Gatsby for the Facebook generation

Surface success

Facebook is a competitive environment:

> How rapidly can you update your status and how prestigious can you make it?

> How many friends can you boast of?

> How many wacky photos can you post to prove you’re having fun?

If it had been around in this era, Jay Gatsby (hero of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby) would have been a social media success. His blog would have been followed, his Tweets would trend. Where he was, was where the world gathered.

Of course, Gatsby had the ultimate Facebook profile, presenting the glamorous identity in which he wanted people to believe. But, like many Facebook profiles, it wasn’t entirely genuine. Charismatic Jay’s surprising backstory was that of itinerant Jimmy Gatz from North Dakota.

And just like the insubstantiality of today’s Facebook friends, Gatsby’s death demonstrated how hollow his relationships actually were. Even the idol of Gatsby’s enduring passion – Daisy Fay/Buchanan – could not withstand the weight of real engagement. Like much internet dating, their relationship thrived best at a distance.

Understanding Gatsby’s world

Launched this week is a new A Level study guide on The Great Gatsby. It will help you understand the world Fitzgerald was writing within and the symbolism by which he translated this into his novel. It deals with the Jazz Age’s quest for self-definition and the outworking of its hedonism. Characterisation and narrative are discussed in depth, whilst handy synopses and chapter commentaries will guide you through the text, also online at texts.crossref-it.info/text/the-great-gatsby. And if you need help with coursework assignments or exam prep, you’ll find it.

The Great Gatsby certainly provides a window into 1920s society, but Fitzgerald’s slim novel also provides a perspective on ours.

A fresh start and a new resource!

KS5 - a steep climb 

So – you’ve been back a couple of weeks and the first major assignments are rolling in. The reality of studying English Literature and Language at Advanced / Higher Level is starting to bite…

It has been said for years that the academic jump required between the demands of GCSE and A Level is greater than that between A Level and Undergraduate study, so don’t worry if you are starting KS5 and feeling somewhat swamped – everybody is at this stage!

We do hope that, if your mates and teachers don’t yet know about how Crossrefit.info can help with your A Level studies, you will have mercy on them and share the good news that help is at hand (yes, even teachers need help sometimes!).

Even better, we are about to launch a major new development which will support anyone approaching Literature from a thematic basis, using comparative texts.

‘Only Connect’

E M Forster’s famous adage ‘Only Connect’ (from his novel, Howards End) heads up a new section of the Cross Reference website. In it we have taken a unifying theme and then looked at how that runs through various texts featured onsite.

Most A Level syllabuses have a section where they want you to understand how different writers have dealt with similar ideas, be it the experience of war, the handling of romantic love or the portrayal of ageing. But where to start when there are so many texts and aspects to choose from?

In Only Connect the Crossref-it team have done a lot of the hard work for you, providing hundreds of helpful links to a variety of onsite sources. From next week you can access the following themed collections:

• Parents and children
• Women finding a voice
• Love, lust and marriage

Thereafter a new theme will appear every other month. Look out for ‘Attitudes to death’ and ‘The impact of location’ as term unfolds.

Meanwhile, keep writing, keep reading and above all, however challenging A Level English might seem right now, KEEP GOING!

It’s a boy!

The new prince has arrived at last. Such a tiny scrap of humanity, and yet already people are predicting what his life will be like. A huge weight of expectation rests on his tiny shoulders – how will he measure up?

Judging others & being judged

It doesn’t seem fair that so many judgements are passed on people in the public arena, yet they are. Indeed, we do it all the time ourselves. Often about others, but sometimes about ourselves too.
Perhaps you are waiting for exam results which will let you see how you compare to others. For good or bad, how we think we’ve done doesn’t always tally with how we are assessed by others!

A perspective from Shakespeare

In many of his dramas, Shakespeare examines the gaps between how people see themselves and how others perceive them; at a character’s public presentation of themselves and the reality. This theme is particularly foregrounded in Shakespeare’s ‘problem’ play, Measure for Measure.

Angelo lays down the law, but doesn’t bear examination himself. Can his hypocrisy be shown up by the virtues of Isabella? Is anyone able to shine light into the dark recesses of his heart? At a deeper level the play questions whether any of us have the right to judge another?

