Journey’s End is a tragic play and one with valuable lessons about the futility of war – but maybe none more powerful than those Hibbert seems designed to convey. Sherriff described his characters as ‘simple, unquestioning men’ but Hibbert is far from either. As a construct, Hibbert enables Sherriff to show that some of the […]
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Learning to ‘face a few responsibilites’ Working with a student the other day, I realised that writing about the character of Mr Birling in ‘An Inspector Calls’ is probably the most difficult. When teachers who have taught AIC for years tell me it is ‘too clumsy’, ‘too obvious’, ‘too preachy’, they are referring in part […]
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Part of our series of posts that focus on a key character from exam set texts. Offering alternative interpretations and insights, these are ideal for sharing with students as they revise and prepare for their English Literature exams. ‘Everything’s all right now, Sheila.’ For me, Gerald Croft is in many ways the most interesting character […]
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It might seem obvious, but language is all around us. In fact, I’ve bored my classes to tears for years by reminding them of this fact. It’s in the conversations we have, the things we watch and listen to on our phones and in the messages we send each other. “Yes, we know it’s there,” […]
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Banquo – Mr Nice Guy? Banquo, I admit, is a character I have never considered in much detail – any notes, character profiles of him simply present him as loyal, sensible etc. He is Macbeth’s friend, Duncan’s supporter, a sort of all-round good guy who is horribly betrayed and murdered by his bezzie. Rarely is […]
Read moreThe last few years have seen us, as English teachers, deluged in pre-20th century literature and non-fiction texts. Simultaneously in the 21st century we have been seriously exploring the treatment of women in society – pay gaps and sexual harassment have been major issues – and rightly so. So how can the male dominance […]
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