English Study Buddy

You must show evidence of the study of at least two of the set works you have read.

You may refer in your answers to more than one of the set works if appropriate, but you are advised not to repeat material you have already used.

A. Discuss the ways in which the theme of justice is treated in any two of the texts you have studied.

B. Discuss the importance of the part played by the supernatural in any two of the texts you have studied.

C. In recent times the word ‘tragedy’ has come to be applied to any story with an unhappy ending.  By reference to two of the texts you have studied, show what you feel carries tragedy beyond this simple definition.

D. The whole course of a play can often be dictated by a single action or decision on the part of one of the main characters in the play.  With close reference to two of the texts, discuss how the decisions of one of the characters leads to the tragic events that unfold.

A. To what extent do you agree with the assertion that life as presented in tragedies, although painful and mysterious, is not futile?

B. How far do you agree that the protagonist’s understanding and acceptance of the consequences of his actions are necessary in order to complete the tragedy?

C. “Tragedy. It may be put thus in brief: a tragedy exhibits a state of things in the life of an individual which unavoidably causes some natural aim or desire of his to end in a catastrophe when carried out.” (Thomas Hardy). How satisfactory is this definition of tragedy?

D. Discuss the importance of love in any two texts you have studied, and how it contributes to the tragedy of the play.