Heather Daley

HD

Location Coleraine, N. Ireland

Activity

  • Heather Daley made a comment

    Thank you - very interesting, complicated but interesting!

  • couldn't seem to get the hang of this even when I followed it step by step!

  • Macbeth uses language that is evocative, rhetorical and naïve
    Other characters, the witches, for example, speak in a poetic, rambling, metaphorical way

  • denote, 5,763, earliest 1562, highest numbers seem to be related to religious or biblical books. I don't think denote is A Shakespearean neologism, far more common not in his work.
    Downtrod no matches, down?trod 6, down*trod 7, down+trod 7, down*trod* 14, down*trod*_JJ - don't really know what this stands for. No matches before 1598 and the first is...

  • I don't think it matters if Shakespeare didn't coin all those words - doesn't lessen the impact of his writing!

  • Heather Daley made a comment

    I didn't make it up but I particularly like 'mansplaining'!

  • Counting is not as cut and dried as you would hope - I had a book at University called 'How to lie with statistics'!

  • It seems to be commonly thought that Shakespeare introduced 1700 words to English - this seems highly unlikely - I feel a lot of these already existed and he just recorded them, perhaps for the first time. If he used so many new words the audience may have struggled to know what was going on!

  • got it after a couple of tries!

  • Pray - M 659/million; Collocates - heartily, pardon
    F 1,04/million; collocates - God, sir.
    This would seem to show women in a more subservient role - asking a man for something and perhaps more religious?
    Alas - 0,1,2 229/million; collocates - alas, poor
    3,4,5 54/million: collocates - poor
    5,6,7 321/million; collocates - poor, sir
    All associated with...

  • 'Betwixt' 127 matches in 33 texts. Common collocations 'difference' and 'twain' - which definitely makes sense!

  • Very clear explanatins!

  • Technology really is amazing!!

  • I think the variations can be interesting but unless they change the gist of the play they are perhaps not vital. Having said that though, the spellings (for example) could be to do with pronunciation or emphasis which would be more important.

  • We should consider ourselves fortunate to have easy access to so much text of all types!

  • The parts of the play that could have been copied were possibly minor plot ideas or devices!
    The process of putting on a play today can also include input from the actors , director, designers and producer etc

  • Heather Daley made a comment

    Enjoyed this week even though I'm way behind!

  • I enjoy these little short exercises!

  • ''the most unkindest cut of all” or “more sharper than your swords” sound wrong today!

  • Always thought that 'thou' was just more formal. There are countless examples in hymn etc and other church related writings.

  • It may be am old-fashioned view but I think grammar is generally important - if language has no rules then taken to extremes it could become unintelligible to some of its speakers!

  • I suppose reading Shakespeare has some similarities to learning a foreign language but at least some of the text will be instantly recognisable and familiar.

  • interesting!

  • Some French words are commonly used, cafe, for example .other phrases may be used to imply status I suppose. Most irritating is when an author uses other language phrases with no translation assuming the reader is multilingual.

  • Perhaps knowing if a word is derived from Latin soul help to identify it as a word in common usage of more for literacy use.

  • Shakespeare 's language is that used in the plays as we obviously have no recordings! A lot of people probably think it is flowery and archaic with no relevance for today.

  • Fewer constraints meant that you could focus on the 'story' rather than worrying about spelling etc but this could have led to your audience not always understanding what they heard. This would have been more of a problem if spelling was not standardised in work that was primarily read.
    As a side note I hate the fact that scientists seem to be trying to make...

  • Looking forward to getting started

  • Enjoyed studying Shakespeare at school when we had to learn pages of quotes to support our written exam answers. Compared to other writer's words we had to memorise Shakespeare's just rolled off the tongue. Have seen many and various productions of his plays, both amateur and professional

    Shakespeare seems to use a wider variety of language than is heard...

  • Heather Daley made a comment

    Have always enjoyed Shakespeare's work and learning about his life and times.

  • Thank you, you're a very engaging educator!

  • I enjoyed this although some of the theory was way beyond me! The folding was great although at times very frustrating !!

  • Love this!

  • Still just going to stick to the folding!

  • just because you can do something doesn't necessarily mean you should!

  • Think I'll just stick to folding!

  • ?

  • This is getting way over my head but I'll persevere!

  • Found it much more difficult with the different colours!

  • Heather Daley made a comment

    Phew!

  • Oh my goodness the feeling of satisfaction when it works!

  • It's like learning a new language - not something I excel at!

  • Managed both but whether Ill be able to do them tomorrow without the video is another matter!

