Antigone Prompt #2
Sonnet 14
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
If
thou must love me, let it be for nought
Except for love's sake only. Do not say
'I love her for her smile---her look---her way
Of speaking gently,---for a trick of thought
That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
A sense of pleasant ease on such a day'---
For these things in themselves, Belovèd, may
Be changed, or change for thee,---and love, so
wrought,
May be unwrought so. Neither love me for
Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,---
A creature might forget to weep, who bore
Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!
But love me for love's sake, that evermore
Thou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
This poem is a sonnet, written in 1845. Is this a feminist poem? Explain why or why not. Is Antigone a feminist? Explain why or why not.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Antigone Prompt #1
Setting - The drama begins at dawn, after a night in which there has been a war in Thebes between armies led by the two sons of Oedipus. Keep in mind that the Greek theater was in the open air, and that the first performances of the day would begin at daybreak. Thu s, imagine that the time of day of the setting would be identical to the performance time.
As you read the first scene, consider the gravity of the city's condition and how aware Antigone seems of it.Throughout the play, Antigone and Creon will talk much about friends and enemies. Think about what each means by these terms. In general, Antigone and Creon tend to use the same words but mean different things by them. For example, consider Antigone's reference to being a "traitor" . This is a political term; does Antigone mean a traitor to the city, or to something else? Why does Antigone assume that Creon's order is directed against her and Ismene?
Setting - The drama begins at dawn, after a night in which there has been a war in Thebes between armies led by the two sons of Oedipus. Keep in mind that the Greek theater was in the open air, and that the first performances of the day would begin at daybreak. Thu s, imagine that the time of day of the setting would be identical to the performance time.
As you read the first scene, consider the gravity of the city's condition and how aware Antigone seems of it.Throughout the play, Antigone and Creon will talk much about friends and enemies. Think about what each means by these terms. In general, Antigone and Creon tend to use the same words but mean different things by them. For example, consider Antigone's reference to being a "traitor" . This is a political term; does Antigone mean a traitor to the city, or to something else? Why does Antigone assume that Creon's order is directed against her and Ismene?
Read others responses before you write your own. You may reference each others' ideas, but give credit where credit is due!
Monday, April 28, 2014
As I Lay Dying #3
Success and endurance
1) Another way of reading the novel involves recognizing the images of success and endurance. To do this look at the comedic and optimistic aspects of the novel. Many of the Bundrens, after all, do succeed in their endeavors, especially Anse, who not only gets his new teeth but also finds a new "Mrs. Bundren"—possibly a hopeful indication for progeny and prosperity.
2) What does the final portrait of the Bundrens look like? Are they as rotten as Addie's corpse, full of despair and dissolution? Or are they a tribute to the vigor and resolve of a Southern family, who successfully complete an overwhelming task? Does Faulkner truly resolve this issue
1) Another way of reading the novel involves recognizing the images of success and endurance. To do this look at the comedic and optimistic aspects of the novel. Many of the Bundrens, after all, do succeed in their endeavors, especially Anse, who not only gets his new teeth but also finds a new "Mrs. Bundren"—possibly a hopeful indication for progeny and prosperity.
2) What does the final portrait of the Bundrens look like? Are they as rotten as Addie's corpse, full of despair and dissolution? Or are they a tribute to the vigor and resolve of a Southern family, who successfully complete an overwhelming task? Does Faulkner truly resolve this issue
As I Lay Dying #2
Despair and desolation:
One way of reading the novel is to see the myths of the South slowly revealed to be as rotten as the corpse of Addie Bundren. How do the desires of each family member reveal in different ways this sense of despair and dissolution? Consider, for example, Anse's false teeth (and new wife), Dewey Dell's failed abortion, Darl's 'madness,' Cash's lost tools, and Jewel's bartered horse.
One way of reading the novel is to see the myths of the South slowly revealed to be as rotten as the corpse of Addie Bundren. How do the desires of each family member reveal in different ways this sense of despair and dissolution? Consider, for example, Anse's false teeth (and new wife), Dewey Dell's failed abortion, Darl's 'madness,' Cash's lost tools, and Jewel's bartered horse.
As I Lay Dying #1
Death and dying - Each group member choose one of the following questions:
1) What does the final portrait of the Bundrens look like? Are
they as rotten as Addie's corpse, full of despair and dissolution? Or are they
a tribute to the vigor and resolve of a Southern family, who successfully
complete an overwhelming task? Does Faulkner truly resolve this issue?
2) The title of the novel, As I Lay Dying, indicates
action that occurs simultaneous to the death of the matriarch—what else might
be "dying"? The South? The authority of the narrator? The institution
of the family? Faulkner's artistic depth allows for all of these possibilities.
Each group member choose one of the above questions to discuss in a blog response:
And all talk about:
What does this discussion indicate that this novel is saying about death and dying?
