GCSE English Literature

1. GCSE English Literature Section B: Poetry – Elvis’s Twin Sister

2. MUST: Read, understand and annotate the poem Elvis’s Twin Sister (D)SHOULD: Be able to discuss contextual references and imagery (C/B )COULD: Be able to compare and contrast recurrent themes in this and a number of poems (B/A)

3. What do you think of…? Elvis?

4. Picked on at school for being different – he stuttered and was very quiet Born January 8 1935, died August 16 1977 King of Rock and Roll Elvis Died as a result of overdosing on prescription medication Gyrating hips His music mixed black and white influences Born in Memphis, Tennessee, to a very religious family The second of two identical twins (the first was stillborn and named Jesse Garon)

5. Are you lonesome tonight? Do you miss me tonight? Elvis is alive and she’s female: Madonna In the convent, y’all, I tend the gardens, watch things grow, pray for the immortal soul of rock ‘n’ roll. They call me Sister Presley here. The Reverend Mother digs the way I move my hips just like my brother. Gregorian chant drifts out across the herbs Pascha nostrum immolatus est… I wear a simple habit, darkish hues, a wimple with novice-sewn lace band, a rosary, a chain of keys, a pair of good and sturdy blue suede shoes. I think of it as Graceland here, a land of grace. It puts my trademark slow lopsided smile back on my face. Lawdy. I’m alive and well. Long time since I walked down Lonely Street towards Heartbreak Hotel.

6. Annotate the text What can you infer and interpret?

7. Are you lonesome tonight? Do you miss me tonight? Elvis is alive and she’s female: Madonna In the convent, y’all, I tend the gardens, watch things grow, pray for the immortal soul of rock ‘n’ roll. They call me Sister Presley here. The Reverend Mother digs the way I move my hips just like my brother. Gregorian chant drifts out across the herbs Pascha nostrum immolatus est… I wear a simple habit, darkish hues, a wimple with novice-sewn lace band, a rosary, a chain of keys, a pair of good and sturdy blue suede shoes. I think of it as Graceland here, a land of grace. It puts my trademark slow lopsided smile back on my face. Lawdy. I’m alive and well. Long time since I walked down Lonely Street towards Heartbreak Hotel. Epigraph in form of rhetorical question Madonna is female Elvis or a quote from Madonna? Colour imagery 6 stanzas of quintrains Highly punctuated Enjambement Another monologue taken from the collection ‘The World’s Wife’ Italics

8. Are you lonesome tonight? Do you miss me tonight? Elvis is alive and she’s female: Madonna In the convent, y’all, I tend the gardens, watch things grow, pray for the immortal soul of rock ‘n’ roll. They call me Sister Presley here. The Reverend Mother digs the way I move my hips just like my brother. Gregorian chant drifts out across the herbs Pascha nostrum immolatus est… I wear a simple habit, darkish hues, a wimple with novice-sewn lace band, a rosary, a chain of keys, a pair of good and sturdy blue suede shoes. I think of it as Graceland here, a land of grace. It puts my trademark slow lopsided smile back on my face. Lawdy. I’m alive and well. Long time since I walked down Lonely Street towards Heartbreak Hotel. Song by Elvis Presley American drawl Completely contrasting / contradictory statements Where Elvis lived Religious symbolism / Elvis was thought to be the devil (the twin is the opposite of him) As twins, they share the same characteristics His gyrating hips got him banned! What many of his fans believe Original songs of the church Latin meaning ‘Or Lamb has been sacrificed…’ (Christ)

9. Summarise what you now know about the poem: • What is it about? (Content) • What themes are covered? • What tone does the poem have? • What literary devices have been used? • How effective is the poem for the reader?

10. Summarise what you now know about the poem: • What is it about? The imagined ‘other story’ to Elvis’s Twin – from a feminist perspective • What themes are covered? Love, religion, chastity • What tone does the poem have? Light, Admiring, reflective • What literary devices have been used? Enjambement, metaphor, occasional rhyme, religious imagery, epigraph • How effective is the poem for the reader?