Critical Essays Exam Technique

Critical Essay Exam Ninety minutes Two essays from different genres (Drama, Poetry, Prose Non-Fiction) No notes

Choosing a Relevant Question Read all the questions in all three questions Tick all the questions you could answer Decide which of these you can answer the best

Highlight Key Phrases Choose a play set in a society whose values conflict with those of a central character or characters. Describe this difference in values and discuss how effectively the opposition of values enhances your appreciation of the play as a whole.

Planning Quickly brainstorm / mind-map all the relevant points you can think of for the question Decide on the six or seven most relevant points Number these in the order you intend to approach them (use the wording of the question to guide you here) Add relevant quotations, or parts of them

Introduction Respond to the task without simply repeating it Brief outline of what your argument will be Do not include ‘In this essay, I will discuss...’ Do not include a list of techniques used by the playwright/poet/author

In his tragedy ‘The Crucible’, Arthur Miller depicts Salem, 1692 as a society that curbs freedom of thought, speech and expression. The values of this repressive theocracy are portrayed by the dramatist as being in direct opposition to those of the protagonist, John Proctor. Miller uses this clash of values as the catalyst for much of the play’s tragic action and also as a vehicle for exploring the struggles of the individual within a repressive society.

Topic Sentences Introduce your paragraph Should contain linkage Some should link to your task Should demonstrate the logical development of your argument

1.What Miller portrays as the values of Salem in 1692 initially seemed completely alien to me. 2.As the play develops, Miller illustrates how such unchecked power can lead to corruption. 3.Despite the repressive nature of this society, the play’s protagonist, John Proctor, is depicted as a free-thinker who openly disdains hypocrisy. 4.As a tragic hero, Proctor is portrayed as a largely good man who suffers from one fatal flaw. 5.I feel that it was this clash of values which led directly to the hysteria of the witch trials. 6.This conflict between truth and lies is brought to a head in the play’s climax. 7.In the play’s denouement, John finds redemption by maintaining his own values.

Respond to the Task Throughout Each paragraph must be directly relevant to the task. Without sustained relevance, you will struggle to pass. Do not simply regurgitate an earlier essay. Particularly include direct responses to your task near the start and end of each paragraph.

As a tragic hero, Proctor is portrayed as a largely good man who suffers from one fatal flaw. This is his affair with Abigail Williams, a teenage orphan who was his servant at the time, and the guilt he feels as a result of this. As a Puritan theocracy, Salem’s laws and values are directly based on the Old Testament. Furthermore, there is no separation of public and private behaviour in this society. Therefore, the revelation of this adultery would ruin Proctor. Ironically, this means that the character who does the most to expose the hypocrisy of Salem is himself a hypocrite.

Paragraph Structure Point / Topic sentence Brief expansion/ explanation (not retelling large chunks of the plot) Evidence (Quotations/ dialogue or stage directions) Analysis (Including identification of techniques used by Miller where appropriate) Evaluation (Giving your personal response/ saying how effective Miller has been)

As the play develops, Miller illustrates how such unchecked power can lead to corruption. Miller uses the character of Danforth-the preasiding judge at the witch trials- to highlight how the ideology of Salem society dictates that everything belongs to either God or the Devil: “a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it... we live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world.”

Miller successfully uses imagery in this dialogue to illustrate the black and white thinking of Danforth and others with power in Salem. A ‘dusky afternoon’ would be a time where it is neither fully light or dark. As light and dark often symbolise good and evil in Christianity, this suggests a mixture of good and evil. The values of Salem are that such a confusion does not exist: every action or person is either with God or the devil. As the court is with God, it cannot be challenged. It is this ideology which Abigail manipulates to create the hysteria of the witch trials.

Another Thing (or Six) Refer to Miller/ the dramatist/ playwright throughout your essay. Use literary terminology: social setting, setting in time, theme, development of character, key incident, imagery, symbolism, key concerns, structure. Try to consider the play in performance- stage directions, dramatic irony.

Learn to spell key words ( corrections to essays/ vocab jotter) Punctuate your essays correctly- apostrophes, commas. Always keep sight of the text’s central concerns.