the Religious / philosophical background to the work include:

• African religious beliefs
• The use of religion to uphold racism and slavery
• The role of the church to overthrow racist (and colonial) oppression.

Walker’s text is composed of a series of letters between the two sisters. Students need to know how it reflects a literary heritage of:

• Epistolary novels
• Slave narratives
• Post-colonial writing.

Understanding the text

The Crossref-it.info text-guide on The Color Purple has thought-provoking commentary of each of the 90 letters, as well as helpful character studies. It contains an analysis of the novel’s themes and its dominant imagery, as well as an appraisal of the text’s narrative devices and language. There is detailed investigation of the text’s structure and how it is used to convey meaning as well as shape the story.

As ever, there is extensive help for students in writing about the text, their ideas joining the range of critical interpretations which have been brought to bear since the novel was first published in 1982.

All in all, this new text-guide offers everything a student needs for success in A Level Eng. Lit. as well as providing fascinating insights for the interested reader.

Make the most of it! --> Free text guide on Alice Walker's The Color Purple