Fair is foul and foul is fair

From the start of Macbeth, we can see that the Scottish realm is centered around the elements of supernatural witchcraft, wrathful weather, and bloody battles. Remember, the "fair is foul and foul is fair" line as it will be important to note the characters that reflect the witches' diction.

Meanwhile, we finished up the psychoanalysis power point and discussed background of Macbeth (barbarian Scotland, English and Scottish succession, and just/tyrannical kings).

On Monday, we will do more psychoanalysis (featuring Sylvia Plath's "Daddy" -- you may want to check out the biography of Plath in order to have a better understanding of her speaker), multiple choice shenanigans, and the next scenes of the Scottish play.

Happy Halloween, my children of the night. I'll be playing my usual role of Laurie Strode.

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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

"Ichabod, what a name,
Kind of odd, but nice just the same"

My first introduction to Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was the cartoon with Ichabod Crane reading, eating a pie, and walking all at the same time. To make this even better -- and more memorable -- are the songs performed by the great Bing Crosby. The lyrics above are from "Ichabod" and I often find myself singing this song for no reason at all.

The point of this reverie is TCM is airing The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad tonight at 7:45. If you like a little light Halloween fun, this cartoon version of the classic tale is for you.

 http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/622839/The-Adventures-of-Ichabod-and-Mr-Toad/

Combo Tues./Wed.

For Tuesday's class, we finished our analysis of Sonnet 116 by looking at the specific words that are stressed and how Shakespeare uses meter to emphasize his thematic points. Then, we completed another practice multiple choice passage.

For Wednesday's class, we finished our practice multiple choice passages (the upcoming ones will be for points and content) and completed a box prompt on Sonnet 138. For the remainder of the class, we learned about psychoanalytical theory and the terminology that we can incorporate into our discussions and writings in the near future.

As an unofficial homework assignment, check out dream symbolism and how this impacts the psyche.

Here is one in alphabetical order: http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary/
Here is a list: http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/30-common-dream-symbols.html

For Friday, bring your witch hats, brooms, black cats, and cauldrons -- it is time to begin Macbeth, or the Scottish play. We will finish psychoanalysis, talk about the background of the play, read the first scene (it's really short, but it does involve the "Weird Sisters," which I nominate Justin, David, and Ben to play), and discuss your text-long motif assignment.

116

A bit of a hodgepodge today -
1. Vocab Quiz 4. I am saving the Unit 5 words for the next quiz as it deals with Macbeth.
2. Multiple Choice Prose Passage. High score of 11/13. Remember, you want to score over 50% on the multiple choice to keep you on the path of a 3 or above.
3. A quick recap of Sonnet 130.
4. Sonnet 116 -- made famous, in my mind at least, as Marianne's love poem to Willoughby in Sense & Sensibility. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WOFLpmDbIs

For homework, identify the iambic pentameter of your assigned line and lines 11-14. You should pay close attention to what words are stressed and how this connects to the overall theme of the poem.

And, I found this article regarding a St. Louis body snatching -- something we will find topical next semester with Frankenstein: http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/books-and-literature/book-blog/when-body-snatching-came-to-s-st-louis/article_22da7cff-e391-5adf-9e63-4755069e04d2.html

Galloping

I should have videotaped our galloping in the hallway today! During class, we reviewed vocabulary, which means there is a quiz in your near future. Then, we identified the iambic pentameter of Sonnet 118 and watched a video of how to better find the meter in a Shakespeare poem. Using the galloping method (the rhythm of hooves, the rhythm of heartbeats), we learned how to read and break down the phrasing and, luckily, avoided any serious injury.

During next week's class, we will have more multiple choice, two more sonnets, and pyschoanalytical criticism to lead towards the Scottish play.

Make sure you identify the iambic pentameter for Sonnet 130!

The Starting of Shakespeare

First up, we continued with our Unit 5 vocabulary and a review of the poetic meters, line, stanzas, and types. Next up, the three main sonnet structures of Petrarch, Shakespeare, and Spenser. Of course, Petrarch tends to follow the abba abba cde cde (with some variance), Shakespeare prefers the abab cdcd efef gg, and Spenser likes to shake it up with abab bcbc cdcd ee.

With the end of poetry terminology and examples, we moved forward into everyone's favorite AP activity: multiple choice passages. Looking at two samples, we identified types of stems and practiced close reading skills to better answer the questions. Whiles these two passages were for practice, we will soon move into score grades.

And in the last moments, we began to read Shakespeare with "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day," which was generously read to us by Thomas Hiddleston. For tomorrow's class, we will break down the iambic pentameter of the poem and gallop our way into understanding meter.

Congratulations to Justin for his Mr. FZN crown!

