The Eyes, The Eyes

While we did not make it to the last scene of Act 3 and its brutal, gory end, we did manage to analyze the rest of Act 3 and all the soliloquies, sonnets, some rhyming - wait, Edmund, you're rhyming? Are you trying to be a good guy or something? Even with that issue of selling out your father? Anywho, the first part of class was MC Passage #4, which was timed for practice. Then, the rest of the hour was participation for Lear. Act 3 participation will continue through Friday, so if you were absent, you will be talking a lot to make up any needed points. To prep for Friday, for each page from pages 59-67, jot down 3 significant lines for a total of 15 lines for that scene. I will be calling on all of you to share your lines and to explain the significance.

P.S. You may want to start plotting your diary - at least what medium and format you will be using.

Dear Diary

In both classes, we wrapped up Act II and looked at the parallels between Edmund's and Edgar's soliloquies and the Lear-monster that enjoys caesura, hypophora, and the degradation of feminine traits. At the end of the hour, you received the assignment for the related diary/journal that you will be creating via hard copy or digital means. If absent, you will sign up for a character next class.

For our block day, be ready with Act III.

Here Comes Regan!

The blogs this week are going to be short and sweet, so if you have any questions, do ask via e-mail or in person.

In both classes, we scored the third MC passage - and had one perfect score in fifth hour - to see how you did with that Shakespearean sonnet. Afterwards, you were grouped into 4 groups for the 4 scenes to analyze. We made it through the first two scenes and will finish the last two scenes tomorrow. Absentees should be prepared with note for the last two scenes in Act II.

The Few Who Rhyme

As you may have noticed in class, my latest obsession with King Lear readings is the hunt for which characters rhyme. Thus far, we have seen our buddy Kent, the noble France, the wisecracking Fool, and the forgotten husband Albany. We had stellar discussions today - especially when you branched into meter, enjambment, caesura, motifs, alliteration, and psychological developments for our cast of characters.

For your Thanksgiving homework, read through Act 2 and take MC passage #3 - time yourself 10 minutes and be honest!

I was going to spend a whole blog delineating how thankful I am to have all of you in AP Lit, but I think you already know my affection for all of you and how much I enjoy our book club each and every day!

Oh, Edmund

After several less than flattering epithets hurled at him, Edmund has now taken the upper hand in 1.2 and found favoritism with his father. As noted in both classes, the conflicted Edmund begins to express a quirky internal rhyme, a growing comfort with iambic pentameter, and a stunning rhyming couplet to finish the scene. For second hour students, you will need to show me your close read of his soliloquy if you want participation points for today's class.

As for 1.3-1.5, you have been assigned a particular section to over-analyze - with a particular emphasis on structure and psychology. Second hour and fifth hour students who were absent, you have been assigned 65, 67, 69, and you will be expected to share your thoughts with the class.

Survey - Do This by November 21

In case you did not have the chance to take the technology survey, you still have approximately 24 hours to do so: https://sites.google.com/a/fz.k12.mo.us/bright-bytes-survey/. Start by going under "High Schools" and then selecting North High.

It Rhymes!

Oh, Lear, how you love alliteration, caesura, and inconsistent iambic pentameter to indicate your descent into insanity, parental disappointment, and power-tripping monarchy. During class these last two days, we have focused on the main speeches of 1.1, specifically picking out the psychological motivations and --- THE EVENTUAL APPEARANCE OF RHYME AND REGULAR IAMBIC PENTAMETER! It does exist! Since we made such a big show of finding rhyme, forced rhyme, alliteration, caesura, and iambic pentameter, I suppose that means you should be looking for it too!

On Monday, we will finish (5th) and start (2nd) our super close reading analysis of the "bastard" soliloquy by our buddy Edmund, our least favorite son of the year. And, we will look at 1.3-1.5, which you will have ready to go for class!

Don't Mind the Knave There

We completed our second MC passage today, focusing this time on looking at the questions first, moving onto close reading, and then completing the MC questions. Even if this passage was not an extraordinary success, you will have plenty more passages to practice upon in the upcoming months. Each passage should give you further insight into how test-makers compose questions and give you distractors. Plus, you will have 4-5 passages on the exam itself, which means some passages will be easier for you than others.

