Ground rules for assignments -- please read!

Dear class,

Other than essays, we will have two sorts of assignments during the poetry marathon: a thoughtful & substantial blog comment, or a typed, double-spaced set of responses the the questions that accompany the assigned poem in your text. "Terence, this is stupid stuff" was the second sort of assignment. I know I made that assignment, but since so few got the message, I'm clarifying it in writing. If you want credit, be sure to turn in your "Terence" work first thing Tuesday. After that, we move on. I won't be interested in any work that comes in later.

"Pathedy of Manners" prompt 1/31

How does Ellen Kay's diction reveal her meaning in "Pathedy of Manners"?

To intelligently respond to this prompt (and why would you want to respond any other way?), you need to work the poem thoroughly first and ascertain what that "meaning" actually is. You must be constantly on the alert for irony. Take note of the occasional oxymoronic or paradoxical combination of words while you're at it.

Also, be sure to read chapter three on denotation and connotation. Two of the poems, "Naming of Parts" (which we looked at briefly) and "The world is too much with us", are ones we will be returning to at some point this quarter.

"Suicide's Note" -- join in the discussion prior to class Friday

Suicide's Note

The calm,
Cool face of the river
Asked me for a kiss.

--Langston Hughes

Discuss the diction, sound, personification, and tone of this poem. Explore the frame of mind that would create this comparison.

"Terence, This is Stupid Stuff" discussion

Help one another analyze Housman's poem.

A cathedral requires many hands

Raymond Carver, the author of Cathedral, wrote the following in an article about literature: "It is possible, in a poem or short story, to write about commonplace things and objects using commonplace but precise language, and to endow those things -- a chair, a window curtain, a fork, a stone, a woman's earring -- with immense, even startling, power. It is possible to write a line of seemingly innocuous dialogue and have it send a chill along the reader's spine. That's the kind of writing that most interests me."

After reading, re-reading, and annotating Cathedral (I have noticed that some of you are skipping steps two and three, i. e. you are reading but not reading closely), choose a passage or line to discuss that strikes you as masterfully written. Masterful writing, by the way, need not be deadly serious. Power is power, whether used in the service of humor, irony, or the pulpit. Explain your reasons for your choice and respond to the choices of your colleages.

Reminder: (1) Get a copy of Perrine's Sound & Sense: Introduction to Poetry (ed. 9, 10, 11, or 12) and bring it the first day of class after finals. (2) Get a copy of Crime and Punishment and get started -- discussion begins right after the poetry unit. (4)

If you have lost your copy, you may find Carver's story at: http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/instruct/cinichol/GovSchool/Cathedral2.htm

Reminder: turn it in to "turnitin"

Dear all,
Seventeen students have run their essays by turnitin.com. Twenty-six (out of 33) have handed in copies to me. This is a friendly reminder: if you haven't submitted your essay to turnitin, please do so. If you haven't finished your essay at all, please communicate with me.
Thanks,
JD

Tuning “Rothschild's Fiddle”

Characteristic of Chekhov's fiction is the Chekhovian moment, a moment of epiphany when a ray of light gleams within a character's mind and he/she recognizes an essential truth. After reading and re-reading Rothschild's Fiddle, make a decision where the Chekhovian moment appears in the story and discuss it with your colleagues. And don’t be content simply to identify that moment—discuss its meaning and its spiritual impact. What signs along the path of the story—Jacob’s path—prefigure it and lend it richness?

Turnitin.com is now receiving submissions

You can submit your Hamlet essays to turnitin.com as of tonight. Please let me know if you encounter any snags.

PS: We won't be starting Crime and Punishment till after the semester's end, at least. We'll talk tomorrow about whether or not it should swap places with poetry.

Tuesday's class will be mostly given over to soliloquies, with the Hamlet objective test reserved for Thursday. I'll have a short story for you to read between classes.

See you tomorrow!

JD