Friday 16 July 2010

Critical Views of "Othello" - over time

Click here for an excellent resource from the website, More Learning for a range of critical writing about Shakespeare's play. This will be invaluable for the all important AO3 for AS coursework in English Literature.

Thursday 8 July 2010

"Eleftherios K. Venizelos" the main political influence on Dr. Iannis

In Chapter 9 of Captain Corelli's Mandolin Dr. Iannis describes his political views as being "Venizilist;"by this he means he follows the liberal politics which are not extreme. He is a follower of "Eleftherios K. Venizelos" Stamatis is a Monarchist and on the right; Kokolios is a communist and on the left. Both men's politics could and did lead to totalitarian dictatorships.



Eleftherios Venizelos (full name Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, Greek: Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος; 23 August 1864 – 18 March 1936) was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century.Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932. Venizelos had such profound influence on the internal and external affairs of Greece that he is credited with being "the maker of modern Greece",and he is still widely known as the "Ethnarch" ( leader ).

From Wikipedia

Saturday 3 July 2010

"Captain Corelli's Mandolin" by John Mullan and The Guardian's Book Club Readers

Professor John Mullan's article from 2007 on The Guardian Book Club readers' meeting with Louis de Bernieres on Captain Corelli's Mandolin. Worth reading once you have finished reading the novel.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/sep/15/louisdebernieres

Friday 2 July 2010

The widow seeks her goat in the Kephenion - from "Zorba The Greek" (1964)

"You know how they treat widows." spoken in coversation in the kaphenion in Chapter 9 of Captain Corelli's Mandolin.


Note how in Chapter 9 of CCM how politics is argued over and how it creates divisions between Stamatis, Kokolios and Dr. Iannis. What unites these characters of different viewpoints towards the end of this chapter and why are they united in this way?

The Widow (Irene Papas) looks for her goat which the "mangas" have sadistically hidden in the Kaphenion. The coffee house in "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" seems less threatening but it is still a place in which the men gather to drink coffee and smoke while talking politics, business, etc. Women are not expected to enter. And it seems, The Widow, like Pelagia, keeps at least one goat. Set in Crete, "Zorba The Greek" has several disturbing scenes which depict cruel, patriarchal attitudes in Greece, particularly on its islands, before growing commercialism softened them from the late 1960s.

About Me

I teach Film, Media and English Lit.