Students are obsessed with quotations aren’t they? They’re
always asking for a list of the ‘most important ones’ and are keen to
demonstrate what they know by reciting back what they have memorised. But they
have their priorities wrong; students need to realise they aren’t sitting an
exam on quotations, they’re sitting an exam on a text. Of course, knowledge of
quotations is necessary but only a small part of what is needed for success.
When thinking about this over the Easter holidays, I wondered where this
pre-occupation with quotations had come from and the one answer I kept coming
back to was me. Us. Teachers. I fear we have fostered a ‘quotation complex’ at
the expense of exploration of the wider text, maybe due to the nature of the closed book exam.
Perhaps this is why some find it a challenge to talk about
events outside of the extract they are given. They can analyse and analyse well
yet are not always as successful when it comes to making strong, perceptive links
across the text as a whole. In my opinion, this is most notable amongst
students who complete two or three paragraphs of analysis on the extract and
then two or three paragraphs of analysis on a quotation outside the extract,
with no indication of how the events they are discussing link through context,
language or drama; their analysis of the extract may as well be a separate essay from their analysis of the story as a whole. Focusing solely on quotations forces
students to analyse events in the play as a series of isolated incidents with
no consideration of what came before or what comes after.
Don’t get me wrong. I am in no way suggesting that we no
longer teach students quotations. I’m merely suggesting that we should approach
the way we use them a little differently. Emphasis should not be placed on the
importance of remembering the quotation, but the way in which the quotation
allows us to delve into a character’s psyche, how events of the time has
influenced a writer’s decision or the relevance of the work in modern society
amongst other things. Let the quotations do the work for you, rather than you
doing the work for the quotations. (Hopefully that makes sense!)
Let me provide you with an example of what I'm trying to say.
Honestly, how many of us complete a context lesson towards the beginning of a
new GCSE unit? I know I do. My ‘A Christmas Carol’ scheme of work begins with
an entire lesson on what life was like in Victorian London, just as my ‘An
Inspector Calls’ scheme begins with a look at Edwardian Britain. Ruth Johnson,
Qualifications Developer for AQA GCSE English says, ‘Above all, teaching of context should be rooted in the
text. It shouldn't need or lead to history lessons but should use the text
itself as a window into the context of the text.’ I guess I’ll have to rewrite those schemes of work! In all seriousness,
Johnson has a point which, personally, has taken me a while to understand. If
we teach context separately from the text, students will see them as two
separate entities, meaning they are unable to make links between the quotations
we are asking them to study and the wider ideas we want them to explore. The
same goes for authorial intent, dramatic significance, and character.
Perhaps if we teach these ideas as we get to the
quotations we want students to focus on, they will remember them more. (I know
there are lots of teachers who already do this! This is just a reflection of my
own teaching practice) If they remember them more, they’ll be less pre-occupied
with trying to recite lists of quotations as exams approach. Make the focus about
the text, not the quotation. I guess what I’m trying to say is that instead of
reading a quotation, getting students to highlight it and completing a quick
quotation explosion on language, we should be using the quotation to teach all
aspects of the text, dedicating time to characters and their relationships, the
way they live and conduct themselves, why the writers have crafted the
characters and the events they experience in that way and how readers/audiences
would react to this. With this approach, one could argue that an entire lesson
could be dedicated to a single quotation, not the quotation itself but the
circumstances that make that quotation an important one to consider.
An idea:
Over Easter, I shared a series of resources
called ‘Quotation Drills’. I wanted these to remedy the issues I have described
above. Here’s an example of one for ‘Macbeth’:
Thinking carefully about what I wanted my students to know about the text in question, I came up with the following rules that each drill should follow.
1.
Each
drill should ask students to place the quotation in context – this allows
students to consider events that have come before, allowing them to explain the
significance of the quotation and how it helps the writer convey their ideas
and intentions.
2.
Each
drill should allow students to ‘define’ and ‘identify’ devices – I’ve
always found students can identify language devices easily. It’s easy to spot a
simile, for example. All you need to do is look for the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.
When you ask students to define these terms, they are less sure of themselves.
If a student cannot define a particular device, they do not have a complete
understanding of it. These tasks allow them to practise this.
3.
Each
drill should allow students the chance to analyse single words – This is
part of Assessment Objective 2 and so it is necessary to include these
activities in the drill, encouraging more than one interpretation.
The first three steps are what
many would identify as the ‘non-negotiable’ steps of analysing quotations but it is
important not to miss any opportunities and this is where we can encourage
perceptive exploration of the text through the quotation itself and get
students to explore the ‘big picture’.
4. Each drill should allow students to link
the quotation to the social, historical context – This shows students that
writers are influenced by what was happening at the time. It’s also a way of
proving that the ‘the text itself [is] a window into the context of
the text’ and not the other way around. Start with the quotation and link
from there. Don’t make your quotation the ‘goal’.
5. Each drill should allow students to make
links across the text – Are the events described similar to other events?
How are the characters developing? Is similar language used? This gives
students an excuse to explore the text holistically.
6. Each drill should explore authorial intent
– This allows students to consider what the writer intends and how that
particular quotation allows them to deliver their message to a reader or
audience. Once again, start with the quotation, but the end point should be
much bigger.
Lots of teachers say, ‘it’s not the quotation that’s
important but what you say about it.’ I’d go one step further and say it’s not
just what one says about the quotation, but what one says about the TEXT. Breaking
down and scaffolding quotations in this way have allowed students to stop and
think, not just about what they need to say but what they want to say
about the novel, play or poem as a whole. As Andy Sammons (@andy_samm) said to
me when discussing the impact of approaching quotations in this way: ‘It’s been
a big game changer for my students – big issue was that the analysis was short
and divorced from context or dramatic significance: this forces them to
rethink!’
