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oder nutzt die Kommentarfunktion unterhalb der einzelnen posts

1.British traditions and visions: British history

From Empire to Commonwealth, monarchy and modern democracy

The UK and Europe

2.Post-colonialism and migration:

From Empire to Commonwealth, multicultural society, post-colonial experience in India, Indian and Pakistani communities in Britain

3.Shakespeare – a literary ‘giant’ in the 21st century

4.Globalization - global challenges

Economic and ecological issues

International peace-keeping at the turn of the century: the role of the UN and the USA

5. The USA – the American Dream then and now

The American Dream – concept, history and current issues

Cultural diversity in the USA – migration

6.Utopia and dystopia – exploring alternative worlds

Science and ethics: genetic engineering

Science fiction, fantasy and utopia


Und hier die verpflichtenden literarischen Vorgaben


Roman:

Don DeLillo: Falling Man (GK)

Drama:

Tennessee Williams: A Streetcar Named Desire oder Lorraine Hansberry: A Raisin in the Sun (GK)

Lyrik:

Social Criticism in modern poetry and songs (GK)

Spielfilm:

Sam Mendes: American Beauty oder J. Clyton/F.F. Coppola: The Great Gatsby

Dienstag, September 29

Donnerstag, September 24

BBC report " BRITISHNESS" part 1

BBC report " BRITISHNESS" part 1

BBC report " BRITISHNESS" part 3

BBC report " BRITISHNESS" part 2

BBC report " BRITISHNESS" part 3

BBC report " BRITISHNESS" part 2

Samstag, September 19

Stylistic devices and their functions

Stylistic Devices / Literary Terms

Alliteration (Alliteration, Stabreim)

Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of neighbouring words

Example: O wild west wind, …;

Full fathoms five thy father lies, ..

Effect: sound device, musical effect

Allusion (Anspielung)

A reference to a famous person or event; may be literary, historical, biblical, …

Example:

Effect: emphasis, to give credibility, to show off one´s education

Anaphora (Anapher)

The same word or expression is repeated at the beginning of 2 or more lines or sentences

Example: Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who made the lamb make thee?

Effect: emphasis

Anticlimax

Often surprising descent from the important to the unimportant, normally in a series of statements

Example: He pawned his life, his watch and his word.

Effect: surprise, humour

Antithesis (Gegenüberstellung zweier Gedanken)

Contrasting statements are balanced against each other.

Example: To err is human, to forgive divine.

Effect: to create emphasis

Assonance (Gleichklang)

The repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds within stressed syllables or neighbouring words

Example: fate and lake

Effect: musical

Asyndeton (unverbundene Reihung von Satzgliedern)

Words are not linked by conjunctions; they are separated only by commas

Example: .. another poster, torn at one corner, flapped fitfully in the wind, … covering…

Effect: staccato-like

Chiasm (Überkreuzung)

The syntactic structure is criss-crossed; inversion in second phrase of order in first phrase

Example: to stop too fearful, and too faint to go

Effect: emphasis

Climax

Words are arranged according to the value of their importance; the most important word is the climax.

Example: We strive for the good, aim for the better, and seize the best.

Effect: to increase tension, emphasize importance

Enjambment (Zeilensprung)

A sentence runs across 2 lines

Example: I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high oér vales and hills

Effect: fluent, flowing

Epipher

Repetition of one or more words at the end of two or more lines or sentences

Example: Whirl your pointed pines,

Splash your great pines

Effect: emphasis (front and end positions are always emphasized)

Euphemism (Euphemismus)

A direct, unpleasant statement is replaced by an indirect, more pleasant one to avoid bluntness.

Example: to put an animal to sleep, instead of: to kill it because it is ill

Effect: to avoid bluntness, to be polite

Hyperbole / exaggeration (Übertreibung)

Example: Sue is extremely rich. She is rolling in money.

I haven´t seen you for ages!

