EN3263: Singapore Literature in Context

Philip Holden (email: ellhpj@nus.edu.sg)
Chitra Sankaran (email: ellcs@nus.edu.sg)

[ Introduction and Description | Schedule and Readings | Assessment and Policies | Related Resources ]

Week 6: Stella Kon, Emily of Emerald Hill (1)

Make sure you have the reading done before the relevant seminar in order to participate fully in active learning.

Stella Kon, Emily of Emerald Hill

There are also some useful web sites which will give you an insight into the historical place of and the issues dealt with by the play:

Drama in English from Singapore and Malaysia
Section of the Singapore Web discussing Singaporean and Malaysian drama, and using Emily as an example.
Emily of Emerald Hill
Stella Kon's own site.
Wild Rice: Emily of Emerald Hill
Site describing the production by the Singaporean theatre company, in which Ivan Heng played Emily.
Stella Kon's Emily of Emerald Hill
Home site of the long-running KL production of the play, with linked documents discussing topics such as Peranakan culture.

Questions to Consider

1. Have you seen Emily in any of the play's various stage productions? If so, how does the experience of reading the play differ from your experience of watching it?

2. Do you find Emily a sympathetic character or not?

3. Like some of the poems in "Pulse" Emily, in its own way, attempts to represent a distinctively Singaporean English. How successful is it in doing so?

Last updated: 1 November, 2006