Well it is a beautiful day and I was thinking about how to help you all prepare for your exam *and* help your structure your coursework essays.
Watch this video... only 3 minutes of your life and definitely worth it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqq2urmIV5Y
Remember planning is the key! As a very wise and possibly famous person said if "you fail to plan....then you plan to fail."
Thesis is just a posh word for question. So it is a good idea to link back to your question during your essay and at the end in your conclusion.
Have a go at doing a few of these, remembering to spend no more than one hour on each one. Do a plan before your essay and hand that in as well.
Helpful hints: refer to Duffy in your answer as she has created the characters. Use your choice of poems throughout your answer: do not write about one poem and then another. Remember to answer the question: do not just write down everything you know about the poems. Use poetic terms to enhance your answer, not as the main focus.
1. “The World’s Wife is a celebration of women and their achievements.” To what extent do you agree with this assessment? In your answer you should either refer to two or three poems in or range more widely through the collection.
2. “‘Mrs Sisyphus’ is a typical representation of the poems in The World’s Wife.” Discuss this statement and consider whether or not you agree with it.
3. “‘Pope Joan’ is the odd one out in Duffy’s The World’s Wife.” Explore this idea, considering whether or not you agree with the assessment.
4. “‘Queen Kong’ is, like all the poems in the collection, a humorous take on a well-known story.” Discuss this statement, using two or three poems to draw your conclusions.
5. How has Duffy used children’s fairytales and/or modern ‘myths’ in order to comment on the nature of relationships between men and women?
6. “In using biblical stories in her collection Duffy merely offers the reader a different perspective on a patriarchal world.” Explore this statement, using either two or three poems in detail in your answer or ranging more widely through the collection.
7. “The poems in The World’s Wife reflect Duffy’s own, very feminist, view of the world.” Explore this statement, using either two or three poems in detail or ranging more widely through the collection.
8. “Duffy’s poems are more successful when she uses characters that are more familiar to a 21st century audience, such as ‘The Devil’s Wife’ and ‘The Kray Twins’.” Explore this opinion, using at least two other poems to draw your conclusions.
9. “Although many of the poems in The World’s Wife are humorous, they all have a serious underlying message to convey.” Explore this statement, using either two or three poems in detail or ranging more widely through the collection.
10. “The World’s Wife only appeals to a female audience because of the negative portrayal of men.” Explore this statement, using either two or three poems in detail or ranging more widely through the collection.
11. “As with many of the poems in The World’s Wife, ‘Mrs Rip Van Winkle’ has extremely dark undertones and is not meant to be only funny.” Explore this statement, using two or three other poems to compare with this one.
12. “The poems about fairytale characters are all funny, but the religious ones are not.” Discuss this statement and give your own opinion, using at least four of the poems in your answer.
13. “The World’s Wife is all about relationships.” Explore this statement, using either two or three poems in detail or ranging more widely through the collection.
14. “There is not a single positive portrayal of a man in all the poems in the collection.” Explore this statement, using either two or three poems in detail or ranging more widely through the collection.
15. “The classical characters are either bitter or smug.” Explore this statement, using either two or three poems in detail or ranging more widely through the collection.
16. “There is nothing funny about middle-aged women moaning about their lot in life.” Explore this opinion of The World’s Wife, using either two or three poems in detail or ranging more widely through the collection.
17. “‘Demeter’ is a haunting tale of grief which is unique in its topic and style in the collection.” Explore this statement, using at least two or three other poems to compare with this one.
18. “A reader needs to know the stories behind poems such as ‘Mrs Faust’ otherwise they do not have much meaning.” Explore this opinion, using either two or three other poems in detail or ranging more widely through the collection.
Good luck and remember you can show me any plans or answers you write and we can discuss them!
Additional preparation for your exam: It would be brilliant to see more of you Tuesday after school in E4 at 3.50pm!
