The Antidote to Alpaca Farming

SCENE SUMMARIES - WITH QUOTES, TECHNIQUES CRITICS & CONTEXT *I have posted this half-completed simply so it can be accessed by others at all times but I will be updating and adding to it in the next few days before the EDEXCEL A Level 'Drama' paper' (7th June) AO1 - Informed, personal & creative responses to texts / using associated concepts and terminology / coherent and accurately written expression AO2 - Analysis of how meanings are formed in literary texts  AO3 - Understanding of the significance and influence of contemporary views and receptions AO5 - Different interpretations of the literary texts in question ACT 1 Scene 1 Introduction to Iago's jealousy and manipulative nature IAGO : "I know my price, I am worth no worse a place" ( 10 ) IAGO : " 'I have already chose my officer' " ( 16 ) IAGO : "Michael Cassio, a Florentine-" ( 19 ) IAGO : "Mere prattle without practice" ( 25 ) IAGO :...

CONTEXT - CHARLOTTE BRONTË ~  1816 - 1854  ~ o Believed that if she were to marry someone then she must be willing to die for them o Thought to be a wild, romantic enthusiast o Wrote under the pseudo name 'Currer Bell'  * her brother never knew she wrote o Founded a school and taught her sisters o Fan of satire o Thought of her brother's death as a waste of talent (letter to WS Williams in 1848) WHAT POEMS DID SHE WRITE (THAT WE STUDY)? o ' The Autumn day its cours has run - the Autumn evening falls ' o ' The house was still - the room was still ' o ' I now had only to retrace ' o ' The Nurse believed the sick man slept ' o Stanzas WHAT STYLE / THEMES / TYPES OF TECHNIQUE DOES C.BRONTË USE? o Satire o Passionate Love o Romantic o Sense of a Journey

KEY QUOTATIONS AND THEIR INTERPRETATIONS ' There is something about her uncertain manner... that suggests a moth ' ~ Stage Directions (on Blanche), Scene 1 ~ Hints at Blanche's fragility, and perhaps her preference for night-time. It is thought that Blanche was based off of Tennessee Williams' dear sister Rose who suffered with mental instability and was confined to a mental asylum for the majority of her life. An earlier version of the play was entitled 'The Moth'! "There weren't any papers , she didn't show any papers , I don't care about papers ." ~ Stella (to Stanley, about Blanche), Scene ? ~ Stella uses a triplet to emphasise to Stanley her disinterest in how 'Belle Reve' was "lost" and her happiness to accept the vagueness that Blanche delivered this news with. She is evidently exasperated at Stanley for pushing the matter but is this due to a lack of interest in material wealth, or a reluctance to question ...

A2 - GREECE & PERSIA ' RELATIONS BETWEEN GREEK CITY-STATES AND PERSIANS CHANGED COMPLETELY AS A RESULT OF THE BATTLE OF MARATHON. ' TO WHAT EXTENT DO THE SOURCES SUPPORT THIS VIEW? Step 1: When I started planning this essay, I made a table showing relations between Greece and Persia before and after the Battle of Marathon. The ' before ' column included things like:  - Darius' earlier expedition to Thrace (513 BC)  - Ionian Revolt and the involvement of Greek allies, specifically Athens and Eritrea (499-493 BC)  - Athens' refusal to take back Hippias, thus rebuking their 'earth and water' pledge to Persia  - Mardonius' expedition (492 BC)  - General attitudes that greek poleis and the Persian empire had towards each other before their first real battle interaction in 490 BC Whereas, the ' after ' column had examples such as:  - Improved Greek unity vs better Persian tactical strategies, suggesting that the attitudes of the...

