A2 Lang Lit Course

ELLA4 Coursework

LO
Understanding the demands of the course reading, preparation and essay writing. Exploring the opening of The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood

Final Assessment
Internally marked coursework essay (2500 words) on comparing and contrasting specified elements of The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Wife of Baths Prologue and Tale (from The Canterbury Tales) by Geoffrey Chaucer.

Approved essay titles will be provided. You will write two drafts and a final version. One draft and the final version are submitted. However, on the path to this final coursework you will be expected to write short essays of between 500 and 800 words each week on specified topic related to both texts.

Reading expectation
This term you will be expected to read The Handmaids Tale. We will study this in detail from the beginning BUT you will be expected to have prepared the chapters we are going to study in advance of the lesson. Note: we will not get through the novel if you do not read these chapters in advance and come prepared to discuss them.

Wider reading
Though it is not necessary to read other texts to answer the essay question it is recommended. Here are some suggestions: 1984 George Orwell A Brave New World Aldus Huxley

Word starter
Utopia Dystopia

What do they mean?

explore

The Handmaids Tale

Analyse the title

Preparation for Monday

Read chapters 1, 2 and 3. Consider these questions
Is there a contradiction inherent in the use of the title aunt? What is the role of the handmaid? Is the narrator speaking in the past or present and what does this suggest about the narrative?

Epigram 1
And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel; and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. Genesis, 30:1-3

Epigram 2
But as to myself, having been wearied out for many years with offering vain, idle, visionary thoughts, and at length utterly despairing of success, I fortunately fell upon this proposal... Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal

Epigram 3
In the desert there is no sign that says, Thou shalt not eat stones. Sufi proverb

Written Homework
Write 500 words exploring the meanings of these three epigrams.

Plenary
How long is the coursework essay? What is the meaning of Dystopia? Who do you think will be the narrator for the text?