Effect: used for exaggeration; to attract the reader´s attention; to emphasize statements

Inversion (Umstellung von SPO)

Example: away they fly; up go the windows, out run the people, …

Effect: to emphasize or dramatize an event

Irony

A meaning is expressed that is the opposite of the intended one.

Example: the noble Brutus

Effect: ridicule; often didactic

Litotes

Understatement, often ironical, expressing an affirmative by the negative of its contrary

Example: she is not stupid (= she is quite clever)

Effect: emphasis

Metaphor

A figure of speech that implies more of a comparison than a direct impression (Without “as” or “like”!!)

Example: You are the wind beneath my wings.

Effect: emphasis; appeals to our imagination; creates a vivid picture in the reader´s mind

Metonymy

A word is substituted by another with which it is associated.

Example: crown stands for monarchy

Effect: visual effect

Onomatopoeia (Lautmalerei)

Word whose sound tries to imitate its meaning

Example: hum, buzz, crash, swish, cuckoo

Effect: sound device, creates an especially vivid impression

Oxymoron (scheinbarer Widerspruch)

Two contradictory terms are used together in a phrase.

Example: sweet death; wise fool; cruel love

Effect: provokes thoughts; emphasis

Paradox

A statement which is obviously absurd or contradictory, but has a deeper meaning

Example: The King is dead! Long live the King!

So fair and foul a day I have not seen.

Effect: thought-provoking

Parallelism

Arrangement of phrases, sentences or paragraphs, so that structure and/or meaning are similar; a form of repetition

Example: Cannon to the right of them,

Cannon to the left of them,

Cannon behind them

Volleyed and thundered.

Effect: impresses the reader

Personification (Vermenschlichung)

Attributes a human quality to animals or inanimate things

Example: Justice is blind; dancing daffodils

Effect: to emphasize similarity

Portmanteau word (Kontamination)

Two words are used to form a new one.

Example: breakfast + lunch = brunch

Pun (Wortspiel)

A humorous play on words that sound similar, but have different meanings

Example: These sausages are unidentified frying objects.

Is life worth living? That depends on the liver.

Effect: humour, fun

Repetition (Wiederholung)

Words or phrases are repeated.

Example: water, water everywhere

Effect: to emphasize; can seem monotonous

Rhetorical question

Asked for rhetorical effect, not expecting an answer

Example: A simple child, … What should it know of death?

Effect: emphasis

Rhyme

Similarity or identity of vowels (several types: end-rhyme, cross-rhyme, embracing rhyme)

Example: In the drinking-well

Which the plumber built her

Aunt Eliza fell,

We must buy a filter.

Effect: musical

Simile (Vergleich mit „like“ oder „as“)

Example: He runs like the wind.

Effect: conveys a vivid picture to the mind by linking up unrelated objects

Syllepsis (Zeugma)

One word modifies or governs others although it fits with only one.

Example: He took leave and his hat.

Effect: comical

Synaesthesia

Words describing different sensations (e.g. colour, smell, vision)

Example: murmuring light; cold colour

Effect: poetic; provokes thoughts; strikes as unusual

Synecdoche

Uses a part of something to refer to the whole

Example: He was sent behind bars (= prison)

Effect: vivid impression

Tautology (synonyme Wortwiederholung)

Superfluous repetition of words that does not clarify a statement

Example: to divide into four quarters

Effect: for emphasis

Stylistic Devices – Functions

– arouse the reader’s interest / catch the r.’s attention: titles

– make the reader think: paradox (Don’t overuse!)

– create vivid/graphic mental images: metaphors, personifications

– emphasize certain aspects: repetition, parallelism, alliteration

– amuse/entertain the reader: euphemism, similes, metaphors

– criticize/satirize: hyperbole

– evoke (funny) associations

Stylistic devices and their functions

Stylistic Devices / Literary Terms

Alliteration (Alliteration, Stabreim)

Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of neighbouring words

Example: O wild west wind, …;

Full fathoms five thy father lies, ..

