ReynoldsEnglish

Cecil County Ride by marycasey19 at Garmin Connect - Details

2010-12-23T07:23:00.000-08:00

Cecil County Ride by marycasey19 at Garmin Connect - Details

Everything related to 1984 can be found on this page

2009-04-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

To read, listen and watch click here

EXTRA CREDIT!!!! Post your Editorial for HERE in the comments section.

2009-04-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

Be sure to include the Title, Author's Name, Publication and Date along with the text of the article.

Don Quixote Quotes in English and Spanish

2009-03-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

All that glisters is not gold.
Topic: Appearance
Source: Don Quixote (pt. II, ch. XXXIII)

The pen is the tongue of the mind. [Sp., La pluma es lengua del alma.]
Topic: Authorship
Source: Don Quixote (V, 16)

All kinds of beauty do not inspire love; there is a kind which only pleases the sight, but does not captivate the affections. [Sp., No todas hermosuras enamoran, que algunas alegran la vista, y no rinden la voluntad.]
Topic: Beauty
Source: Don Quixote (II, 6)

Never look for birds of this year in the nests of the last.
Topic: Birds
Source: Don Quixote (pt. II, ch. LXXIV)

Patience and shuffle the cards. [Sp., Paciencia y barajar.]
Topic: Cards
Source: Don Quixote (II, 23)

All will come out in the washing. [Sp., Todo saldra en al colada.]
Topic: Cleanliness
Source: Don Quixote (I, 20)

Tell me thy company and I will tell thee what thou art.
Topic: Companionship
Source: Don Quixote (vol. III, pt. II, ch. XXIII), quoted in

Said the pot to the kettle, "Get away, blackface." [Sp., Dijo la sarten a la caldera, quitate alla ojinegra.]
Topic: Criticism
Source: Don Quixote (II, 67)

I drink when I have occasion, and sometimes when I have no occasion.
Topic: Drinking
Source: Don Quixote (pt. II, ch. XXXIII)

All sorrows are good (or are less) with bread. [Sp., Todos los duelos con pan son buenos (or son menos).]
Topic: Eating
Source: Don Quixote (ch. II, 13)
The stomach carries the heart, and not the heart the stomach. [Sp., Tripas llevan corazon, que no corazon tripas.]
Topic: Eating
Source: Don Quixote (ch. II, 47)

The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
Topic: Eating
Source: Don Quixote (ch. XXIV)

Not with whom you are born, but with whom you are bred. [Sp., No con quien naces, sino con quien paces.]
Topic: Education
Source: Don Quixote (II, 10)
Inasmuch as ill-deeds spring up as a spontaneous crop, they are easy to learn. [Sp., Como el hacer mal viene de natural cosecha, facilmente se aprende el hacerle.]
Topic: Evil
Source: Coloquio de los Perros
He had a face like a benediction (blessing).
Topic: Faces
Source: Don Quixote (bk. II, pt. I, ch. IV)
Fear has many eyes. [Sp., El miedo tiene muchos ojos.]
Topic: Fear
Source: Don Quixote (III, 6)
I have other fish to fry.
Topic: Fish
Source: Don Quixote (pt. II, ch. XXXV)

Make yourself honey and the flies will devour you. [Sp., Haceos miel, y paparos han moscas.]
Topic: Flies
Source: Don Quixote (II, 43)

Folly is wont to have more followers and comrades than discretion. [Sp., Mas acompanados y paniguados debe di tener la locura que la discrecion.]
Topic: Folly
Source: Don Quixote (II, 13)

Leap out of the frying pan into the fire.
Topic: Proverbial Phrases
Source: Don Quixote (pt. I, bk. III, ch. IV)

Job Losses Hint at Vast Remaking of Economy

2009-03-09T10:40:00.000-07:00

As government data revealed that 651,000 more jobs disappeared in February, a sense took hold that growing joblessness may reflect a wrenching restructuring of the American economy.

The unemployment rate surged to 8.1 percent, from 7.6 percent in January, its highest level in a quarter-century. In key industries — manufacturing, financial services and retail — layoffs have accelerated so quickly in recent months as to suggest that many companies are abandoning whole areas of business.

“These jobs aren’t coming back,” said John E. Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia in Charlotte, N.C. “A lot of production either isn’t going to happen at all, or it’s going to happen somewhere other than the United States. There are going to be fewer stores, fewer factories, fewer financial services operations. Firms are making strategic decisions that they don’t want to be in their businesses.”

This dynamic has proved true in past recessions as well, with fading industries pushed to the brink during downturns before others emerged to create jobs when economic growth inevitably resumed. But with job losses so enormous over such a short period of time, some economists argue that the latest crisis challenges the traditional American response to hard times.

Read the Rest of the article HERE

A Modern Modest Proposal

2009-03-09T10:19:00.000-07:00

Will This Recession Become a Depression?

2009-03-06T05:46:00.000-08:00

Post a comment on this article with your opinion on the question in the title and get 25 extra credit points.

Will This Recession Become a Depression?
WASHINGTON (March 2) - A Depression
doesn’t have to be Great — bread lines,
rampant unemployment, a wipeout in the
stock market. The economy can sink into a
milder depression, the kind spelled with a
lowercase “d.”
And it may be happening now.
The trouble is, unlike recessions, which are
easy to define, there are no firm rules for
what makes a depression. Everyone at least
seems to agree there hasn’t been one since
the epic hardship of the 1930s.
But with each new hard-times headline,
most recently an alarming economic contraction
of 6.2 percent in the fourth quarter,
it seems more likely that the next depression
is on its way.
“We’re probably in a depression now. But
it’s not going to be acknowledged until
years go by. Because you have to see it behind
you,” said Peter Morici, a business
professor at the University of Maryland.
No one disputes that the current economic
downturn qualifies as a recession. Recessions
have two handy definitions, both in
effect now — two straight quarters of economic
contraction, or when the National
Bureau of Economic Research makes the
call.
Declaring a depression is much trickier.
By one definition, it’s a downturn of three
years or more with a 10 percent drop in economic
output and unemployment above 10
percent. The current downturn doesn’t
qualify yet: 15 months old and 7.6 percent
unemployment. But both unemployment
and the 6.2 percent contraction for late last
year could easily worsen.
Another definition says a depression is a
sustained recession during which the populace
has to dispose of tangible assets to pay
for everyday living. For some families,
that’s happening now.
Morici says a depression is a recession that
“does not self-correct” because of fundamental
structural problems in the economy,
such as broken banks or a huge trade
deficit.
Or maybe a depression is whatever corporate
America says it is. Tony James, president
of private equity firm Blackstone ,
called this downturn a depression during
an earnings conference call last week.
The Great Depression retains the heavyweight
crown. Unemployment peaked at
more than 25 percent. From 1929 to 1933,
the economy shrank 27 percent. The stock
market lost 90 percent of its value from
boom to bust.
And while last year in the stock market was
the worst since 1931, the Dow Jones industrials
would have to fall about 5,000 more
points to approach what happened in the
Depression.
Few economists expect this downturn will
be the sequel. But nobody knows for sure,
and nobody can say when or whether the
downturn may deepen from a recession to a
depression.
In his prime-time address to Congress last
week, President Barack Obama acknowledged
“difficult and trying times” but
sought to rally the nation with an upbeat
vow that “we will rebuild, we will recover.”
The next day, Federal Reserve Chairman
Ben Bernanke told the House Financial
Services Committee that the “recession is
serious, financial conditions remain difficult.”
He held out a best-case hope that it
might end later this year, with “full recovery”
in two to three years.
Despite the tempered optimism, the economic
outlook remains grim. Consumer
confidence has fallen off the table, stocks
are at 12-year lows, layoffs come by the tens
of thousands, and credit remains tight.
The current downturn has many of the
1930s characteristics, including being
primed by big stock market and real estate
booms that turned to busts, said Allen
Sinai, founder of Boston-area consulting
firm Decision Economics.
Policymakers and economists note there
are safeguards in place that weren’t there in
the 1930s: deposit insurance, unemployment
insurance and an ability by the government
to hurl trillions of dollars at the
problem, even if it means printing money.
Before the 1930s, any serious economic
downturn was called a depression. The
term “recession” didn’t come into common
use until “depression” became burdened by
memories of the 1930s, said Robert McElvaine,
a history professor at Millsaps College
in Jackson, Miss.
“When the economy collapsed again in
1937, they didn’t want to call that a new depression,
and that’s when recession was
first used,” he said. “People also use ‘downward
blip.’ Alan Greenspan once called it a
‘sideways waffle.’”
Most postwar U.S. recessions have come after
the Fed has increased interest rates to
cool down rapid economic growth and inflation.
Later, the Fed lowers rates and
helps restart the economy, with the housing
and auto sectors — both sensitive to interest
rates — leading the way.
This time is different: As Senate Banking
Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, DConn.,
said, “Our housing and auto sectors
are leading us not out of recession, but into
it.”
What’s more, the Fed no longer has the
ability to kick-start recovery by lowering interest
rates. The central bank has already
effectively lowered the short-term rates it
controls to zero.
And there are no guarantees the massive
economic stimulus package and series of
bank bailouts will stave off a nightmare recession,
or worse.

2009-02-26T07:29:00.001-08:00

A satirist is a man whose flesh creeps so at the ugly and the savage and the incongruous aspects of society that he has to express them as brutally and nakedly as possible in order to get relief.

Obama's Speech: Read it here!

2009-02-20T10:26:00.000-08:00

EXTRA CREDIT for the week of President's Day: Find an example of Parallelism in this speech and email it to me before 9am Friday, February 20th for 25 Extra Credit points.

"My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many.

They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics."

"We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.

To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.

We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world…that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive…that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

EXTRA CREDIT!!!! Post your comments about Education here.

2009-02-09T10:56:00.000-08:00

Thank you for your comments! Seven of you have received extra credit but I encourage you to continue posting your thoughts and ideas!

Two well-known sayings express contrasting views on the relationship of books and learning to success in life. According to one axiom, “Knowledge is power.” According to the other, more cynical saying, “It’s not what you know but who you know.” Bacon himself coined the first saying, but he probably would have agreed with both views, since he was both extremely learned and very well connected to powerful people.

1. What is your view of the value of reading and learning? What are some of the benefits of being well-educated? Is real life experience more valuable than academic knowledge?

2. What skills and/or knowledge are most essential for modern high-schoolers? Are schools in the United States meeting the needs of American children?

