1. Engage in a blog discussion of "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold (uncle of our friend Aldous Huxley) and "Church Going" by Philip Larkin. Both have a similar theme, but what a difference in tone! These take time, but are both worth it -- two of my favorites in this book.
2. Answer the questions following the poems and bring them on Monday.
3. Say hello to March, the month that will bring spring!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Prompt and homework for 2/26
1. Read chapter 8 on allusions. Answer the questions following Milton's poem "On His Blindness" (135/127/140/140) and turn them in on Thursday.
2. Read "Snow White and the Seven Deadly Sins" (355/295/365/369) and join in a discussion on the blog.
2. Read "Snow White and the Seven Deadly Sins" (355/295/365/369) and join in a discussion on the blog.
Monday, February 23, 2009
How does a poem mean?
The following is a post Mr. Duncan made to his blog about analyzing poetry. Please read it, as he makes some excellent points that might aid you in appreciating poetry.
I'm going to relay a little advice from poet John Ciardi as a way of, if possible, altering and enriching the way you read poetry. Too many of you tend to, in the immortal words of Billy Collins: "…tie the poem to a chair with rope / and torture a confession out of it."
I'm going to relay a little advice from poet John Ciardi as a way of, if possible, altering and enriching the way you read poetry. Too many of you tend to, in the immortal words of Billy Collins: "…tie the poem to a chair with rope / and torture a confession out of it."
That way lies madness and, probably, an abiding hatred for all things poetical. I'm asking you to take an approach that is gentler on the poem and yourself. And to begin with, I'm going to cite these words of John Ciardi's from chapter one of How Does A Poem Mean?, his wonderful guide to poetry (alas, no longer in print):
"What greater violence can be done to the poet’s experience than to drag it into an early morning classroom and to go after it as an item on its way to a Final Examination? The apology must at least be made. It is the experience, not the Final Examination, that counts. Though one must note with care…that passionate learning is full of very technical stuff…
"And in poetry there is the step beyond: once one has learned to experience the poem as a poem, there inevitably arrives a sense that one is also experiencing himself as a human being…
W. H. Auden was once asked what advice he would give a young man who wished to become a poet. Auden replied that he would ask the young man why he wanted to write poetry. If the answer was 'because I have something important to say,' Auden would conclude that there was no hope for that young man as a poet. If on the other hand the answer was something like 'because I like to hang around words and overhear them talking to one another,' then that young man was at least interested in a fundamental part of the poetic process and there was hope for him.
"When one 'message-hunts' a poem (i.e., goes through the poem with no interest except in its paraphraseable content) he is approaching the writing as did the young man with 'something important to say'…The common question from which such an approach begins is “WHAT Does the Poem Mean?” His mind closed on that point of view, the reader tends to 'interpret' the poem rather than to experience it, seeking only what he can make over from it into a prose statement (or Examination answer) and forgetting in the process that it was originally a poem.…
"For WHAT DOES THE POEM MEAN? is too often a self-destroying approach to poetry. A more useful way of asking the question is HOW DOES A POEM MEAN? Why does it build itself into a form out of images, ideas, rhythms? How do these elements become the meaning? How are they inseparable from the meaning? As Yeats wrote:
O body swayed to music, o quickening glance,
How shall I tell the dancer from the dance?
"What the poem is, is inseparable from its own performance of itself. The dance is in the dancer and the dancer is in the dance. Or put in another way: where is the 'dance' when no one is dancing it? and what man is a 'dancer' except when he is dancing?"
"And in poetry there is the step beyond: once one has learned to experience the poem as a poem, there inevitably arrives a sense that one is also experiencing himself as a human being…
W. H. Auden was once asked what advice he would give a young man who wished to become a poet. Auden replied that he would ask the young man why he wanted to write poetry. If the answer was 'because I have something important to say,' Auden would conclude that there was no hope for that young man as a poet. If on the other hand the answer was something like 'because I like to hang around words and overhear them talking to one another,' then that young man was at least interested in a fundamental part of the poetic process and there was hope for him.
