This presentation is on Hard Times by Charles Dickens. It is aimed at ALevel and undergraduate level university students exploring the work of Charles Dickens, the Industrial Revolution, and/or Victorian literature. The slides focus on how Dickens explores issues surrounding the Industrial Revolution in Hard Times. With particular focus on Dickens’s views on the rights of workers during Victorian Britain, this presentation draws on literary criticism to debate the two philosophies of that time: Utilitarianism (John Stuart Mill) and Political Economy (Adam Smith). The is resource also contains: key quotations, discussion points, and quotes from literary critics (including Mikhail Bakhtin). Perfect for preparing an essay on themes surrounding Dickens’s representation of the lower-class workforce in his novels, especially Hard Times.

This presentation looks at the history of the English Language in Ireland through the drama of Brian Friel. It contains several extracts for close scene analysis and discusses the play in relation to its major theme: the colonisation and dominance of the English Language (tradition vs modernity). The slides also cover the history of the Abbey Theatre and several quotes from the playwright himself (Brian Friel), the poet Seamus Heaney, and critics such as Desmond Rushe. The last two slides outline Claude Lévi-Strauss’ ‘hot and cold societies’ theory and then look towards Welsh identity, mentioning the play Mother Tongue by Roger Williams.

This resource is designed to help students write a close analysis essay on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, focusing on Victor Frankenstein. The extract and question have been taken from a recent A Level English Literature past paper. The resource goes through the extract line-by-line to explore the themes of **suffering, ambition, responsibility, isolation, Gothic literature, and the Romantic Sublime **in the novel, Frankenstein. The text has been annotated with helpful advice, literary criticism, context, and quotes. It also includes a full sample answer. This resource will be useful for students who need to practice close textual analysis, and/or are working on Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus.

This presentation explores John Milton’s Paradise Lost. It discusses Milton’s poetic form (blank verse), as well as issues regarding gender, free will, and religion. Sandra Gilbert’s discussion of Eve’s fall is outlined for some useful secondary criticism. There are also extracts (from Books 9 and 10 of Paradise Lost) with helpful pointers for close textual analysis and ideas that will prompt further discussion and exploration. The final slides recommend further reading, offer later poetic responses to Eve’s plight, and also encourage critical engagement with early scholarship on Milton’s epic poem. A great resource for A Level students and undergraduates.

This presentation on Shakespeare’s Hamlet explores the main themes - revenge, death, madness, power, corruption - of this play. It refers to Aristotle’s writings on tragedy to explore what makes the play a revenge tragedy. It then explores Ophelia’s madness and death in detail, referring to scholarship and close scene analysis. This powerpoint is useful for GCSE, A Level, and undergraduate university students focusing on Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

This package includes a PowerPoint presentation and detailed handout on **Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake ** It is ideal for university and A Level students looking to write essays on Lahiri’s work and get a better understanding of ideas behind postcolonial studies. The work package includes: Carefully selected extracts from The Namesake to encourage discussion and analysis An explanation of Homi K. Bhabha’s theories of hybridity, liminal spaces, and the Third Space Comments made by Jhumpa Lahiri on her creative process when writing The Namesake Questions to encourage analytical thinking Scholarly engagements with Lahiri’s work

This presentation explores Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. With clear character discussions, analysis of themes, quotes, and contextual information, it is an ideal teaching and study resource for anyone studying The Merchant of Venice. It contains: a plot summary; contextual information about Shakespeare’s decision to set the play in Venice; a discussion of racial prejudice (especially from Antonio towards Shylock); character studies of Shylock, Jessica, and Portia; a discussion on the idea of value, and details from three notable performances of the play. The last slide contains a quiz with 10 questions focused on details from the play.

This PowerPoint presentation on **Shakespeare’s King Lear **is a great introductory lesson that includes: A brief plot summary Historical context (referring to James I of England) Why Shakespeare is relevant today (drawing on Coleridge) A close textual analysis of Lear’s reconciliation with Cordelia King Lear’s **‘madness / enlightenment’ ** Scholarship on major concepts in King Lear: religion and psychoanalysis Actors’ commentary on playing King Lear and Edmund *** Essay questions ** ‘Thinking Further’ activities that focus on Lear’s famous quote: ‘nothing will come of nothing’ **Fact File ** Quick Quotes Recommended Research References This research is great for exam revision. It also provides useful context for writing an essay on Shakespeare’s King Lear.

