Topic Nine (1.9): Wider Reading and Consolidation – Critical Perspectives 1
Introduction
As you will have seen in Topic 0.9 in Module Zero, at AL, a fifth and new assessment criteria is tested in addition to the same four criteria which underpin the AS. AO5 (Evaluation of opinions) is described in the mark scheme as “The ability to discuss and evaluate varying opinions and interpretations of literary works.” What this means in practice is that you will need to read a range of critical opinions about each of your AL texts, and then quote from these in your essays (both passage-based and wider questions).
We recommend including around three or four critical perspectives in each of your essays, as relevant to the question and spreading them evenly through the discussion. For the very highest marks for this assessment objective, you need to engage with, and evaluate, them in order to develop your own argument.
You should already have begun adding to your Critical Viewpoints Grid whilst watching the various MASSOLIT videos in this module, but in this topic, you will begin reading critical material about King Lear from the introduction to your copy of the play and gathering together ideas and interpretations from critical sources in order to inform your own views. Reading about the views of other readers is not only required for the exams but is also a great way to enhance your understanding of the text and its key themes and characters.
Review
Go back to Style Tip 6: Using Critical Perspectives in Topic 0.9 in Module Zero now and read carefully through the guidance and examples provided on how to select and incorporate critical perspectives into your essays.
Top Tip
Obviously, if you have to quote from the critics you read in the exams, you will also need to learn suitable quotations later on. It’s important to keep up with this from the start of the course and learn these quotations alongside the quotations from the text, so you don’t have too much to revise all in one go the end of the course.
Wider Reading
- The introduction to your copy of King Lear is 151 pages and is very complex in places. This edition of the play is used by university students and lecturers, so it contains material that goes beyond what is needed for A Level and you don’t have to read and understand all of it – it’s ok to skip or skim read certain passages!
- At this stage in your studies, it would be helpful to read the following sections, adding to your notes and Critical Viewpoints Grid as you go along:
- ‘Every inch a King’ (pages 11 to 29)
- ‘Let the great gods … find out their enemies now’ (pages 29 to 34)
- ‘Thou art my flesh, my blood, my daughter’ (pages 34 to 43)
- ‘I had a son’ (pages 43 to 50)
Remember: the views of R. A. Foakes, who wrote the introduction and textual notes for your edition of the play, count as those of a critic. He also sometimes quotes other critics in the introduction. You can use both as critical sources in your own essays – just make sure you record the correct name alongside the quotation on your grid.
- Now watch each of the following videos from Professor Ioppolo’s lecture series on MASSOLIT and any key points you may wish to use in your essays to your Critical Viewpoints Grid.
- King Lear has been received in different ways by audiences through the ages. The following video provides a helpful overview of the critical reception of the play over time.
WATCH – Critical Reception: Shakespeare – King Lear (MASSOLIT) Links to an external site.
- In this next video, Professor Ioppolo explores the connections between Lear and Gloucester as characters and their relationships with their children as well as the absent mother figure.
Terminology
Make sure you understand any new literary terminology covered in this topic. You may like to make flashcards of key terms now, to help you with revision later on.