Measure for Measure productions

This summer you can still catch some productions of Measure for Measure (see below). If you are studying the play at A Level, there’s also a handy new Measure for Measure study plan (as part of the Crossref-it.info English Literature app for the Google Chrome browser) to help you work through the plot and the issues it presents.

After engaging with the play we might just hold back a little more from criticising or condemning those we know, or those in the public eye. We might just give Baby Cambridge a chance….

Productions

• Steam Industry in association with the Union Theatre and Rosendale Productions. Union Theatre, Southwark, 2 - 27 July.  www.uniontheatre.biz
• Bournemouth Shakespeare Players. Priory House Garden, Christchurch, 16 – 27 July (01202 534779) www.bshakespearep.btinternet.co.uk
• Cotswold Arcadians. Hatherop Castle, Gloucestershire, 29 July – 3 August (01285 898 019). www.arcadians.org
• Oxford Theatre Guild. North Wall Theatre, Oxford, 23 – 26 October (check website for ticket information).  www.oxfordtheatreguild.com

We have a winner!

Who’s won the Nexus 7?

For the last few weeks, whenever you’ve visited Crossref-it.info you will have been given the opportunity to win a Nexus 7 by answering a few brief questions. The competition has now closed and we are thrilled to announce that Lucy from Eastleigh was the lucky winner selected at random to receive the prize. With the summer holidays soon upon us, we hope Lucy can while away her leisure hours exploring the fantastic range of features the Nexus offers. Of course, the mobile version of Crossref-it.info also works beautifully on the Nexus!

A chance to improve

Meanwhile, we will be busy looking at the feedback to the questions we asked. We know people use Crossref-it all round the world to help them make the most of their reading. We want to work out which features of the site you find are most helpful, what you’d like to see developed or expanded and how the information we provide makes a difference. Of course, it’s always nice to find out what we’re doing right too!

Everybody’s response will be noted – we want to make sure that over the coming months we offer all the features you might be looking for as you delve into the riches of English Lit. or the complexities of the English Language.

Let us know

Even if you didn’t take part in our survey, we’d love to hear from you. Whether it’s about your experience of Crossref-it or what you are getting out of your reading, just leave us a comment. And if there’s any info you think we need to know (a brilliant drama production, a helpful web page or cultural event) do share it with us!

Austen’s mature work

What’s your favourite?

For anyone who is hoping to read English at university, a typical interview question may be to ask which your favourite texts are and why. (Handy hint for those who will be facing interviews next term, or who might encounter them in clearing: the interviewee hopes you are going to have engaged with more than just the works you studied for A Level!)

When I was applying to study English, my response about favourites would at some point include the works of Jane Austen. I had read them all over the years and particularly enjoyed Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, though struggled with the passivity of Fanny in Mansfield Park.

But which, questioned the interviewer on one occasion, did I think might have been Austen’s personal favourite? Hmmm.

Austen’s favourite?

Doubtless she was proud of all her output, but it seemed to me then, as it does now, that Jane Austen would most favour the endeavors of Anne Elliot in Persuasion. Anne, who is overlooked, has lost her dreams and is getting to the critical position of being ‘on the shelf’ in Regency society, yet who is wise, generous, quiet fun and astute in her assessment of others.

Anne is surrounded by the family from hell yet makes the best of it. She is fussed over by good friends but not taken in by them. She knows that she’s losing the charm of youth yet sees through the flattery that someone else in her situation might cling to.

Above all Persuasion is a story of hope and romance, played out by characters who have ‘been around the block’ and know what is worth holding on to. It is conjectured that Austen herself was engaged in a romance with a family connection, Tom Lefroy, that ultimately faltered. Persuasion could be seen as a literary re-write: one where the heroine does not have to sacrifice her personality in order to wine society’s prize: a story that allows a gentle - yet perceptive, under-confident - yet radiant, older woman to finally attain the man of her dreams.

Why not remind yourself?

This month’s Persuasion revision plan release from Crossref-it.info will guide you through Austen’s slim novel. If you think you remember it well, why not try out your skills on the quiz? Alternatively, you might be trying to gather together the thoughts and notes from a year of studying and would really benefit from seeing how it all fits together in a variety of essay plans. However you approach it, why not try Persuasion for yourself and see if you agree that Austen might have liked it best?

Getting to grips with Christina Rossetti

Last minute revision

We know that this is crunch time – AS students are in the middle of year-end exams whilst A2 papers are just around the corner. Our thoughts are with you!

