Search results

Listed under:  Language  >  Language modes  >  Creating texts  >  Literary devices
Video

David Malouf on short story writing

Some writers can write a short story in one sitting, whereas for others – like David Malouf – it can sometimes take a bit longer to figure out where a story is going. Watch as David explains that although writing is about an "enthusiastic rush", it is also about patience.  Have you ever written a story that you didn't know ...

Video

Ways to tell stories

In this video, student writers Noa and Francis discuss the creative choices they made when writing the short stories they've recently had published. Why might structuring a story as a letter be a good way to tell a story about a personal experience? Why was it important for Francis to use a first person narrative voice ...

Video

First Tuesday Book Club: The story behind 'Jasper Jones'

'Jasper Jones' is a novel that recently featured on a list of '10 Aussie books to read before you die'. Does it belong on the list? Many texts make connections to other texts but is this novel too close a retelling of the classic American novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird'? Explore the concept of 'intertextuality' in this clip.

Online

What is Shakespeare Unbound?

Shakespeare doesn’t get any better than this. Actors from Australia’s famous Bell Shakespeare Company, including Artistic Director John Bell, present key scenes from six of Shakespeare’s best-known works before joining conversations to dissect the playwright’s use of character, plot and language. Custom-made for Australian ...

Video

First Tuesday Book Club: The voice of Albert Facey

Albert Facey's 'A Fortunate Life' is one of Australia's best-loved autobiographies. Could it be Facey's 'voice' in his writing that touches the hearts of so many readers? Explore this clip to learn more about how the written word can capture the personality of a writer.

Video

Interviews With 10 Australian Authors, Ch 4: Poetry with Robert Adamson

Australian poet Robert Adamson speaks to Tom Tilley about his extraordinary life, including his experience of being sent to a boys' home as a teenager, of his life-changing discovery of Bob Dylan, and of the spiritual connection he feels with the Hawkesbury River. The Golden Bird is a collection of his poems written throughout ...

Video

Jennifer Byrne Presents: Just big kids? Why adults are reading YA fiction

The Young Adult, or YA, publishing market might be huge, but not all readers of YA books are teenagers. Perhaps surprisingly, increasing numbers of adults are choosing to read books written for the YA market. Join in this panel discussion as four YA authors discuss the reasons why their books are being picked up by adult readers.

Video

Modernism and Woolf's 'Mrs Dalloway'

Mrs Dalloway' by Virginia Woolf is a modernist novel. What makes it so? Think of how it contrasts with Edwardian and even 19th century novels. How does consciousness, or internal reality, as well as multiple perspectives play a part in modernist literature like 'Mrs Dalloway'?

Video

BTN: Why Shakespeare is still relevant today

Why do we study Shakespeare in school? How can plays written four centuries ago still be relevant today? Especially when it is hard to understand what Shakespeare was even saying. But actors still have fun playing Shakespeare. Find out why.

Video

Dorothea Mackellar's 'My country' as a song

Do you know a poem with the line 'I love a sunburnt country'? The poem is 'My country' by Dorothea Mackellar. Find out what inspired Mackellar to write this famous poem and how she felt about teenager Christine Roberts basing a song on it. This is a black-and-white clip from a 1967 current affairs program This Day Tonight.

Video

To plan or not to plan

Different writers approach writing in different ways. Some just dive in with nothing but an idea, while others like Morris Gleitzman like to spend some time planning their story before writing. What's your writing style like? Discuss the pros and cons of both styles.

Video

First Tuesday Book Club: Careful critiques of 'Cloud Atlas'

Sometimes you have to choose your words carefully to avoid offending others. I'm sure we've all had one of those moments! In this clip, explore how Marieke Hardy and Max Barry choose their words carefully when discussing one of Jennifer Byrne's favourite books. This clip is the first in a series of two.

Video

Jane Eyre: Tapping into childhood

How was childhood depicted in English literature in the mid-nineteenth century? In this clip from The British Library, two experts in the works of the Bronte sisters discuss the manner in which children were regarded in the 1800s and consider the significance of Charlotte Bronte's accounts of childhood in Jane Eyre. This ...

Video

What's the moral of the story?

Have you heard of the expression, 'the moral of the story'? What does the interviewer think the moral of this story is? How does this compare to what the author and illustrator of the story, Leigh Hobbs, says the moral is?

Video

Wuthering Heights: Fantasy and realism

Do you think Wuthering Heights is a fantasy novel? Or is it all too realistic in its descriptions of hardship, cruelty and human frailty? John Bowen, Professor of Literature at York University notes, 'Gothic elements ... haunt the edges of the book.' Yet they never compromise the authenticity of the story. In this clip, ...

Video

Heywire: Running towards mental health

Would you accept someone's argument if you didn't think the person presenting it was credible? Explore Nakita Sobczyk's Heywire audio story and reflect on what makes her an ideal person to educate others about mental illness. As you do, consider the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle's discussion of how 'ethos' can be ...

Video

David Malouf on violence in literature

Do you think we live in a violent world? Do you agree with David Malouf when he says that violence is everywhere? Should stories reflect what is happening in the world? How do you feel about violence as a theme in literature?

Video

Wuthering Heights: Landscape

The moorland near the West Yorkshire town of Haworth in northern England shapes the characters, settings and events in Emily Bronte's novel, Wuthering Heights. Professor John Bowen reflects on the significance of the moor and the importance of setting to Emily Bronte and her sisters, Charlotte and Anne. This clip is one ...

Video

Heywire: Fortissimo frogs frustrate family

How could words convey the nightly racket of hundreds of croaking frogs outside your bedroom window? Can you think of ways to engage readers' senses so that they 'experience' the frog chorus? A use of imagery is one of them. It's something we'll explore in this humorous story about the perils of frogs. Could you write or ...

Video

Characters as friends

Do you agree with Morris Gleitzman when he says that characters you create are like friends? How hard do you think it is to put your characters through difficult situations and make them suffer if you feel this way?