  • Thank you

  • Heather Daley made a comment

    Had to unstick and restick once or twice but got there in the end!

  • Managed the triangle - don't know where to start with the other 2!

  • yippee! finally worked out the triangle1

  • finally got it - I think!!

  • oh my goodness, I think I'm better just folding!

  • Got so far behind I missed the zoom! Have they been recorded?

  • I can see why we need spares, my looks like the dog chewed it!

  • Did it but no idea how!

  • Didn't print quite right but still worked!

  • I loved the first flexagons course I did - so clever how you can make something so complex just by folding paper.

  • loved the first course, looking forward to this one!

  • Heather Daley made a comment

    I enjoyed this course, thank you

  • A four I think. The story has pace but reading it in depth makes you more aware of the uncomfortable attitudes in Victorian Britain. I don't think it is the best Holmes story but a definite improvement on Murders in the Rue Morgue!

  • 'two hundred devils let loose', 'black fiends' - always mentions the colour as if it's the main thing. But later he says 'blue or black...they are in with me' so I guess it depends on the circumstances. If they're attacking you they're the worst but if they've served alongside the British army and going to make you rich then that is ok!
    I suppose the...

  • Can't help thinking I'd be feeling pretty savage if some random white men were trying to invade and steal my land.
    I don't think Tonga was necessarily meant to represent all Andamanese but the general description of the people is less than reasoned. Doyle could have just made a personal description of Tonga rather than make it so generalised to include all...

  • I do suspect the bond, at least in part, may have been based on the promise of a share of the treasure! Tonga certainly has a mind of his own as the crime testifies to his not following Small's instructions.

  • I still read it for the story! The class background is that, context and background. Perhaps Doyle was trying to follow in Dickens footsteps and point out the injustices of the class system.

  • Heather Daley made a comment

    I think it highlights that one class doesn't seem to understand another - this is a much too simplistic reading of it however - class is a lingering and persistent issue in all countries - no society is completely egalitarian - the bias may be based on education, money, heritage, job and so on.

  • Elitism and class superiority isn't just confined to the London part of the story but is also present in the Indian part.

  • Thanks to the other learners who provided working links!
    Baker Street is Middle Class/well to do, as are the West End and Upper Norwood. Southbank is a mixture of Middle Class and Poor, as are the East end and Brixton areas.
    Interesting to see very well to do cheek by jowl with very poor - some of the same extremes seem to persist now, sadly.

  • Almost too many to mention - Inspector Japp in Poirot; Inspector Lake in Miss Marple; DCI Wilkes in Agatha Raisin; Mallory in Father Brown. They feature in a particular type of crime fiction and it is obviously not to everyone's taste but I still think the story is the thing no matter who solves the crime.
    As an aside the crime doesn't even need to be...

  • The love story is complicated by the fact that Watson thinks Mary may be about to become extremely wealthy and her class would instantly by raised way above his. This, of course turned out no to be the case so the match was made - they could then get married in the eyes of society because they were from similar backgrounds and class.

  • Miss Morstan was born into a middle class household but lost her status with the disappearance of her father leaving her with no means of support. She is of a similar class to Holmes & more particularly Watson but has fallen on hard times. This puts her on a fairly equal footing with them both as does the fact her father had been in the army like Watson.
    A...

  • An army doctor would doubtless have been somewhere in the middle socially, have come from a family that could afford his commission and at this time well enough off not to be working. But not well enough off to have his own home and independent income.
    Holmes seems to be from a higher social class and so that association would enhance the doctor's.
    Watson...

  • Holmes makes his living as a consulting detective but you certainly get the impression that he must 'come from money' as he is well educated and would have to be able to afford to set up as such in the first place.
    His interests and quirks help define him socially as if you were working/lower class you wouldn't be able to afford the luxury of idiosyncrasies...

  • Heather Daley made a comment

    I can understand why looking at the wider context can be useful but I feel this subject is a bit 'off-piste'. There are plenty of courses available on imperialism and the British Empire if we wanted to pursue the topic.
    Having said that, I don't think that Mary Morstan should have had any of the treasure - and as it turned out she didn't - it rightfully...

  • The Andaman islander is short! This is definitely a book of it's time.

  • I thought this is mainly a whodunnit! Although after further consideration I think it is a combination.
    Whose Body by Dorothy L. Sayers springs to mind.

  • Playing around with story and discourse is a way of keeping the reader guessing right to the end. But I have read novels where the author has got completely carried away with their own cleverness and it has been almost impossible to follow!