Effect: sound device, musical effect

Allusion (Anspielung)

A reference to a famous person or event; may be literary, historical, biblical, …

Example:

Effect: emphasis, to give credibility, to show off one´s education

Anaphora (Anapher)

The same word or expression is repeated at the beginning of 2 or more lines or sentences

Example: Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who made the lamb make thee?

Effect: emphasis

Anticlimax

Often surprising descent from the important to the unimportant, normally in a series of statements

Example: He pawned his life, his watch and his word.

Effect: surprise, humour

Antithesis (Gegenüberstellung zweier Gedanken)

Contrasting statements are balanced against each other.

Example: To err is human, to forgive divine.

Effect: to create emphasis

Assonance (Gleichklang)

The repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds within stressed syllables or neighbouring words

Example: fate and lake

Effect: musical

Asyndeton (unverbundene Reihung von Satzgliedern)

Words are not linked by conjunctions; they are separated only by commas

Example: .. another poster, torn at one corner, flapped fitfully in the wind, … covering…

Effect: staccato-like

Chiasm (Überkreuzung)

The syntactic structure is criss-crossed; inversion in second phrase of order in first phrase

Example: to stop too fearful, and too faint to go

Effect: emphasis

Climax

Words are arranged according to the value of their importance; the most important word is the climax.

Example: We strive for the good, aim for the better, and seize the best.

Effect: to increase tension, emphasize importance

Enjambment (Zeilensprung)

A sentence runs across 2 lines

Example: I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high oér vales and hills

Effect: fluent, flowing

Epipher

Repetition of one or more words at the end of two or more lines or sentences

Example: Whirl your pointed pines,

Splash your great pines

Effect: emphasis (front and end positions are always emphasized)

Euphemism (Euphemismus)

A direct, unpleasant statement is replaced by an indirect, more pleasant one to avoid bluntness.

Example: to put an animal to sleep, instead of: to kill it because it is ill

Effect: to avoid bluntness, to be polite

Hyperbole / exaggeration (Übertreibung)

Example: Sue is extremely rich. She is rolling in money.

I haven´t seen you for ages!

Effect: used for exaggeration; to attract the reader´s attention; to emphasize statements

Inversion (Umstellung von SPO)

Example: away they fly; up go the windows, out run the people, …

Effect: to emphasize or dramatize an event

Irony

A meaning is expressed that is the opposite of the intended one.

Example: the noble Brutus

Effect: ridicule; often didactic

Litotes

Understatement, often ironical, expressing an affirmative by the negative of its contrary

Example: she is not stupid (= she is quite clever)

Effect: emphasis

Metaphor

A figure of speech that implies more of a comparison than a direct impression (Without “as” or “like”!!)

Example: You are the wind beneath my wings.

Effect: emphasis; appeals to our imagination; creates a vivid picture in the reader´s mind

Metonymy

A word is substituted by another with which it is associated.

Example: crown stands for monarchy

Effect: visual effect

Onomatopoeia (Lautmalerei)

Word whose sound tries to imitate its meaning

Example: hum, buzz, crash, swish, cuckoo

Effect: sound device, creates an especially vivid impression

Oxymoron (scheinbarer Widerspruch)

Two contradictory terms are used together in a phrase.

Example: sweet death; wise fool; cruel love

Effect: provokes thoughts; emphasis

Paradox

A statement which is obviously absurd or contradictory, but has a deeper meaning

Example: The King is dead! Long live the King!

So fair and foul a day I have not seen.

Effect: thought-provoking

Parallelism

Arrangement of phrases, sentences or paragraphs, so that structure and/or meaning are similar; a form of repetition

Example: Cannon to the right of them,

Cannon to the left of them,

Cannon behind them

Volleyed and thundered.

Effect: impresses the reader

Personification (Vermenschlichung)

Attributes a human quality to animals or inanimate things

Example: Justice is blind; dancing daffodils

Effect: to emphasize similarity

Portmanteau word (Kontamination)

Two words are used to form a new one.