The Ode & Dramatic Monolgue

After today's class, we are almost finished with poetry styles. First up, the ode and the particular example of Shelley's "The West Wind." In five sonnets, Shelley utilizes the wind and its relationship to three of the four elements (fire saved for the last stanza and the ultimate rebirth of humanity and self) and eventually ties the "tameless, and swift, and proud" to himself to make nature and the speaker kindred spirits. Ending with a rhetorical question, Shelley leaves the wind and its resilience to the audience and their comprehension to the "trumpet of prophecy."

Tomorrow -- vocab, sonnets, villanelles, multiple choice, and Shakespeare.

Romantic Poets - The Gifts That Keep on Giving

On my Twitter feed, I follow the Romanticism blog, which shares quotes and poems from the great Keats, Byron, Wordsworth, Blake, and all the others.

This morning, I have a few quotes for you:

Lord Byron: "All men are intrinsical rascals and I am only sorry that not being a dog I can't bite them." Knowing Byron, he was most likely talking about himself here.

Keatsy: "Does Shelley go on telling strange Stories of the Death of Kings? Tell him there are strange Stories of the death of Poets." Sound familiar? You should recognize the Shelley poem regarding the "king of kings" and the ironic end to his immortality. And wait, would this inspire Shelley to write an elegy upon the death of a young Romantic poet, a young "Adonais"?

The Jane Austen Room

The majority of you know how I name one room in a house after a famous author. For instance, my mom's family room is called the Henry James Room with its resplendent dark red and patterned wallpaper. And, my living room has been christened the Jane Austen Room with it dark green paint and Shakespearean heroine paintings (Miranda, Ophelia). Yesterday, I spent copious hours studying poetry with the next generation of literary analysts: Monty.

Enjoy your poetry reading tonight in a place that brings you equanimity! I think Monty will like "Ode to the West Wind."

Lyrics & Elegies

Today's class was brought to you by cheesecake, uh, Robert Burns and Percy Bysshe Shelley.

For lyrical poetry, "A Red, Red Rose" was the subject for reviewing rhyme scheme, meter (if you are struggling with identifying meter from the first word, try going backwards), and stanza. As noted, this puppy is iambic trimeter, with emphasis on the rose, the lass, the dear, and, of course, the luve. There were other words stressed, of course, but those stick out more for the theme and the overall poem analysis.

Since one lyric is not enough, we also read "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold for the same lyrical properties. Starting from a mini sonnet, Arnold creates a euphonious visual image in contrast with the cacophonous auditory image. This juxtaposition furthers the metaphor of the husband-wife relationship and the necessary comprehension of the sublime and the abhorrent existing in every communicable alliance. I think that sums up your thoughts during class today.

Although Percy Bysshe Shelley has a questionable past (euphemism), he does earn points with me for comparing my Keatsy to "Adonias," of four syllables, to mourn the loss of a poet with such eidetic, lugubrious diction. Of note in this elegy, a poem of morning, there are the mythological allusions to Adonis (which, yes, is a surprising choice if you consider my Keatsy and his wee stature), the caesura (new term alert -- new term alert), the alliteration, the apostrophe, the assonance, and the enjambment. As we already know, Keatsy was a brilliant writer and his loss is something to mourn, especially since no one can tarnish his talent or the memory of his strong works.

Hachacha sent me this over the summer from her trip to Italy.

For tomorrow's class, we will return to vocabulary to mix up our hardcore poetry packet. Then, we will look at another example of an elegy - this one to Lincoln. On your end of the homework spectrum, you will read "The Ode" section and complete the related questions.

More poetry to come...followed by multiple choice...followed by Shakespeare sonnets...followed by Macbeth...followed by The Metamorphosis. There is a lot more in between all those ellipses, so I hope you are ready to AP Lit these texts!

The Ballad of Barbara Randall Door

During first quarter, we spent a great deal of time discussing themes, literary devices, characterization, and interpretation. Now, it is time to up the ante. For poetry, we have delved into the types of feet, lines, rhymes, and stanzas to better identify structure. To put these elements into practice, we looked at Ballads -- the quatrains, the rhyme schemes, and the repetition of song-like narratives. Our first ballad, "Bonnie Barbara Allan," features a differing rhyme scheme and patterns to indicate the differences between life (her) and death (him), repetition of several words (very, mother, round), and dialogue to complete characterization. To continue with balladry, "Lord Randall" and "Get Up and Bar the Door" feature the rhyming, the dialogue, and some conflicted mother-son and husband-wife relationships. Overall, I think we learned that the silent game if an effective competition until it is midnight and mischief-makers waltz into our abode.

Feet

Today's class introduced us to the types of metrical feet used in poetry: iamb, trochee, spondee, anapest, and dactyl. Over the course of our introductory handout, you analyzed words for syllables and stressed/unstressed combinations.

