A Doll's House
What ideology underpins Nora and Torvald's marriage?
Patriarchal
Which poetic form does Gwen Harwood frequently adapt in poems like “In the Park”?
Sonnet/Petrarchan sonnet
What is enjambment?
When a sentence continues across a line break without punctuation.
Identify one of the genres Jane Eyre can be classified as.
Gothic, Bildungsroman or realism.
What does context of production refer to?
The social, historical, cultural, and ideological conditions in which a text is created.
Describe coverture.
The legal doctrine where a woman's identity is subsumed under her husband's during marriage.
“In the Park”:
“They have eaten me alive.”
Identify the technique and explain its effect.
Metaphor → conveys the consuming, dehumanising nature of motherhood and societal expectations.
What is caesura?
A pause within a line, often created by punctuation.
Identify the symbolism of the Red Room.
It symbolises punishment, repression, and psychological trauma; it also reflects patriarchal authority and isolation.
What is intertextuality?
The way texts reference, echo, or respond to other texts, shaping meaning.
"I have been your doll wife, just as I was papa's doll child". What technique is this & what does it reveal?
Metaphosr, reveals Nora's recognition that her identity has been controlled by patriarchal authority.
How does Harwood use enjambment to shape meaning in her poetry?
Enjambment disrupts flow, reflecting emotional instability, fragmentation, or tension between public composure and private distress
Creates a hissing or whispering sound, often suggesting tension, secrecy, or something sinister.
How does Lowood School reflect Victorian social attitudes?
It reflects attitudes toward charity, class hierarchy, and the moral discipline of the poor - often masking neglect and cruelty under religious justification.
Why must topic sentences use the language of the question?
To directly answer the prompt and demonstrate alignment with the task, ensuring clarity and relevance for the marker.
How does the Christmas tree function symbolically?
It symbolises Nora’s deterioration; initially decorative and lively, later stripped and disordered, mirroring her psychological and social unravelling.
Explain how Harwood’s poetry critiques 1960s Australian social values.
She critiques expectations of women as self-sacrificing mothers and exposes the repression, isolation, and lack of agency within suburban domestic life.
“In the Park”:
“They stand a while in flickering light, rehearsing / the children’s names and birthdays.”
Identify a technique and effect.
enjambment
caesura
diction
imagery
consonance
What is Bronte critiquing through Mr Brocklehurst?
Religious hypocrisy
Victorian evangelicalism
What does it mean to analyse a text through a feminist lens?
To examine how gender, power, and representation of women reflect or challenge patriarchal structures.
How would a modern audience (2026) interpret Nora’s final decision differently from an 1879 audience?
Modern audiences are more likely to view Nora’s departure as an act of autonomy and feminist resistance, whereas 1879 audiences would have viewed it as immoral and socially destabilising due to rigid marriage and gender expectations.
Why is Harwood's manipulation of the sonnet form ideological itself?
She subverts a traditionally idealised form (associated with love and order), exposing the constraints placed on women and critiquing romanticised notions of domestic life.
How does Harwood create a disconnect between appearance and reality?
Through irony and contrast, she reveals that socially constructed identities mask emotional and psychological distress.
How does Jane function as a bildungsroman protagonist in Chapters 1–5?
Her experiences of injustice, punishment, and moral conflict begin shaping her ethical framework and identity, marking the early stages of her development.
What does it mean to “evaluate” in an essay question?
To make a judgement about the significance or effectiveness of something, supported by analysis and reasoning.