DISTinctively Visual - Shoehorn Sonata + Related material
MODULE A: Experience through language
Elective Rubric
ELECTIVE 2: DISTINCTIVELY VISUAL
In their responding and composing students explore the ways the images we see and/or visualise in texts are created. Students consider how the forms and language of different texts create these images, affect interpretation and shape meaning. Students examine one prescribed text, in addition to other texts providing examples of the distinctively visual.
Break down the rubric
Identify images?
How do written, spoken, visual texts create images? -TECHNIQUES
How do images influence meaning?-THEMES/ IDEAS
What makes images distinctive within the text?
What does distinctively mean?
Distinguishing characteristics
Something which serves as a mark of difference/separation-Peculiarity/ individuality
Particularly perceptible
Prominently
Something which is classed as separate -Characteristically
Strong enough, large enough, or definite enough to be noticed
Uniquely
What does visual refer to?
Something perceptible by sight (vision) or by the mind (perception)
Able or intended to be seen by the eyes orbe perceived as a picture in the mind
DEFINING Distinctively Visual
In the context of the rubric:
Anything WITHIN THAT TEXT that provokes an image you can physically see or imagine.
It provokes an image WITHIN THAT TEXT which is connected to a CLEAR attitude/ value/ perspective.
Defining Image
Actual or mental picture-a picture or likeness of somebody or something, produced either physically by a sculptor, painter, or photographer, or formed in the mind by aural, written, or spoken means A very typical or extreme example of somethinge.g. the very image of evil, greed, beauty
A person or thing bearing a close likeness to somebody or something else.
e.g. She’s the image of her father
A figure of speech, especially a metaphor or simile
Image is the idea behind what you see/visualise.
What provokes images?
Visual text
Colour
Framing-included/ omitted?
Composition
Character and object positioning
Body Language, facial expressions, posture, gestures, hairstyle, clothing, etc
Vectors-Focus/Placement
Lighting
Shot type, angle & distance
Symbolism /icons (setting, object, costume, make up)
Absence of written text
Subject choice-Who? What? Where? What?
Written text:
Figurative Language
Descriptive language
Imagery
Word choice (Emotive language)
Recount
Narrative structure
Repetition of words and images
Adjectives
Verbs
Punctuation –bold capital letters, ellipsis (….) , exclamations to show emotion (!), font.
Direct speech / dialogue –where quotation marks are used (“ ”). When we hear someone speaking it makes the text more engaging and authentic as we can visualise the scene
Compound words –connecting words to make the description more powerful e.g. sun-drenched, mud-splattered
Formal language, informal language, colloquial language, slang to create authentic characters
Absence of visual and aural elements
Spoken text:
Music
Sound effects
Tone
Pace
Volume
Silence
Pause
What is said
Language used (see written)
Absence of visual
Purpose of Distinctively Visual Texts
The function of an image would enable students to understand ‘how our perceptions of and relationships with others and the world are shaped’.
Function of images
Provoke, Confirm, Inform
The function of an image could be to express ideas about:
- Characters (confident, submissive, determined)
- Relationships (animosity, friendship)
- The World-themes/views/ perceptions (horror of war, power of friendship)
What should be the focus in learning the The Shoe-Horn Sonata?
Analysis of dramatic, language and visual techniques used to construct powerful images of the women's experiences.
Focus of the play
John Misto states his purpose in writing The Shoe Horn Sonata in the preface of the play. Link all the images of the experiences of these women back to this.
“There is no national memorial to the many Australian nurses who perished in the war. At the time this play was first performed, the
government had rejected all requests for one in Canberra. I do not have the power to build a memorial. So I wrote a play instead.”
Summarising the Purpose
The play as a:
-Memorial to these women and their courage/ heroism/ sacrifice
-Acknowledgement of the suffering of civilians “simply forgotten” in war
-Criticism of governments role in constructing history (Focus on soldiers’ heroism-Anzac Day)
-Criticism of the ethics of governments in war.
Dramatic techniques
Dramatic techniques are used by the playwright to enhance meaning and understanding amongst the audience. Dramatic techniques include:
Stage directions
They tell us what should be happening on stage and will often include clues, e.g. the darkening of the stage may suggest something bad approaching. They can be used for a whole spectrum of things - instructions to directors about set, costume, props etc and instructions to actors about movement, gesture, facial expression, tone of voice etc. They are very revealing, as they often show us mood, link scenes, aspects of characterisation and theme. It is crucially important that you read them carefully and consider their significance, in the same way that you consider the dialogue itself.
Asides
When a character temporarily turns away from another character and speaks directly to the audience.
Entrance and exits
It is important to notice when characters exit and enter a scene. Pay particular attention to what is being said as they enter or what they say as they leave.