  • I think it's all been said - bit sneaky but then we did have to really think about it!

  • I guess looking at Todorov's concepts could help us to consider how Poe actually approached writing the story.
    I would think that the analysis would shed light on any writing, by Poe or anyone else.

  • I feel I was a bit ahead and answered this in the last step!!
    I think genre is a very inexact science, you only need to go into a bookshop or library to discover the many idiosyncrasies that it brings up!

    I suppose for stakeholders it can be of some use - the publisher describing 'the latest thriller from...' and so on. The writer might find it a hindrance...

  • I definitely don't agree that crime fiction sticks to the established conventions, many do but many do not. The distinction between Literature and fiction seems snobbishly dismissive of the fiction reader and their writer!

  • Heather Daley made a comment

    The strength of Todorov’s typology is it's simplicity, the purists might like to be able to pigeon hole every detective fiction book, keeps things nice and tidy. However this simplicity is also its greatest weakness. If you adhere slavishly to his reasoning you would be reading every book with a view to how to characterise it always lurking at the back of your...

  • Generally they start with the murder but maybe the old Columbo TV stories work the other way. I seem to remember being frustrated by knowing who had 'done it' before the investigation!

  • I definitely think Holmes needs an audience but there are a few other things - I think he needs someone to make him an acceptable member of society, to be able to deal with clients; to protect him from his worst excesses; to let him exercise his more 'human' side. I've always had that feeling - like Sam being the real hero in The Lord of the Rings, not Frodo!

  • I think he is maybe a bit of both - but some interpretations make him out more of an arrogant snob - he really does care about Watson and is somewhat dismayed by his proposed marriage! Amongst other examples he also cares about his client and makes sure that Watson looks after her.

  • Holmes definitely uses his scientific methods - footprints, handwriting, the thorn etc Many more that have already been mentioned!

  • The historical context definitely affects one's perception of Holmes' drug habit. I think the significance is all down to showing us how over active his mind is and his inability to cope without constant and significant stimulation - if he's not working then he must find some other way to control his hyperactivity.

  • 1. Holmes is more selfeffacing than I remember
    2. Watson is slightly in awe of Holmes at this early stage of their partnership
    3. Holmes needs Watson more than Watson needs Holmes

  • This is a gently humorous poke at 2 well-loved and revered characters - very deadpan and understated which adds to the humour. Rather sad and poignant too as much humour is!

  • For me it's the 2009 film - the opening scene/credits is perfect!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAb6SqlnGUU

  • So much more readable and enjoyable than Poe! Straightforward, pacy, with a welcome touch of humour - the relationship Holmes has with Watson is much more rounded than that of Dupin and his narrator. Some great local colour and scene setting.

  • In each step there is a word dropped below the main line of text, find them all and you get the message!

  • I also love the scene setting for your videos - very Philip Marlowe!

  • The fact that detective fiction has been around a lot longer than most people think!

  • I think probably the biggest impression has been the series - there are very few stand alone detective stories compared to the innumerable series ones.

  • One of the main clues was the pattern of fingers on the neck and the inability of anyone to agree about were the second 'speaker' was from. There was also the hair and the fact that the money was still there. They were guessable I suppose but I think it was a complete cop-out to make the murderer an animal! I seem to remember a Midsommer Murders (?) where a...

  • Heather Daley made a comment

    I loved the clues!
    I think a writer should play fair - very annoying when at the denouement the detective suddenly comes up with something that you had no idea about! You also need a smattering of red herrings to make life interesting.

  • Heather Daley made a comment

    Not one of the puns were my idea, consider them signs of a twisted learning designer. I thought initially they were some weird software issue!

  • It wasn't as hard as I thought, perhaps that's just how my mind works!

  • Heather Daley made a comment

    I think the narrator is just there for Dupin to show off to!

  • I have to confess I skimmed a lot of the preface and nearly didn't read on ! Perhaps the original readers had more patience with philosophical ideas.

  • Dupin is from a good family but has fallen on hard times - Poe describes him as extremely well read with a ‘wild fervour’, ‘vivid freshness of imagination’ and ‘ enamored of the night’. He seemed to be a ‘double Dupin—the creative and the resolvent.’
    The narrator seems in awe of Dupin from the beginning and is merely a tool to show how ‘clever’ Dupin is.
    The...

  • Spoiler alerts ladies! Not everyone is a Christie officiando!

  • @RebeccaDale I'm not saying that 'literary ' fiction is necessarily bad but there are countless books that have not survived, so perhaps some of the current critics picks will not be around in 100 years, here's hoping!