Good Morning S5/6!

2. Good Morning S5/6! • In today’s lesson... • Review of Act 1 • Act 2 • Scene 1 – theme of change • Scene 2 - character

3. Act 1 Review • Copy and fill out the following chart for each scene.  ACT 1 FRANK RITA COMMENT Scene 1 He is holding an She has difficulty The empty mug could reflect his empty mug. He getting into the empty life. We see he is unhappy goes and takes room as the door as he needs to drink. books from the is stuck. The stuck door is a metaphor for shelves. He pours the difficulty that Rita has entering himself a slug of his world, the world of education whiskey. The phone and a different social class. rings and he speaks to his wife. Scene 2

4. Act 2 Scene 1 Summary • Rita tells Frank about her time at summer school. • Frank tries to introduce her to a new poet but she has already ‘done’ Blake.

5. Act 2 Scene 1 • A significant amount of time has passed since Act 1. • Frank has begun to write poetry again. • Rita’s success at summer school means she is full of confidence – she bursts through the door. • She has stopped smoking and moved in with a new flatmate, Trish.

6. Act 2 Scene 1 The new Rita • Note down 4 examples from this scene that demonstrate how Rita has changed. • Support your points with quotations.

7. Act 2 Scene 1 Rita • Rita’s success at summer school means that she has gained a new self-confidence that is manifested through her new clothes, friends and language. • Her changing language is instantly recognisable. • “only with Parmesan cheese” becomes “Actually, I’m not too familiar with the American poets.” (p.74) • She uses words like analogy, parody and tragedy with ease in contrast to not knowing what assonance was in act 1.

8. Act 2 Scene 1 Frank • Frank’s own sense of importance begins to diminish. • Find 2 examples of how Frank is becoming jealous of Rita’s new life. • Support your points with quotation.

9. Act 2 Scene 1 Frank • Julia has left him during the summer. She has since returned but Frank continues to drink heavily. • Rita’s present of a pen only serves to remind him of his creative failings. • Frank is being stifled by his lecturer’s role in the university as it offers little creativity and gives him no satisfaction. • He feels jealous and insecure about Rita’s relationship with the other tutors.

10. Act 2 Scene 1 • Page 79 – a significant shift in Frank and Rita’s relationship. For the first time, Rita has not been reliant on Frank for her learning. • Rita is trying to reform Frank – page 77/78 – but he knows her influence is only temporary. • “Y’ need air in here, Frank.” • Frank’s relevance to Rita is not quite what it was at the beginning of their relationship – this is the first occasion that Rita surprises Frank with her literary knowledge.

11. Act 2 Scene 2 Summary • Rita puts on an affected voice. • She tells of plucking up her courage to sit with the ‘proper’ students on the grass. • She has been invited to the south of France.

12. Act 2 Scene 2 • Trish is becoming another influence in Rita’s life – a different type of teacher and a role model. • Rita has changed her voice; “I have merely decided to talk properly.” • Frank is unimpressed and urges her to be herself. • For the first time, Rita has mixed with other students out on the grass.

13. Act 2 Scene 2 • Rita has realised that the ‘proper’ students are not as clever as she always assumed they were. (Page 84) • “For students they don’t have come out with some rubbish y’know.” • She wins an argument about DH Lawrence – this represents a shift in attitude. • She is now confident in their company.

14. Act 2 Scene 2 Frank • He appears to be jealous that Tiger has invited Rita to France. • “Please stop burbling on about Mr Tyson.” • He makes excuses why she can’t go. • He places Rita’s latest essay on the top of the pile – SYMBOLIC – she is no longer out of place with the other students. • “It wouldn’t look out of place with these.”

15. Act 2 Scene 2 • How do you feel about Rita in this scene? • How do you think Frank feels?

16. Act 2 Scene 3 • Why do you think Frank is so drunk in this scene? • He seems to have been completely affected by Rita. Pick out all the things he copies from her. • Why does he not like her essay?

17. Act 2 Scene 3 • This time, it is Frank that makes the clumsy entrance – drunk. • After being reported for being drunk at a lecture, the university authorities are forcing him to take a sabbatical. • “Pissed? I was glorious! Fell off the rostrum twice.” • Frank reveals his feelings of discontent towards his students; “mealy-mouthed pricks…” • He lapses into Rita’s language; “completely off my cake.”

18. Act 2 Scene 3 • Frank thinks her essay is good enough for the exam but he doesn’t like it as it is too impersonal. • By educating Rita, he has changed her – but he also wants to retain the old Rita. • The more she develops, the less she reminds him of the girl who brought a “breath of fresh air” to his life. • How is Frank similar to Denny in this scene?

19. Act 2 Scene 3 • Frank does not like that Rita has changed. • Denny did not accept her change either. • Neither of them recognise the girl they used to know. • Denny’s bad behaviour contributed to the marriage breakdown. • Now Frank starts to argue with Rita and cause her more problems. • It seems inevitable that their relationship will break down.

20. Act 2 Scene 3 IRONY • Frank acting like Denny • Frank has read Rubyfruit Jungle and likes it – Rita has now moved on.