For tomorrow's class, we will share your creative sentences mixing up the feet. Then, we will have a packet of poetry styles to learn and utilize during our upcoming multiple choice passages.

Box Prompting

As we end our experience with Petrarch and Donne by completing box prompts, do not feel blue that you will be leaving poetry behind. Tomorrow, we will move into structure and types of poetry to further your comprehension of poetry, prepare for multiple choice passages (coming very soon), and compose even better prompt response analysis.

Donne's Sonnets

After those songs of varying length and structure, Donne began to formulate his sonnets. While these sonnets may have forced rhymes, the structure and rhyme scheme are quite consistent, just as his rhapsodizing ideology regarding death, the soul, and faith retains precedence in his works. 

Homework tonight is to complete the Donne box prompt. Treat this assignment as the middle ground between an outline and an essay. You will compose a thorough thesis answering the prompt, sections for the literary element and its usage, columns for evidence with citations (you have poem titles and line numbers available), boxes for full analysis, and concluding statement. Use your literary terms and diction precisely and engage with the Songs & The Sonnets to procure your ultimate Donne analysis.

Tomorrow we will be Donne.

Sidney Prompt

After vocabulary today, we spent the remainder of the hour covering the Rangefinders for the Sidney Prompt. Heading to a 9 essay, writers utilized more in-depth poetry terms (apostrophe, epithet, antagonist), placed evidence throughout a paragraph and not "chunked" evidence in one quick sentence, and composed thorough analysis that connected to the relationship portion of the prompt.

On Monday, Donne is back for more --- he will share his Sonnets (structure will be play a part) and we will see how his personas differ from the Songs.

We will have 2 box prompts next week dealing with Petrarch & Donne and then more on poetry, multiple choice, and, eventually, Shakespeare.

Compasses, Relics, and Shadows, Oh my!

After commencing with vocabulary today, we finished Donne's songs by identifying conceits, motifs, and other literary elements in "Valediction," "The Relic," and "A Lecture." As with his previous poems, we see a diverse persona emerging from each text (although the majority of them, thus far, have dealt with lovers in some shape or form).

Then...Donne...Donne...Donne...we had a Literary Device Quest in two parts. First part was all brain; second part was brain and toolbox. At this point in the course, you should have a grasp on these terms. As we move further into poetry structure, make sure your are utilizing the appropriate structural and literary terms.

And, of course, it is time for Rangefinders regarding the practice prompt. For homework, you will need to assign a number 1-9 to evaluate the essay's  merit. Even the last essay must have some merit to give it a score.

On Friday, we will go over the Rangefinders, your prompts, and start Donne's Sonnets.

Donne's Personas

I am going to ignore any connection between Donne and Marvell's Carpe Diem poems for this post. Today's class returned to Donne and four of his songs, the poetry of love, relationships, satire, and odd conceits. Our poems today, "The Flea," "The Good Morrow," "Woman's Constancy," and "The Anniversary," feature varying personas to reflect the character of Donne's particular speaker.  For tomorrow's installment, we will begin our next 10 vocabulary words, complete a Lit Device Quest (some toolbox usage will be utilized), finish Donne's "Songs," and most likely deal with his Sonnets and some rangefinders. Make sure you close read your assigned Donne poem and "The Paradox."

P.S. The New Historicist Essay. The New Historicist Essay. The New Historicist Essay.

Peer Review Day

Our class centered around peer review of the New Historicist essay. Tomorrow, we will review how to complete a Works Cited page for literary texts, commence our next unit of vocabulary, and return to our Donne. Remember, the final draft of the essay is due by 3:30 p.m. on Friday in hard copy form. 

P.S. These literary personality quizzes online are fascinating. I just finished the "Which Bronte Sister Are You" quiz and it looks like I am Charlotte Bronte. I think I am going to take another one to see if that result is consistent. 

And, if you want to check your Byronic hero knowledge -- a quiz for you: http://www.sporcle.com/games/sabrinap/byronic_heroes

Personas & Conceits

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The transition from Petrarch's eyes and angels to Donne's fleas and compasses has begun. As noted in class today, we will be analyzing poetry for the speaker's persona, the character the author adopts to create the tone and theme of the poem. In our comparison of "Glorious Fame" and "The Indifferent," your class picked personas such as "preacher" and "boss" to describe the Petrarchan speaker's directions to the immoral women of society and "scorned lover" to clarify the Donne's speakers comprehension of relationships. As we interpret Donne's songs next week, we will spend some quality time discussing all of Donne's personas and his conceits, the extended metaphors occupying many of his poetic works. 

On Monday, we will have peer evaluation day for the New Historicist essay. You will need to have a hard copy for this activity. Final drafts are due by Friday, October 9, at 3:30 p.m. in hard copy form.