With just minutes to go, we jumped into Lear-World and met (once again as you did read this prior to class) Kent, Gloucester, and someone who came "saucily" into this world. From the page, we already know the scene, the setting, the patriarchal, status-filled realm, the parent-child dichotomy, and the importance of legitimacy. We will continue with the scene tomorrow, and you will need to have read through 1.2 as well.

Banneker Clocks

A couple snapshots of the Banneker clocks -

Daddy Issues

Clocks, clocks, clocks, clocks. We have eight clocks now - including one that indicates the time of Banneker's birth and one that indicates the time of Banneker's death (nice overahieving, Bailey & Michaela).

Meanwhile in AP Lit, we spent the entire class period overanlayzing "Daddy" as a poem with its structure, sounds (that "oo" sound replaced with "t" sound and then right back to "oo" sound to contribute her feelings of childlike oppression, semi-controlled adult reflection, and eventual regression), psychology (hello, Electra complex), and overall motifs (colors, shoes, vampires, WWII, Nazis, Jews).

Tomorrow will be MC passage 2 and King Lear 1.1.

Technology Survey - Something to Do

Are you a lover of technology? Or, are you always complaining about technology? Our school district needs your input. Hence, each of you needs to take this (approximate) 15 minute survey about the technology at school and beyond. Check out the link here and complete by Friday, November 17: https://sites.google.com/a/fz.k12.mo.us/bright-bytes-survey/. If you have already taken this survey, then move along and read "Daddy."

Dreams, Births, and Daddy

For both hours, we continued forward with our look at what you can analyze in the pyschoanalytic lens: dream symbolism, birth order, and Lacanian stages.

Second hour AND fifth hour homework: Close read "Daddy" (you may want to check out Sylvia Plath's bio to give you further insight into her speaker's persona) for Monday; over-analyze 1.1 of King Lear for Tuesday.

Psycho MC

After sharing your box prompt for Sonnet 138, you turned this in to me. Then, it was time for MC, close reading, question types, and POE. Second hour finished with a score of 8/10, and fifth hour finished with a score of 7/10. In both circumstances, the lyric and the dramatic monologue, while at times overlapping in characteristics, are distinct in their usage of emotional reaction (lyric) and confessional, character-driven tale (dramatic monologue). To end the class, we began our look at psychoanalytic criticism, which will continue tomorrow. In order to make this more participatory, you will be researching two items that relate to character psychology: dreams and birth order. Come in with your notes on both. Below are a couple links to dreams:
http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary/
http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/30-common-dream-symbols.html

Galloping, Galloping, Galloping

Since we galloped at least 420 steps, AP Lit has moved into the cardio portion of Shakespearean meter study. And, here are the end results of our warm-ups with Jake & Brooke reading and our rhythmic gallop representing those iambs.

In both classes, you analyzed the octaves and sestets of sonnets 116 & 130, which was for participation points today. Then, you received a box prompt for sonnet 138, which has this prompt: In regards to Sonnet 138, how does Shakespeare use poetic elements to reflect the overall theme of the poem? That means absentees can complete the box prompt too. 

At the end of class, we discussed the MC portion of the exam, the types of questions offered, and different strategies to approaching a passage. We will start our MC practices tomorrow, so be ready to close read (always), identify question types, and utilize POE to find the correct answer. 

To Gallop or Not to Gallop

So much Shakespeare today!

1: We looked at our syntax translations of Shakespearian phrasing and our Shakespearizing of famous movies quotes - which were very clever methinks.

2: We listened to Mr. Tom Hiddleston reading Sonnet 18, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6Q_Ioj6AhQ, to hear the Bard's meter. Then, we identified the structural components of Sonnet 18: rhyme scheme, octave, volta, sestet. We paraphrased and briefly analyzed the meaning of the octave, volta, and sestet. Then, we identified the iambic pentameter of each line in preparation for our galloping.

3: To gallop properly, we were instructed by these people from the Royal Shakespeare Company to help us with our meter interpretation and physically interact with the rhythm of iambic pentameter. In case you want to practice more for next class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qv-sjQHgZ8.