NEW WORDS FOR 2008

2009-02-03T08:14:00.000-08:00

Merriam-Webster's new dictionary words for 2008
By Paul Boutin, 3:40 PM on Tue Jul 8 2008, 7,196 views

Last year, the lexicographers at dictionary maker Merriam-Webster proclaimed w00t its Word of the Year. For 2008, they've added fanboy, webinar, netroots, and pretexting to the lexicon. Who cares? I do, because I find Merriam's online dictionary, more consistent, more focused, and better written than its wikified open dictionary or the Google results for define:pretexting. There'll be 100 or so new words in the Merriam-Webster's 2008 edition, due September 1. Meanwhile, I called the company and got the 25 most populist of the new entries as a teaser:

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition
2008 Copyright

New Entries

1. air quotes n pl (1989) : a gesture made by raising and flexing the index and middle fingers of both hands that is used to call attention to a spoken word or expression

2. dark energy n (1998) : a hypothetical form of energy that produces a force that opposes gravity and is thought to be the cause of the accelerating expansion of the universe

3. dirty bomb n (1956) : a bomb designed to release radioactive material

4. dwarf planet n (1993) : a celestial body that orbits the sun and has a spherical shape but is too small to disturb other objects from its orbit

5. edamame n (1951) : immature green soybeans usu. in the pod

6. fanboy n (1919) : a boy who is an enthusiastic devotee (as of comics or movies)

7. infinity pool n (1992) : an outdoor swimming pool having an edge over which water flows into a trough but seems to flow into the horizon

8. jukebox musical n (1993) : a musical that features popular songs from the past

9. kiteboarding n (1996) : the sport of riding on a small surfboard that is propelled across water by a large kite to which the rider is harnessed

10. malware n (1990) : software designed to interfere with a computer’s normal functioning

11. mental health day n (1971) : a day that an employee takes off from work in order to relieve stress or renew vitality

12. mondegreen n [fr. the mishearing in a Scottish ballad of “laid him on the green” as “Lady Mondegreen”] (1954) : a word or phrase that results from a mishearing of something said or sung

13. netroots n pl (2003) : the grassroots political activists who communicate via the Internet esp. by blogs

14. norovirus n (2002) : any of a genus of small round single-stranded RNA viruses; specif: Norwalk Virus

15. pescatarian n (1993) : a vegetarian whose diet includes fish

16. phytonutrient n (1994) : a bioactive plant-derived compound (as resveratrol) associated with positive health effects

17. pretexting n (1992) : the practice of presenting oneself as someone else in order to obtain private information

18. prosecco n (1881) : a dry Italian sparkling wine

19. racino n (1995) : a racetrack at which slot machines are available for gamblers

20. soju n (1978) : Korean vodka distilled from rice

21. subprime adj (1995) 1: having or being an interest rate that is higher than a prime rate and is extended esp. to low-income borrowers 2: extending or obtaining a subprime loan

22. supercross n (1983) : a motorcycle race held in a stadium on a dirt track having hairpin turns and high jumps

23. Texas Hold ’em n (1995) : poker in which each player is dealt two cards facedown and all players share five cards dealt faceup

24. webinar n (1998) : a live online educational presentation during which participating viewers can submit questions and comments

25. wing nut n (ca. 1900) 3 slang : one who advocates extreme measures or changes : radical

Parallelism

2009-02-02T11:17:00.001-08:00

Definition:

Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses. See the essay "Of Studies," by Francis Bacon.
Etymology:
From the Greek, "beside one another"

Examples:

* "It is by logic we prove, but by intuition we discover."
(Leonardo da Vinci)

* "The more we do, the more we can do."
(William Hazlitt)

* "Voltaire could both lick boots and put the boot in. He was at once opportunist and courageous, cunning and sincere. He managed, with disconcerting ease, to reconcile love of freedom with love of hours."
(Dominique Edde)

* "Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it’s precisely the opposite."
(John Kenneth Galbraith)

* "Truth is not a diet but a condiment."
(Christopher Morley)

* "When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative."
(Martin Luther King, Jr.)

* "Our transportation crisis will be solved by a bigger plane or a wider road, mental illness with a pill, poverty with a law, slums with a bulldozer, urban conflict with a gas, racism with a goodwill gesture."
(Philip Slater, The Pursuit of Loneliness)

* "I don’t want to live on in my work. I want to live on in my apartment."
(Woody Allen)

* "Buy a bucket of chicken and have a barrel of fun."
(slogan of Kentucky Fried Chicken)

* "The loss we felt was not the loss of ham but the loss of pig."
(E. B. White, "Death of a Pig")

* "Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal."
(T.S. Eliot)

* "Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible, and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious, and immature."
(Tom Robbins)

* "Today's students can put dope in their veins or hope in their brains. If they can conceive it and believe it, they can achieve it. They must know it is not their aptitude but their attitude that will determine their altitude."
(Jesse Jackson)

Watch one version of the Hamlet Act 3, Scene1 Soliloquy

2009-01-29T06:45:00.000-08:00

Fun with Shakespeare!

2009-01-29T06:41:00.000-08:00

CLICK here for Crazy Libs: Hamlet's Solilioquy

EXTRA CREDIT!!!! Millay Sonnet: What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why: MUST BE POSTED BY MIDNIGHT JANUARY 28th

2009-01-28T05:08:00.000-08:00

Be sure to either sign in or leave your name in your comment. (Sonnet XLIII)
by Edna St. Vincent Millay

What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why, I have forgotten, and what arms have lain Under my head till morning; but the rain Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh Upon the glass and listen for reply, And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain For unremembered lads that not again Will turn to me at midnight with a cry. Thus in winter stands the lonely tree, Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one, Yet knows its boughs more silent than before: I cannot say what loves have come and gone, I only know that summer sang in me A little while, that in me sings no more.

ReynoldsEnglish

2009-01-26T14:35:00.001-08:00

The Two Things Every High School Senior Should Know
High school students need to know that math and science are not the most important things to know heading into college. They need to know how to survive college and how to maintain a healthy financial picture.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/20198/the_two_things_every_high_school_senior.html

EXTRA CREDIT for English 12

2009-01-22T08:43:00.000-08:00

Earn Extra Points for doing one or all of the following:
20 points: Comment on Obama’s Inaugural Speech
20 points: Comment in response to Elizabeth Alexander’s inaugural poem
50 points: Post the sonnet you selected for Explication with a brief comment on why you picked it in the comment section for this post. Do not post your explication in your comment.

Robinson's Blessing

2009-01-20T10:51:00.000-08:00

“O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will bless us with tears -- tears for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women in many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless this nation with anger -- anger at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort at the easy, simplistic answers we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth about ourselves and our world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be fixed anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility, open to understanding that our own needs as a nation must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance, replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences.

Bless us with compassion and generosity, remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable.

And God, we give you thanks for your child, Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, inspire him with President Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for all people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our ship of state needs a steady, calm captain.

Give him stirring words; We will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking far too much of this one. We implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand, that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity, and peace. Amen."

Inaugural Poem

2009-01-20T10:49:00.000-08:00

The following is a transcript of the inaugural poem recited by Elizabeth Alexander, as provided by CQ transcriptions.

Praise song for the day.

Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others' eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky; A teacher says, "Take out your pencils. Begin."

We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, "I need to see what's on the other side; I know there's something better down the road."

We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."

Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.

In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light.

Poetry from Elizabeth Alexander

2009-01-20T10:30:00.001-08:00

Blues
by Elizabeth Alexander

I am lazy, the laziest
girl in the world. I sleep during
the day when I want to, 'til
my face is creased and swollen,
'til my lips are dry and hot. I
eat as I please: cookies and milk
after lunch, butter and sour cream
on my baked potato, foods that
slothful people eat, that turn
yellow and opaque beneath the skin.
Sometimes come dinnertime Sunday
I am still in my nightgown, the one
with the lace trim listing because
I have not mended it. Many days
I do not exercise, only
consider it, then rub my curdy
belly and lie down. Even
my poems are lazy. I use
syllabics instead of iambs,
prefer slant to the gong of full rhyme,
write briefly while others go
for pages. And yesterday,
for example, I did not work at all!
I got in my car and I drove
to factory outlet stores, purchased
stockings and panties and socks
with my father's money.

To think, in childhood I missed only
one day of school per year. I went
to ballet class four days a week
at four-forty-five and on
Saturdays, beginning always
with plie, ending with curtsy.
To think, I knew only industry,
the industry of my race
and of immigrants, the radio
tuned always to the station
that said, Line up your summer
job months in advance. Work hard
and do not shame your family,
who worked hard to give you what you have.
There is no sin but sloth. Burn
to a wick and keep moving.

I avoided sleep for years,
up at night replaying
evening news stories about
nearby jailbreaks, fat people
who ate fried chicken and woke up
dead. In sleep I am looking
for poems in the shape of open
V's of birds flying in formation,
or open arms saying, I forgive you, all.

I Have a Dream Video

2009-01-19T09:01:00.001-08:00

Martin Luther King - I Have A Dream @ Yahoo! Video

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

2009-01-12T05:10:00.000-08:00

(Sonnet 18)
by William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed; But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade, When in eternal lines to Time thou grow'st. So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

More Student Selected Sonnets

2009-01-09T07:39:00.000-08:00

This is an excellent example of a modern sonnet on a fascinating subject.
“There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,

And frogs in the pools singing at night,

And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And wild plum trees in tremulous white;

Robins will wear their feathery fire,

And not one will know of the war, not one

Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,

If mankind perished utterly;

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn

Would scarcely know that we were gone.” By- Ray Bradbury

Petrarch's Rima, Sonnet 134

I FIND no peace, and all my war is done;
I fear and hope; I burn and freeze like ice;
I fly above the wind, yet can I not arise;
And nought I have, and all the world I seize on;
That looseth nor locketh holdeth me in prison
And holdeth me not, yet can I 'scape nowise;
Nor letteth me live nor die at my device*, [by my own choice]
And yet of death it giveth none occasion.
Withouten eyen, I see; and without tongue I plain*; [lament]
I desire to perish, and yet I ask health;
I love another, and thus I hate myself;
I feed me in sorrow, and laugh in all my pain;
Likewise displeaseth me both death and life;
And my delight is causer of this strife.

Sir Thomas Wyatt

Comparing Petrarch and Shakespeare

2009-01-09T01:21:00.000-08:00

Sonnet 130 is the poet's pragmatic tribute to his uncomely mistress, commonly referred to as the dark lady because of her dun complexion. The dark lady, who ultimately betrays the poet, appears in sonnets 127 to 154.

Sonnet 130 is clearly a parody of the conventional love sonnet, made popular by Petrarch and, in particular, made popular in England by Sidney's use of the Petrarchan form in his epic poem Astrophel and Stella.

If you compare the stanzas of Astrophel and Stella to Sonnet 130, you will see exactly what elements of the conventional love sonnet Shakespeare is light-heartedly mocking. In Sonnet 130, there is no use of grandiose metaphor or allusion; he does not compare his love to Venus, there is no evocation to Morpheus, etc. The ordinary beauty and humanity of his lover are important to Shakespeare in this sonnet, and he deliberately uses typical love poetry metaphors against themselves. In Sidney's work, for example, the features of the poet's lover are as beautiful and, at times, more beautiful than the finest pearls, diamonds, rubies, and silk. In Sonnet 130, the references to such objects of perfection are indeed present, but they are there to illustrate that his lover is not as beautiful -- a total rejection of Petrarch form and content. Shakespeare utilizes a new structure, through which the straightforward theme of his lover’s simplicity can be developed in the three quatrains and neatly concluded in the final couplet.

Thus, Shakespeare is using all the techniques available, including the sonnet structure itself, to enhance his parody of the traditional Petrarchan sonnet typified by Sidney’s work. But Shakespeare ends the sonnet by proclaiming his love for his mistress despite her lack of adornment, so he does finally embrace the fundamental theme in Petrarch's sonnets: total and consuming love.