CONTEXT - ALFRED TENNYSON ~ 1809 - 1892 ~ •  Worried about money • His father had a long streak of mental instability (drink & drugs)  •  History of epilepsy (considered a shameful disease) • Mildly enthusiastic with foreign politics  •  Intense 4 year friendship with Arthur Henry Hallam * Depression after Hallam died young in 1833  •  His short-sightedness meant he composed many poems mentally which reflected in his structure •  Considered one of the headlining poets of the Victorian era * Awarded the title Poet Laureate in 1850 (year that 131 sections of In Memoriam were published) WHAT POEMS DID HE WRITE (THAT WE STUDY)? ~ 1850 ~ • In Memoriam : VII 'Dark House by which once more I stand • In Memoriam : XCV 'By night we linger'd on the lawn' ~ 1855 ~ • Maud : I.xi 'O let the solid ground' •  Maud : I.xviii 'I have led her home, my love, my only friend' •  Maud : I.xxii 'Come into the gard...

THE BATTLE OF ACTIUM WHAT WAS THE BACKGROUND TO THIS CONFLICT? o 33 BC : The breakdown of the second Triumvirate was caused by Antony's treatment of Octavia  - he basically disavowed his and Octavian's marriage alliance by openly recognising Cleopatra as his wife  - war between the two was inevitable o Octavian had the upper hand in war propoganda because of his station in Rome  - when the inhabitants of Italian towns and cities swore allegiance to Octavian and his descendants and pledged to support him against his private enemies, the provincials of Sicily, Sardinia, Africa, Spain and Gaul followed suit o 32 BC : Antony's amicii were consuls and they opposed Octavian's demands to read Antony's will  - Antony sent formal notification of his divorce to Octavia o Octavian ensured that Antony's will (which he got from the Vestal Virgins) was made public which horrified the Romans  - recognition Ptolemy Caesar as the true son of Julius Caesar  - ex...

DIODORUS SICULUS WHO WAS HE? o Roman from Sicily in 1st century BC o Writing from 60-30 BC CONTEXT OF WRITINGS? o 40 books of history in 3 sections  - 1) Mythic history until Trojan war  - 2) Trojan war until Alexander the Great  - 3) Alexander the Great until 60 BC o Theme: all of the Mediterranean cities coming under Roman rule PURPOSES OF WRITINGS? o Year-by-Year account of Greek and Roman history WHAT WAS HIS ORIGINAL AUDIENCE? o Romans circa 30 BC RELIABLE? o Conveys the virtues as well as the vices of his sources o Unequivocal evidence that the Spartan gerousia deliberated over policy and wasn't just a judical body UNRELIABLE? o Rarely quotes sources o Speeches are lacking o Mistakes in chronology o Never critical o He records some divine intervention Specified Sources: o Diodorus, 11.50 Other Useful Sources: ~ to be added in later ~

CONTEXT Timeline of the American South ( 1800-1940 ) ~ events that may have influenced Williams ~ o  1812-1815: War of 1812  - known as the 'second war of independence'  - fought between the US and UK over territory  - United States nationalism rose after the victory at the Battle of New Orleans o  1812 Louisiana became a state   o  1861-1865: Civil war    - ‘war of southern independence’  - struggle for the abolishment of slavery o  1874: ‘New South’  -  (Henry W. Grady): was a term used to represent the modernisation of the south. This was due to the impacts of the civil war where the south was still relying on crops with low market prices (e.g. cotton) and was also still very rural. The outcomes of this industrialisation and urbanisation meant slavery was abolished  - shown through the binary opposites of Blanche (Southern Belle) and Stanley (Northern Industrial Working Class...

AESCHYLUS WHO WAS HE? o Dramatist of early 5th Century o Military Man CONTEXT OF WRITINGS? o Fought at Marathon - also probably at Salamis & Plataea PURPOSE OF WRITINGS? o Warnings against hubris  - showed that human arrogance was punished severely by the gods ( Xerxes pushed his limits ) WHAT WAS HIS ORIGINAL AUDIENCE? o Athenian men  - these were aware of Aeschylus' technique of deliberate omissions & inaccuracies in order to illustrate his purpose RELIABLE? o Eye-witness account o Military background  - vivid description of the battle of Salamis o Some collaborations with Herodotus UNRELIABLE? o Carries a religious message not just to glorify the Greek victory over Persia  - claims that Marathon was a victory of the gods o Doesn't mention any Greeks by name o Streamlined his account for dramatic purposes ( however, his audience was aware of this! ) Specified Sources: ~ N/A | A2 source ~ Other Useful Sources: o The Per...

