When it comes to mastering the Module B English Advanced HSC essay, students may be given a quote/viewpoint to analyse. You may then be asked to assess or evaluate the validity of the quote or viewpoint on the text you are studying.
The two most important points that students will be assessed on for Module B essay writing include –
- ability to demonstrate an informed understanding of the ideas expressed in the text
- ability to evaluate the text’s language, content and construction
To build on the guidance already offered for Module A and Discovery, Boldtutor presents more sample essay writing that answers the 2015 HSC questions of Module B focusing on T.S. Eliot’s poetry and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Introduction sample – 2015 HSC English Advanced Module B – T.S. Eliot
T.S. Eliot does present a melancholic and uneasy depiction of the personal/spiritual chaos and indecision prevalent in many human beings who journey through modern life. Such themes are illustrated in the poem ‘Journey of the Magi’, where there is a key focus on the ambience of apprehension present within many individuals in our world. It is a poem that contemplates the loneliness and emotional turmoil that individuals experience when they are unable to grasp a true sense of self that allows them to thrive in a world, which is constantly transforming. Correspondingly, Eliot’s ‘The Hollow Men’ contrasts representations of holiness and immaculacy with conflicting portrayals of decay, distress and ruin. Eliot’s ‘disturbing portrait of uncertainty’ in his poetry was inspired by Dante Alighieri’s epic 14th century poem Divine Comedy, particularly the first part Inferno. Like Eliot, Inferno presents many images of turmoil, despair, suffering and pain as Dante is guided through hell in a bid to purify his soul. Indeed such grim yet beautiful poetry shaped Eliot tremendously given the prominent melancholic tone throughout his poetry. However, Eliot’s poetry should not merely be considered just ‘disturbing’. It is true that the chaotic and desolate environments and characters present in the two preceding poems could hinder the texts capacity to break free of critique concerning Eliot’s melancholic subject matter. Nonetheless, like Dante before him, Eliot also evaluates the potential for development of prosperity, wisdom and a heartened sense of self within his poems, despite their supposed bleak and hopeless expression. With this in mind, it is important to recognise that the references to death and sorrow within Eliot’s poems must not overshadow his faint yet profound mention of the possible restitution and restoration of the human soul.
Body paragraph sample – 2015 English Advanced HSC response – Hamlet
The lack of balance in Hamlet’s Denmark is brought to life by several morally ambiguous characters. The opening of the play presents readers with a metaphorical phantom of Hamlet’s father that alludes to the disturbed and unnatural nature of Hamlet’s world. Marcellus’ famous remark, ‘something is rotten in the state of Denmark’ foreshadows the chaos and negativity that will besiege the state and the key characters within the play. Such forthcoming disorder was made possible because of Claudius’ murder of the king – an action compounded by his marriage to Gertrude – Hamlet’s mother and the king’s widow. The disruption of a key civil (monarchy) and genealogical foundation within Denmark has thus corrupted the state, thus eroding the trust between key figures of the play. Such distrust is made apparent when Guildenstern and Rosencrantz spy on Hamlet on Claudius’ behalf. Reynaldo is also sent to scrutinise Polonius’ son by Polonius himself. Polonius and Claudius also secretly observe Ophelia, who has been tasked to end her relationship with Hamlet. It is no surprise that such deceptive actions contribute to Claudius’ melancholic views on the current setting of Denmark, ‘How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable/Seem to me all the uses of this world.’ Such melancholic imagery illustrates the contaminated and disordered nature of Denmark’s society. The morally ambiguous nature of humankind outweighs the order and reasonable civility required to maintain social and political stability within a state. As a result, Hamlet’s Denmark does portray an unbalanced world that struggles to contain the Machiavellian traits that corrupt those who govern the state.
Body paragraph sample – 2015 HSC English Advanced Module B – T.S. Eliot
Although persistent references to suffering and disillusionment are a key aspect of Eliot’s ‘Journey of the Magi’ and ‘The Hollow Men’, it is also clear that images of holiness, faith and paradise are also apparent in his works. ‘Journey of the Magi’ for example contains symbolic allusions to Christ, mentioning that the water mill is ‘beating the darkness’ which signals the inevitable nature of Christ’s triumph. Of further note is the fact that the persona is wiling to sacrifice his previously held beliefs in a bid to develop a new spiritual perception that may aid in purification of his soul. ‘The Hollow Men’ also contains allusions to spiritual redemption by its repetitive reference of the Lord’s Prayer ‘for Thine of Kingdom’. Of significant importance also is Eliot’s portrayal of hope, which is symbolised in the motif of stars. Such a motive is also evident throughout Dante’s Divine Comedy, where the poet famously ends his Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise poems with a literal and symbolic reference to stars. Like Dante, Eliot’s mention of a ‘twinkle of a fading star’ serves as a symbol of holy guidance that will lead lost souls into ‘Death’s dream kingdom’. Such innuendo suggests that Eliot’s poetry, as vividly depressing as it is on the surface, can be interpreted as an enlightening portrait of the spiritual faith that one may require in order to experience salvation.
Conclusion – 2015 HSC English Advanced Module B – T.S. Eliot
It is accurate that Eliot’s poetry presents images of disorder, melancholy and turmoil that envelope his ‘Journey of the Magi’ and ‘The Hollow Men’. Nonetheless, Eliot’s poetry doesn’t have to be read as a text with hopeless and faithless assumptions about the modern world. Instead, these texts can be understood as a tentative portrayal of the enlightening benefits that come with faith in god and the holy spirit – a message that is also apparent throughout Dante’s Divine Comedy – the epic poem that played a definitive role in inspiring Eliot to write somber yet spiritually enriching poetry
Conclusion sample – 2015 HSC English Advanced Module B – Hamlet
Overall, the consequences of disrupting ‘the great chain of being’ are illustrated in ‘Hamlet’s’ narrative. Shakespeare’s presentation of Denmark as a foul state tainted by morally ambiguous beings, helps him highlight the chaos that could eventuate in states being run by individuals whose sole purpose is to constantly reshape the world according to their own selfish design. Furthermore, the deaths of key characters such as Claudius, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Laertes and Hamlet are symbolic of the persistent bloodshed that can occur as a result of the vicious and uncontainable cycle of revenge and lust for power. With this in mind, it is accurate to suggest that Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ is indeed a grim representation of a world devoid of a moral compass.
The essay writing samples above should hopefully help HSC English Advanced students to improve their writing, comprehension and sentence construction when analysing Module B texts.
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