- Comes from a student currently attending Oxford University after receiving 4 A*s at A Level
- Essay on Time and Relationships comparing The Great Gatsby and Pre-1900 Poetry
- The main poems in the essay are Remember (by Rossetti) and Sonnet 116 (by Shakespeare)
Presentation of love and time:
Fitzgerald’s argument: Fitzgerald suggests love can’t transcend time. It was corrupted by
American society - Daisy and Gatsby’s love was never pure but the greenish and purity of
nature before humanity. Futility of love - it was not worth it. Colonial desire for greed ruined
love and purity - ideas of nature.
Shakespeare argument: He argues that the pure idealised type of love transcends
everything. He argues that love is the most significant and important thing in life and that
time is unable to affect this.
Remember - true accepts that time can change love and situations but ultimately love is a
powerful voice - personal tone - love transcends time but time has an affect on love and
relationship.
Analyse the section closely - then how does it fit into a pattern or how is it a culmination of
what has happened?
Section 1 - can love transcend time?
Section 2 - impacts of time on love
Section 3 - does love ever actually exist at any point in time? Or has it always been
corrupted?
Compare how the authors of two texts you have studied present ideas about
how time affects love and relationships. You must write about at least two
poems in your answer as well as the prose text you have studied. [25 marks]
Fitzgerald argues that humans have corrupted love so that it has been deformed and
idealised, but cannot transcend time. This is different from Rossetti and Shakespeare’s view
of love as both suggest that love is transcendent and overcomes barriers such as time,
death and separation. However, Shakespeare argues that time has no effect on love at all
whereas Rossetti argues that barriers such as time and separation alter a relationship but
ultimately the love, although potentially changed, remains. Ultimately Rossetti presents a
heartwarming and personal love that is inspiring to all. But both Fitzgerald and
Shakespeare’s presentations are less intimate as Fitzgerald arguably suggests that human
nature has damaged the purity of love and Shakespeare’s romantic untouchable love
appears isolating and repressive.
Fitzgerald is sceptical about love that appears to transcend time as he critiques the
American Dream for causing illusions and creating false hope. This is very different to
Rossetti’s and Shakespeare presentation of love as both argue that love ultimately
transcends time. Gatsby has created a vision of love that is unaffected by time as he
believes that ‘of course you can … repeat the past’ and wishes to go back to ‘Louisville’ and
marry Daisy from her house, as if her marriage to Tom never existed. Fitzgerald uses the
convulsion of time (through using a nonchronological narrative) to demonstrate that Gatsby
has warped the image of their relationship in his head because he believes that their
relationship and love is transcendental. Moreover, although Gatsby appears to believe in
transcendent love, the failure of the relationship and Daisy’s love for Tom highlight the
naivety and reality that Fitzgerald is warning idealists of. Fitzgerald is demonstrating how the
transcendent and idyllic nature of the American Dream has become enmeshed with love,
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