Lalaji Memorial Omega International School-Chennai-India

CIE AS Level English Language ______________________________________________________________________

CATS DRIFT (MVV)

The acronym CATS DRIFT MMVV is a fairly easy mnemonic, standing for the text elements mentioned above. Of course all these overlap and are interconnected, and this does not imply the order in which you should address them - different texts have different emphases - although it does make sense to start with the CAT (Content, Aim and Theme) before proceeding to more detailed analysis of language. They cannot be treated in isolation and, if your overview is feasible, will be connected and mutually supportive. It is very important not to jump to a conclusion about an interpretation on first reading; wait until you have gathered all your evidence before forming an opinion, otherwise it will be distorted or incomplete because you will leave out points which do not fit in with your pre-conceived judgment.

Content - At the beginning of your critical response comment on what appears to be happening, to whom, when and where and why. The content is the vehicle for the theme.

Aim (purpose) – Why was the text written? To warn, entertain, teach, express an opinion, relieve emotion, mock, admire? The answer may be multiple, but it is usually possible to identify the primary aim. Genre is an indication of aim and needs to be defined as predominantly descriptive, narrative, lyrical, reflective, discursive or argumentative.

Theme – Not to be confused with Content, this is what the text is really about, ie the issues and ideas the text is exploring and which hold it together. They are likely to be abstract concepts, such as loss, betrayal, change, division.

Syntax – This refers to sentence formations, word orders and grammatical structures; it is what happens when individual words are joined to make larger building blocks, and includes observations on types of utterance - eg questions, imperatives, negatives, passives, parentheses - and therefore involves looking at punctuation.

Diction – Diction is the selection of vocabulary which combines to make up register and semantic field. For instance, do the words come from scientific or Biblical English, are they mostly mono- or polysyllabic or hyphenated, contemporary or archaic? Individual words can contribute to the overall effect of a text, or change its tone and mood, and must be studied carefully for the reasons for their choice, compared to available alternatives with different associations. Choice of diction also influences sound, and this is where you notice onomatopoeia, assonance, alliteration, echoes etc. Remember to explain the effect these devices are having on the text and reader response, rather than just listing technical terms.

Rhythm - Applicable to prose as well as verse, rhythm describes the pace and flow and beat of the language, its ‘dance’, which affects the mood of the text.

Imagery - presents pictures to the brain, and is a way of making memorable both the everyday and the poignant, of forcing analogies to be recognised. Metaphors are more understated and therefore more subtle than similes; prose tends to use the latter, poetry the former. If we say the prose text is poetic, this may mean that it is full of figurative language. Imagery can convey irony with its double vision, yoking together the incongruous yet similar.

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Form –How does the poem or passage appear on the page? How is it shaped, divided, indented? How long are the lines, paragraphs, stanzas? And what effect do all of these have structurally and visually?

Tone – The most neglected aspect of text, it can be crucial in determining meaning, especially in detecting irony or satire, when the words alone can mislead you (eg Browning’s My Last Duchess.)

Read the text in your head and think about your voice: is it exuberant, wistful, bitter, resigned, whimsical, melancholic, ecstatic, dispassionate, and sinister? You need quite a wide vocabulary to distinguish tone precisely.

Mood – is connected to atmosphere. How do you feel after reading the text? Is there a mood change during or at the end? How do colours, time of day, time of year, weather, location and imagery contribute to the creation of mood? Tennyson’s Mariana is a good example of use of mood created by environment. Voice – How many people are there in the text? Who are we listening to, the author, narrator, or one of the characters? Are there alternate voices? How can we tell? Is the ‘I’ persona trustworthy, naïve or mad?

Viewpoint – Where are we looking from? How is our view restricted by reader positioning? Are we getting only one point of view? How might the other person(s) involved have viewed the situation differently? (see Marvell’s ‘To His Coy Mistress’, for instance.) Are other gender, race or class viewpoints represented? Are we being manipulated into sharing assumptions? The use of viewpoint often produces an ironic effect.interchangeable /ˌɪn.təˈtʃeɪn.dʒə.bl ̩G/ /-t ̩Hɚ-/ adjective able to be exchanged with each other without making any difference or without being noticed The terms 'drinking problem' and 'alcohol abuse' are often interchangeable.

poignant /ˈpɔɪ.njənt/ adjective causing or having a very sharp feeling of sadness .The photograph awakens poignant memories of happier days. It is especially poignant that he died on the day before the wedding.

analogy /əˈnæl.ə.dʒi/ noun [ C or U ] a comparison between things which have similar features, often used to help explain a principle or idea He drew an analogy between the brain and a vast computer.

incongruous /ɪnˈkɒŋ.gru.əs/ /-ˈkɑːŋ-/ adjective unusual or different from what is around or from what is generally happening It seems incongruous to have a woman as the editor of a men's magazine.

wistful /ˈwɪs t  ̩.f ə l/ adjective sad and thinking about something that is impossible or in the past I thought about those days in Spain and grew wistful.

whimsical /ˈwɪm.zɪ.k ə l/ adjective unusual and strange in a way that might be funny or annoying - a whimsical tale.Despite his kindly, sometimes whimsical air, he was a shrewd observer of people.

sinister /ˈsɪn.ɪ.stə r / /-stɚ/ adjective making you feel that something bad or evil might happen The ruined house had a sinister appearance.A sinister-looking man sat in the corner of the room.

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