Annotate:  

References to people and location to explain his current views and interests and to inform audience of his background and personal history

Writer's voice tinged with diffidence and humour,  mixture of light comedic and often cynical tone, gently mocking undertones throughout formal and less formal register, anecdotal ending  that reflects Bennett's contemporary peers and  serves to neatly condense Richard Griffith's skill in wit and his persona in the text

Generic Conventions: dated entries, first person confessional tone, stance of making commentary on wider as well as personal events

Language:

• Reversed syntax and elliptical expressions  to highlight description

• use of descriptive language (post modified nouns and adjectival phrasing ) to connect with the readers through engagement with the senses

• semantic fields and subject specific phrasing that relate to place and with a lexis drawn from local geography and history

• pre modified noun phrases used for effect e.g. to express opinion and provide description

•  speech (imagined and actual) that conveys Bennett's opinion of the speakers

• use of tenses to show the  balances of action and reflection

• long and short sentences to recount episodes (add interest)

Questions:

How does Alan Bennett use language and structure to convey his voice when reflecting on experiences?

1. How would you describe the overall tone of the piece? How is this achieved? Is it consistent through the extract or does it vary?

2. What are the features which characterise this text as a diary? Does it hold features that are typical of other genre forms?

3. What is the intention of the text? How successful is it in achieving this?

4. What does the writer intend to tell us about himself? How does the writer create a sense of personality in the text?

5. What is the context in which the text is written? To what extent has the context influenced the writer?

6. How would you describe the audience for the text? 

Comparative

How does Bennet use generic conventions and elements of a memoir ,although it is presented as a diary - how do these aspects compare with Wilde's or Angelou's texts?

(refer to the booklet on generic terms  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AoMDyCLYzXtTrCnpT72c-nMVA8_z-UWD/view?usp=sharing and your notes on Wilde and Angelou) 

Use the rubric that you analysed to help you! 

How would you characterise the relationship between Alan and Miss Shepherd? 

Would you describe them as friends? 

How would you describe Miss Shepherd’s personality?

 How does the writer create an image of a witch?

Comment on any expression which you found interesting and effective. Give your reasons.

Does the writer use exaggeration? Provide evidence. 

What is your overall impression of the author?

How does Bennet view the woman?

How does the writer create an unfavourable impression of the lady and her position? 

Alan claims that “writing is talking to oneself”, what do you think he means by this? 

Why doesn’t he think of himself as a ‘real writer’? How does the relationship between the ‘two Alans’ play out? 

Do you recognise the film’s representation of Britain? What is similar and different to our modern society? 

How does the film capture changing attitudes around homosexuality? 

How does Alan’s relationship with Miss Shepherd compare to that with his mother? 

Does the film (or Alan) make fun of Miss Shepherd? 

The story has also been told on stage, the radio and in print. How might the storytelling have changed for the switch to film? What are the opportunities and challenges of this?

RESEARCH TASK: Research WW1 and write ten key facts.

Comparison:

Compare the ways in which the writers create a sense of voice as they reflect on the War and its effects on the lives of those involved. 

In your answer, you must consider linguistic and literary features, drawing on your knowledge of genre conventions and context.

What to consider:

• The differing contexts of the Wars

• The context of production - how and why was the author's voice shaped

• The context of reception - who is the implied audience? 

• Aspects of voice found here: tone, style, personality, perspective, emotion, narrative voice

• Advanced linguistic features. 

WRITING IN THE STYLE OF:

The following text is an entry from an internet diary kept by Simon Dixey, a member of the crew of a sailing boat during their round-the-world race in 2014. 

(a) Comment on the language and style of the extract. 

 (b) Write Simon Dixey’s internet diary entry for his first night at home after nearly a year at sea. Base your answer closely on the style and language of the original. 

 I knew it was my underwear. It had fallen from the black bin bag and was lying in a damp black heap on the floor, but surely there was something familiar – yes, there the hole in the left cuff, and just here had the moths eaten that pattern of holes in the leg. My trusty Icebreakers for sure. It had not been in the search for thermal base layers that I had investigated this bag, thrust to the back of our storage bunk, although I was glad enough to find them. I was really searching for my best pair of earphones (still missing, by the way) – and while on the subject, has anybody seen my coffee mug, lost since San Francisco? Just asking … Ah well, if that’s all I end up losing after nearly a year at sea, I guess I have not done too badly. On the subject of losses, however, people have been known to ask about our routes on these races. From the comfort of their armchairs, they see our wriggly tracks, hairpin bends and general meanderings and sometimes speculate as to whether we have lost our way. One mutters about weather, currents, great circles and the like, but I can see they are not convinced. And thinking about it, I am wondering if the truth is not a lot more complicated. I think it’s all Carolus’s fault. He’s a mathematician you see, and has been trying to educate us about some of the more arcane areas of mathematical theory, during those long hours when our boat is in BG mode (Bobbing Gently). The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, so you might think. But not always. On the surface of a globe, for instance, this is no longer true. And it turns out there are many other geometries in which this axiom does not apply – these non-Euclidian geometries are described by Riemann and others. So it is entirely possible that we are sailing in a non-Euclidian dimension much of the time, just popping back into 3D at Race Viewer moments and at stopover ports. So just remember: for walking or cycling then you could use Euclid, but for wandering seamen then Riemann is best. Anyway, back to planet Earth for a moment, and moving from things lost to things missed. Many of us have been thinking now about what we will miss when this adventure is over. I don’t know about missing things, but I think I will remember our boat by its little peculiarities.

 For instance: 

•  The wind angle reading that differs by 20 degrees depending on whether we are on port or starboard tack4. 

• The hatches that drip on you while you cook. 

• Navigation lights constantly on the blink. 

• How to close the starboard engine room door (use your hip). 

• Which heads5 pump out best on which tack. 

• The best way to tie up your lee cloth

 • How to reach underfloor plumbing. And so on. 

And perhaps that’s the basis for many affectionate relationships, this growing familiarity with endearing eccentricities and imperfections. So do we know them – our friends, spouses or partners, the boat we have lived on for nearly a year – even in the dark, even by a touch, a smell, by the odd sounds made in the night. And it’s a wise man that knows his own underwear. That last line might serve as an epitaph; it is certainly a farewell. This is my absolutely, final, last crew diary entry. The race is nearly over, we have sailed into our last sunrise. In a few days’ time the sun will set on our voyage as we leave The Netherlands and head west, for London and home. Simon Dixey