One final note: Shakespeare's reference to hair as 'wires' confuses modern readers because we assume it to mean our current definition of wire, i.e., a thread of metal, which is hardly a fitting word in the context of the poem. However, to a Renaissance reader, wire would refer to the finely-spun gold threads woven into fancy hair nets. Many poets of the time used this term as a benchmark of beauty, including Spenser:

Some angel she had been,
Her long loose yellow locks like golden wire,
Sprinkled with pearl, and pearling flowers atween,
Do like a golden mantle her attire,
And being crowned with a garland green.
(Epithal).

Dead Poets Society Clip

2009-01-08T09:50:00.001-08:00

Marvell's Mistress

2009-01-06T17:49:00.000-08:00

Lesson Questions for Today:

What is the theme and purpose of Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress"?
How does the poem demonstrate the carpe diem theme?
What is a hyperbole?
What is personification?

As with the last poem, this poem also is based on the theme of carpe diem. Also, the writer is again trying to convince women to live and love for the moment.

This poem is the most famous invitation to love in English. Nobody has ever assumed that Marvell, a bachelor, was writing to a particular woman, yet the poem is much deeper than others of its kind. In the poem, the speaker talks about human mortality very vividly. He does this to convince his girlfriend being immoral and sinful while alive is better than being a dead person who was good. What do you think about that?

Another name for this poem could be "To his cold, standoffish girlfriend."

This poem is longer than some others we have read, and some of the language may be confusing. First, read through the poem, and then we will focus on breaking it up into parts and analyzing it.

You may also read the poem in your online textbook on pages 267-268. If you click on the bullhorn icon, you can listen to the poem be read.

To His Coy Mistress

Had we but world enough, and time,
This coyness, lady, were no crime.
We would sit down and think which way
To walk, and pass our long love's day;
Thou by the Indian Ganges' side
Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide
Of Humber would complain. I would
Love you ten years before the Flood;
And you should, if you please, refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews.
My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires, and more slow.
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;
Two hundred to adore each breast,
But thirty thousand to the rest;
An age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your heart.
For, lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at lower rate.

But at my back I always hear
Time's winged chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.
Thy beauty shall no more be found,
Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound
My echoing song; then worms shall try
That long preserved virginity,
And your quaint honor turn to dust,
And into ashes all my lust.
The grave's a fine and private place,
But none I think do there embrace.

Now therefore, while the youthful hue
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
And while thy willing soul transpires
At every pore with instant fires,
Now let us sport us while we may;
And now, like amorous birds of prey,
Rather at once our time devour,
Than languish in his slow-chapped power.
Let us roll all our strength, and all
Our sweetness, up into one ball;
And tear our pleasures with rough strife
Thorough the iron gates of life.
Thus, though we cannot make our sun
Stand still, yet we will make him run.

Marvell uses several hyperboles in this poem. Hyperbole is a literary term for an exaggeration or overstatement.

Marvell also uses personification. Personification is when a human trait is given to a non-human thing.

Assignment:

In this poem, the speaker is arguing his point to his girlfriend. His argument has three main points. Take a look at each of the following sections, and answer the questions for each section.

Lines 1-20: If we had time enough, we could take our time and court each other forever!
1. What are three examples of hyperboles that Marvell uses to show how long he would spend praising his girlfriend if he had time?
Lines 21-32: But time is short and old age and death come very quickly.
2. How is "time" personified in these lines? (What does Marvell say time is?)
3. What are two creepy, disturbing images that Marvell uses in an attempt to scare his girlfriend into listening to him?
Lines 33-46: So let us make the most of the time we have.
4. What does Marvell say they should do while they have time?

We will be discussing this poem in our chat. Come for help!

Herrick's Advice to the Young

2009-01-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

What is the theme and purpose of Herrick's "To the Virgins..." ?
How does the poem demonstrate the carpe diem theme?

Carpe diem means SEIZE THE DAY! It is a term that urges living and loving in the present moment, since life and earthly pleasure cannot last forever.

The first line of this little lyric, Herrick's most popular poem, has been a metaphorical part of our language ever since the nineteenth century, when Herrick was discovered by people interested in Renaissance literature. Instead of courting one woman, as in most carpe diem poems, Herrick addresses all virgins, or young women.

In the poem, the term "virgins" means "young women."

You may also read the poem in your online textbook on page 265. If you click on the bullhorn icon, you can listen to the poem be read.

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a flying:
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying.

The glorious Lamp of Heaven, the Sun,
The higher he's a getting;
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he's to setting.

That age is best, which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Then be not coy, but use your time;

And while ye may, go marry:
For having lost but once your prime,
You may for ever tarry.

Assignment:

Answer the following questions. Use complete sentences, and check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

1. Robert Herrick was a priest, but he wasn't a traditional "man of the cloth." He called the place where he preached "dull." He kept a pet pig and taught it to drink beer from a mug. Once, he threw his sermon book at a congregation because he said they looked bored. Also, he wrote this poem. Why might it be ironic for a priest to write a poem with this theme?

2. What threat does the speaker in the poem make?

3. What two examples of nature does Herrick use to demonstrate that time is passing quickly?

4. In your own words, summarize the advice Herrick is giving to young people.

5. Herrick is using "Rosebuds" metaphorically. What do you think the rosebuds represent?

Fredrico's Falcon Recording

2008-11-23T14:12:00.000-08:00

A Wonderful recording of Miette's Bedtime Story Podcast:Giovanni Boccaccio, Federico's Falcon (The Decameron)

LISTEN HERE!!!

The Story of Federigo's Falcon (Fifth Day, Ninth Tale)

Much as I would love to read the entire Decameron, and one day maybe I will (when the sound quality is improved to the point where I no longer sound like a podcastrati... and yes I am working on it!), for now, here's enough of an excerpt to give you pleasantest of dreams of romance in the time of plague. Besides, it doesn't get much more hypercritically metatextual, reading a bedtime story that is a bedtime story being read.

Until the day comes when I'm able to read the entire book, when you and I are all up all night tossing with the need for more words (and what a day that'll be), you can read The Decameron yourselves if you want to pay for it.

Now, please go to bed. You need your rest. Sweet dreams. Don't eat fowl.

Miette's Bedtime Story Podcast: Giovanni Boccaccio, Federico's Falcon (The Decameron)

Sensationalism at it's best!!!

2008-11-06T18:55:00.000-08:00

Popular Hollywood Couple Narrowly Escapes Abduction

On October 18th of this year,Hollywood “it” couple Cassidy James and David Young were getting ready for a night out on the town when the unthinkable happened. A pair of escaped criminals set on kidnapping the couple and holding them for ransom found their way into James’ and Young’s prestigious apartment building. How,you ask,did two scoundrels like this manage to enter such an upscale establishment? Well,it was just a matter of good timing. The criminals entered the building’s lush lobby around 8:30 pm to find the building’s security guard fast asleep in his armchair. Knowing an opportunity when they saw one,the two men whose identities have not yet been given out took the elevator to the building’s seventeenth floor. Once in the hallway right outside of the couple’s apartment,the criminals knew they would have to come up with a plan.
While the kidnappers planned in the hallway,James and Young were having another one of their arguments that they are known for. James,who had been preparing a light dinner for the two before their excursion,refused to turn on their security system because she was too busy. Young claimed that he,busy downloading music,was also too busy to activate the system. It was a whole ten feet away,and that was just too far to walk. So the couple decided to have a silence contest where the first person who spoke would have to turn the security system on. The two went twenty or so minutes without a problem,and it was looking like the apartment was just never going to be secured. That’s when they heard the men outside. “I’ll grab the valuables…” “And I’ll get to kiss the Cassidy James. Talk about a dream come true!” The young couple was more than a little shaken to overhear such a conversation,but James held out. Young didn’t have as much composure. “Get out before I call the cops!” the young man yelled from the couch that he was still sitting on. The criminals,surprised by the sudden noise,fled. They ran down seventeen flights of stairs and made it as far as a block from the building before being apprehended by authorities.
After being taken into custody,the two men admitted that they’d planned to kidnap the couple. The couple,seemingly unfazed by the event,went out to a local band’s show later that night. They did,however,remember to turn their security system on when they came home that night,and the night watchman was given a four-pack of Redbull,just in case.

Write a Letter to the next President for 100 extra credit points

2008-11-06T05:16:00.000-08:00

Letters to the Next President: Writing Our Future is an online writing and publishing project for students, ages 13 - 18, co-sponsored by Google and the National Writing Project. They invited young people to write about the issues and concerns that they feel are central to their future, issues they would hope our next president would act on. Topics were chosen by the students themselves to reflect their specific personal, regional, and age-related interests.

Click Here to see the site where you can post your letter, read letters from others and vote for your favorite.

Post your letter as comment here by November 6th for 100 points.

Extra Credit! Must be posted before November 6th

2008-11-06T05:14:00.000-08:00

Creat Your Own Frame Story
Write your own prologue to a modern frame story. Set your frame story in an airport or a bus station where people are waiting or on a tour or a pilgrimage like the ones described in the Closer Look on page 128. Or you might choose to establish your frame by using people stranded by a storm or waiting for rescue from an accident. You will have to decide who your narrator will be and who the travelers will be and what their professions are. Model your prologue on Chaucer’s, and describe your travelers in such a way that their inner natures are revealed.

Your prologue must be at least two paragraphs and posted here as a commnet in order to recieve 100 Bonus Points

Decameron Movie

2008-11-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

Hayden Christensen Takes the Lead in "The Decameron"

From "Star Wars" to the Adaptation of a 14th Century Classic

By Rebecca Murray, About.com

Filed In:

Feb 14 2005

"Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" star Hayden Christensen has signed on to star in the movie adaptation of "The Decameron," to be written and directed by David Leland.

Christensen joins Mischa Barton ("The O.C.") in the movie adaptation of Giovanni Boccaccio's classic Italian tales which inspired works by Chaucer, Shakespeare and Keats.

"The Decameron" follows 10 young Florentines who escape from the plague by retreating to an Italian villa in the countryside. At the villa, the 10 keep each other entertained by telling one new tale each night for the 100 days they are in seclusion.

Screenwriter David Leland describes the story as, "Part fable, part parable, part history, the hundred stories told in Boccaccio's 'The Decameron' are raked from all layers of 14th century Florentine society. Gathered over food and wine at the tables of the nobility, from criminals and sailors in dock-side bars, these fabulous adventures are the product of an imaginative and fertile mind. They are mysterious and irreverent, disrespectful of authority and hypocrisy. They are funny, dangerous and sexy and go to the heart of human experience in a time when people believed the Black Plague that ravaged Florence in 1348 signaled the end of the world. Bursting with health and vitality, the stories of 'The Decameron' are as alive today as when they were written over 600 years ago."

Production is expected to start in April in Rome and Tuscany.

