Walden and Civil Disobedience

EXTRA CREDIT:  Write an Author's biography on Emily Dickinson and analyze one of her poems (using the template from the previous assignments).

This is a heavy reading week.  Start early!  EDITED! I JUST REALIZED YOUR HISTORY TEST IS NEXT WEEK- CHECK DUE DATES!  Hope this helps you study for your History Test!

1. Please read the first 30 paragraphs of the following website: http://thoreau.eserver.org/wendy.html and read Civil Disobedience http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/WALDEN/Essays/civil.html. Write three discussion questions for your classmates regarding the material in Civil Disobedience.  Due 11/5 in class. (NOTE: The links are not working. Please copy and paste the URL address into your browser.)

2. Write an author's biography on Ralph Waldo Emerson http://www.biography.com/people/ralph-waldo-emerson-9287153 and Henry David Thoreau (Exactly like the one you did on Harriet Beecher Stowe). http://www.biography.com/people/henry-david-thoreau-9506784?page=1  You may use these websites as a jumping off point for your biography.  Please be thorough in your author profiles. Due 11/12 in class- CHANED DUE DATE.


3. Read the following selections from Walden:

These selections due by November 12----CHANGED DUE DATE.
Economy
Where I Lived and What I Lived for
Solitude
Spring
Conclusion

Expect a comprehension quiz on these selections and/or Civil Disobedience

4. THE BLOG QUESTION IS DUE BY NOVEMBER 12-CHANGED DUE DATE.  THERE IS NO BLOG POST DUE ON 5TH.  Blog question for this week isn't really a question.  Please identify one example of Thoreau's use of aphorism, paradox, and proverbs in the selections you read this week. Obviously you must know what each of these terms mean-so look it up.   In addition to quoting the phrase-please explain his meaning and if there are any cultural relevance for today. Listen to the following documentary for examples: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpS5yxy8O0w

Remember you are responsible for 2 blog posts.  One in response to my question and the second in response to at least one classmate.

Week 11- Reading Assignments

The mid-term is almost over and I am sure each of you will do your very best. I will have your test scores back by next class.  (Remember my comma key is broken so I'm using dashes).

This weeks reading assignments include:

Read and print out Walt Whitman's Poem "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd". Please bring a copy of this poem to class with you next week.  http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174748 (Printing hint: If you make two columns in a word document and then cut and paste the poem you can use less paper.)

Please read the following short biography on Francis Watkins Harper: http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/uu_addenda/Frances-Harper.php and write an author's biography on her. Just like Harriet Beecher Stowe's author's bio I had you do last week. This is due next class session- October 29. (Note: It may be necessary to look up more information in order to complete the author profile.)

Please read the following poetry selections by Frances Harper:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/185927
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bury_Me_in_a_Free_Land

and this piece on her most famous work-  Iola Leory

http://www.answers.com/topic/iola-leroy-1

For these selections you should take notes on the topic and any other information regarding the selection that you find interesting. These poems and biographies could show up on the Final Exam in January.

Your blog question for this week:  We've read several slave narratives and autobiographies-as well as- Uncle Tom's Cabin. What have you learned about the black experience in America during the 1700's and 1800's that you may not have known before or did not fully understand ?  How has the literature you read reinforced-expanded or changed your views on slavery? Give specific examples.  (Some of you have big goose eggs on blog entries.  Not good!)

A Look Ahead:
In class on the 29th we will finish up UTC and then move on to Thoreau.   We will be reading: Resistance to Civil Government and selections from Walden for our main course work.  Our next essay will be due on 12/10 instead of before Thanksgiving.  The topic will be determined shortly.

Literary Terms for Mid-term Exam

Please KNOW the following terms for the mid-term.
Allusion
Analogy
Anastrophe
Blank Verse
Couplet
Heroic Couplet
Epigram
Simile
Metaphor
Extended Metaphor
Personification
Synecdoche
Metonymy
Free Verse
Imagery
Irony
Inference
End Rhyme
Internal Rhyme
Assonance
Iambic Pentameter


How the test breaks out point wise: 
Multiple Choice and Short Answer
Literary Terms-
Literary Analysis
Poetry Analysis-
Short Essay-40 points

Addendum: Because this was so far back I'd like to give you a heads up on one question. Be familiar with Cotton Mather's works.  The title and general subject.

