Tabitha Adams - English
Tabitha Adams - English
The Extended Essay was an opportunity to produce a unique piece of
work, on a topic that was entirely of my own choosing and using texts I
had not studied in class. Writing an Extended Essay on English Literature
presented an infinite option of texts and approaches, and so I found it
difficult initially to narrow down a particular research question.
Since I was also studying ancient Greek, I enjoyed the fact that I could
compare a text from my studies in Greek literature with a book I had
enjoyed during my own private reading. It was both liberating and exciting
to be able to learn a great deal about texts in which I had a genuine
interest.
Filtering through the wide range of criticisms and analyses on the two
texts was to begin with quite daunting, but to produce by the end an
essay of my own individual design and perspective was very rewarding.
Supervisor: Charlotte Glanville
Tabitha’s research question immediately intrigued me as it sought to
juxtapose two unlikely works spanning multiple centuries and the genres
of poetry and prose. However, Tabitha’s underlying premise, namely that
both authors pushed against the frontiers of the heroic tradition within
the contexts of their time, was insightful and worthy of investigation.
As with any comparative essay Tabitha quickly recognised the danger
of sandwiching two essays together and so a comparison of the literary
techniques used by the two authors to generate such groundbreaking
‘heroes’, was woven into her essay plan. Moreover, she recognised that
the naming of characters in her title could potentially invite too much
character study and she cleverly countered this threat with her focus on
the literary methods used in their creation.
Tabitha’s preliminary reading was extensive and provided her with a
comprehensive understanding of the contexts within which the two works
were written. She skilfully maintained a primary focus on literary analysis,
whilst drawing on context to provide her argument with assurance and
sophistication.
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