Example: breakfast + lunch = brunch

Pun (Wortspiel)

A humorous play on words that sound similar, but have different meanings

Example: These sausages are unidentified frying objects.

Is life worth living? That depends on the liver.

Effect: humour, fun

Repetition (Wiederholung)

Words or phrases are repeated.

Example: water, water everywhere

Effect: to emphasize; can seem monotonous

Rhetorical question

Asked for rhetorical effect, not expecting an answer

Example: A simple child, … What should it know of death?

Effect: emphasis

Rhyme

Similarity or identity of vowels (several types: end-rhyme, cross-rhyme, embracing rhyme)

Example: In the drinking-well

Which the plumber built her

Aunt Eliza fell,

We must buy a filter.

Effect: musical

Simile (Vergleich mit „like“ oder „as“)

Example: He runs like the wind.

Effect: conveys a vivid picture to the mind by linking up unrelated objects

Syllepsis (Zeugma)

One word modifies or governs others although it fits with only one.

Example: He took leave and his hat.

Effect: comical

Synaesthesia

Words describing different sensations (e.g. colour, smell, vision)

Example: murmuring light; cold colour

Effect: poetic; provokes thoughts; strikes as unusual

Synecdoche

Uses a part of something to refer to the whole

Example: He was sent behind bars (= prison)

Effect: vivid impression

Tautology (synonyme Wortwiederholung)

Superfluous repetition of words that does not clarify a statement

Example: to divide into four quarters

Effect: for emphasis

Stylistic Devices – Functions

– arouse the reader’s interest / catch the r.’s attention: titles

– make the reader think: paradox (Don’t overuse!)

– create vivid/graphic mental images: metaphors, personifications

– emphasize certain aspects: repetition, parallelism, alliteration

– amuse/entertain the reader: euphemism, similes, metaphors

– criticize/satirize: hyperbole

– evoke (funny) associations

The British Empire

THE BRITISH EMPIRE
The British empire was one of the most important developments in world history. The empire was huge, it lasted a long time and it brought tremendous changes to many parts of the world. For millions of people the world today is the way it is because of the impact of the British empire.
At its height the British empire was the largest in world history. It covered around 25% of the world's land surface. Large areas of North America, Australia, Africa and Asia were all part of the British empire at one time or other. Other areas, especially in South America, were closely linked to the British empire by trade.
There is a lot of disagreement about when the empire began. Some historians say it was as early as the 12th century, when the Normans moved into Ireland. Others say the start date should be the 1490s, while other historians date the empire from the early 1600s. The end of the empire came in the years after World War 2, with most of Britain's colonies ruling themselves independently by the late 1960s.
There is no doubt that Britain was powerful. It used its wealth, its armies and its navy to defeat rival European countries and to conquer local peoples to establish its empire. However, the empire did not just rely on force. In most of the empire Britain relied heavily on local people to make it work. The empire was a very sophisticated network of nations and peoples, linked by trade, by political systems and sometimes held together by force.
The British empire brought many changes to many people and many countries. Some of these changes involved innovations in medical care, education and railways. The British empire fought to abolish slavery in the 1800s, but it profited from slavery in the 1700s. For many peoples the British empire meant loss of lands, discrimination and prejudice.
The empire changed throughout its history. In the 19th century, some parts of the empire became Dominions. These were states that were still part of the empire, but ruled themselves. In most cases this happened peacefully, although there was serious violence in Ireland.
The First and Second World Wars left Britain weakened and less interested in its empire. Also many parts of the empire contributed troops and resources to the war effort and took an increasingly independent view. This led to a steady decline of the empire after 1945. In the Asian and African colonies, nationalist movements used a range of methods to end British rule. By the late 1960s, most of Britain's territories had become independent countries.
The British empire has had a huge impact on the world. The majority of former colonies still keep their ties with Britain through the Commonwealth. Today, North America and Australia are very similar to Europe in a lot of ways. Many countries around the world now have multi-cultural populations. Parliamentary democracy, the English language and the Christian religion can be found in many countries. These are just a few of the ways in which the British empire has had a lasting effect on world history.
Sort the following statements (and the statements of the text) into a Pros and Cons table
During the 18th century, Britain became a dominant force and became the first western nation to industrialise. Trade flourished between Britain and its network of colonies. As a result, many merchants became wealthy.
Britain became the largest and most efficient carrier of slaves in the New World Military power was used to crush any internal resistance in countries like India. Self-governance was not an option.
British Imperialism has stirred up hate and resentment towards the British in some former colonies. The triangular trade supplied Atlantic colonies with labour to work on the plantations.
Rapid population growth between 1770 and 1815. Total population reached 12 million as people felt optimistic about the future. The suffering of the slaves is incalculable.
Trade and Empire gave a boost to financial services such as banks which was a considerable benefit to the British economy.
Christianisation took place in the colonies as the British suppressed other religions and religious practises Suppression of identity and culture by the British in the colonies took place.
Empire forged links between Britain and countries overseas that still exist today eg. Australia and India.