Prologue Introduction

2008-10-31T08:19:00.000-07:00

The Canterbury Tales: Snapshot of an Age
The Canterbury Tales gives us a collection of good stories and a snapshot, a picture of life in the Middle Ages frozen in time. To include the complete range of medieval society in the same picture, Chaucer places his characters on a pilgrimage, a religious journey made to a shrine or holy place. These pilgrims, like a group of people on tour today, are from many stations and stages of life. Together they travel on horseback from London to the shrine of the martyr Saint Thomas à Becket at Canterbury Cathedral, about fifty-five miles to the southeast.
Setting up the frame. The Tales begin with a general Prologue, the first lines of which establish that this pilgrimage takes place in the spring, the time of new life and awakening. Fifty-five miles is a long journey by horseback, especially along muddy tracks that would hardly pass as roads today. An inn was always a welcome oasis, even if it provided few luxuries. The poet-pilgrim narrator, whom many consider to be Chaucer himself, starts out at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, a borough in the south of London. There he meets twenty-nine other pilgrims also bound for Canterbury. It is the host of the Tabard who suggests to the pilgrims, as they sit around the fire after dinner, that they exchange tales to pass the time along the way to Canterbury and back to London. The host’s suggestion sets up Chaucer’s frame story—the main story of the pilgrimage that includes each pilgrim’s story.
A pageant of medieval life. As the Prologue progresses and we are introduced to the pilgrims, Chaucer’s brilliant picture of life in late medieval England comes into focus. Here is what Nevill Coghill, one of Chaucer’s translators, says about the Prologue:
"In all literature there is nothing that touches or resembles the Prologue. It is the concise portrait of an entire nation, high and low, old and young, male and female, lay and clerical, learned and ignorant, rogue and righteous, land and sea, town and country, but without extremes. Apart from the stunning clarity, touched with nuance, of the characters presented, the most noticeable thing about them is their normality. They are the perennial progeny of men and women. Sharply individual, together they make a party."
At its most basic level, Chaucer’s great work operates on several levels. As a pilgrimage story, it is one of the world’s many quest narratives, and it moves from images of spring and awakening at the beginning of the Prologue to images of penance, death, and eternal life in the Parson’s tale at the end of the work. The storytellers themselves are pilgrims in search of renewal at the shrine of Thomas à Becket. Coming as they do from all walks of life and all social classes, they cannot help but represent “everyman,” or all of us, on our universal pilgrimage through life.
Chaucer’s Middle English is here translated into Modern English by Nevill Coghill. While Coghill’s version is true to the spirit of Chaucer’s original poem, you might attempt to read at least bits of the Tales in the wonderfully musical original. (See the beginning of the Prologue in its original Middle English on page 119.)
The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales
Make the Connection
If you went on a tour today, what types of people would you expect to meet? Most of Chaucer’s pilgrims are the kinds of people he would have known and perhaps even observed many times riding toward Canterbury on the old pilgrimage road.
Literary Focus
Characterization
To create the portraits of his pilgrims, Chaucer uses the same methods of characterization that writers still use today. He reveals his characters by telling us
• how the character looks and dresses
• how the character speaks and acts
• what the character thinks and feels
• how others respond to the character
He also may tell us directly what the character’s nature is—virtuous, vain, clever, and so on.
Frame Story
When Chaucer chooses to have each of his pilgrims tell a story on the way to Canterbury, he is using a popular literary device called the frame story. A frame story is a story within a story. Chaucer uses the outer story of the pilgrimage to unite his travelers’ individual tales, but the tales themselves also have thematic unity.

Characterization is the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character. A frame story is a story that serves to bind together several different narratives.
For more on Character and the Frame Story, see the Handbook of Literary and Historical Terms.

Reading Skills
Analyzing Style: Key Details
With twenty-nine pilgrims to introduce in the Prologue, Chaucer could not develop any one character at great length. Instead, he had to provide a few well-chosen details that would make each character stand out vividly.
As you read the descriptions of each pilgrim in the Prologue, jot down striking details of dress, appearance, and behavior that give you an immediate impression of what the character is really like. Note that these telling details often undermine what the characters think of themselves or would like others to think about them.

Sensationalism in Ballads

2008-10-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

Lesson Objective: Determine how is the sensationalism in Medieval ballads comparable to sensational news stories and entertainment today?

THREE DEAD SONS VISIT MOTHER FOR DINNER

SLIGHTED WOMAN SPURNS LOVERS DEATHBED REQUEST

MAIDEN HEADED FOR GALLOWS; FAMILY REFUSES HELP.

These are not the latest tabloid headlines or current soap-opera summaries; they are the plots of medieval ballads. In the Middle Ages, just as today, certain forms of popular entertainment tended toward the sensational.

Ballads were the poetry of the people, just as popular songs are today, and their subjects were predictably popular domestic tragedy, false love, true love, the absurdity of husband-wife relationships, and the supernatural. Unlike todays music, ballads were not copyrighted by a composer but were passed down orally from singer to singer. Using a strong beat and repetition, ballads were a gift of story passed from performer to performer, from generation to generation.

Take one of the basic situations in either Bar the Door or Lord Randall, and retell it as a contemporary news story. Like a reporter, be sure to tell what happened, where and when it happened, to whom it happened, why it happened, and how it happened.

Choose a headline for your story, and then be sure to cover the what, where, when, who, why, and how aspects in your story.

Extra credit: Email me a drawing or photo that could be used as a graphic for your story. You may draw one of the scenes from either of the ballads.

Welcome to the Middle Ages

2008-10-26T10:42:00.000-07:00

In this collection, you will be introduced to the Middle Ages. You probably remember some things about the time period from other courses. This will serve as a small review. You will also be introduced to some new material.

The Middle Ages lasted from 1066 to 1485. For our unit on the Middle Ages, you will become familiar with the works of major writers of the time period. You will also learn about major literary forms, such as the ballad and the romance, used by writers of the time. The centerpiece of our unit will be an excerpt from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

To begin, I would like you to do the same thing for this lesson that you did for our first lesson on the Anglo Saxons. Read the introduction to Collection Two in your Elements of Literature text book pages 89-105. In addition, explore all parts of this website:

The Middle Ages

In the free response box, respond to these questions:

What effects did the Norman invasion have on the way the English were governed?

What were the main features of feudalism? How did feudalism change the social structure of Anglo-Saxon England?

What developments in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries began to undermine the feudal system?

Also, write one fact that you learned from each of the website's categories. So, you should have a fact for feudal life, religion, homes, clothing, health, arts and entertainment, and town life.

Please use complete sentences, and check your work for coherence, spelling, and grammar.

Poets’ Corner

2008-10-21T05:19:00.000-07:00

Poets’ Corner is the name traditionally given to a section of the South Transept of Westminster Abbey due to the number of poets, playwrights, and writers now buried and commemorated there.

The first person to be interred there was Geoffrey Chaucer, whose burial in the abbey owed more to his position as Clerk of Works of the Palace of Westminster than to his fame as a writer. However, the erection of a magnificent tomb by Nicholas Brigham to Chaucer in the middle of the sixteenth century and the nearby burial of Edmund Spenser in 1599 started a tradition that is still upheld, although the area also houses the tombs of several Canons and Deans of the abbey. Also buried here is Thomas Parr, who it is said died at the age of 152 in 1635 after having seen ten sovereigns on the throne.

Burial or commemoration in the Abbey did not always occur at or soon after the time of death. Lord Byron, for example, whose poetry was admired but who maintained a scandalous lifestyle, died in 1824 but was not given a memorial until 1969. Even William Shakespeare, buried at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1616, was not honoured with a monument until 1740 when one designed by William Kent was constructed in Poets' Corner.

Not all poets appreciated memorialisation and Samuel Wesley's epitaph for Samuel Butler, who supposedly died in poverty, continued Butler's satiric tone:

While Butler, needy wretch, was yet alive,
No generous patron would a dinner give;
See him, when starv'd to death, and turn'd to dust,
Presented with a monumental bust.
The poet's fate is here in emblem shown,
He ask'd for bread, and he received a stone.

[edit] People buried in Poets' Corner

* Robert Adam
* Robert Browning
* William Camden
* Thomas Campbell
* Geoffrey Chaucer
* William Congreve
* Abraham Cowley
* William Davenant
* Charles Dickens
* Adam Fox
* John Dryden
* David Garrick
* John Gay
* Thomas Hardy
* Dr Samuel Johnson
* Rudyard Kipling
* Thomas Macaulay
* John Masefield
* Laurence Olivier, Baron Olivier
* Thomas Parr
* Matthew Prior
* Charles de Saint-Évremond
* Richard Brinsley Sheridan
* Edmund Spenser
* Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson

[edit] People commemorated with memorials in Poets' Corner

* Jane Austen
* John Betjeman
* William Blake
* Charlotte Brontë
* Anne Brontë
* Emily Brontë
* Rupert Brooke
* Fanny Burney
* Robert Burns
* Samuel Butler
* Lord Byron
* Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll)
* Thomas Stearns Eliot
* Oliver Goldsmith
* Adam Lindsay Gordon
* Thomas Gray
* Robert Herrick
* Gerard Manley Hopkins
* Alfred Edward Housman
* Henry James
* John Keats
* Jenny Lind
* Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
* Christopher Marlowe
* John Milton
* John Ruskin
* Walter Scott
* William Shakespeare
* Percy Bysshe Shelley
* William Makepeace Thackeray
* Dylan Thomas
* Anthony Trollope
* Oscar Wilde
* William Wordsworth
* Noel Coward

Ballads from the Middle Ages

2008-10-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

Lesson Questions for Today: (You do not need to answer these questions. They are here to guide you)

* What is a ballad?
* What are some well-known ballads from the Middle Ages?

Review page 108 in your text book for the full history and definition of a ballad.

The definition of a ballad:

A song or songlike poem

Sensational or tragic subject matter

Omitted details

Supernatural events

A refrain (a repeated word, line, or group of lines)

Read the famous ballad from the Middle Ages: Lord Randall on page 109.
I strongly suggest that you click the bullhorn graphic at the top of the poem to hear it read. It is much easier to understand if you do so!

The ballad is made up of a conversation between a mother and her son. The son has returned from a long day, and the mother senses that something is wrong. She keeps asking questions to figure out what has happened.
Assignment:

After you have listened to and read the poem, please explain which parts of the poem make it a ballad. For instance, what are the sensational and tragic things that happen in the poem? This will show me that you understand what a ballad is, and that you understand what Lord Randall is about. If you are having difficulty understanding the poem, let me know, and I will help you.

Father takes son to court for idleness

2008-10-17T11:28:00.001-07:00

LAGOS (Reuters) - A father took his 20-year old son to an Islamic court in northern Nigeria for idleness, asking that he be sent to prison for refusing to engage in productive activities, state news agency NAN said Friday.

"He is not listening to words and he is bringing shame to my family. I am tired of his nefarious deeds. Please put this boy in prison so that I can be free," Sama'ila Tahir, a market trader in the northeastern town of Bauchi, was quoted as saying.

Tahir told the court that his son had refused to go to school and accused him of belonging to a criminal gang.

The court sentenced the son to six months in prison and 30 strokes of the cane -- which were immediately administered on the premises -- for being disobedient to his parents, NAN said.

Phillies in the World Series!!

