Exit Paper

We have spent all of December working on the play 12th Night and learning about Shakespeare.

Write a 600-700 word paper in which you synthesize your knowledge of the play with your knowledge of Shakespeare and his age. The last essay we read in the TLS made the claim that Shakespeare is to be understood in the context of his life in the culture of Elizabethan/Jamesian theater: he reflects his age and the working conditions.

Focus you paper on the CONNECTIONS between the play and Shakespeare's life in London.

Because this is a broad topic, it is essentially a response paper, in which you discuss anything you like with respect to the play, the playwright and his age. Use the class lectures and the Nicholl (TLS) essay from Friday to help you.

You are writing for an educated audience that wants to know more about the topic. They appreciate good writing; they know some very basic things (you DO NOT need to cover basic biography) about Shakespeare.

You are writing to expand their knowledge of the topic and demonstrate your own knowledge. If you use information from the TLS essay (Friday's essay), just make make a note of it in the paper like this:

Charles Nicholl notes that Shakespeare depended heavily on Richard Burbage.

In other words you do not need a citation...note the source in your sentence.

If you have questions email me at the school.

Your work is due no later than Thursday the 19th.

Write your paper as a Drive document and share with me at rhetorx1@gmail.com.

12th Night

Please watch the rest of the play on You Tube or rent elsewhere to view.

Here is the link to art one...find other chapters at the left...

12th Night

Please read all of Act I for Monday.

You may also watch the film version here. 

The link is just to Part One...you can pick up the subsequent parts by looking at the film choices posted to the right of the screen on YouTube. They are contributed by WatBorg.

Also feel free to use Sparknotes or any other study guide.

However, your quiz will be a quote test. So to pass you need to know the WORDS!

Test

These are the five poems for quotes: Sestina The Waking Catch Mirror What Work Is Then you will given a new poem and you will fill out worksheet, proof that you "get" the application of terms.

Gerald Stern

I love the poet Gerald Stern!!

Here is a video that gives you a sense of who he is.

Here are two key poems that show him at his best...use the arrows at the top to go to the next page.

Please read and then make some kind of comment in which you demonstrate that you can think about the poem analytically....what do you see in the poem that you might NOT have picked up on a few weeks ago...show off your new skills.

Reading and Response

Levine Himself

Please read this poem by Phillip Levine. In the top right you will see a number that is the page (313)...click on the forward arrow to get the next page...the poem is over two pages!

Then in the comments section, write about anything you see in this poem that connects to the poem "What Work Is." Do you see any patterns or motifs emerging? Do you see the poet working on some of the same Big Ideas?

Remember that you are writing as a member of the class...be sure we an ID you...be sure you write like the smart man you are becoming! Present as Smart!! Be insightful.

The three most insightful comment sections will be rewarded.

When you get done with the comment, learn more about Levine here...(or anywhere else on the web you think you an learn!!)

Uses of Poetry

Although some people hold that poetry is inherently impractical (in fact, they argue that all art is basically impractical and from this uselessness emerges its value), others think of poetry as socially useful in a number of ways.

The national poet laureate is Natasha Treathaway and at the link below you will find a video of a news story about her work/project in Chicago.

Please watch the video and then be ready to discuss it tomorrow.

In advance of that please make a short comment here at the blog.

Do you think this kind of project is a good idea? Will it help solve any problem? Could you see yourself as a student in this project?

Keep your language grammatically sound, clean, and legal. Present as the intelligent person you are.

Billy Collins Writing

Narrow down your Collins poems to one you like in particular.

Now write a response paper in which you describe WHY you like the poem.

Be sure to use the literary language as you write, demonstrating that you understand the terms we use.

Here are some questions that might help you generate ideas.

How does the poet use TROPES to communicate his ideas?

What words would you all the most important in terms of their CONNOTATIVE value? Why?

What is Collins trying to tell us in the poem about what it means to be a human being.

What lines did you like most of all? Why?

Write your paper at Google Drive. Create a new document and then SHARE it with me at rhetorx1@gmail.com.

A response paper is less formal than an analysis. You can use first person. You can write about your own opinions of the poem.

However, the response paper is still edited writing. You should write in paragraphs. You should refer to or even quote the poem where you can. You should use the poetic terms we have learned to help you express your ideas. For instance, you might say something like: "In the second stanza, Collins uses images and similes to....."

Length: about two pages, word processed, standard font, double spaced.

Billy Collins Web Quest

Look around the web site here to learn about Collins. Feel free to use the web to look at some other aspects of Collins life and work. Be sure you read a few Collins poems by tomorrow.

