Welcome Note for New Students of O Level Literature

Here is a shot from the Canadian version of "Anne of Green Gables" - we see Anne is reciting or rather almost reciting from memory her lines from Tennyson's strangely trotting poem - "The Lady of the Shallot." We intend to use this poem to learn a great many things about the extraordinary power of poetry to delve beyond the apparent reality of everyday, domestic life. 

With this I welcome the O’ level Literature students – Zahraa, Sejal, Farzana, and Tanzim – who will be preparing for 2018 June exam. We have already discussed a few things from the Edexcel IGCSE syllabus and have assigned a few reading materials. I will also be working with Aamal who will be preparing with the Cambridge O’ level syllabus. She will be following slightly different syllabus. We have also decided that we shall hold classes on Saturdays from 9.15 till 12.15. We also agreed in principle that one of our alumni shall conduct a class online after we are done with the selected poems of Auden, Dickinson, and E. Bishop.  

Additionally, I intend to do a couple of short stories as these are very fast and useful means of learning some of the narrative techniques used by authors to make storytelling exciting. Finally, although Rafi is not strictly a part of literature program, he will be working with us as well. Rafi has been reading a wide range of novels and shall be preparing for his SAT this coming December. His familiarity with literature will greatly assist him in improving his SAT performance.

Title	Job	Goal
Pride & Prejudice	Read the book independently. But on and off I will be reading selected chapters to highlight the structure of the plot.	This will be our fundamental text for learning the Art of the Novel.
Lady of Shalott	Watch the Canadian version of “Anne of Green Gables”	We shall discuss this poem to learn a few things about the techniques of poetry.
Old Man and the Sea	Read through the sentence structure. Hemingway is a master.	This will be our primary text for learning about some CENTRAL issues of literature.
Auden + Dickinson + Bishop	Read and enjoy selected poems – Night Mail. Musee des Beaux Arts.	Learn about themes in Modern Poetry.
Byron	Darkness	Poetic Language
Alexander Pope	Rape of the Lock (1712)	I included this text as everyone demanded that we did a poem for FUN.
My Antonia	Only Aamal is currently doing this text. But others can choose this as well.	This is a good text for learning the regional issues of American realistic novel.
Short stories by different authors	We shall decide the titles before the next class begins.	Learn Narrative techniques.
An Inspector Calls	This is the perfect example of a thriller cum suspense which is delivered as a Drawing Room Drama that was once so popular in the 1950s.	There is a Bengali film titled Thana Theke Ashchi – where the lead character is performed by Uttam Kumar.

Although we will follow the prescribed texts as our central reading materials, we shall definitely lay hands on a good many texts to widen our enjoyment and understanding of Literature. As part of our reading we shall engage into recitals from poems, plays, and reading sessions from novels. You are all welcome to suggest any Page / Chapter / Paragraph which you might like the rest of the class to enjoy. Please remember that will be ABSOLUTELY NO H. W. Therefore, you are free to read the assigned book OR just set aside for something more interesting. A last word. I have included two girls reading from a book. Why girls only? Should we go into a debate? A discussion? A shrug off?