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September 19th Class Review and Homework

Today we went over some literary terms and "How to Read a Poem." Take these two worksheets and either paste them into your notebook or use a hole-punch for your binder. We will use these the rest of the year. It is imperative that you become familiar with these terms. In fact, I will hand out a quiz next week going over these terms. I don't want you to just memorize their definitions, but also know how to use them. Our quiz will include some poetry for your application. I may have you locate a certain stanza, point out which verse has an allusion or metaphor, or have you underline alliteration. I'm hitting this so hard because it is the foundation that will support all the rest of our literary analysis this year. This will also benefit those picking up World Literature with me next year or even those that are heading off to college to take an English class or literature course.

This type of analysis is something we call "textual analysis." That means we use the text to support our argument and this is one of the most common types of analysis in the English studies. For your homework, I gave you "For Sir Toby" to analyze. Now, this is a long poem and it's got a ton of heavy hitting stanzas and verses. It would be impossible to write on the whole thing with your short assignment. So look it over a few times. What's his theme? Find a verse or two that supports your reading. Now explicate that. That means tear it all down to its little bitty parts and show its significance. What allusions is he making? What's significant about them when you look at the whole reading? Why is it important that he chose that allusion? Or if you want to explore metaphor, find one and do the same kind of thing. Own your terms and show me how they are at work in that passage. As we continue to tackle more complex and longer texts, we will continue building our skill sets. This type of assignment teaches you to read very carefully, looking for an argument, and with a purpose. It teaches you to be very discerning and critical. In fact, in the literary world, we call this critical analysis. Your assignment is to write one academic paragraph on a passage of this poem. Now, most of you are going to need much more space than just the five sentences to prove your point.  Take up as much space as you need to articulate your position well.

For history, I'd like you to research Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and one slave narrative (or story). Find out what you can about this person. Who were they? What was their life like? What interesting things happened to them? What was the outcome? Try to stick with folks from 1770s-1820s. I will find some links and post them on our resources tab, but feel free to do some of your own research. In class, we will discuss these people, so know them like a family member. Be prepared to tell their story. You can bring in any images or notes that might be helpful.

Make sure you are keeping really good notes on the literary periods we study. So far, we have had two: Puritanism/Calvinism and Enlightenment. Peruse the blog and refamiliarize yourself with their characteristics. In the next couple of weeks, we will be fully entrenched in the Romantic era, one of my personal favorites.

One final thing: Study for your literary quiz. It won't be easy. But it will be very beneficial for you as you proceed in this class.

Next week we get to listen to Hamilton. :) I'll have some fun things planned for this.


Comments

  1. For the academic paragraph, is it ok if I have two paragraphs instead of one?
    ~Shiloh

    ReplyDelete

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