Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term - Senior Secondary School 2

SUBJECT: LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH

CLASS:  SS2

DATE:

TERM: 3RD TERM

REFERENCES

• She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith.
• Exam Reflection Literature- in-English by Sunday OlatejuFaniyi.
• Exam Reflection Literature-in-English (Prose and Drama) by Sunday OlatejuFaniyi.  
• The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. 

WEEK FIVE

LANGUAGE AND STYLE IN THE PLAY

1. Comedy of manners: The play is a comedy of manners which is set in a polite society. The comedy arises from the gap between the characters’ attempt to preserve standards of polite behaviour that contrasts to their true behaviour. WhileShe Stoops to Conquer contains elements of farce. Its comedy also stems from poking fun at the manner and conventions of the aristocratic, sophisticated society.
2. Satire: Alternatively, it can be seen as satire, where characters are either ludicrous or eccentric. Such comedy might leave the impression that the characters are either too foolish or corrupt to ever reform, hence MrsHardcastle.
3. Foreshowing: Goldsmith uses foreshadowing to create expectations and explain consequent developments. For example, MrsHardcastle in act one describes their house as “an old rumbling mansion, that looks for the world like an inn”(p. 1). This helps the audience to understand what gave Tony the idea for his practical joke.
4. Dramatic irony: Being a  device of giving the spectator an item of information that at least one of the characters in the drama is unaware of, thus placing the spectator a step ahead of at least one of the characters. From a close study of the text, abundant use of irony is seen.
5. Prologue and epilogue:  The prologue in the play is used to prepare the audience and guide their expectations. The epilogue gives a concluding statement.

GENERAL EVALUATIONS/REVISION QUESTIONS

1. Comment on the work as a comedy.
2. Discuss the use of irony in the play.

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENTSECTION A

INSTRUCTION: Answer all questions

1. In literary work, verbal irony refers to aA. device in which the speaker means the opposite of what he says. B. situation in which a character speaks or acts against the trendof events. C. difficult situation which defies a logical or rational resolution. D. device in which the actor on stage means exactly what he says.
2. In the theatre, words spoken by a character that are meant to be heard by the audience but not by the other characters on stage is called A. aside. B. soliloquy. C. acoustic. D. tone.
3. A poet’s use of regular rhythm is known as A. allegory. B. assonance. C. metre. 

1. onomatopoeia.

1. A literary genre which directly imitates human action is A. drama. B. comedy. C. prose. D. poetry.
2. The main aim of caricature is to A. describe. B. expose. C. emphasize. D. ridicule.

SECTION B

Examine the use of foreshadowing and the language in the play.

READING ASSINGMENT

Read up the style of She Stoops to Conquer in Exam Focus.