Archives for October 2016

Due 10/24: Villanelle and Readings

October 21, 2016 By Sean Leon

1. Villanelle–Remember, this is a fixed form poem! Your villanelle should mirror Dylan Thomas’. It should be typed. You must closely follow the form requirements of the villanelle. Including:

19 lines of verse (5 tercets and 1 quatrain)
Rhyme scheme
Set number of syllables/beats per line (iambic pentameter)
Don’t forget the refrains! The fist and third line of verse repeat throughout and follow a specific pattern.

Use proper heading (Which some of you are still struggling with):

Sean Leon (your name of course)
Poetry Seminar
10/24/16
#3: Villanelle

2. Bring in a clean copy of the poem you used for your explication.

3. Readings–She Walks in Beauty and My Soul is Dark by Lord Byron; Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats

3. Review expectations for oral and written components of group presentations.

Due 10/24: The Stranger Essay

October 20, 2016 By Sean Leon

IMPORTANT: We are reading Jean Paul Sartre’s Nausea next. I will need a few folks (10) to buy their own copy, so please do so if you are able. We will begin reading over next weekend. Click the link for Nausea!

Also, thank you for a meaningful discussion today!

1. THE STRANGER ESSAY
First Draft due Monday, Oct. 24
Final Draft due Wednesday, Oct. 26
3-4 page literary/philosophical analysis of The Stranger. You are expected to use The Myth of Sisyphus as a complement to your discussion. Sisyphus is a philosophical commentary on The Stranger–Explore. How does Sisyphus help us to understand Camus’ philosophy as communicated through Meursault? IMPORTANT: While Sisyphus is used to give some form to the discussion (i.e. helping to shape the thesis), the discussion is focused on exploring Camus’ message and how he develops that message. While not necessary, I would encourage you to research Camus further to give you further context. Folks, I expect this essay to demonstrate great thematic/philosophical control of both texts. Waiting till the night before is probably not a good idea. Your reading responses and annotations should prove to be quite beneficial here. This should be typed in font size 12 (times new roman or arial). You should have a title!!! The title should reflect your thesis. If you have any questions, please email me.

General Formatting:

Double-spaced; size 12 font; Times New Roman or similar
.75 margins on both left and right sides. Justify margin. Indentations– .5” or 1 tab space.
All pages beyond the first page should be numbered. Page numbers should be placed at the bottom right of each page.
No Cover Page. Include name, class, and date (Single space the heading)
Be sure TITLE reflects the theme of the essay (for instance, 1984: Hierarchical Hegemony)
Include Title, Author, and General Theme of work in first paragraph of essay…For Example—Jean Paul Sartre’s Nausea
Follow MLA guidelines

Avoid the Following:

Avoid Pronouns: I, it, you, me, we, us
Avoid Troublesome language. Do your best to avoid the following words: it, these, this, those, kind of, almost, seems, maybe, like, then, later, eventually, basically, so, many, a lot, things, due to the fact (or any variations of the fact that), in reality, very, really, forms of the verb “to be”
In the intro, nix all book-review commentary—i.e. “is fascinating, interesting…”
Avoid meaningless sentences–i.e. “Authors rely heavily on symbolism.”
Contractions
While I am not suggesting that you avoid all modifiers, you certainly should be conscious of how you are using them. Yet, definitely avoid the likes of really, basically, very, excellent, terrible, etc.
Avoid misspelling proper nouns!

Remember:

When writing about literature, write in the present tense.
Active voice should be your default voice and only use passive when you are CHOOSING to use passive voice.
Get comfortable writing in complex and compound sentences.
Introductions and conclusions are factored into the grading of this essay.
Read your essay aloud and you will hear many diction and syntax issues.