At this stage, any little helps, so do check out the revision plans that Crossref-it.info have been producing. To date you can get help on each of the following texts:

Drama

• Dr Faustus
• The White Devil
• The Winter’s Tale

Prose

• Frankenstein
• Jane Eyre
• Wide Sargasso Sea

Poetry

• The Pardoner’s Prologue & Tale
• The Wife of Bath’s Prologue & Tale
• NEW The selected poems of Christina Rossetti

All these study plans are available through our Chrome English Literature app - this can be installed into your Chrome browser here: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/english-literature/mchmjdjgeenheaobgcdcmgoajknooalk

The latest study plan, on the poetry of Christina Rossetti, has just been released. For 79p there are questions to direct your understanding of how her poems work, as well as three ‘typical’ essay questions covering theme, mood and language in a wide variety of poems. Have a go at testing yourself on what you would include, then check your response against some expert answers.

Rossetti is not always easy to comprehend unless you get into her world. It’s never too late in the day to look at an excellent guide which specialises in explaining all the background references to the social and religious context with which her original readers were familiar: The Poetry of Christina Rossetti - free text guide.

Before you get to the exam hall

If you are panicking about your exam technique, and can’t recall what your teacher has been telling you, check out the advice about how to do your best in our guide on how to write a good English exam answer. Some questions will be based on an extract you’ll need to analyse – Crossref-it.info also has some handy hints on how to approach passage-based questions.

Get some rest

Next week is half term for most – remember that you need at least some time of refreshment within a revision-packed nine days, and don’t work too late into the night – an exhausted mind is not going to operate effectively when the invigilator starts the clock ticking.

Best wishes, the Crossref-it.info team

The pastoral tradition: spring and sex

Botticelli's Primavera or Allegory of Spring, 1482

At last!

After a long cold winter, it seems as if spring in England has gathered all its energies and, beckoned by sunshine and warmth, exploded into activity. The birds are busy with nests and mating, the bees are humming over forget-me-nots in the country and massed bluebells at Kew and it feels good to be alive.

Within 24 hours a nearby cherry tree has been transformed from essentially twiggy with only one brave blossom, to a mass of frothy pink. The silver birches have burst from bud to leaf. What was bare has become verdant at an astonishing pace.

Shakespeare captures this transition from bleakness to vibrancy in The Winter’s Tale, when the rouge Autolycus bursts onto stage with a song:

When daffodils begin to peer,
With heigh! the doxy over the dale,
Why, then comes in the sweet o' the year;
For the red blood reigns in the winter's pale.

The lark, that tirra-lirra chants,
With heigh! with heigh! the thrush and the jay,
Are summer songs for me and my aunts,
While we lie tumbling in the hay. (Act 4 sc 3)

Awakened passion

The two verses quoted here also allude to the other association of spring’s new life – that of awakened sexual passion. When hot blooded desire takes over, ‘tumbling’ is natural next step. Whilst Shakespeare’s noble characters, such as Perdita and Florizel in The Winter’s Tale, or Orlando and Rosalind in As You Like It, might allude to their romantic love, it was essential that they remained chaste. It was the rustics like Mopsa and Dorcas, or Touchstone and Audrey who were allowed to be more overtly carnal, as the song sung for the latter couple indicates:

It was a lover and his lass,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
That o'er the green corn-field did pass
     In the spring time, the only pretty ring time,
     When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding:
     Sweet lovers love the spring.

Between the acres of the rye,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino
These pretty country folks would lie,
     In the spring time..

This carol they began that hour,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino,
How that a life was but a flower,
     In the spring time..

And therefore take the present time,
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino;
For love is crowned with the prime,
     In the spring time.. (Act 5 sc 3)

Essentially, the song’s message is that nature teaches lovers to ‘seize the day’ in consummating their passion!

A warning note

But Shakespeare’s message is never quite as simplistic as that. In both The Winter’s Tale and As You Like It the nuptials of those who have waited and tested their love, such as Perdita and Rosalind are genuinely joyous. However, the hasty coupling of Touchstone and Audrey is judged ominously by the god of marriage to be as ‘sure together / As the winter to foul weather’, whilst melancholic Jaques gives their relationship ‘two months’ and predicts that it will end in ‘wrangling’ (Act 5 sc 4).

Safer perhaps just to contemplate the blossom…