Worksheets · Sheet 2
Comparison grid
The two texts on one page. Fill the grid roughly and early, before you choose a title: where a row fills easily on both sides, you have found ground an essay can stand on.
The texts
1 · Theme against theme
Note episodes, images and characters, not judgements. The last column is where the essay lives: name the connection, then the difference inside it.
| Theme bridge | In The Bloody Chamber | In your novel | Connection, then contrast |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power and violence | |||
| Confinement and the home | |||
| Marriage and exchange | |||
| Gender and agency | |||
| Guilt, complicity and redemption | |||
| Transformation and identity | |||
2 · Method against method
AO2 in both texts: how each writer builds meaning, and what the difference in method lets each one do.
| Aspect | In The Bloody Chamber | In your novel |
|---|---|---|
| Form and structure | ||
| Narration and voice | ||
| Time, place and setting | ||
| Endings |
3 · The comparison in one paragraph
Write the pairing up in continuous prose: both texts are preoccupied with… but where Carter…, your novelist… If this paragraph comes easily, your pairing works.
Next: the quotation bank builder collects the evidence, and the essay planning sheet turns this grid into paragraphs.