Unit 1.

5
Comics and graphic novels
Extension activity

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 Unit 5.1 seems to raise this question: what is art?

This question is often discussed in the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) class.

In English A: Language and Literature, one way of considering the nature

of what is or is not art is to ask this question:

What is literature?

Literature is often regarded as ‘language art’. However, we often find that

the linguistic and stylistic elements found in literature are also found in
other text types. This seems to raise a question:

Why do we tend to regard literature as a particular kind of language art?

Discuss whether the texts that appear in this presentation are examples of
language art or not. Aim to develop a range of competing perspectives.
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 The play Macbeth, by William
Shakespeare

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 The play McTaggart, written by
Mary, one of your classmates

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 The lyrics of the song ‘(I can’t
get no) Satisfaction’, by
The Rolling Stones

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 The song ‘(I can’t get no)
Satisfaction’ by The Rolling Stones,
sung in the shower by John, one of
your classmates

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 The graphic novel Persepolis,
written by Marjane Satrapi

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 A ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ cartoon
published in a newspaper

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 Graffiti on a lavatory door in a
university building complaining
about government policy

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