The British Empire

THE BRITISH EMPIRE
The British empire was one of the most important developments in world history. The empire was huge, it lasted a long time and it brought tremendous changes to many parts of the world. For millions of people the world today is the way it is because of the impact of the British empire.
At its height the British empire was the largest in world history. It covered around 25% of the world's land surface. Large areas of North America, Australia, Africa and Asia were all part of the British empire at one time or other. Other areas, especially in South America, were closely linked to the British empire by trade.
There is a lot of disagreement about when the empire began. Some historians say it was as early as the 12th century, when the Normans moved into Ireland. Others say the start date should be the 1490s, while other historians date the empire from the early 1600s. The end of the empire came in the years after World War 2, with most of Britain's colonies ruling themselves independently by the late 1960s.
There is no doubt that Britain was powerful. It used its wealth, its armies and its navy to defeat rival European countries and to conquer local peoples to establish its empire. However, the empire did not just rely on force. In most of the empire Britain relied heavily on local people to make it work. The empire was a very sophisticated network of nations and peoples, linked by trade, by political systems and sometimes held together by force.
The British empire brought many changes to many people and many countries. Some of these changes involved innovations in medical care, education and railways. The British empire fought to abolish slavery in the 1800s, but it profited from slavery in the 1700s. For many peoples the British empire meant loss of lands, discrimination and prejudice.
The empire changed throughout its history. In the 19th century, some parts of the empire became Dominions. These were states that were still part of the empire, but ruled themselves. In most cases this happened peacefully, although there was serious violence in Ireland.
The First and Second World Wars left Britain weakened and less interested in its empire. Also many parts of the empire contributed troops and resources to the war effort and took an increasingly independent view. This led to a steady decline of the empire after 1945. In the Asian and African colonies, nationalist movements used a range of methods to end British rule. By the late 1960s, most of Britain's territories had become independent countries.
The British empire has had a huge impact on the world. The majority of former colonies still keep their ties with Britain through the Commonwealth. Today, North America and Australia are very similar to Europe in a lot of ways. Many countries around the world now have multi-cultural populations. Parliamentary democracy, the English language and the Christian religion can be found in many countries. These are just a few of the ways in which the British empire has had a lasting effect on world history.
Sort the following statements (and the statements of the text) into a Pros and Cons table
During the 18th century, Britain became a dominant force and became the first western nation to industrialise. Trade flourished between Britain and its network of colonies. As a result, many merchants became wealthy.
Britain became the largest and most efficient carrier of slaves in the New World Military power was used to crush any internal resistance in countries like India. Self-governance was not an option.
British Imperialism has stirred up hate and resentment towards the British in some former colonies. The triangular trade supplied Atlantic colonies with labour to work on the plantations.
Rapid population growth between 1770 and 1815. Total population reached 12 million as people felt optimistic about the future. The suffering of the slaves is incalculable.
Trade and Empire gave a boost to financial services such as banks which was a considerable benefit to the British economy.
Christianisation took place in the colonies as the British suppressed other religions and religious practises Suppression of identity and culture by the British in the colonies took place.
Empire forged links between Britain and countries overseas that still exist today eg. Australia and India.

