Young Goodman Brown

What did you think about the literary criticisms you read? What stood out to you? What did you agree or disagree with? Was there anything you better understood after reading them?

Foster Paper Ideas

So, we are almost finish with Foster and next week (September 30-October 4) we will begin working on our first major writing project--The Foster Application Paper. 

 Now, you will have to pick at least ONE piece of quality literature and at least FOUR of Foster's theories and apply them to the short story, novel, or maybe even poem, that you pick.  Use this blog to brainstorm some literature choices you are thinking about as well as what theories you think you will argue...

Foster Chapter 15 and Chapters 18-21

Read Foster Chapter 15, and then 18-21 and tell me about 2-3 things that really stood out to you from the reading.  Maybe they stood out to you because they were interesting, conflicting, good or bad, etc.  DON'T SUMMARIZE the reading; instead, discuss those moments in the text that got you thinking...

Due by Sunday at midnight!

"The Barred Owl" and Boxing for Meaning

Read the poem, "The Barred Owl" by Wilbur and annotate it.  Think about "boxing for meaning" or "boxing to find the tone shift" strategy we talked about in class on Wednesday.

When you get done annotating it, tell me what the poem is about and use my paragraph sample on your handout as a guide (if you don't have this, see my EChalk page for a copy).

Sonnets!

Due for Tuesday:

Go online, or explore some literature books of your past, and find a sonnet that you want to share with the class.

1. You need to post the sonnet and author first.
2. Then, write a short paragraph discussing what you notice about the sonnet structurally, as well as what you think the poet's overall message is within the piece.

Now Shakespeare is one of the most popular sonnet writers of all time, but he isn't the only one! Feel free to explore modern sonnets as well, but remember to post the author's name for citation!

Poem Analysis: "Death, be Not Proud"

Read the poem below and write a blog post that:

1. Discusses the structure/form/diction etc. of the poem.
2. And try to make meaning--what is Donne's message? What does Donne try to teach his readers?

Your response is due by the end of the day (midnight) on Wed. 9-11-13

Death, be not proud

By John Donne 1572–1631 

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.

Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,

And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well

And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

Foster Chapters 7-9

For homework, you should have just finished reading chapter 7, 8, and 9 of Foster's book, How to Read Literature Like a Professor.

Now, pick one of Foster's arguments that you found helpful, insightful, or accurate and explain why with a piece of literature/example.

If you agree with Foster's claims, what is a piece of literature that can support his claims (besides what he already gives to you as an example).  For instance, here is my example:

 Foster says that "whenever people eat or drink together, its communion" (8).  We see this in The Book Thief when Max first arrives to Rosa's house.  Instead of seeing Rosa freak out, or break out into her traditional rants when she sees this mysterious man show up in her home, she offers him soup.  It becomes clear that Max will be a important, and welcomed part of Rosa's family because she is willing to share food with him.  In an opposite example, we often see instances where "the failed meal stands as a bad sign" (11) in movies all of the time.  We often see someone get up and storm out of a dinner, or a character who can't eat and picks at their food--those types of scenes show the lack or peace of unity in the family, and they are almost always depicted around family dinner time.

Answer the prompt above, include examples and quotes evidence from Foster in your response!

Foster's Introduction

For homework, read Foster's Introduction in his book How to Read Literature Like a Professor.  After you have read, I want you to comment on what you think his main arguments are.

What is he pointing out? 
What does he think you need to do to "read like a professor?"  

You can also discuss some new insights he pointed out that you didn't think about until you read his introduction...

Requirements:
1. Post thoughtful
2. Watch mechanics, spelling, etc.--revise and reread before you publish!
3. Post by midnight.

Why Blogs?

Hello everyone!  So a new component of our AP Literature and Composition class this year is using blogs as another form and opportunity for discussion.

I have several reasons why I think blogs will help you throughout this course including:

1. Creating fair discussion--where everyone will have a chance to talk and share.
2. Getting exposure to online forums--which you will probably encounter in college.
3. To help you see new ideas and insights from each other.
4. Expand the conversation to involve our independent students as well.

Now, the way this works is I will post different prompts and discussion points and you will comment or answer on  with your own posted comment.

You will have to login under an account (like google) to fully post your comments.  If you need to make a new account just for our class, please do so, and make sure your login name is one that I can easily identify.

This blogs will be up the whole year, and you are welcome to revisit, and comment on them anytime, even if the blog posts were from a month ago.  Use this as another form of seminar and discuss!

Finally, these posts need to be thoughtful, thorough, and detailed.  I won't assign a word count unless I need to, but push your posts so they are dynamic.  Do beware comments that are too long though!