Here are some examples of completed drills:
Usually I’d receive some brief (and bland) analysis on
quotations, with little exploration of the bigger picture:
‘Stars, hide your fires; Let not light
see my black and deep
desires.’
With this quotation, students would
probably focus on ‘black and deep desires’ and make a general comment about
fate and destiny. After using a ‘quotation drill’, students saw the
significance of the quotation but also its wider implications as well as the
similarities between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's state of mind. (For example, they both call upon darkness to cover terrible sins). Upon completion of their drills, I gave students questions so they could apply their knowledge to an answer. The paragraphs below are examples of analysis
students produced in 10 minutes. While there are still some issues with
expression and vocabulary, there are clear indications of how students are
beginning to consider how one quotation fits into the bigger picture.
Explore how
Shakespeare presents guilt in ‘Macbeth’.
Once Macbeth has
ordered the death of Banquo, he says ‘O, full of scorpions is my mind.’ Perhaps
Shakespeare uses the monosyllable ‘O’ to show that Macbeth’s mind is so
tortured he is unable to form coherent phrases; however, it could also be a cry
of lamentation or pain. Macbeth may be reflecting on his cruel deeds and begin
to recognise the magnitude of his actions. On the other hand, he could be lamenting
himself as he is suffering under the weight of his actions, despite having
everything he wants. Shakespeare uses the noun ‘scorpions’ to highlight the pain
and torture of his guilt, retribution for disrupting the Great Chain of Being. Scorpions
connote poison and death, suggesting to the audience that guilt has poisoned
Macbeth’s conscience. Scorpions are a fitting image to torture Macbeth, their
violent tail mirroring Macbeth’s dagger. The adjective ‘full’ suggests the
guilt and evil has entirely consumed his being. Shakespeare may have presented
guilt so negatively to show his audience that evil deeds have consequences and
major acts like regicide have the highest cost.
Explore how Shakespeare presents ambition in 'Macbeth'.
In Act 1, scene 4, after Macbeth’s encounter with the witches, he says
‘stars hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires.’ This
shows how after just receiving the witches’ prophecy, his evil desires are
already consuming him. Murderous thoughts fill his head and he is willing to
gain the throne by any means at the expense of others. The adjective ‘black’
shows his head is almost stained with murderous thoughts. He is beyond repair
and redemption. In the quotation, there are elements of light versus darkness.
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are exposed by light and use darkness to conceal their
evil deeds. As well as this, Macbeth asks the stars to hide and help him fulfil
his prophecies as stars were considered to tell of peoples’ fate in the 11th century.
After receiving news that Malcolm is to become Duncan’s heir, Macbeth
says ‘stars hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires’. This
reveals how Macbeth is gradually consumed by his hamartia – ambition – a
destructive force that leaves one devoid of morality or hope. In turn, this
pits an audience of the time against Macbeth, as the Jacobean population
would have been staunchly protestant under King James I and would have valued
morality and other Christian principles. Furthermore, the adjective ‘deep’
alludes to the grip that ambition now holds on Macbeth, as he has changed
radically from a noble thane to a conspirator of regicide, signifying his own
mercurial nature as he attempts to decide between honour and his over-riding
desire for power. By demanding the ‘stars hide’ their ‘fires’, Macbeth wants to
determine and control his own fate, as in the 11th century, people
would have believed their destiny was written in the stars, great celestial
beings of the night. Evidently, Shakespeare wants to portray ambition as a
slippery slope to one’s downfall, a subtle warning that authority and the
Divine Right of Kings must always be obeyed.
Usually, I follow the ‘I – we- you’ model. This time, we
completed our whole class answer after the individual answers so that students
were a little more confident with volunteering their ideas. This approach also
allowed me to remind them of elements they were still missing out. What I like about the paragraphs above is that they are beginning to make links to other areas of the text even though they are still focusing on the given extract. (Links to Lady Macbeth/the dagger). They aren't just focusing on one area of the text in isolation but simply the text itself. However, this evidently isn't strong enough yet and so once we completed the whole class answer you can see below, students revisited their own paragraphs to
make improvements.
Whole Class Answer
In Act 1, Scene 4, after Macbeth’s encounter with the witches and upon
hearing the news that Malcolm is to become Prince of Cumberland, Macbeth says,
‘stars hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires’ implying
that his thoughts have been corrupted by their prophecies. He describes his
desires using the adjectives ‘black and deep’ which hints of his ambition for
power and the temptation he feels. ‘Black’ suggests his thoughts have stained
his mood; he cannot get rid of these desires and consequently, his hamartia
leads to his downfall. Macbeth wants these ‘stars to hide their fires’ so he
can act upon these dark thoughts as light will expose his murderous plans. This
is similar to when Lady Macbeth calls upon the ‘smoke of hell’ to protect her
innocent appearance as she plans regicide. In the 11th century,
people would have believed that stars told of your fate and destiny. By asking
the stars to hide themselves, Macbeth believes he is taking control of his fate
and future.
There’s still work to do in this
area of my teaching. Moving forward, I want students to be in a place where
they don’t feel the need to scribble down all the quotations they remember at
the top of their exam paper before they start their answer (not something I’ve
encouraged but a reflection of students’ incorrect priorities). Quotations should
be a ‘way in’ to the text. If we ignore the ‘bigger picture’ we are doing our
students a disservice. After all, we are teachers of English, not quotations.
Stuart
@SPryke2
(Ironically, as I was writing this, a student emailed asking
for a list of ‘An Inspector Calls’ quotations. It seems I have a lot of work to
do!)
Quotation drills for 'A Christmas Carol', 'Macbeth' and 'Power and Conflict' poetry can be found here.