Scenes and Acts
It is important to pay attention to when a playwright chooses to end a scene and an Act (a number of scenes). It is usually significant in building audience expectations of what is to come. This is sometimes a cliff hanger. Or sometimes they will link a scene with lighting, a prop or with a character remaining on stage.
Symbolism
When an object is used to represent something else, e.g. a broken vase may symbolise a broken relationship.
Off-stage
Noises off-stage may indicate the coming of conflict, of something bad likely to happen.
Recurring imagery
Look out for repeated words, phrases and images. Together, these create a sense of mood or a key theme.
Style of writing - Prose & verse
In older plays (Shakespeare, for example), it is possible to tell the status of a character or the mood of the scene by whether it is written as poetry or in everyday speech, e.g. characters of low status do not speak in verse and comic scenes are often written in prose.
Style of writing - dialect & language
In more modern plays, playwrights will often use dialect (a way of speaking particular to an area) and colloquialisms (words or phrases common to that particularly area) to demonstrate the differences in social status or origin of a character. In Singaporean plays, Singlish is often used to show to diversity of tongues (different languages - e.g. Tamil, Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Malay) and it is often contrasted with the use of Standard English, as is encouraged by the governement. The use of a local dialect can add authenticity to a play, as it more effectively captures the voices of the local people in the play. In some plays, this may even mean that whole section of the play will be spoken in another language (such as Haresh Sharma's plays) and the audience will have surtitles (on a screen on the side of the stage) to help them interpret.
Soliloquy/Monologue
When a character is alone on stage and speaks out his or her thoughts aloud. Language that invites action. A character can say something that requires others to act or react.
Language and length
Look out for how much or little is said by characters. Playwrights will often change the pace (slowing down or speeding up) by how the characters speak.
Dramatic Irony
This is when the audience knows something that the characters on stage don't - perhaps it might be a detail that we have seen in another scene or something that we know not to be the case.
Satire/Parody
This is when a playwright will 'play' on a popular trend and make fun of it by showing how ridiculous it is.
Microcosm
A small representation of a whole. For example, in Boom you could argue that Mother is representative of a whole generation of older Singaporeans, Boon is representative of a whole generation of young Singaporeans, Jeremiah represents civil servants and the whole play Boom is a microcosm of Singaporean society as a whole.
Irony
When the reality is the opposite of what is being said/shown
Elective Rubric
ELECTIVE 2: DISTINCTIVELY VISUAL
In their responding and composing students explore the ways the images we see and/or visualise in texts are created. Students consider how the forms and language of different texts create these images, affect interpretation and shape meaning. Students examine one prescribed text, in addition to other texts providing examples of the distinctively visual.
Break down the rubric
Identify images?
How do written, spoken, visual texts create images? -TECHNIQUES
How do images influence meaning?-THEMES/ IDEAS
What makes images distinctive within the text?
What does distinctively mean?
Distinguishing characteristics
Something which serves as a mark of difference/separation-Peculiarity/ individuality
Particularly perceptible
Prominently
Something which is classed as separate -Characteristically
Strong enough, large enough, or definite enough to be noticed
Uniquely
What does visual refer to?
Something perceptible by sight (vision) or by the mind (perception)
Able or intended to be seen by the eyes orbe perceived as a picture in the mind
DEFINING Distinctively Visual
In the context of the rubric:
Anything WITHIN THAT TEXT that provokes an image you can physically see or imagine.
It provokes an image WITHIN THAT TEXT which is connected to a CLEAR attitude/ value/ perspective.
Defining Image
Actual or mental picture-a picture or likeness of somebody or something, produced either physically by a sculptor, painter, or photographer, or formed in the mind by aural, written, or spoken means A very typical or extreme example of somethinge.g. the very image of evil, greed, beauty
A person or thing bearing a close likeness to somebody or something else.
e.g. She’s the image of her father
A figure of speech, especially a metaphor or simile
Image is the idea behind what you see/visualise.
What provokes images?
Visual text
Colour
Framing-included/ omitted?
Composition
Character and object positioning
Body Language, facial expressions, posture, gestures, hairstyle, clothing, etc
Vectors-Focus/Placement
Lighting
Shot type, angle & distance
Symbolism /icons (setting, object, costume, make up)
Absence of written text
Subject choice-Who? What? Where? What?
Written text:
Figurative Language
Descriptive language
Imagery
Word choice (Emotive language)
Recount
Narrative structure
Repetition of words and images
Adjectives
Verbs
Punctuation –bold capital letters, ellipsis (….) , exclamations to show emotion (!), font.
