Band 6 Hamlet – Revenge is Futile + Hamlet’s Philosophical Characterisation

Hamlet is a distinctive tragedy which segregates from the conventions of Shakespearean dramaturgy, continually exploring in an enduring manner the ineffectuality of vengeance through the inaction of the protagonist. The play communicates the futility of revenge through Hamlet’s philosophical reasoning and paralysis, and through the impulsive consequences of Laertes and Fortinbras’ own avenger destinies. Through …

Band 6 Peter Skryznecki with Veils and Vegemite

Poem 1   The poem Feliks Skrzynecki examines the duality of the poet’s father in influencing his sense of identity, but regrettably reveals the inevitability of their estranged relationship. Initially, Skrzynecki clearly demonstrates the nurturing relationship with his father Feliks in, “I remember words he taught me,” accentuating the significance of his father’s influence in …

Band 5 Dickinson, with Bhutan Feature Article

An individual’s perception of their belonging is influenced by their interaction with the wider world. This leads them to face and overcome obstacles and to make choices, and thus accordingly gain personal insight and self discovery.  Due to the notion of belonging being such an intrinsic human need, texts such as Emily Dickinson’s poems “I …

Band 6 Levertov with My Lai Documentary & Big Fish

    The multifaceted interplay between history and memory is integral for us to realise that only when taking both into account does a greater truth emerge, shown through Alfred de Vigny’s quote “History is a novel for which the people is the author”. To an extent memory is an integral part of history that …

Band 5/6 50th Gate with The Photographer and The Gulf Documentary

Memory is an integral part of history, in which individual recollection and authentic emotions heighten our ability to emphathise with clinical history, creating a humanized holistic cultural reflection, a narrative both emotionally and interllectually salient. Mark Baker’s historical non-fiction text “The Fiftieth Gate” presents a bricolage of fragmented circulatory recounts and historical record creating a …

Band 6 Gwen Harwood

                  Human memory is a definitive experience that is made significant by the exploration of deeply humanizing events such as the acceptance of death and the recognition of life as snapshots of bittersweet moments. In Gwen Harwood’s poem “the violets” her ability to interweave past and present emphasises …

2013 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog. Here's an excerpt: The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 75,000 times in 2013. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 3 days for that many people to see …

Band 5/ Band 6 Bladerunner Frankenstein Essay

"A text transcends the age in which it is created by reflecting what is constant in human nature. Do you agree?”                   Texts are a reflection of human concerns which remain universal despite the varying contextual influences in which authors of different periods are subject to. This …

Band 6 Belonging Creative “A Prosperous New Year”

“I hate it!” I cried, my tiny feet again slipping on the aged, moss stones that made the steps near inaccessible. “We’re nearly there, then you can see.” Around me voices I could no longer recognize laughed, a throng of shadowy faces drifting in and out of uncertain memoirs. Dangled between two sets of strong …

Band 6 Belonging Essay – Individual vs the World

           An individual’s perception of their belonging is influenced by their interaction with the wider world. This leads them to face and overcome obstacles and to make choices, and thus accordingly gain personal insight and self discovery.  Due to the notion of belonging being such an intrinsic human need, texts including …

Band 6 Bladerunner Frankenstein Essay – Hubris and Forbidden Knowledge

                     Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner both draw upon their rapidly changing periods to contextually explore mankind’s ability to inherit hubristic ideas for forbidden knowledge which destroy one’s morality. Frankenstein examines irrational behaviours and immoralities of Romantic Prometheanism within the realms of science, ideology …

Band 5 – 6 Creative – A Tale of Extensive Symbolism

Through the panes of the car, my eyes peer through the screens illuminated by ancient bulbs of warm, familiar light. Grandma hobbles to and from the kitchen in her thin frail frame. Grandpa sits with his back to the street, mesmerised by the television. Beside the house, cherry blossom flowers with heads hanging low sway …

Band 6 Belonging Creative – A Recurring Motif

Her small feet sprang spritely across worn, marble smooth cobblestone. Her heels clicked musically as she made her way towards the crossroads just outside of town. Along side the path, daffodils and tulips blossomed into yellow, marine and carmine. The red paned door of the glass telephone box open slid open soundlessly; admitting her. The …

Simple, Effective Band 5 -6 Narrative

 The overpowered bass and deafening volume of the urban Chinese karaoke house had made the seats shudder and the ceiling crumble. This was five years ago, when the family held a reunion of its expatriate members in Beijing.  A Chinese folk song had burst onto the screen, and the male members of my retinue roared …