Midterm exam

Poetry assignment #2:  Please send your partner TWO of your poems and your analysis via email.  Your partner is responsible for checking your information with information found on the internet.  Basically your partner will double check your work.  The partner should comment on the content of your analysis and return their comments to you.  The partners for this assignment are as follows:

• Hunter- Jacob
• Hannah Lane-Lauren
• Karlyn-Reesey 
• Megan- Grace
• Sara-Haley
• Ryan Seay- Jared
• Stephen-Colby
• Jonah-Sam
• Nick-Hannah Grant

Please have your critique to your partners back to them by class next week.


Next week is our midterm exam.  I know you all are so excited about this!  Please use the blog post to have a "study" group with your classmates.  Clarify your information etc.

Here's what you need to study:

Scarlett Letter- comprehension questions and an analysis question.  In general, if you read the book and listened in class you will be able to answer these questions.  No trickery on my part.  Straightforward questions.

Uncle Tom's Cabin- comprehension questions and a literary analysis exercise. Just like the one we did in class.

Literary Terms- matching

Know the 5 point Plot Structure by Freytag.

Review all your notes from class

Characteristics of a slave narrative and a captivity narrative.  Be ready to give examples of each type of literature.

Poetry questions- Be ready to analyze a poem in class without notes.  :)

Questions about the 3 literary periods we have studied so far.

A short essay question on a subject we've discussed in class.  This will be a Mars Hill type question.

Comprehension questions about Ben Franklin Autobiography, Rip Van Winkle and Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Questions about MLA formatting and using quotations in a literary analysis paper.

The test is worth 100 points.  There will be no extra credit offered on this exam.

There will be no additional blog question this week so you can study for the exam.

NO LITERATURE CLASS TOMORROW!

Check your email.

Mrs. Butler

Poetry Template Assignments

Please read the following biography on Walt Whitman: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/126.  

Some of you may be having difficulty getting started with your poetry analysis.  Let me give you a place to start.  This is just a 1, 2, 3 guideline and not a required process.  

Poetry Analysis Steps

1. Read the poem several times. 

2. Define any unknown words including possible allusions. 

3. Identify:

a. Sound Devices: the rhyme scheme, alliteration, consonance, assonance 

b. Figurative Language: metaphors, simile, hyperbole, personification 

c. Other Poetic Devices: symbolism, irony, allusion

4. Identify the tone of the poem. What diction supports your answer? 

5. Identify the point of view. Who is the speaker(s) of the poem? Who is the audience? 

6. What is taking place in the poem? (action or ideas) 

7. What is the central purpose of the poem? (theme)

In our post this week please feel free to ask your classmates their opinion about lines in the poetry you have chosen to analyze.  If a line, sound device, or poetic device is confusing you, please, use this week as an opportunity to glean wisdom from your classmates.   Basically, instead of ME asking YOU a question feel free to ask your classmates a question about your poetry assignment.  I will read all of your questions to make sure they get answered.  You are still responsible for two blog posts this week.  The first, to ask a question and the second, to answer a question posed by your classmates.  

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Dear class,

I'm half-way done with Uncle Tom's Cabin and can hardly put the book down.  I hope you are making progress.  Please make sure you have at least read through Chapter 12 by October 8th.  This week's blog question is similar to the American Hymns of the 18th and 19th century.  This time, I would like you to focus on Negro Spirituals of the 18th and 20th century.  Depending on how far you have read in Uncle Tom's you will notice there are quite a few spirituals and hymns described.

Please find a Negro Spiritual, copy the words (giving credit to source), list any history or facts about the spiritual and if you can copy a mp3 file of the spiritual on to your blog post.  Finally, I'd like to hear your opinions on why Negro Spirituals are a form of American Literature.

Thank you for the chocolate treats. I'm hoping that if I put "I really would like a new car" you all will come through for me too...... yes?

There is no extra credit this week.  Read, Read, Read Uncle Tom's Cabin! Work on Poetry Assignments!