2008-10-16T11:48:00.000-07:00

Teens, Slang and the Internet

2008-10-07T12:32:00.000-07:00

The Boston Globe
Talk amongst yourselves
While teens still 'marinate,' slang travels faster these days with help of the Internet

By Taryn Plumb, Globe Correspondent | October 4, 2007

Much like a condiment, "gnar" can punch up almost any sentence.

Eighteen-year-old Casey Aylward employs the throaty derivative of "gnarly" in instances where everyday adjectives can't quite describe his shock, distaste, amazement, or admiration.

Example? The Groveland teen referred to a stylized skateboarding trick he witnessed recently with "That was gnar!"

"Gnar is its own entity," mused Aylward, standing on the Hampton Beach strip, shaggy thicket of brown hair corralled by a backwards baseball cap.

Other colorful expressions in his cache include "bunk," for disgust, "dank" in cases where "awesome" might normally apply, and "smash" for contentment.

"It's more or less just coming up with your own stuff," he said from behind mirrored sunglasses reflecting hordes of pedestrians, right hand flicking a half-smoked cigarette. He and his friends "take expressions that have been around for a while and make them our own."

Walk up to anybody anywhere - whether it's Hampton Beach's main boulevard, a swarming city street, or even a white-collar office building - and you'll get a notebook-full of slang. Everyone, the teen crowd especially, has a reservoir of witty, inventive, and sometimes crude sayings - so much so that it might seem like lingo has overrun formal American English. In some cases, it has, with terms such as "dis" and "phat" finding their places in modern dictionaries.

But while it's tough to quantify whether slang is, in fact, more prevalent these days, it's clear there's a growing effort to create, share, catalog, and foster it.

A Web search of "slang," for instance, yields an ecosystem of sites, covering anything from 1960s flower child lingo to Japanese jargon. The giant of those is urbandictionary.com, a wellspring of slang that contains more than a million entries - with at least 2,000 new ones a day - and allows users to vote on and contribute their own unique phrases. Since its launch in 2001, the site's popularity has skyrocketed, according to Alexa.com, a company that tracks Internet trends; site traffic has grown 7 percent in the past three months.

In addition, there are the traditional and continuing drivers of slang: hip-hop, linguistically creative TV shows like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and hundreds of books, such as "Knickers in a Twist: A Dictionary of British Slang."

Noting its prevalence, some scholars and philologists - thought to be the traditional defenders of proper English - even call slang an essential component of speech.

"It enriches language," said Rod Kessler, a professor of English at Salem State College who pointed out that Geoffrey Chaucer used some risque slang in his landmark work, "The Canterbury Tales."

"You show creativity when you use slang. It's colorful, picturesque, imaginative, and shocking."

Poetic, too, says Michael Adams, an English professor at Indiana University Bloomington and author of the book, "Slang: The People's Poetry." For instance, slang is inherently metaphorical, he explains - take the perennial favorites "what's up" and "cool," which ultimately have nothing to do with gravity or temperature. Also, "it allows people to be inventive," he said. "Everybody has the capacity to make it up."

Madeleine Revill and her friends certainly do.

Their unusual way of speaking involves playfully clipping the endings from words - a technique they call "abbrevs."

The abbrevs most frequently peppering the Middleton 16-year-old's speech include "presh," "essench," "whatev," "ridic," "awk," "totes," and "obvi." To decode: precious, essentially, whatever, ridiculous, awkward, totally, and obvious.

As for using them in a sentence: Someone with "ish" ("issues") might create an "awk" (awkward) situation because they're acting like "a sketch."

"Why do I abbreve? It's just fun. People laugh at it," said Revill. "It sets me and my friends apart from other people. It's our own language."

Aylward and his crowd have similarly improvised their own dialect.

If they want to get going, for instance, they say "let's hit it" or "let's get hustlin'."

If they see a good-looking girl, she's "slammin" or "brutal." (Those with less luck in the beauty lingo department get hit with "haggard.")

If they're talking amongst themselves, they use "son" or "bro."

They occasionally pull out some retro terms, too, including "rad," "solid," "tubular," and "peace out."

"We try to keep it real sick," said Aylward, taking a cigarette break from his job emptying quarters from arcade games and loading piles of candy into claw machines at Hampton's Funarama.

Alyward's "bro," 19-year-old Ryan Jackson of Merrimack, N.H., agreed, "We try to bring West Coast back, with a lot of vintage slang."

Stratham, N.H., 16-year-old Ellie Willis's supply of maxims is also of the Cali persuasion.

"The cheese" refers to money, and "emo" is a qualifier for overly sensitive people, she explained as she prepared slushies and sugar-sprinkled gobs of batter at Blink's Fry Doe on the Hampton strip. And if she's bored? "I'm gonna commit."

Given that expanse of tastes - and the fact that slang comes and goes rather quickly - it's difficult to pinpoint trends or determine which phrases are ragingly popular and which are stale. "Cool can't be universal," noted Adams. "That's against the whole purpose of slang." Which is, he explained, to test social limits. "Slang is an instrument of rebellion."

While most teens didn't put it so bluntly, many did defend their freedom to speak as they choose.

"I don't want people telling me I can't say what I want," Kelly Sunderland, 18, who lives in Pepperell but "chills in Bedford."

"The way people talk shows how different they are."

Her most flavorful phrasings have to do with coming and going: For the former, she'll "post up"; for the latter, she "dips."

She admitted - none too regrettably - that her mother often responds to the way she talks with quizzical looks.

Naturally, though, not all adults are flummoxed by today's barrage of sometimes-indecipherable teen lingo.

John Walsh, a 41-year-old from Hampton, for instance, said it's important for each generation to have their own idiom. He compared language to branded clothing, noting, "It gives teenagers a way to be part of a group."

In some cases, adults, too. Greg Revill of Salem, for his part, found his daughter's pruned manner of speaking so catchy that he adopted a few phrases, including "whatev," "awk," and, for extreme instances of weirdness, "awk city."

"Color in any language is good," he said.

Madeleine shares that mindset. "If everyone talked the same way," she said, "everyone would be the same."

And that, as Aylward might say, would be gnar.

Illiad Part Two

2008-10-02T18:05:00.000-07:00

Homer was a great Anglo Saxon writer. He wrote what we call epic poems: Very lengthy, detailed, exciting poems full of adventure. You may have heard of The Odyssey, another of Homer's pieces. Have you seen the movie Troy? It was based on some of Homer's poetry.
You may click here to read more about Homer.
Today, you will be using your Holt Online textbook (my.hrw.com) to read the first half of an excerpt from The Iliad, one of Homer's most famous works. The text is challenging--but treat it as a game! Can you understand what is being said? Once you can, the story is very exciting... it gets kind of gory, too...
Here is some background information to get you started:
When the story begins, the war between the Greeks and the Trojans has been going on for over 10 years! Each army has fought bravely, and each army has the help of the gods. The goddess, Athena, has been helping Achilles and the Greeks. The god, Apollo, has been helping Hector and the Trojans.
Hector has killed Patroclus, Achilles best friend. But, that's not it! Hector stripped the armor off of Patroclus, and left his body there, exposed and unburied. Achilles is FURIOUS. Not only did Hector kill his best friend, he didn't give him a correct burial, either! Greeks believed that if people were not buried correctly, their souls could not find rest.
Achilles wants REVENGE. When the story opens, Achilles is running towards Hector; he wants to kill him. At first, Hector is brave and will not go in the Trojan gates--he wants to meet Achilles and fight to the death. But then, he chickens out and starts to run. Achilles chases him.....
Assignment
Sign into your account at my.hrw.com. Then, go to page 57 in the online book to begin reading.
To help you understand what is happening in the story, I'd like you to answer each of the following questions, as you come across certain lines in the text. Please answer the questions in the free response box.
When you get to line 18 Answer this question:
Achilles keeps preventing Hector from getting close to the city gates, where his friends can give him extra weapons!
What words and comparisons describe Achilles speed?
When you get to line 31 Answer this question:
How does Zeus decide the fates of Hector and Achilles? What is the final judgment?
When you get to line 52 Answer this question:
What does Athena tell Achilles she is going to do? How does Athena trick Hector?
When you get to line 79 Answer this question:
What does Hector vow? Why does he now have courage?
When you get to line 98 Answer this question:
What pact has Hector offered Achilles? Why does Achilles refuse the pact?
When you get to line 117 Answer this question:
Hector gains confidence when Achilles first attack is unsuccessful.
What is Hector unaware of? What do you think will happen next??
That's as far as you have to read in this lesson. In the next lesson, you will continue reading.

In the last lesson, you read the first half of the excerpt from the Iliad. Today, you will finish the excerpt and answer some more questions.
Remember to come to the help chat on Tuesday, September 25th at 3pm for a help session on this portion of the text!
As you know...
The Trojan war has been going on for many years. In this part of the story, Hector and Achilles are fighting. Zeus has already decided that Hector will be the one to die in battle, but Hector does not know that! Athena the goddess is on Achilles side, and transformed herself to look like Hector's brother, Deiphobus. With Deiphobus on his side, Hector becomes braver.
Achilles missed the first time he threw his spear at Hector, and Hector begins making fun of him! Little does he know, Athena gave Achilles spear back to him. At this part of the story, Achilles has his spear back, and Hector is running toward him, getting ready to throw his own spear.

Assignment
Sign into your account at my.hrw.com. Then, go to page 62 in the online book to begin reading.
To help you understand what is happening in the story, I'd like you to answer each of the following questions, as you come across certain lines in the text. Please answer the questions in the free response box.
When you get to line 139 Answer this question:
What truth does Hector now realize? What does he decide to do?
When you get to line 155 Answer this question:
What descriptive words does Homer use to create a vivid image of AchillesÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ charge?
When you get to line 165 Answer this question:
Here we are reminded that Hector is wearing Achilles old armor. Achilles had given the armor to his dear friend Patroclus, whom Hector had killed.
How does Achilles mortally wound Hector?
When you get to line 182 Answer this question:
This exchange between Hector and Achilles emphasizes the importance the Greeks and Trojans placed on a proper burial. Without fitting rites, both men believed, the soul of the departed would never find rest.
What does Hector plead?
When you get to line 194 Answer this question:
How does Achilles react to Hectors plea?
When you get to line 218 Answer this question:
Achilles comrades gather around the great warrior and the body of his victim.
What do the Greek soldiers do to Hectors body?
When you get to line 253 Answer this question:
Achilles anger is so great that he cannot stop at merely killing Hector.
How is Hectors body transported from the scene of death? How do you feel as you read this description?

Homer and the Iliad Part One

2008-10-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

Hector one of top five hot literary characters

2008-10-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

Five Hot Fictional Characters
by Jamelah Earle November 29, 2007 10:42 pm

CLASSICS, FICTION

1. Hector - The Iliad

Out of the classical epics that have to do with the Trojan War, there are several characters that could potentially go on this list of hotties, because let's face it -- they were pretty badass, and all that fighting has to add hotness points. But Hector is the only one who comes to mind when I think about which ones weren't total jerks. Achilles? Murderous jerk. Agamemnon? Cheating jerk. Paris? Wimpy jerk. Odysseus? Jerk noted for his lying ability. Hector? Not really a jerk at all. Actually rather noble and decent to his family. There you go.

