GCSE and A-Level Goblin: Revise 19th-Century English with Punch!
“Alright guys, don’t worry, I’m not going to pretend revision is fun. I might be a several-hundred-year-old Goblin, but even I remember what revision was like. Honestly, it’s worse than when Cyril, the demon ‘Health Minister’, makes us all eat bricks twice a year. No, it’s not good for our health; he just enjoys making us eat bricks.
Anyway, I’m here with some good suggestions for enjoyable ways to practice your 19th-century English language skills for GCSE and A-Level.
What Was Punch?
Punch was a satirical (making jokes about important and interesting topics) newspaper started in 1841 in London, which ended in 2002.
How Can Punch Help Me Revise 19th-Century English?
There’s only so much your brain can get from re-reading A Christmas Carol or Jekyll and Hyde 50 more times, but there’s a lot it can learn from new materials. Punch was a very funny and intellectual newspaper that talked about interesting things in a darkly sarcastic way. The humour keeps you interested, and helps to numb the pain of reading old English, and the only way to revise for unseen reading in exams is to get your brain used to 19th-century English. Reading helps you:
become more comfortable with old-fashioned grammar and vocabulary,
become more comfortable interpreting texts where you can’t understand every single word used,
become more familiar with topics and popular opinions of the 19th century.
Note: Remember to stick to editions between 1841 and 1899.
Where Can I Read 19th-Century Punch?
Project Gutenberg, of course! And, because it’s on Gutenberg, that also means it’s available online, free of charge, in many different formats. Go wild!
Summing Up
So, if you need to prepare for A-Level or GCSE English Language exams, and you think you need more time revising 19th-century English, I highly recommend Punch because it’s topical, funny, clever, and darkly sarcastic.
Oh, Cyril must have heard me. He’s on his way over with a wheelbarrow of bricks. Bloody brilliant.”