Direct speech / dialogue –where quotation marks are used (“ ”). When we hear someone speaking it makes the text more engaging and authentic as we can visualise the scene
Compound words –connecting words to make the description more powerful e.g. sun-drenched, mud-splattered
Formal language, informal language, colloquial language, slang to create authentic characters
Absence of visual and aural elements
Spoken text:
Music
Sound effects
Tone
Pace
Volume
Silence
Pause
What is said
Language used (see written)
Absence of visual
Purpose of Distinctively Visual Texts
The function of an image would enable students to understand ‘how our perceptions of and relationships with others and the world are shaped’.
Function of images
Provoke, Confirm, Inform
The function of an image could be to express ideas about:
- Characters (confident, submissive, determined)
- Relationships (animosity, friendship)
- The World-themes/views/ perceptions (horror of war, power of friendship)
What should be the focus in learning the The Shoe-Horn Sonata?
Analysis of dramatic, language and visual techniques used to construct powerful images of the women's experiences.
Focus of the play
John Misto states his purpose in writing The Shoe Horn Sonata in the preface of the play. Link all the images of the experiences of these women back to this.
“There is no national memorial to the many Australian nurses who perished in the war. At the time this play was first performed, the
government had rejected all requests for one in Canberra. I do not have the power to build a memorial. So I wrote a play instead.”
Summarising the Purpose
The play as a:
-Memorial to these women and their courage/ heroism/ sacrifice
-Acknowledgement of the suffering of civilians “simply forgotten” in war
-Criticism of governments role in constructing history (Focus on soldiers’ heroism-Anzac Day)
-Criticism of the ethics of governments in war.
Dramatic techniques
Dramatic techniques are used by the playwright to enhance meaning and understanding amongst the audience. Dramatic techniques include:
Stage directions
They tell us what should be happening on stage and will often include clues, e.g. the darkening of the stage may suggest something bad approaching. They can be used for a whole spectrum of things - instructions to directors about set, costume, props etc and instructions to actors about movement, gesture, facial expression, tone of voice etc. They are very revealing, as they often show us mood, link scenes, aspects of characterisation and theme. It is crucially important that you read them carefully and consider their significance, in the same way that you consider the dialogue itself.
Asides
When a character temporarily turns away from another character and speaks directly to the audience.
Entrance and exits
It is important to notice when characters exit and enter a scene. Pay particular attention to what is being said as they enter or what they say as they leave.
Scenes and Acts
It is important to pay attention to when a playwright chooses to end a scene and an Act (a number of scenes). It is usually significant in building audience expectations of what is to come. This is sometimes a cliff hanger. Or sometimes they will link a scene with lighting, a prop or with a character remaining on stage.
Symbolism
When an object is used to represent something else, e.g. a broken vase may symbolise a broken relationship.
Off-stage
Noises off-stage may indicate the coming of conflict, of something bad likely to happen.
Recurring imagery
Look out for repeated words, phrases and images. Together, these create a sense of mood or a key theme.
Style of writing - Prose & verse
In older plays (Shakespeare, for example), it is possible to tell the status of a character or the mood of the scene by whether it is written as poetry or in everyday speech, e.g. characters of low status do not speak in verse and comic scenes are often written in prose.
Style of writing - dialect & language
In more modern plays, playwrights will often use dialect (a way of speaking particular to an area) and colloquialisms (words or phrases common to that particularly area) to demonstrate the differences in social status or origin of a character. In Singaporean plays, Singlish is often used to show to diversity of tongues (different languages - e.g. Tamil, Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Malay) and it is often contrasted with the use of Standard English, as is encouraged by the governement. The use of a local dialect can add authenticity to a play, as it more effectively captures the voices of the local people in the play. In some plays, this may even mean that whole section of the play will be spoken in another language (such as Haresh Sharma's plays) and the audience will have surtitles (on a screen on the side of the stage) to help them interpret.
Soliloquy/Monologue
When a character is alone on stage and speaks out his or her thoughts aloud. Language that invites action. A character can say something that requires others to act or react.
Language and length
Look out for how much or little is said by characters. Playwrights will often change the pace (slowing down or speeding up) by how the characters speak.
Dramatic Irony
This is when the audience knows something that the characters on stage don't - perhaps it might be a detail that we have seen in another scene or something that we know not to be the case.
Satire/Parody
This is when a playwright will 'play' on a popular trend and make fun of it by showing how ridiculous it is.
Microcosm
A small representation of a whole. For example, in Boom you could argue that Mother is representative of a whole generation of older Singaporeans, Boon is representative of a whole generation of young Singaporeans, Jeremiah represents civil servants and the whole play Boom is a microcosm of Singaporean society as a whole.
Irony
When the reality is the opposite of what is being said/shown