Montag, September 14

Probeklausur British traditions and values

Grundkurs Englisch 12/1 Klausur 1 (Britain- traditions and visions)
1. Text
Antony Jay
“A ‘United’ Kingdom: The Role of the Monarchy”

Why do we need a hereditary monarch? Most states manage with an appointed or elected President, and a President could open and dissolve parliament, sign its acts, welcome visiting Heads of State and perform all the other legal and ceremonial functions fulfilled by the Queen and the members of the Royal Family.
The truth is that if that was all the monarchy was for, we would not need a Royal Family. But the British system of government is built on the recognition that a state is more than a collection of individuals, a system of laws and an area of land. It is also a focus of the emotions of a people; it expresses our sense of nationhood, and it engages our pride, our patriotism and our loyalty. When British teams do well in international championships and when British athletes win Gold Medals at the Olympics, we all walk a bit taller. And that emotional involvement in our country, that national pride, is as much a part of the totality of Britain as our legal and political system. That pride and patriotism find their expression, their focus and their symbol in the person of theQueen, just as our disagreements about how to run schools and hospitals, how much to raise in taxes and how to spend it, find their focus and expression in the conflict between the political parties in Parliament. The two together balance each other neatly: Parliament portrays public life as a battlefield, the monarchy portrays it as a family circle.
It is difficult for an elected President to represent all the nation. At times, he will be almost unknown to most of the people. At others, he will be a party politician identified with one party, and will have been regularly voted against by getting on for half the electorate. By contrast, a hereditary monarch will have been known to all the nation from birth, will be politically neutral, and will have spent all his or her life before Coronation apprenticed to the job. Certainly it is hard to think of a less democratic system than hereditary monarchy; on the other hand, the office gives very little power, though much influence and status. Democracy has to be balanced against continuity.
The British system of government recognizes that there are not one but two roles to be performed by the Head of State: one is the formal, constitutional, ceremonial role of presiding over and authorizing the activities of the government; the other is the personal, emotional role of being Head of the Nation, the focus of the people’s pride and loyalty and affection, the embodiment of their sense of nationhood. When these two roles are combined in a single institution, a single family and a single office, then people are simultaneously focusing these emotions on the constitutional state; they are confirming and supporting the legitimacy of the legal, political and economic system which regulates their daily lives.
Because of this, the monarchy is an important force for unity in Britain - perhaps the single most important force. We have been lucky enough to maintain that national unity for centuries, which makes it easy to take it for granted. But we only have to look at the former Soviet Union[…]
How long will the British monarchy last? It has been with us a thousand years, but it could be abolished tomorrow: it is Parliament, not the Queen, which is sovereign. The monarchy’s roots are not in long-gone centuries but in the hearts of the people, and in the end it is the will of the British people that will determine its fate. Perhaps it is not that undemocratic after all.




2.Assignments:
I. Comprehension
Summarize the arguments the author mentions in support of monarchy.
II. Analysis
Examine the features that characterize the text as a personal comment supporting monarchy.
III. Comment / Evaluation (you have a choice here)
a.In the last line of the text Anthony Jay concludes that “it (monarchy) is not that undemocratic at all”.
On the basis of your knowledge about the political systems of Germany and Great Britain comment on the author’s conclusion. What do you personally think about “monarchy”?

b. Write a letter to Antony Jay telling him why it is better (worse) to live in a state where monarchy has been abolished.(i.e. Germany- the president’s name is Mr Köhler)

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