This presentation explores F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel, The Great Gatsby. The slides outline its publication, reputation as ‘The Great American Novel’, and themes such as corruption, the American Dream, class, nostalgia, and love. An in-depth character outline depicts all of the major characters with reference to the themes associated with their actions/role in the novel. Three slides are dedicated to close textual analysis of important moments/themes in the novel. The scholarship of Sarah Churchwell is referred to and there are also suggestions for further reading. This powerpoint is useful for A Level and undergraduate students looking at The Great Gatsby.

In this Developing a Speech module you will learn how to plan, write, and structure a speech about any given topic. You will gain excellent writing and presenting tools in order to engage your audience in your chosen subject / speech. This PowerPoint covers: Key points in developing a speech The Canons of Rhetoric Strategies for finding a topic Developing your main idea Gathering material Creating an outline / structure Writing introductions Signposting / having purpose and direction Using supporting matierals Writing conclusions This is a great resource for teachers and students of any subject. It is ideal for anyone who needs to do a presentation and wants some guidelines for writing / planning their speech.

This document contains a sample answer aimed at GCSE students looking at Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth. It focuses on Shakespeare’s presentation of Lady Macbeth’s guilt in Act 5 Scene 1 of Macbeth. This is a great revision aid for students studying Macbeth and will also help students to work on their essay writing. It makes use of literary terminology and contains close textual analysis.

This package includes a PowerPoint and detailed handout on Bernard MacLaverty’s novel Cal. The work pacakge includes: Carefully selected extracts from MacLaverty’s Cal to aid discussion and analysis Excerpts from scholarly criticism on Cal Questions to aid interpretation of the novel Short explanation of The Troubles in Northern Ireland Poetry by Seamus Heaney and Douglas Carson Ideal for A Level and university students writing essays on MacLaverty’s Cal

Handout for students discussing Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Includes quotes from the play to discuss as well as an extract from Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own. The handout focuses on themes of gender and patriarchal society in A Doll’s House. Perfect for A Level students studying Ibsen and naturalism in theatre. Also useful for university seminars working on A Doll’s House.

This package includes a PowerPoint lecture, *full written lecture, * and detailed handout on Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street It explores the novel’s concern with gender and race (particularly Hispanic communities in America), drawing parallels between Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street and Virginia Woolf’s A Room Of One’s Own. The lecture document includes a university-level overview of 20th-century gender theory. Ideal for A Level and university students working on Cisneros’s novel.

This presentation outlines the shift in drama from Realist to Symbolist to Modernist forms of theatre. It uses work by Chekhov, Maeterlink, and Beckett to illustrate the differences between representational and Avant-Garde playwrighting and scenography. The explanation of Ferdinand de Saussure’s semiotics is supported by examples form Luigi Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author. The presentation also covers the work of Ionesco and Tom Stoppard when discussing the Theatre of the Absurd (a term coined by Martin Esslin).

This handout covers the key concepts explored in The Homecoming by Harold Pinter. It outlines the premiere of The Homecoming in London’s Aldwych Theatre in 1965, exploring aspects of the set, audience reaction, as well as outlining the characters and plot. The handout also covers: Harold Pinter’s life, writing, themes, and contribution to theatre The influence of Samuel Beckett on Harold Pinter Questions that The Homecoming raises Important extracts from scholarship on The Homecoming A key scene between Lenny and Ruth Discussion of the significance of staging at the end of The Homecoming Final thinking point for further discussion Great resource to aid in understanding of one of Harold Pinter’s most well-known plays. Suitable for university students, seminars, and in-depth A Level discussions.

This presentation is about Sarah Kane’s exploration of National Identity in her infamous play Blasted. Each slide contains quotes, images, factual information, and videos about Sarah Kane and In-Yer-Face Theatre. The powerpoint focuses on extracts from Blasted that examine human frailty, compassion, brutality, and powerlessness. It asks how Kane manages to evoke compassion through violence and uses the theory of Susan Sontag and the history of the Bosnian War (1992-1995) to unpick the relationship between the Soldier, Ian and Kate in the play. There are also many ‘thinking points’, including a video discussion of the (un)ethical nature of Kane’s drama and theorist Hanna Arendt’s ‘Reflections on Violence’.

This presentation is on George Eliot’s novel Middlemarch. It gives an outline of George Eliot’s life and focuses on the themes of politics, feminism, and religion that Eliot explores in Middlemarch. This is an ideal resource for university and A Level students working on George Eliot, Middlemarch, and Victorian Literature. It includes quotes from literary critics and reviewers useful for essays on Dorothea’s feminist and political ambitions & constraints within the novel. This presentation is useful as an introduction to Middlemarch’s themes.

Great lecture aimed at undergraduate level students taking English Literature and focusing on the work of Jhumpa Lahiri. Useful for postcolonial literature modules, esp. discussions on hybridity.