The 19th Century Novel: Finding Quotes

Hi,

If there's a quote you're looking for in your 19th Century novel, but you have no idea where to find it, try this...

The Victorian Literary Studies Archive

Here's what you do:

1) Find your text (eg. Austen, Pride and Prejudice)
2) Think of a word in your quote to search for (eg. inferior)
3) You will be shown a list of every occurrence of the word in the text. Like this:

Ta-da - you've found your missing quote.

Use these links to get straight to your class text: Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol.


Mr M

Bonus poem

Hi,

If you liked 'Climbing My Grandfather', you might also like this belter:

On A Portrait Of A Deaf Man

The kind old face, the egg-shaped head,
The tie, discretely loud,
The loosely fitting shooting clothes,
A closely fitting shroud.

He liked old city dining rooms,
Potatoes in their skin,
But now his mouth is wide to let
The London clay come in.

He took me on long silent walks
In country lanes when young.
He knew the names of ev'ry bird
But not the song it sung.

And when he could not hear me speak
He smiled and looked so wise
That now I do not like to think
Of maggots in his eyes.

He liked the rain-washed Cornish air
And smell of ploughed-up soil,
He liked a landscape big and bare
And painted it in oil.

But least of all he liked that place
Which hangs on Highgate Hill
Of soaked Carrara-covered earth
For Londoners to fill.

He would have liked to say goodbye,
Shake hands with many friends,
In Highgate now his finger-bones
Stick through his finger-ends.

You, God, who treat him thus and thus,
Say "Save his soul and pray."
You ask me to believe You and
I only see decay.

John Betjeman

Why not try the three-tick method on this one?

Mr M

Exploring context: Great Expectations

Hi folks,

We've done plenty of work on the context of Great Expectations, but there's a lot of useful stuff out there for you to develop your knowledge further.

This collection of articles from the Victorian Web is particularly useful.

You can find the rest of the Victorian Web's stuff on Great Expectations here.

The British Library site is also great for context. They have sections on Romantics and Victorians and the Victorian Novel.

The National Archives has a section on Victorian Britain, as well as individual lessons on Prisons and Crime and Punishment.

Get exploring!


Mr M

Welcome to Wemmick's Postbox

Hello and welcome to Wemmick's Postbox!

This blog is designed to give you access to a treasure-trove of resources and intellectual curiosities to help you prepare for your GCSEs in English Language and English Literature (AQA).

Why 'Wemmick's Postbox'? In Great Expectations, Mr Wemmick is one of many memorable characters. His face is described as being 'square' and 'wooden', and his mouth was 'such a post-office of a mouth that he had a mechanical appearance of smiling.' 

At home however, in his 'castle' at Walworth, his wooden, angular features soften and relax. His home, complete with gun battery and drawbridge, is his protection from the outside world and the harshness of London. Inside, he keeps a collection of curiosities which he has claimed as his 'portable property' from London's many rogues and criminals. Wemmick ends up being Pip's guide when it comes to navigating his course through London and its world of crime, poverty, wealth and privilege.

Like Dickens' London, your new GCSEs can be an overwhelming, dizzying place to be. You'll have lots to learn, lots to remember and lots to get your head around. And if you think you've worked hard this year, wait until Y11! But we're here to help... 

So, this blog is here to:

1) Give you a Walworth of your own to come to when you need extra support in GCSE English
2) Keep drip-feeding you with extras: articles, links, resources - and all manner of curiosities to help make you a better English student.
3) Provide you with guidance and revision tips in pursuit of your own great expectations.

We'll be adding resources and writing posts over the coming weeks and months. Please keep checking us out.

The best way to keep up to date is to:

a) pop your email address into the 'follow by email' box on the right of the page for email alerts when new posts are added
b) follow us on Twitter
c) bookmark us

We hope you will find this blog useful.


Mr M 

PS. A disclaimer - at no point in Great Expectations is Wemmick's mouth referred to as a postbox. It's always 'the post' or 'the post-office'. It adds to the idea that he uses it to correspond with clients in a distant, detached and business-like way. 

But forgive me for misquoting - postbox just sounds better.

PPS. If you didn't get the metaphor:

• You are Pip
• We are Wemmick
• Your English GCSE course is London.

Got it?