2. Beatrice - Much Ado About Nothing

Beatrice has long been one of my very favorite Shakespearian heroines because she is smart, funny, and strong, and for these reasons, I think she ranks among the hottest as well (way hotter than her cousin Hero who gets most of the attention in the play). Incredibly gifted in the art of verbal sparring (which definitely wins points with me), she could cut someone dead with a single comment, yet even though she does a good job hiding it, she is vulnerable too, soft enough to fall in love, though of course only with Benedick, her very able sparring partner. She's fiery too, raging against the injustice done her cousin: "O God, that I were a man! I would eat his heart in the market-place." She's pretty awesome.

3. Sam Spade - The Maltese Falcon

It would never work out between us, I know this is true. But since I go into most relationships armed with this knowledge, this is not a roadblock. Sam Spade is cool as hell, slightly rumpled, with a cynical grin that I imagine is completely disarming. Let's say it is. Other than the fact that "he looked rather pleasantly like a blond Satan," which, despite all those years of Sunday School I went to, is pretty hot, I fell for Sam Spade a little bit when he tells the femme fatale "I hope to Christ they don't hang you, precious, by that sweet neck." I'm not sure what that says about me, that this was the line that really got me, and it's probably best if I don't think about it too much. Anyway, in this entirely fictional scenario, I don't know who would leave whom in the end, but I'm sure it would involve sneaking out in the early morning, no notes, no apologies, it was what it was, but it's time to move on, sweetheart.

4. Elizabeth Bennet - Pride and Prejudice

Despite my crush on Emma's Mr. Knightley, I have to say that when it comes to hot characters to come out of Jane Austen novels, Elizabeth Bennet wins easily. Clever and quick-witted, active and lively, she doesn't just sit around in drawing rooms and embroider things. Sometimes mildly self-deprecating, yet strong enough to speak her mind, she's smart and feisty and completely timeless. And a total hit at parties.

5. James Bond - take your pick

Certainly best known from the films, I say he counts because he first appeared in a novel. And really, is there a fictional character hotter than James Bond? No. There's something to be said for a man who looks dashing in a tuxedo. It's a very handy skill to have. Also, he drives the best cars. And always gets the bad guy. And did I mention the tuxedo thing? And yes, I know this has to do with a film version, but after I saw Casino Royale I texted a friend and said "I want to be James Bond when I grow up." Even though I don't want to be a guy or a British secret agent or wear tuxedos or really even drink martinis (I'm more of a bourbon kind of girl), it's totally true.

War Poetry and the Illiad

2008-10-01T04:34:00.000-07:00

War Poetry

Listen Now:

Weekend Edition Sunday, April 6, 2003 · Weekend Edition begins a Sunday series on war-related poems for April, which is National Poetry Month. The first selection is from a new anthology, Women on War (The Feminist Press; ISBN: 1558614095), read by the book's editor, Daniela Gioseffi. The second is from Homer's The Iliad (Penguin USA; ISBN: 0140275363), read by its translator, Princeton University's Robert Fagles.

Reflecting on Hector

2008-10-01T04:31:00.000-07:00

Commentary: 'Troy' the Movie and Homer's 'The Illiad'

Listen HERE

Day to Day, May 14, 2004 · Amidst the hype surrounding the movie Troy, Wellesley College classics professor Brendan Reay comments on the true essence of Homer's epic poem of the doomed love affair and the siege of ancient Troy, The Iliad.

1 in 10 schools are 'dropout factories'

2008-09-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

Read this article HERE.

Class Notes September 23rd

2008-09-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today’s Objectives:
Examine Parallel Novels
Read and Respond to Beowulf

Parallel Novels
This novel is one of most famous examples of a parallel novel. A parallel novel is a work of fiction that exists within, or derives from, the framework of another work of fiction by another author. They usually have the same setting and time period, and many of the same characters, but are told from a different perspective. Examples include:

Wicked by Gregory Maguire parallels The Wizard of Oz
The Wind Done Gone by Alice Randall parallels Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell)
The Hours by Michael Cunningham parallels Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Do you know any others??? Tell me Friday!
Gardner’s Grendel
Completed in 1970.
As a professor of English specializing in medieval literature, Gardner had been teaching Beowulf, the source of inspiration for Grendel, for many years at various colleges. A relatively minor character in Beowulf, Grendel is a symbol for "darkness, chaos, and death," according to critic John M. Howell in Understanding John Gardner.
In Gardner’s version, however, Grendel becomes a three-dimensional character with,"a sense of humor and a gift for language." Grendel even has a weakness for poetry. As a would-be artist, Grendel strives, however comically, to escape from his baseness. Such is the power of art, Gardner seems to be saying, that even a monster can be affected by it. Gardner also develops the theme of heroism as another moral force that enables society to advance by elevating
Gardner builds up the role of Grendel’s mother to emphasize, through her inarticulateness, the importance of language in the development of civilization. Gardner also creates a relationship between Grendel and the dragon (another minor character in the original epic) in order to expand the concept of nihilism the belief that there is no purpose to existence.
Through these changes, Gardner is able to develop themes that recur not only in Grendel but throughout his other works: the struggle between good and evil, the clash between order and disorder, the hero’s sacrifice and achievement of immortality, and the importance of art and the artist as a means of affirming the moral meaning of life.
From Grendel
And so I come through trees and towns to the lights of Hrothgar’s meadhall. I am no stranger here. A respected guest. Eleven years now and going on twelve I have come up this clean-mown central hill, dark shadow out of the woods below, and have knocked politely on the high oak door, bursting its hinges and sending the shock of my greeting inward like a cold blast out of a cave. “Grendel!” they squeak, and I smile like exploding spring. The old Shaper, a man I cannot help but admire, goes out the back window with his harp at a single bound, though blind as a bat. The drunkest of Hrothgar’s thanes come reeling and clanking down from their wall-hung beds, all shouting their meady, outrageous boasts, their heavy swords aswirl like eagles’ wings. “Woe, woe, woe!” cries Hrothgar, hoary with winters, peeking in, wide-eyed, from his bedroom in back. His wife, looking in behind him, makes a scene. The thanes in the meadhall blow out the lights and cover the wide stone fireplace with shields. I laugh, crumple over; I can’t help myself. In the darkness, I alone see clear as day. While they squeal and screech and bump into each other, I silently sack up my dead and withdraw to the woods. I eat and laugh and eat until I can barely walk, my chest-hair matted with dribbled blood, and then the roosters on the hill crow, and dawn comes over the roofs of the houses, and all at once I am filled with gloom again.
Beowulf Questions 7-12
7. Lines 131 to 142. What has happened to Grendel?8. Lines 172-178. What is Hrothgar asking Beowulf to do?
9. Lines 179-203. Describe how Beowulf comes to the lair of Grendel's mother. What details remind you that Beowulf is not an ordinary man?
10. Lines 216 to 241. What details in this description of the battle between Grendel’s mother and Beowulf add to your suspense about the outcome? At what point do you think Beowulf may not be successful? What saves him?
11. Lines 242 to 254. How does Beowulf kill Grendel’s mother?
12. Lines 257 to 274. What is Beowulf’s final revenge against Grendel? What action of Beowulfs provides a resolution, or wrapping up, of the episode?
Lines 204-221
Then he sawThe mighty water witch, and swung his sword,
His ring-marked blade, straight at her head;The iron sang its fierce song,Sang Beowulf’s strength. But her guestDiscovered that no sword could slice her evilSkin, that Hrunting could not hurt her, was useless Now when he needed it. They wrestled, she rippedAnd tore and clawed at him, bit holes in his helmet,And that too failed him; for the first time in yearsOf being worn to war it would earn no glory;It was the last time anyone would wear it. But Beowulf Longed only for fame, leaped back
Into battle. He tossed his sword aside,Angry; the steel-edged blade lay whereHe’d dropped it. If weapons were useless he’d useHis hands, the strength in his fingers. So fameComes to the men who mean to win itAnd care about nothing else!
Lines 260-275
His heart still angry. He was hunting anotherDead monster, and took his weapon with himFor final revenge against Grendel’s viciousAttacks, his nighttime raids, overAnd over, coming to Herot when Hrothgar’sMen slept, killing them in their beds,Eating some on the spot, fifteenOr more, and running to his loathsome moorWith another such sickening meal waitingIn his pouch. But Beowulf repaid him for those visits,Found him lying dead in his corner,Armless, exactly as that fierce fighterHad sent him out from Herot, then struck offHis head with a single swift blow. The bodyJerked for the last time, then lay still….
Examining our Hero
In the Hero freewrite, you were asked to list the qualities and virtues of your personal hero.

The class listed honesty, courage, integrity and loyalty as essential characteristics.

In the last passage, Beowulf show himself to be boastful, vengeful and motivated by fame.

Is he really an archetypal hero??
Assignment: Read and Respond to Beowulf Part Two
Sign into your account at my.hrw.com. Read pages 33-38 in the online book. To help you understand what is happening in the story, answer each of the following questions, as you come across certain lines in the text.

275 to 287.
How is this older Beowulf different from the Beowulf who slew Grendel and his mother?

288 to 296. How does Beowulf’s acceptance of fate show his deep sense of responsibility to his people?
Intro to Part Two
Beowulf carries Grendel’s head to King Hrothgar and then returns gift-laden to the land of the Geats, where he succeeds to the throne. After fifty winters pass, Beowulf, now an old man, faces his final task: He must fight a dragon who, angry because a thief has stolen a jeweled cup from the dragon’s hoard of gold, is laying waste to the Geats’ land. Beowulf and eleven warriors are guided to the dragon’s lair by the thief who stole the cup. For Beowulf the price of this last victory will be great.
The Final Battle Lines 275-296
Then he addressed each dear companionone final time, those fighters in their helmets,resolute and high-born: "I would rather notuse a weapon if I knew another wayto grapple with the dragon and make good my boast as I did against Grendel in days gone by.But I shall be meeting molten venomin the fire he breathes, so I go forthin mail-shirt and shield. I won’t shift a footwhen I meet the cave-guard: what occurs on the wall between the two of us will turn out as fate,overseer of men, decides. I am resolved.I scorn further words against this sky-borne foe.
"Men at arms, remain here on the barrow,°safe in your armour, to see which one of us is better in the end at bearing woundsin a deadly fray. This fight is not yours,nor is it up to any man except meto measure his strength against the monsteror to prove his worth. I shall win the gold by my courage, or else mortal combat,doom of battle, will bear your lord away."
Lines 297-317
Then he drew himself up beside his shield.The fabled warrior in his warshirt and helmettrusted in his own strength entirely and went under the crag. No coward path.Hard by the rock-face that hale° veteran,a good man who had gone repeatedlyinto combat and danger and come through,saw a stone arch and a gushing stream that burst from the barrow, blazing and waftinga deadly heat. It would be hard to surviveunscathed near the hoard, to hold firmagainst the dragon in those flaming depths.Then he gave a shout. The lord of the Geats unburdened his breast and broke outin a storm of anger. Under grey stonehis voice challenged and resounded clearly.Hate was ignited. The hoard-guard recognizeda human voice, the time was over for peace and parleying.° Pouring forthin a hot battle-fume, the breath of the monsterburst from the rock. There was a rumble under ground.
Coming up!!
What is the rumble??

