Pat Barker's 'The Silence of the Girls': understanding the extract | English

Starter quiz

Match each term to its example sentence (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’).
- first person
  
  ⇔
  
  As I heard his battle cry, I shivered. ✓
- second person
  
  ⇔
  
  You must have heard of Achilles. ✓
- third person
  
  ⇔
  
  Achilles was known as a brutal warrior. She feared him hugely. ✓
What is true of Achilles, a character from Greek mythology? (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’)
- He is a disappointment to his father.
- He is a warrior. ✓
- He marries a sea nymph.
- His best friend is called Patroclus. ✓
- He is strong but slow.
Match each word to its definition (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’).
- first person
  
  ⇔
  
  narrator is a character in the story, using pronouns like "I" and "me" ✓
- perspective
  
  ⇔
  
  point of view ✓
- tension
  
  ⇔
  
  what we feel when we anticipate something bad is going to happen ✓
- suspense
  
  ⇔
  
  the state we are held in as we wait for something bad to occur ✓
- annotate
  
  ⇔
  
  to make short notes on, and about, a text ✓
What does it mean to be renowned? ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire’)
- to be loved
- to be hated
- to be famous ✓
- to be unknown
- to be a powerful warrior
Complete the sentence: A ______ is a method of comparison by which a writer compares two things using ‘like’ or ‘as’. (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’)
- 'simile' ✓
Which of the examples below are similes? (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’)
- He was a pig of a man.
- He cut men down like a butcher. ✓
- He was renowned as a famous warrior.

Exit quiz

Whose perspective is Pat Barker's ‘The Silence of the Girls’ told from? (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’)
- Achilles
- Mynes
- Ismene
- Briseis ✓
- Lyrnessus
When annotating Pat Barker’s ‘The Silence of the Girls’ (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’), what are some of the things you might do?
- highlight the whole of the first and last paragraphs
- write short notes at the side of the text ✓
- underline important words and phrases ✓
- write one or two analytical paragraphs at the bottom
- underline any dialogue
Which words does Pat Barker use to describe Achilles in ‘The Silence of the Girls’ (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’).
- renowned
- bull
- butcher ✓
- wolf ✓
- inhuman ✓
Which of these are examples of the way Pat Barker creates tension and suspense in ‘The Silence of the Girls’? (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’)
- by listing all of the ways people praise Achilles
- by describing the sounds of the battlefield ✓
- by making it clear that Briseis is vulnerable ✓
- by developing the character of Ismene
- by adding a new character to the myth: that of Briseis
Match each character, all from Pat Barker’s ‘The Silence of the Girls’ (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’), to what we know about them.
- Briseis
  
  ⇔
  
  the narrator; royalty in Lyrnessus ✓
- Ismene
  
  ⇔
  
  enslaved by Mynes ✓
- Achilles
  
  ⇔
  
  a renowned warrior; claims Briseis after raiding Lyrnessus ✓
- Mynes
  
  ⇔
  
  married to Briseis ✓
- Agamemnon
  
  ⇔
  
  a king; Achilles has to give him Briseis ✓
Starting with the first, put these plot points from Pat Barker's ‘The Silence of the Girls’ (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’) in chronological order.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  Briseis explains what she knows of Achilles.
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  Briseis describes journeying to the tower in Lyrnessus to be kept safe.
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  Briseis and others arrive in the tower where they are to be kept safe.
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  Briseis describes the atmosphere in the tower where women and children are held.
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  We learn of the brutal punishments awaiting the women and children of Lyrnessus.
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  Briseis realises Ismene, who is enslaved, isn’t sympathetic about her future.
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  Briseis realises she is about to be enslaved.

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

Briseis is a character from Greek mythology; she is given to Achilles (a renowned warrior) as a prize of war.
Pat Barker wrote ‘The Silence of the Girls’ from the first person perspective of Briseis.
The novel begins with Briseis in her home city of Lyrnessus which is under attack from the Greeks.
Barker creates tension and suspense through descriptions of Achilles, the battle and hints about Briseis's future.
When annotating a text, you can use a range of symbols and notes to help develop an understanding of the text’s ideas.

Common misconception

When annotating, you should highlight, underline and circle interesting things. You don't need to write anything down as you will remember what you thought.

Symbols, highlights and underlinings are all useful, but only if accompanied by short written notes which remind you what it was you found interesting. Otherwise your symbols become meaningless.

Keywords

First person - the narrator of the story is a character in the story, using pronouns like ‘I’ and ‘me’.
Perspective - point of view.
Tension - what readers feel when they start to anticipate something bad is going to happen.
Suspense - the state the reader is held in as they wait for an anticipated conflict, event or outcome to occur.
Annotate - to make short notes on, and about, a text.