ARISTOPHANES WHO WAS HE? o Athenian (447 - 385 BC) o Comedic Playwright CONTEXT OF WRITINGS? o Famous for fighting against unworthy politicians that used Demagoguery (manipulative approachl to people using their emotions & prejudices) and ancients who practised Sophism (arguing for the sake of it) PURPOSE OF WRITINGS? o Entertain o Fight against Demagoguery & Sophism WHAT WAS HIS ORIGINAL AUDIENCE? o Greek Males RELIABLE? o Outlook of Sparta from Athens UNRELIABLE? o Playwright NOT Historian o First & Foremost aim is comedic value not historical accuracy Specified Sources: o Lysistrata (980-1321) Other Useful Sources: ~ not sure there are any but I will update this if I find some ~

PLUTARCH WHO IS HE? o Greek living in a Roman World ( 46 BC - 120 AD ) o Biographer NOT Historian  - believed character was more important than accomplishments o Pontifex (not that important) CONTEXT OF WRITINGS? o Wrote biographies of famous Greeks and Romans ( compared Roman to Greek counterpart ) o Not a fan of the Julio-Claudian Emperors ( bias ) o Removed from the action ( theoretically objective ) PURPOSE OF WRITINGS? o Evaluated personality opposed to historical achievements o Based his comparison upon similar virtues & vices WHAT WAS HIS ORIGINAL AUDIENCE? o Educated Elite  - aristocratic / optimate bias  - known and admired by some Emperors RELIABLE? GREECE: o Variety of source material ROME : o Access to various records ( Senatorial / Imperial / Earlier Historians / Cicero's Letters ) o Easier to understand the complex nature of the Roman political system GENERAL: o Rounded portraits of the people he wrote about o Theore...

1st Mithridatic War WHO WAS MITHRIDATES? Valleius Paterculus - 'ever eager for war, of exceptional bravery, always in great spirit and sometimes in achievement, in strategy a general, in bodily prowess a soldier, in hatred to Romans, a Hannibal' o One of the most powerful rulers in Asia - King Mithridates Eupator ( VI ) o Extremely ambitious - gained the throne by murdering his brother & imprisoning his mother o Possessed characteristics of a Hellenistic monarch o Forceful character & exceptional physical strength o Admirer of Greek culture o Ability as a general matched his diplomacy WHAT WAS THE BACKGROUND TO THIS CONFLICT? o Mithridates had already explanded the kingdom of Pontus north of the Black sea o 104 BC : occupied Galatia, Paphlagonia & Cappadocia  - brought him into conflict with rulers friendly to Rome o 96 BC : Sulla ( currently governor of Cilicia ) reinstated the king of Cappadocia & prevented Mithridates establishing an allianc...

SULLA WHAT IS SAID ABOUT HIM? Plutarch, Life of Sulla (31) : ~ Quote from Metellus on Proscriptions ~ ' "We are not asking you," he said, "to pardon those whom you have decided to kill; all we ask is that you should free from suspense those whom you have decided not to kill" ' Velleius Paterculus : ~ on Tribunes ~ 'Anyone of reputation or birth shunned the office thereafter' 'He left the tribunican power a shadow without substance' Plutarch, Life of Sulla (33) : ~ on Imperium ~ ( 81 BC ) 'A decree was passed giving him immunity for all his past acts, while for the future he was to have the power of life and death, the power to confiscate property, to found colonies, to found new cities or to demolish existing ones, to take away or bestow kingdoms at his pleasure' WHAT WERE HIS MOST IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENTS? o Cursus Honorum  - redraft of the lex Villia Annalis (senator could not hold same office twice in 10 years) o Se...