What happens next??

Class Notes September 19th

2008-09-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

Today’s Objectives:
Review Beowulf Vocabulary
Examine Beowulf and Grendel

Hero Quickwrite
Epic Conventions
The hero is a figure of great national or even cosmic importance, usually the ideal man of his culture. He often has superhuman or divine traits. He has an imposing physical stature and is greater in all ways than the common man.

The setting is vast in scope. It covers great geographical distances, perhaps even visiting the underworld, other worlds, and other times.

The action consists of deeds of valor or superhuman courage (especially in battle).

Supernatural forces interest themselves in the action and intervene at times.

The style of writing is elevated, even ceremonial.

Beowulf Debate
Some argue the poem was composed orally and extemporaneously, and therefore is the archive of tradition on which it draws is oral, pagan, Germanic, heroic, and tribal. On the other hand, one might posit a poem which is composed by a literate scribe, who acquired literacy by way of learning Latin probably a monk and therefore profoundly Christian in outlook.

Extemporaneously: unplanned, naturally occuring
Posit: to suggest, or postulate

Beowulf Questions

. Lines 25 - 27. These lines foreshadow, or hint at, the outcome of the battle between Grendel and Beowulf.Grendel has been attacking Herot successfully for years. What will be different about this visit to Herot?
2. Lines 44 - 56. Higlac follower is Beowulf. He had earlier sworn to kill Grendel with his bare hands. What details in these lines demonstrate Beowulf’s superhuman strength?
3. Lines 76 - 81. The Almighty’s enemy Gods enemy in line 76 refers to Grendel. Earlier in the epic, Grendel’s origin is explained: He is the offspring of one of the descendants of Cain, the son of Adam and Eve who killed his brother, Abel, and became the first murderer. Cain was eternally cursed by God and, according to legend, fathered all the evil beings that plague humankind: monsters, demons, and evil spirits. In what ways is this battle between Grendel and Beowulf really a battle between good and evil? What details in the description of the battle make this clear?
4. Lines 88 - 94.According to these lines, why cant Beowulf’s men harm Grendel?
5. Lines 99 - 108. How does Beowulf defeat Grendel?

How do we learn these things?

Lines 87 - 103
Could not scratch at his skin, for that sin-stained demonHad bewitched all men’s weapons, laid spellsThat blunted every mortal man’s blade.And yet his time had come, his daysWere over, his death near; downTo hell he would go, swept groaning and helplessTo the waiting hands of still worse fiends.Now he discovered—once the afflictor Of men, tormentor of their days—what it meantTo feud with Almighty God: GrendelSaw that his strength was deserting him, his clawsBound fast, Higlac’s brave follower tearing atHis hands.
Lines 104-119
The monster’s hatred rose higher, But his power had gone. He twisted in pain,And the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulderSnapped, muscle and bone splitAnd broke. The battle was over, BeowulfHad been granted new glory: Grendel escaped,But wounded as he was could flee to his den,His miserable hole at the bottom of the marsh,Only to die, to wait for the endOf all his days. And after that bloodyCombat the Danes laughed with delight.He who had come to them from across the sea,Bold and strong-minded, had driven afflictionOff, purged Herot clean. He was happy,Now, with that night’s fierce work; the DanesHad been served as he’d boasted he’d serve them;
Lines 120-127
Beowulf, A prince of the Geats, had killed Grendel,Ended the grief, the sorrow, the sufferingForced on Hrothgar’s helpless peopleBy a bloodthirsty fiend. No Dane doubtedThe victory, for the proof, hanging highFrom the rafters where Beowulf had hung it, was the monster’sArm, claw and shoulder and all.

Life in 999

2008-09-18T15:00:00.000-07:00

Click HERE to read the original article from Time magazine.

Got an opinions on One Global Language? Post them here!

2008-09-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

Look what I did this weekend!

2008-09-15T10:07:00.003-07:00

The Valley Forge Metric Century (65 miles)

This route continues on from the Cedar Grove Park rest stop and offers a panoramic view of center city Philadelphia from the top of Potshop Road before following the ridge line past the last farms of Montgomery County out to our Evansburg State Park rest stop. From there you will follow the Perkiomen Creek into Lower Perkiomen Park and the final rest stop at the Betzwood picnic area in historic Valley Forge National Park before returning to Philadelphia.
I did the metric option. This map is for the standard 100 mile century but it gives you an idea of the ride!
Scenic Schuylkill Century
Find more Bike Rides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Full Text of Beowulf

2008-09-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

As requested, I found a website with the complete poem.

CLICK HERE if you would like to read the entire poem.

John Gardner's Grendel

2008-09-14T08:50:00.000-07:00

For more information about the novel Grendel click HERE

To read a letter from John Grendel to a class reading his book: CLICK HERE!

Beowulf and Cantebury Tales MP3 files

2008-09-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

To listen audio from Beowulf and Canterbury Tales click HERE.

Beowulf Part One Questions

2008-09-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

Login into www.myhrw.com. Read pages 18-28 from the Elements of Literature test. Answer the following questions in complete and original sentences. Demonstrate your understanding of the text in each response. Be prepared to discuss the text in the class chats.

1. Lines 25 - 27. These lines foreshadow, or hint at, the outcome of the battle between Grendel and Beowulf.
Grendel has been attacking Herot successfully for years. What will be different about this visit to Herot?

2. Lines 44 - 56. Higlac's follower is Beowulf. He had earlier sworn to kill Grendel with his bare hands. What details in these lines demonstrate Beowulf's superhuman strength?

3. Lines 76 - 81. The Almighty's enemy God's enemy in line 76 refers to Grendel. Earlier in the epic, Grendels origin is explained: He is the offspring of one of the descendants of Cain, the son of Adam and Eve who killed his brother, Abel, and became the first murderer. Cain was eternally cursed by God and, according to legend, fathered all the evil beings that plague humankind: monsters, demons, and evil spirits. In what ways is this battle between Grendel and Beowulf really a battle between good and evil? What details in the description of the battle make this clear?

4. Lines 88 - 94.According to these lines, why cant Beowulfs men harm Grendel?

5. Lines 99 - 108. How does Beowulf defeat Grendel?

6. Lines 123 - 126. How does Beowulf prove his victory over Grendel? Why might he do this?

7. Lines 131 to 142. What has happened to Grendel?

8. Lines 172-178. What is Hrothgar asking Beowulf to do?

9. Lines 179-203. Describe how Beowulf comes to the lair of Grendel's mother. What details remind you that Beowulf is not an ordinary man?

10. Lines 216 to 241. What details in this description of the battle between Grendel's mother and Beowulf add to your suspense about the outcome? At what point do you think Beowulf may not be successful? What saves him?

11. Lines 242 to 254. How does Beowulf kill Grendel's mother?

12. Lines 257 to 274. What is Beowulf's final revenge against Grendel? What action of Beowulf's provides a resolution, or wrapping up, of the episode?

Class Notes September 12th

2008-09-12T10:39:00.000-07:00

English 12September 12, 2008
TODAY’S OBJECTIVES:
Review Course Information and Questions??
Examine Epic Conventions
Preview Beowulf

Most epics center around the battle between good and evil.

Explain this quote
The brooding fatalism of pagan Anglo-Saxon culture gives the first great British epic, Beowulf, its melancholy tone and its emphasis on earthly heroism rather than hope for an afterlife.

What Does “Anglo-Saxon England” Mean?
The people farmed, maintained local governments, and created fine crafts, especially metalwork.

Christianity eventually replaced the old warrior religion, linking England to continental Europe.

Monasteries served as centers of learning and preserved works from the older oral tradition.

English—not just the Church’s Latin—gained respect as a written language.
Map of United Kingdom
Scops
The Anglo-Saxons did not regard these bards—whom they called scops (skäps)—as inferior to warriors. To the Anglo-Saxons, creating poetry was as important as fighting, hunting, farming, or loving.

For the non-Christian Anglo-Saxons, whose religion offered them no hope of an afterlife, only fame and its commemoration in poetry could provide a defense against death.

Bonus Question: Who is known as The Bard?
Answer: Shakespeare!

Beowulf
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Getting the story out
Oral Tradition – a work, a motif, an idea, or a custom that is passed by word-of-mouth from generation to generation.

Many stories from the oral tradition of people around the globe contain fantastic, or unbelievable, elements.
Epic Conventions
Kenning
Modern examples

The creation of kennings is still very much alive in English, as when an accountant is described as a number cruncher or a big radio is called a boom box.
Give it a try!

Who “wrote” Beowulf?
We don’t know!

Author Considered Anonymous

Story was passed down via oral tradition

People, Monsters, and Places
Beowulf: King of the Geats from Sweden.
Grendel: man-eating monster who lives at the bottom of a foul mere, or mountain lake.
Herot: golden guest hall built by King Hrothgar, the Danish ruler.
Hrothgar: king of the Danes, builder of Herot. He had once befriended Beowulf’s father. His father was called Healfdane (which probably means “half Dane”).
Story Fundamentals
As the epic begins, we are introduced to King Hrothgar, a revered and successful leader who has ruled the Danes for many years. He has recently built the mead hall Herot to commemorate his many victories. As Hrothgar’s men celebrate and enjoy life in Herot, however, a monster called Grendel lurks in the swamps nearby, seething with resentment and hatred for humans. Eventually Grendel attacks Herot and mercilessly kills thirty of Hrothgar’s men. This marks the beginning of Grendel’s reign of terror over the Danes, which lasts for twelve years.

Rescue finally comes in the form of a great warrior named Beowulf who hails from the land of the Geats (Sweden). Beowulf hears of Hrothgar’s troubles and decides to journey to Denmark with some of his strongest men to do battle with Grendel. Once he arrives, he meets with Hrothgar and boasts of his numerous past achievements, which qualify him to challenge Grendel. Beowulf then announces that he will fight the monster that night without weapons. A celebratory feast ensues. As it ends, Beowulf and his men take the place of Hrothgar’s followers and lie down to sleep in Herot. Beowulf, however, is wakeful, eager to meet his enemy. He is not kept waiting long.

What foreign languages have influenced the English language?
What language is the root of 60% of English words?
LATIN!!
You will see soon why it important to know your roots.

Sage advice from Franklin
If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing about.
Benjamin Franklin

Class Notes from September 9th

2008-09-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

English 12September 9, 2008
TODAY’S OBJECTIVES:

COURSE TIMELINE AND PROCEDURES

GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER AND
THE NEW TECHNOLOGY

INTRODUCTION TO COLLECTION ONE

First Assignment: All About ME!!
Bowling with some of my favorite former students.
Undergrad: University of Delaware
Master’s: St. Joseph’s University
Teaching Experience:
Years of tutoring: SAT and writing
Two years teaching ESL to international students.
One year in college admissions and financial age.
Four years teaching Secondary English: 8th grade, 11th and 12th
PA Certified in English, Social Studies and ESOL

AIM ADDRESS: creynoldsAHCS

Make sure that you send me a hello message this week!

