Communication 
2 Comments Controlled Assessment Prep 2
Quotes from the texts Sylvia Plath’s poems and The Taming of the Shrew
‘It can sow,it can cook,it can talk, talk, talk’. These are typical stereotypes of women in the 1960′s, considering that Sylvia Plath was a feminist she was obviously angry at these thoughts so therefore expressed her anger through her poem. (Poem Applicant)
‘At twenty I tried to die, And get back, back, back to you. I thought even the bones would do.’ This shows her deep depression and anger at her life. Also show how mentally unstable she was because on the mentally ill would try to kill them selves. (Poem Daddy)
‘I made a model of you, A man in black with a Meinkampf look’. This shows that she was trying to recreate her fathers image in someone else who resembled him. (Poem Daddy)
‘Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through.’ This woman is obviously showing mixed feeling about her father because earlier on she said she was willing to die to get back to her father, and now she hates him. Or maybe she is just expressing that she has finally gotten over his tragic death. (Poem Daddy)
Hortensio ‘From such devils, good lord deliver us’. Hortensio is referring to Katherina as a devil for the way she acts is truly beastly. (Act 1 Scene 1 The Taming of the Shrew)
Petruchio ‘That hearing of her beauty and her wit, Her affability and bashful modesty, Her wondrous qualities and mild behaviour’. This is Petruchio talking about Katherina who he so loves and wishes to marry. (Act 2 Scene 1 The Taming of the Shrew)
Petruchio ‘Good morrow, Kate, for that’s your name, I hear’ Katherina ‘Well have you heard, but something hard of hearing: They call me Katherina that do talk to me’ This from the start of them meeting shows that Katherina is not quite a nice person actually I think it would be adequate to say she is being a bit of a shrew (hence the name).
Katherina ‘You have show’d a tender fatherly regard, To wish me wed to one half lunatic’. This shows Katherina’s first thoughts about Petruchio. (Act 2 Scene 1 The Taming of the Shrew)
Paragraph answer.
Women were often punished by society for standing up for themselves before the 1960’s when women’s rights were introduced into the modern society. As I have explained in my first quote from Plath’s poem Applicant, that Plath felt very strongly on the fact that women were treated like rubbish and seen as something to ‘use and abuse’. Also the way that she expresses her feelings and thoughts through repetition in her poetry e.g ‘At twenty I tried to die, And get back, back, back to you’. this shows the constant striving to get her feelings and point across, it also suggests that she is so full of emotion she cant even structure her words and sentences correctly. Also she uses comparisons, comparing her mother to the Greek mythical creature Medusa.
I know you must be starting to feel tired, Josh, but every change you make, and every extra piece you write is an improvement on the previous one. In this final paragraph you are showing high levels of independent thought and original analysis.
Now it is time to try to pour all this thinking into a coherent extended answer to the question. Here are some thoughts on that:
To get the best possible grade from this assessment, you must:
1) make sure you’re developing an argument that is coherent. The question asks about the presentation of women’s emotions and Raphael was completely on it when he referred to women’s voices – being silenced or otherwise
2) demonstrating confident understanding of the texts and their context. Remember the Taming of the Shrew is a comedy – and as such many of the extremes were designed for comic effect. This does not undermine that Katharina is not just a figure of fun, but also very witty herself. Don’t forget that in Shakespeare’s time, not only was this female character written by a male author but she would have also been performed by a man. This would have intensified the comic effect. You may also want to discuss the many-layers of deception in the play, and consider how this relates to women
In respect of Sylvia Plath’s poetry, you’re dealing with writing by a woman about matters that are very close and personal. This is then an authentic female voice. The issues are grave and the tone a lot more serious and violent.
3) You need to devise a clear structure for your answer. Will you look at different elements of the stylistics of the texts, will you compare them to each other? how will you make sure you meet all the performance criteria (check the task outline for these)
4) If you are able to integrate your analysis of language and the techniques of play writing (dramatic irony and the like) as well as the techniques of poetry used by Plath, you are going to be able to develop the most sophisticated answer. Remember you don’t have to compare and contrast the texts, you simply have to explore both in detail, looking at similar areas and drawing attention to any interesting parallels or differences.
5) Knowledge of Shakespeare and shakespeare’s time and Plath and Plath’s time does count, but is best communicated in relation to the texts and the points you’re making.
I’d be keen to see you write a clear plan in bullet points so that your writing can become focused and organised and to allow you to make sure you’re able to wrestle all this complex information into one essay that makes one broad point about the presentation of women’s emotions.
Let me know if you need any assistance with this.
Cheers
Mr Waugh
I wrote a sample introduction on Remi’s journal that might be of use to you:
“In the history of literature, the voice of women has often been silent. It comes as no surprise to find that when a woman is finally given a voice, or even better, finds her own voice, that what comes out is angry, extreme and passionate. This is certainly the case of Katharina in William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”, and of Sylvia Plath’s poetry. While written at very different times, for markedly different purposes and by very different people, one aspect is remarkably similar – the violent strength of emotion in these women’s voices.”
Just to give you an idea of the tone I’m encouraging you to search for in your analysis.
Best wishes for tomorrow.
CW