Other than galloping for Wednesday's class, you will take Sonnets 116 & 130 and complete the following: 1. identify structure including octave, sestet, volta, rhyme scheme, and iambic pentameter throughout - will he throw in a trochee somewhere or mix up syllable length to mess with us? 2. translate/paraphrase any confusing lines 3. jot down analytical points with literary devices, themes, motifs, or anything else you notice.

Happy Benjamin Banneker Week!

In exciting news, it is Benjamin Banneker week, which celebrates the revered writer, scientist, and all-around savant. Here is a little more information from a fun website of daily, weekly, and monthly celebrations: https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/benjamin-banneker-week/. And, to make this a little more relevant and applicable, you will notice that there are 2 activities for celebrating Banneker's role in our lives. The first is to make a clock face (non-working) using mathematics to represent the numbers 1-12 (so don't literally write 1, 2, and so forth but construct formulas or mathematical expressions to represent each number). Here is a picture I found online (which may be blocked since it originally came from facebook) of such a clock, which looks to be made out of cardboard: https://www.facebook.com/events/1601106116857922. The second is to compose a poem that actually features mathematical puzzles for the reader to solve. Here are some examples: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/resources/mathematical-puzzles-benjamin-banneker. As you can see the word problems are divided up into verse form, which means you can play with rhyme and diction and poetic elements to express math. So to make this interesting and decorate my room, you have the challenge of constructing a 3 dimensional clock (so not on typing paper but with a more solid material - creative materials add to the presentation) and/or a mathematical poem on decorated construction paper/cardboard/posterboard for extra credit. The poem can have combined mathematical puzzles to boost the level of difficulty and content. All the math must be accurate - and, yes, I am a polymath (at least that is what Joe Cassidy calls me) and have right and left brain talents. The clock will be worth a maximum of 35 points, and the mathematical poem will be worth a maximum of 20 points. Points will be awarded for originality, mathematical connection, presentation, and effort, which means those utilizing the most clever materials, math, and presentation will amass the most points. You can do one of each by the way. The due date for this extra credit, which must be in person, is Monday, November 13, so you have one week on this extra credit opportunity. This must be turned in via hard copy (obviously) by 3:00 p.m. on that day. If you have any questions, e-mail me for clarifications. Otherwise, I am looking forward to the final products!

Insulting

Well, I guess the most significant and memorable part of the agenda was that we worked with insulting each other in Shakespearese today. I hope you enjoy using your insult kit throughout the weekend.

At this point, you know the structure of a Spenserian sonnet and a villanelle. You are also aware of common Shakespearian phrasing via your handout and the completed crossword puzzle from today - which was for helping your Shakespeare vernacular and for a grade. To end our time, you worked on syntax and how to translate and apply syntactical rules to understand texts. For second hour, we will go over this section on Monday; for fifth hour, we will finish the second page and look at Sonnet 18's structure, which you are to identify for class.

Elegies & Porphyria

In both classes, we looked at the elegy through remembrances of Keats (or Adonais) and Lincoln (or Captain), dramatically performed "Porphyria's Lover" (thank you to Izzy, Elliott, Cicely, and Brooke for their unforgettably disturbing performances), and reviewed Petrarchan and Shakespearian Sonnets. Fifth hour, you head the additional knowledge of Spenserian and villanelles to add to your poetry knowledge. Tomorrow will finish up the packet and move into Shakespeare!

Odes

Today's class focused on the ode, the elevation of a person, place, thing, or idea to a grand level of importance - such as Shelley's bond with the West Wind and its either revolutionary or slump-ending importance.

Participation points this week have accrued from being called upon to answer questions from the poetry packet. Thus far, we have had 2 full rounds in both classes, which means to earn back participation points, you will be called upon multiple times in upcoming classes. If you are absent for the entirety of the poetry packet (which I would not advise), you will need to show the entire packet and its completion for those points.

For Thursday, make sure you have completed the packet through the Dramatic Monologue section. Oh, you will be quite involved in "Porphyria's Lover."