Also, use your quizelt membership to get started on vocab study.

This site has 256 words. You are responsible for the first 30 by Friday.

This may help with test

Southern gothic fiction from rhetorx1

Slidshare on Southern Gothic Notes is here

Use this for the test!!

Please Read

Read the story here. Print a copy for class. Think about the conventions of southern gothic fiction as you read.

Reading for Tuesday

Please read the D.H. Lawrence story "The Rocking Horse Winner," on page 1 of the text. look for some of the same THEMES we have seen in the first three stories.

Please write a comment over the weekend

Attack or Defend

In A&P Sammy consistently ‘objectifies women,” that is, he turns them into objects by staring at them (the male gaze), inventing belittling nicknames, and making his own story superior to theirs. This attitude, called sexism, is inherently wrong. Stories that produce these attitudes are therefore artistically immoral and ought not be assigned in schools, where teachers have at least some responsibility to provide healthy worldviews for students. 

Watch your writing for grammar, mechanics and style. Try to make some original points. Show off a little...show how smart you are!

Paper Directions

Your work on A&P is due Friday. Use the worksheet to help you organize your character analysis.

1. Create your Google account.
2. Write your paper using Google Drive.
3. SHARE the paper with me at rhetorx1@gmail.com.

Write about a page and a half in the standard font, double spaced. Use the MLA format for a heading with no title page. Here is an example taken from the Purdue Owl.

Purpose: demonstrate to an audience of experienced readers who KNOW the story that you understand how analyze character and that you understand the conventions of literary analysis.

Dana Gioia on Chekhov

Please read the article here.

Do not be surprised if you find it difficult...it's written for a college level audience. Nonetheless, it also contains some ideas that you CAN manage, given sufficient effort.

In order to find some main ideas, read carefully and copy down (in your notebook) the sentences (or even parts of a sentence) that you think are important. Look for perhaps five or six ideas that you DO understand...don't worry about other ideas that you don't get.

Here are some questions that might help you. If you look for the answers to these questions in the essay, you may move in the direction of the important points.

1. Why is Chekhov considered an innovative artist, that is someone who altered his art form?


2. How do we know that Chekhov is considered an influential artist, someone who other artists admire so much they imitate some of his work?

3. This article is mainly about another story (The Lady with the Pet Dog), but it relates directly to Gooseberries. How so?

Re Reading

Please reread the two stories. Do The Necklace tonight and and Gooseberries for Friday.

Try to find language or details suggestive of the issues of class, class system and power we talked about.

The battle of the wicked beardsmen continues...

Read the story Gooseberries by Chekhov in your text. It is also here if you have not bought the book yet.

Remember: don't just settle for the first three elements of fiction. Get MOTIFS as well, based on today's lesson.

Short Fiction Reading

The author, rocking a most excellent 'stache. 

We have ID'd 8 key elements of fiction. Bear them in mind as you read the story The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant.

Your reading quiz will ask you to connect the elements to the story.

If you do not have the book yet, the story is online here.

Thursday and Friday

Please be prepared to write about the books you read this summer and we have discussed this week. One day we will write on Achebe and one day on Martel. The Achebe book will count for the more of the grade since we have covered it more.

Also please sign up for your Quizlet account.

Follow the directions for adding a class by searching for this class: Honors 9th Grade @BC.

Practice

Use the link there to practice your understanding of the book.

Feel free to look around the site to help you understand.

Go to the link here and take the online quiz to practice.

When you have finished, create a set of three or four questions that would require a short, written answer, perhaps five to ten sentences. Imagine you are responsible for creating the summer reading test. How would you phrase the questions. Write them down and bring to class Friday for discussion.

For Thursday

Please watch the video at yesterday's post below (the one we started in class today) and listen. 

Be prepared to write about the following questions in lass tomorrow.

What is the difference between motherland and fatherland for Okonkwo's people?

What is the "song" about that the uncle refers to?

Achebe says the uncle makes an appeal to REASON, not to faith. How is this true?

How did the two letter writers express different opinions of the passage?

Achebe Reads and Discusses

This is an excellent reading from TFA.

Listen to the reading and to the talk after.

For the First Day

Hi all: Please take a few minutes and read over the material at these links.

Wikipedia entries for Achebe and Martel.

Think about the material in connection with what you have read over the summer. You are not responsible for memorizing all the info at these pages. YOU ARE responsible for taking some of the ideas and relating them to your reading. Read with an open mind. Find something, even just a few sentences/ideas that interest you.

After you have read and considered the entries in terms of you reading, plan out some questions and/or comments you might make in class when we start our conversations about your reading.