"When one 'message-hunts' a poem (i.e., goes through the poem with no interest except in its paraphraseable content) he is approaching the writing as did the young man with 'something important to say'…The common question from which such an approach begins is “WHAT Does the Poem Mean?” His mind closed on that point of view, the reader tends to 'interpret' the poem rather than to experience it, seeking only what he can make over from it into a prose statement (or Examination answer) and forgetting in the process that it was originally a poem.…
"For WHAT DOES THE POEM MEAN? is too often a self-destroying approach to poetry. A more useful way of asking the question is HOW DOES A POEM MEAN? Why does it build itself into a form out of images, ideas, rhythms? How do these elements become the meaning? How are they inseparable from the meaning? As Yeats wrote:
O body swayed to music, o quickening glance,
How shall I tell the dancer from the dance?
"What the poem is, is inseparable from its own performance of itself. The dance is in the dancer and the dancer is in the dance. Or put in another way: where is the 'dance' when no one is dancing it? and what man is a 'dancer' except when he is dancing?"
From How Does A Poem Mean, The Riverside Press Cambridge, Houghton Mifflin Company
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Essay posts to turnitin.com
Be sure to post your comparison/contrast essays to turnitin.com before midnight on Tuesday, as well as bringing a hard copy to class.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Prompt and homework --2/18
1. Join in a blog discussion of the poems "Siren Song" and "Barbie Doll".
2. Essay due on Feb. 24: Both "Siren Song" and "Barbie Doll" deal with the relationship between the individual human being and a society that imposes a dehumanizing conformity. Compare the poets' use of irony in developing this theme. This will be a 4-5 page, 100 point essay.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Prompt -- 2/13/2009
Read and work the poem "Spinster" by Sylvia Plath. Engage in a discussion of the overall symbolism of the poem as well as the imagery and figurative language Plath used.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Homework: 2/11
First: Work the poem "Ulysses" by Tennyson. Avoid the urge to go to the web and have some "expert" analyze it for you, even though it is difficult. Share your insights here with your colleagues and help one another figure it out. On Friday, bring your typed responses to the questions that follow the poem, as well as a paraphrase of the poem. Also read "Curiosity" by Alastair Reid and answer the questions that follow that poem. By the way, isn't Alastair a great name for a cat?
Second: We will be spending Friday on symbolism, chapter six
Monday, February 9, 2009
Blog prompt 2/9/09
Read D. C. Berry's "On Reading Poems to a Senior Class at South High". Discuss the poet's use of figurative language to add power and meaning to the poem.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Another perspective
"Valediction" reminded me of a poem set to music that we sang in choir last year. It has the same general idea, but is much easier to analyze! Anyway, I thought I'd post this because it's an interesting comparison.
"Remember" by Christiana Georgiana Rossetti
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
"Remember" by Christiana Georgiana Rossetti
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Blog prompt and homework -- 2/5/2009
1. Before class on Monday: Engage in a blog discussion of "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne. How does Donne use figurative language, diction, and imagery to develop the themes in this poem? Resist the temptation to use the web as a crutch to aid in understanding -- instead, work the poem and THINK about it. Also, read chapter five on figurative language.
2. Due Wednesday: Write a two-three page analysis of Donne's use of figurative language in "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning." Be sure to read the section in your book on writing about poetry before attempting this.
3. Be prepared to dive back into your group discussions. You'll have approximately 20-30 minutes together before presenting your poem and analysis to the class.
2. Due Wednesday: Write a two-three page analysis of Donne's use of figurative language in "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning." Be sure to read the section in your book on writing about poetry before attempting this.
3. Be prepared to dive back into your group discussions. You'll have approximately 20-30 minutes together before presenting your poem and analysis to the class.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Woodchucks
Thanks to Natalie, I did a little research and discovered that woodchuck is another name for a groundhog -- rather ironic since yesterday was groundhog (or should I say woodchuck) day. Actually, here in Portland we used a pygmy hedgehog, who predicted six more weeks of winter. It seems that our pilgrim forefathers used hedgehogs back in the old country, but since there are no hedgehogs in America, they had to adapt. By using a hedgehog, Portland is actually closer to the original British tradition (of course that tradition actually came from a Celtic pagan tradition involving a snake). Perhaps I should stop. This is all Robert Frost's fault.
Prompt and homework -- 2/3/2009
Blog prompt: Read/work "Those Winter Sundays" 63/57/64/66. What kind of imagery is central to the poem? How does the imagery work to reveal the theme of the poem?
Homework: (a) To turn in: Answer the questions following "To Autumn" 65/53/67/68 -- pay particular attention to #3 (b) Read sections I-VII -- Writing about poetry
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