Keys to Good Writing:

Cohesion—Every sentence fits together; paragraphs flow smoothly. Ensure that the entire discussion comes together as one unified discussion of your text and its context.
Concision—Less is more. Use fewer words to explain yourself. Begin fusing sentences by merging ideas into tightly knit phrases.
Precision—Accuracy. Use words that accurately capture what you mean. Don’t settle for words or expressions that come close.
Coherence—Does your essay make sense? Are your ideas organized in a logical sequence? Do you prove your thesis? Do the parts contain the essence of the whole?

Due 10/24: The Bell Jar…

October 20, 2016 By Sean Leon

1. The Bell Jar–Read and annotate Chapters 15 and 16.

2. Vocab Quiz

3. Confessional Poetry–The linked reading is quite brief, yet gives us a sense of the nature of confessional poetry. Confessional Poems are due 10/27 for 10H and 10/28 for 10B. It is not a good idea to wait until the night before to write this. Start thinking about what you would like to write about.

Requirements:

Honest and Authentic
Free verse is fine
You must use stanzaic form
Pay attention to sound as you write
You must employ “painterly language” and literary devices (i.e. vivid imagery, metaphor, symbolism, motifs, etc)
Write from the inside out

4. By the end of next week, you should have 25 words in your personal vocab section.

Due 10/20: Explication

October 19, 2016 By Sean Leon

1. Poetry Explication–Choose one of the poems read this term and explicate it formally. How to Explicate (click the link) a poem. An explication entails a more detailed break down of a piece of literature (i.e. line by line). Here’s a sample poetry explication! Both linked articles are in the packet distributed at the beginning of the term.

The first paragraph

The first paragraph should present the large issues; it should inform the reader which conflicts are dramatized and should describe the dramatic situation of the speaker. The explication does not require a formal introductory paragraph; the writer should simply start explicating immediately. A sample opening sentence may be “In If We Must Die Claude McKay (thematic sentence).”

The next paragraphs

The next paragraphs should expand the discussion of the conflict by focusing on details of form, rhetoric, syntax, vocabulary, sound, and figurative language. In these paragraphs, the writer should explain the poem line by line (stanza by stanza) in terms of these details, and he or she should incorporate important elements of rhyme, rhythm, and meter during this discussion. Alternatively, you can explain the poem detail by detail.

Requirements:

2-4 pages
Double-spaced; size 12 font; Times New Roman or similar
1 inch margins on both left and right sides. Justify margin. Indentations– .5” or 1 tab space.
All pages beyond the first page should be numbered. Page numbers should be placed at the bottom right of each page.
No Cover Page. Include name, class, and date (Single space the heading)
If you are explicating If We Must Die, title should be formatted as such:
An Explication of If We Must Die

Avoid the Following:

Avoid Pronouns: I, it, you, me, we, us
Avoid Troublesome language. Do your best to avoid the following words: it, these, this, those, kind of, almost, seems, maybe, like, then, later, eventually, basically, so, many, a lot, things, due to the fact (or any variations of the fact that), in reality, very, really, forms of the verb “to be”
In the intro, nix all book-review commentary—i.e. “is fascinating, interesting…”
Contractions
While I am not suggesting that you avoid all modifiers, you certainly should be conscious of how you are using them. Yet, definitely avoid the likes of really, basically, very, excellent, terrible, etc.
Avoid misspelling proper nouns!

Due 10/20: The Stranger Essay and Squircle

October 19, 2016 By Sean Leon

1. Remember, first draft of your essay on The Strange is due Monday.

2. Human condition question–Let’s prepare for our first Squircle! So, let’s craft a question that may be used to catalyze whole group discussion. Ideally, the question will be inspired by one of the themes discussed in class up to this point. Yet, this is not meant to be a discussion of course texts; it is meant to be a discussion of us. This should be a question that you are genuinely interested in exploring with your peers.

Sample questions: 1. Do you ever feel like you’re living a life that doesn’t represent who you are or your morals and ideas? If so, how does this make you feel, and how do you react to it? 2. “…there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.” (This is Water, David Foster Wallace) Do you agree or disagree with Wallace?

Post your question on the class forum.

3. If you did not post the forum response on The Stranger, I will give you tonight to do so.