Year 12 Literature Units 3 and 4
Overview
Literature is the intimate record of people’s values, ideas, experiences and conflicts. It helps us make sense of our experience of life.
Literature Units 3 and 4 explore the ideas in a range of text types, including poetry, drama, prose and film. Throughout the course, you will analyse how language, literary devices and production elements are used to create meaning.
You will also consider a variety of viewpoints on aspects of the texts. Then you will use textual evidence to develop and justify your own interpretations. The units will focus on the significance and implications of the views and values examined. They will also consider the role of form, genre and context in the creation of literary works.
Who is it for?
This subject is perfect for students who have a love of literature, an inquiring mind, and a desire to understand the elements that make good literature. Students who study Literature go on to a range of different areas of study, and may pursue a career as a writer of prose, film, games or other media.
What do you do?
In Adaptations and transformations, you will consider how the form of a text affects meaning, how writers construct their texts, and the way that the meaning may change when it is adapted and transformed for another form.
In Creative responses to texts, you will focus on the imaginative techniques used for creating and recreating a literary work, and use your knowledge of how the meaning of texts can change as form changes to construct your own creative text. You will also reflect critically upon your own writing.
In Literary perspectives, you will focus on how different readings of texts may reflect the views and values of both writer and reader. You will consider the ways in which various interpretations of texts can contribute to understanding, and compare and analyse two pieces of literary criticism reflecting different perspectives, assumptions and ideas about the views and values of the text studied.
Finally, in Close analysis, you will focus on detailed scrutiny of the language, style, concerns and construction of texts, and attend closely to textual details to examine the ways specific features or passages in a text contribute to their overall interpretations.
What skills do you need?
In order to be successful in your study of Literature, you will need a capacity to analyse texts in a range of forms, and to express your ideas clearly and concisely both in writing and verbally.
What skills do you develop?
You will become familiar with the literary devices that authors use in creating meaning in a text and will have the opportunity to develop coherent and insightful essay responses to texts.
Requirements
Literature texts for purchase:
Unit 3
* Delaney, Shelagh, A Taste of Honey (the play script) with the film of the same name. Purchase details for the play and film are below:
The play: Delaney, Shelagh, A Taste of Honey, Methuen Drama/Bloomsbury, 2016 (Play script)
The film: The film version of A Taste of Honey can be downloaded or streamed in digital format from a variety of sources, including:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KKVQKKW
https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/a-taste-of-honey/id1143399393
A hardcopy DVD and digital versions can be purchased from:
https://www.criterion.com/films/28734-a-taste-of-honey
or via eBay, search: A Taste of Honey
* Stoker, Bram, Dracula, Penguin Classics, 2003
Unit 4
* Zola, Emile, The Ladies’ Paradise, Brian Nelson (trans.), Oxford World’s Classics, 2008
* Dickinson, Emily, The Complete Poems, Faber and Faber, 2016
* Dovey, Ceridwen, Only the Animals, Penguin Books, 2015
Things to think about
You will need strong literacy skills and an ability to express sophisticated ideas coherently in writing. And, of course, you should have a love of reading.
Things you can do now
Start reading the texts as soon as possible. Seek out published articles on the texts to get some other views and interpretations.
As well as the play, we study the film version of A Taste of Honey. You can take this opportunity to watch the film.
Go to the VCAA website for more information about this subject.