Five class work exercises on Cue for Treason: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Worksheet 1

1."That rascal" Read the extract from page 89 and answer the questions:

"Sir Philip liked your acting," said the groom.
"He - he doesn't want to see me, does he? I couldn't possibly -"
"See you?" The man snorted. "What would he want to see a boy like you for? No; he just told me to give you this."

And he walked off, with his bow-legged groom's walk, leaving me speechless and, when he had gone, everyone wondered why I burst out laughing and leant back against the wall, unable to stop. Five minutes later, when I had just stepped out of my costume and was standing in my own short pants and shirt, Burbage appeared.
"Good lad," he said briefly. "You just saved us."
I should have been immensely pleased, but I saw a look in his eye.
"Where's that rascal?" he demanded.
"Who d'you mean?" I said stupidly, knowing only too well.
"I'm going to thrash him to within an inch of his life," he said with terrible gusto, and I knew he meant it.

1. Who is telling the story? Where ishe/she?

2. Why was the narrator so pleased Sir Philip did not want to see him?

3. What had the narrator just done to earn Burbage's praise? Who is Burbage?

4. Who is the "that rascal"? Why is he so angry with him?

5. What elements of Trease's style appear here?

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Sonnet Text Analysis exercise

Worksheet 2

from pp. 114-117. Read the passage and answer the questions fully.

1. Situate this incident in the novel: who/when/where ...

2. "When I was a boy ..." (115) What role does nostalgia play as a theme in this novel?

3. "The bit about Prosperina . . is very bad," I said critically. . . The writer hadn't cared a farthing about sense or style." (115) How is it believable that Peter is now a literary critic?

Why is Trease somewhat inconsistent with his character here?

Comment and explain. (Hint: it may be Peter writing as an old man embelishing and selecting earlier incidents .)

4. Did you find a "teaching the reader" tone throughout this scene? Obviously Trease will need to explain to readers what is sonnet form and its conventions and the customs using it. Does this need to inform intrude?

5. Explain the idioms:

I smell a rat (114)
weren't worth the paper they're written on (115)
no great shakes at (115)
hadn't cared a farthing (115)
plain as a pikestaff (116)
read between the lines (116)
warm on the scent (116)
hadn't an inkling (117)
Why are such sayings used so freely in this novel?

6. Why are there so many question marks on page 117? How/Why?

Link to Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

Written in Brisbane Australia by G. Smith 1998.

Profiles of Major Characters: 1. Peter Brownrigg in 250 words. 2. Kit in 150 words.

Remember a profile is not a summary of the plot

Use some key quotations to support your claims.

Samples: Peter character profile, Kit character profile

Click for advice on how to write it.

Complete the Journal Responses sheet. For a copy click here.

Read this discussion on Peter's mistakes.

Read samples: here1 and here2 and here3 and here4 and here5 and hero6 and here7.

Written in Brisbane Australia by G. Smith 1998, 2001.