Prufrock - images and their implications
I just read over your Prufrock essays, and honestly, most were good, a few were great, and a couple lacked analysis. So choose one of the following images and discuss what it implies (imcorporating lines from the poem please), or what effect Elliot meant it to have, what hidden understanding it presents to you.
For example:
Why a "yellow fog" and "the evening is spread out against the sky like a patient etherised upon a table" ?
This is the answer of another student:
First of all, there's all the crazy conflicting imagery, like "when the evening is spread out against the sky like a patient etherised upon a table." I mean, look at that line (or rather, two lines). Just look at it. "When the evening is spread out upon the sky" sounds all Romantic-esque with its emphasis on nature and evening (which is when 90% of romantic scenes take place, I swear), but then it abruptly turns to that poor patient. The word "patient" suggests sickness and pain- a big difference from the romance of the evening and the sky. And then "etherized." Well, an eveing that is a sick patient and is drugged to sleep is going NOWHERE! Just like the narrator. It sets the scene, predicts the future of poor J. Alfred, before he even has a chance to introduce the women.
Now you do - choose one of the questions below to discuss in a responding post:
1. Class divisions are also pretty apparent in the poem- How did Elliot incorporate this? AND WHY ? Hint: while the city, home of the working classes, is depicted as being dirty, unpleasant and possibly unsafe, the upper class life is much different.
2. Where and WHY does Elliot incorporate vers libre: reflecting the free flow of human consciousness as it attempts to come to terms with a complex reality" and "occasional, irregularly placed rhymes?
3. Fragmentation is a common theme of this time period because everything, including people's ideas, are all challenged to the limits with all the crazy stuff that's happening, like the World War, and, sure enough, there's a hell of a lot of fragmentation in this poem. How many examples, different types, are evident and WHAT was Elliot's PURPOSE in creating such fragmentation?
4. What is the implication of the line - "Do I dare eat a peach?" and how does it relate/compare to Prufock's other questions in the poem?
5.This one is for Anthony:
Visual imagery: Imagery related to sight.
Olfactory imagery: Imagery related to smell.
Kinesthetic imagery: Imagery related to movement.
Tactile imagery: Imagery related to touch.
Aural imagery: Imagery related to sound.
Gustatory imagery: Imagery related to taste.
For example:
Why a "yellow fog" and "the evening is spread out against the sky like a patient etherised upon a table" ?
This is the answer of another student:
First of all, there's all the crazy conflicting imagery, like "when the evening is spread out against the sky like a patient etherised upon a table." I mean, look at that line (or rather, two lines). Just look at it. "When the evening is spread out upon the sky" sounds all Romantic-esque with its emphasis on nature and evening (which is when 90% of romantic scenes take place, I swear), but then it abruptly turns to that poor patient. The word "patient" suggests sickness and pain- a big difference from the romance of the evening and the sky. And then "etherized." Well, an eveing that is a sick patient and is drugged to sleep is going NOWHERE! Just like the narrator. It sets the scene, predicts the future of poor J. Alfred, before he even has a chance to introduce the women.
Now you do - choose one of the questions below to discuss in a responding post:
1. Class divisions are also pretty apparent in the poem- How did Elliot incorporate this? AND WHY ? Hint: while the city, home of the working classes, is depicted as being dirty, unpleasant and possibly unsafe, the upper class life is much different.
2. Where and WHY does Elliot incorporate vers libre: reflecting the free flow of human consciousness as it attempts to come to terms with a complex reality" and "occasional, irregularly placed rhymes?
3. Fragmentation is a common theme of this time period because everything, including people's ideas, are all challenged to the limits with all the crazy stuff that's happening, like the World War, and, sure enough, there's a hell of a lot of fragmentation in this poem. How many examples, different types, are evident and WHAT was Elliot's PURPOSE in creating such fragmentation?
4. What is the implication of the line - "Do I dare eat a peach?" and how does it relate/compare to Prufock's other questions in the poem?
5.This one is for Anthony:
Visual imagery: Imagery related to sight.
Olfactory imagery: Imagery related to smell.
Kinesthetic imagery: Imagery related to movement.
Tactile imagery: Imagery related to touch.
Aural imagery: Imagery related to sound.
Gustatory imagery: Imagery related to taste.
What two or three types of imagery do you feel dominate the poem and why would Elliot have chosen to focus on the images that he has?
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay - National Writing Project
Beyond the Five-Paragraph Essay - National Writing Project
I don't want to have to say told you so, but....
Listen, read - and talk to me and each other about how this makes you feel. Does it make you angry because you like your five paragraph essay structure? Or are you scared? Or ...
I don't want to have to say told you so, but....
Listen, read - and talk to me and each other about how this makes you feel. Does it make you angry because you like your five paragraph essay structure? Or are you scared? Or ...
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