Unit 4 coursework: The Miserific Vision

The Opening of That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis

Today we will begin studying That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis. I will supply you with the opening sections of the first chapter if you don't have a text yet. The opening of the novel introduces the reader to Jane Studdock, wife of Mark Studdock. Both are the main characters in the novel.

Jane and Mark are recently married; Jane is working on a doctoral thesis about John Donne and Mark is a sociologist who belongs to Bracton College in Edgestow where they live. We also meet Mark in conversation with a colleague Curry on the way to the college and then are introduced by the narrator to Bragdon Wood, a mysterious and ancient woodland located next to Bracton College.

After reading, discuss and answer these questions:

1. How is Jane Studdock presented to the reader in the first section?
2. What is her attitude towards marriage and being married?
3. What is Jane's dream about and how is it presented?
4. Why does Jane abandon her thesis and go out?
5. What does Mark's conversation with Curry tell us about them both?
6. What is the 'inner ring' Mark seems so keen on?
7. Who is Lord Feverstone?
8. How is Bragdon Wood introduced to the reader by the narrator?
9. What people and events seem to be associated with Bragdon Wood?
10. What kind of atmosphere does the narrator create through his description of the Wood?

I will also be giving out two secondary sources: One by Walter Hooper about the novel from the monumental C. S. Lewis Companion and Guide that he edited and the other by Thomas Howard. Hooper is Lewis' main editor and probably the world's foremost authority on Lewis's work; Thomas Howard lectures in English Literature in the USA and has written widely on Lewis and his contemporaries.

Essay Planning

How does Lewis introduce the reader to his two main characters in the opening of That Hideous Strength? Consider how the opening establishes them in relation to each other and to their interest, work and environments (800 words).

Work together to plan ideas you could include in your writing.

Coursework Information

For unit 4 Reflections in Literary Studies you will be expected to produce a coursework folder of between 2500 and 3000 words maximum that meets the four assessment objectives:

1. Articulate creative, informed and relevant responses to literary texts, using appropriate terminology and concepts, and coherent, accurate written expression.


2. Demonstrate detailed critical understanding in analysing the ways in which structure, form and language shape meaning in literary texts.


3. Explore connections and comparisons between different literary texts, informed by interpretations of other readers.


4. Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received.

Your folder will consist of two studies, each referring to more than one text studied in the unit. We will base these on That Hideous Strength as the main text. The folder is marked out of 80 and is worth 40% of the A2 marks.

You should read all the texts, including secondary sources I give you to prepare properly for this coursework.

I will also be taking you for part of Unit 3 Interpretations of Prose and Poetry to help you prepare for the Unseen part of the examination which is worth 60% of the A2 marks.

Homework

1. Get your texts!
2. Essay writing about the opening of That Hideous Strength.

Image: Ancient English Woodland (Bragdon Wood).