English Language and Literature Anthology Notes

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  • Created by: Louise
  • Created on: 13-05-14 18:47

Text 1- The Butcher's Shop

Summary

The Butchers Shop is a poem about your average Butcher's. The poet writes from a childhood perspective, exploring the repulsive impression the dead animals had on her compared to the childish, personified images she was exposed to in children's books.

Key quotes

'what does the sheep say now?'- a rhetorical question. This is a sinister line as it mimicks the wording of childrens book while the sheep has actually been slaughtered.

 ''the butcher smiles a meaty smile, white apron stained with who knows what'-this gives a replusive image to the reader and shows how suspicious/murderous the butcher looked to the poet as a child.

Key Ideas

  • childhood fantasy compared to adult reality
  • juxtaposition between the ever-living storybook animals and the dead meat
  • as you grow older the reality's of life are more sinister then they first appear




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Text 2-Eating Out

Summary

Eating out is a poem about the poet dining in expensive and fancy restaurants with her parent. It explores the controlling relationship the poet has with her father and how eating out was a show of wealth and importance rather than enjoyment- the whole poem could be a metaphor for the poets life, as it does move on in time.

Key quotes

'moules mariniere'- loan words give sense of sophistication which shows how pretentious the people who eat at the restaurants are 

 'rehearsed', 'introduced', 'supervised', 'initiated'-lexical control of passive verbs/control. All the things described are done to/for the poet showing that she was not in control of her own actions.

Key Ideas

  • Father controls the poet
  • Dining is something done to project and image and impression on to the world of importance and prestige
  • She is controlled so that she fits into an image of her parents- sophisticated and wealthy, choosing to do only the best things with the best types of people
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Text 3- The Sweet Menu

Summary

The Sweet Menu is a poem about a man eating alone and yearning for someone to be with him. It explores the mans loneliness through his dining experience.

Key quotes

'facing me is the chair'-Personification of the chair shows his loneliness. The chair is empty also connoting the same thing.

'and i think, it hasn't come to much'-Dual meaning. He hasn't been charged much for the meal because he is alone. Also that his life has not amounted to much, he feels alone and depressed.

Key Ideas

  • He is completely lonely
  • Reference to lily shows he is going through life and doing everything normally but he doesn't feel like he is living properly (lilly is plastic)
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Text 4- Grandpa's Soup

Summary

Grandpas soup is a poem about a woman reminiscing her grandpa's soup and consequently her Grandpa. The poem starts off childlike and specifically about the soup but the progresses to talk about the emptiness she feels that she will never eat her grandpa's soup again when he is gone.

Key quotes

'I will long for it my whole life after he is gone'-When she talks about the soup she means her grandpa. The euphemism for death shows that she really loves her grandpa.

'hough','loch','wee'-Scottish dialect gives the Grandpa's a voice and therefore a character which brings him to life for the reader.

Key Ideas

  • Reminiscing about her Grandpa's soup, and her grandpa
  • she loves her grandpa
  • she will miss her grandpa when he is gone and she panics about this
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Text 8-Beef Stroganoff

Summary

An old advert for Bisto gravy that is the form of an old cookbook recipe. A character played by Julie Walters is utilised to add personalisation to the text.

Key quotes

'beef stroganoff'-loan words adds sense of mystery and exotic feel to the dish. Its something the readers have never tried but they are convinced to through the character created.

Key Ideas

  • Use of 'yvonne' a middle aged house wife to make dish seem achievable and not too 'out there'
  • Gravy capitalised to show importance and that it is an essential ingredient
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Text 9-Why we all need to eat red meat

Summary

A newspaper article by a famous chef telling readers why red meat is good for you in moderation.

Key quotes

'Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease'-Medical terminology gives idea to reader that the writer knows what he is talking about

'Well calm down, everyone!'- this exclamative is used preceeding an over the top account of what could happen if you eat meat. Makes audience feel like they were stupid to think that meat was bad.

Key Ideas

  • Second guessing used to make audience think that having an opinion different to the writers is stupid
  • Medical terminology/technical jargon used to give sense of security to reader- writer knows what he is talking about.
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Text 10- Tripe

Summary

Tripe is an academic text for those who are specifically interested in tripe. It details the different tripes and when and where tripe was eaten.

Key quotes

'the name tripe derives from Norman French'- Declarative are used throughout to give sense of authority. Proper nouns are also used to show authority.

'Samuel Pepys'-literary references show that text is aimed at academics who would have a shared knowledge with the writer.

Key Ideas

  • Authoritive voice maintened throughout through declaratives and statistics
  • literary references used because the text is aimed at those who understand them
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Text 11- The vegetarian society

Summary

A website that aims to guide people into becoming vegetarian through a step by step guide. Less persuasive as the reader would probably be those considering becoming a vegetarian in the first place.

Key quotes

'Don't go it alone' suggests that the Vegetarian Society are going to be supporting the reader every step of the way, almost as though they're going to be a huge involvement. Suggests vegetarians are one big family.

'learn a little about nutrition'-makes the society seem trust worthy and reliable. 'a little' connotes learning something is do-able and easy

Key Ideas

  • Sense of ease, trust and authority
  • Vegetarian society is one big family
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Text 21- Titus andronicus

Summary

Extract where the emperors wife is tricked into eating her own sons as an act of revenge for them ****** and mutilating Lavinia, Titus's daughter.

Key quotes

'why there they are, both baked in this pie'- dramatic revelation of cannibalism stated so simply gives a sinister impression.

'whereof the mother daintily hath fed'- the ladylike impression of dainty juxtaposes the cannibalism being commited. Shakespeare mocks the illusion of civiliatty compared to the sinister and evil reality of what is going on beneath the pretense.

Key ideas

  • the people who control can be so corrupt that the only way to overturn there ways is total death and destruction of one system
  • The notion of expected appearance vs reality.
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