Textbook
Elements of Literature: Sixth Course

Available at http://my.hrw.com

You need Username and Password.

Email me if you have not received your info.

Microphones
Trouble Shooting:
Mics MUST be plugged into the jacks in the back (the ones in front do not work)

If there is a mute on the line, they need to be sure it’s not muted (personal headsets)

The must be sure they put the plugs into their proper jacks

Turn volume up on screen

Pop Quiz!!
What is an Anglo Saxon?

What is an epic?

What is an archetype?

What is a archetypal hero?

Answers to the Quiz
Anglo Saxons are a group of invaders from Germany that conquered England in the 5th century.

An epic is a quest or story on a grand scale. An epic poem a long narrative poem that describes the travels and brave deeds of a hero in battle.

An archetype is a perfect example.

An archetypal hero is perfect hero.
First Collection: Anglo Saxons 449–1066

Collection 1: THE ANGLO-SAXONS 449-1065
Political and Social Milestones and Introduction to the Literary Period: The Anglo-Saxons by David Adams Leeming, 6
Beowulf (Introduction), 18
from Beowulf translated by Burton Raffel, 20
The Battle with Grendel, 21
The Monster’s Mother, 26
Connection/from Grendel by John Gardner, 29
Connection/Life in 999: A Grim Struggle by Howard G. Chua-Eoan, 30
from Beowulf, The Final Battle translated by Seamus Heaney, 33

Get started reading
Political and Social Milestones and Introduction to the Literary Period: The Anglo-Saxons by David Adams Leeming, 6

Read carefully you will need to answer questions on key terms and events.

Beautiful photos taken by your classmate Jeffrey Shupe

2008-09-09T10:33:00.000-07:00

ALL ABOUT ME

2008-09-04T10:12:00.000-07:00

Below are my responses to a survey I would like to have you complete during your first week. Look through my responses to get to know me. Then, copy and paste the survey into a Microsoft Word. Erase my responses and include your own. Then, send your responses to me, using the report method in the assignment section of the course homepage.
Preferred Class Name: Ms. Reynolds
Personal e-mail Address: marycaseyreynolds@gmail.com Please use school mail, first.
Address: Philadelphia, PA
PHOTO:

Educational Background and Work Experience: Bachelors of Science in International Relations from the University of Delaware and Master’s of Education from Saint Joseph’s University. I have worked as a tutor, an English teacher, a curriculum developer, and a curriculum specialist.
Words or Phrases that Describe Me: quirky, spontaneous, life-long learner, go-getter, animal lover, curious, enthusiastic
Interests/Hobbies: Biking!! Running, reading, writing, movies, traveling, music, laughing, being with friends and family, football, playing pool, concerts, smiling, working out, cooking (and eating!), the beach.
Priorities or Things that are Important to Me: Family, friends, knowledge, honesty, health.
An interesting fact about me: I have been to over 25 countries. I am training to complete the MS Society Bike to the Bay this September. My goal is to bike 150 miles and raise $1000 for the MS Society.
Goals in this Course: I hope every student will learn about the connection between history and literature while becoming more effective and logical readers and writers.
Career Goals: My career goals are to continue working in education and to obtain Master's and Doctorate degrees in my discipline.

Contact Information: creynoldsAHCS

English 12 Course Syllabus for 2008-9 School Year

2008-09-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

English 12 is world literature course that helps students gain a fuller understanding of the past as they read classic and contemporary literature, complete writing assignments, and study what literature can reveal about issues and ideas in world history. The text and course work are arranged chronologically, with each collection focusing on themes that emerge naturally from each literary period. The class will also focus on writing, reading, and thinking skills that are a part of any senior-level English class. There is a strong emphasis on writing technique and on improving vocabulary. Students will also prepare and practice for Senior Project and life after high school.

Course objectives and Methods of Instruction:
• To become critical readers in a variety of genres of literature• To develop writing skills by composing in a wide variety of forms, journal entries, analysis of literature, persuasive essays, research papers, and others
• To develop proficiency and confidence in public speaking through a variety of individual and small-group presentations
• To develop and improve grammar and vocabulary learning through texts read, written, edited and critiqued in class
• To learn how to use and evaluate research tools effectively by producing a research projects
Resources/Major Texts:
• Elements of Literature: Sixth Course. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. Your book is online at http://my.hrw.com. You will receive your username and password within the next week.
• 1984 and Animal Farm, George Orwell

Instructor: Ms. Mary Casey Reynolds
AIM: creynoldsAHCS
Phone: 610-405-8011
Blog: www.reynoldsenglish12.blogspot.com

Chat Schedule: Tuesdays and Fridays from 9:00am to 10:30am. If you can attend live, you must watch the recording within 48 hours. Please make every effort to attend live.
Office Hours: Wednesdays from 8:00am to 9:30am. I am available in my personal classroom for tutoring and extra assistance each week. If you need extra help and these hours don’t fit your schedule, we can set up alternative times as necessary. I am also available on AOL instant messenger several hours a day.

Rules and Procedures:
Attendance: All students should attend live chats whenever possible. If you can not attend live chat, you must view the recording and complete the related assignment within 48 hours.
Late Policy: All assignments must be submitted on time. Late work will not receive credit.
Plagiarism: Cheating will not be tolerated in ANY form. Plagiarism is using others’ ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information. This can happen intentionally or accidentally. You can review techniques to avoid plagiarism at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/
Anyone caught cheating will receive an instant zero on the assignment. I take plagiarism very seriously. I will scan suspicious submissions and refer offenders to the principal. Please don’t do it! It’s not worth the risk!

COURSE TIMELINE
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
Getting to Know You: Personal Introduction

Collection 1: THE ANGLO-SAXONS 449-1065
 Political and Social Milestones, 4
 Introduction to the Literary Period: The Anglo-Saxons by David Adams Leeming, 6
 Beowulf (Introduction), 18
 from Beowulf translated by Burton Raffel, 20
 The Battle with Grendel, 21
 The Monster’s Mother, 26
 Connection/from Grendel by John Gardner, 29
 Connection/Life in 999: A Grim Struggle by Howard G. Chua-Eoan, 30
 from Beowulf, The Final Battle translated by Seamus Heaney, 33
 Connection/The Fury of the Northmen by Ellen Ashdown, 39
 Connecting to World Literature Epics: Stories on a Grand Scale by David Adams Leeming, 44
 the Iliad, from Book 22: The Death of Hector by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles, 56
 Writing Workshop: Writing a Descriptive Essay, 74

Collection 2: THE MIDDLE AGES 1066-1485, 89
 Time Line/Political and Social Milestones,
 Introduction to the Literary Period: The Middle Ages by David Adams
 Lord Randall,
 Get Up and Bar the Door,
 The Canterbury Tales: Snapshot of an Age (Introduction),
 from The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer
 The Prologue,
 from The Pardoner’s Tale,
 from The Wife of Bath’s Tale,
 Connecting to World Literature
 The Frame Story: A Tale Linking Tales by David Adams Leeming,
 The Decameron

Collection 3: THE RENAISSANCE 1485-1660, 233
Political and Social Milestones, 236
 Introduction to the Literary Period: The Renaissance by C. F. Main, 238
 To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time by Robert Herrick, 263
 To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell, 267
 Shakespeare’s Sonnets: The Mysteries of Love (Introduction), 275
 Sonnet 42 by Francesco Petrarch, translated by Joseph Auslander, 276
 Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare, 278
 Sonnet 29 by William Shakespeare, 278
 Sonnet 30 by William Shakespeare, 280
 Sonnet 71 by William Shakespeare, 282
 Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare, 283
 Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare, 284
 Sonnet 23 by Louise Labé, translated by Willis Barnstone, 285
 Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind by William Shakespeare, 286
 To be, or not to be from Hamlet by William Shakespeare, 292
 Death be not proud by John Donne, 312
 Political Points of View: Education and Equality, 322
 Of Studies by Francis Bacon, 324
 Primary Source: Axioms

Collection 4: THE RESTORATION AND THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 1660-1800, 407

 Time Line and Political and Social Milestones Introduction to the Literary Period: The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century by C. F. Main
 A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift,
 Heroic Couplets by Alexander Pope,
 The Sting of Satire by Robert DeMaria, Jr.,
 from Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, translated by Samuel Putnam
 Political Points of View: Women’s Rights
 from A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft
 from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Collection 5 and 6: The ROMANTIC AND THE VICTORIAN 1800-1900

• The Rise of Realism: Short Fiction Case Study featuring Tolstoy and Kipling

Collection 7: THE MODERN WORLD 1900 to the Present, 799
• A World at War: Readings from Duras and Wiesel
• George Orwell Case Study: Readings from 1984 and Animal Farm
• Resume Writing Assignment

Beowulf the Movie

2008-09-01T23:06:00.000-07:00

Beowulf Background

2008-09-01T18:06:00.000-07:00

Beowulf background here

Beowulf Part One

2008-08-22T18:19:00.000-07:00

from Beowulf
Part One, translated by Burton Raffel
As the epic begins, we are introduced to King Hrothgar, a revered and successful leader who has ruled the Danes for many years. He has recently built the mead hall Herot to commemorate his many victories. As Hrothgar’s men celebrate and enjoy life in Herot, however, a monster called Grendel lurks in the swamps nearby, seething with resentment and hatred for humans. Eventually Grendel attacks Herot and mercilessly kills thirty of Hrothgar’s men. This marks the beginning of Grendel’s reign of terror over the Danes, which lasts for twelve years.
Rescue finally comes in the form of a great warrior named Beowulf who hails from the land of the Geats (Sweden). Beowulf hears of Hrothgar’s troubles and decides to journey to Denmark with some of his strongest men to do battle with Grendel. Once he arrives, he meets with Hrothgar and boasts of his numerous past achievements, which qualify him to challenge Grendel. Beowulf then announces that he will fight the monster that night without weapons. A celebratory feast ensues. As it ends, Beowulf and his men take the place of Hrothgar’s followers and lie down to sleep in Herot. Beowulf, however, is wakeful, eager to meet his enemy. He is not kept waiting long.
THE BATTLE WITH GRENDEL
1 from the marsh, from the foot of misty
Hills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred,
Grendel came, hoping to kill
Anyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot.
5 He moved quickly through the cloudy night,
Up from his swampland, sliding silently
Toward that gold-shining hall. He had visited Hrothgar’s
Home before, knew the way—
10 Found Herot defended so firmly, his reception
So harsh. He journeyed, forever joyless,
Straight to the door, then snapped it open,
Tore its iron fasteners with a touch,
And rushed angrily over the threshold.
15 Click here to listenHe strode quickly across the inlaid
Floor, snarling and fierce: His eyes
Gleamed in the darkness, burned with a gruesome
Light. Then he stopped, seeing the hall
Crowded with sleeping warriors, stuffed
20 With rows of young soldiers resting together.
And his heart laughed, he relished the sight,
Intended to tear the life from those bodies
By morning; the monster’s mind was hot
With the thought of food and the feasting his belly
25 Would soon know. But fate, that night, intended
Grendel to gnaw the broken bones
Of his last human supper. Human
Eyes were watching his evil steps,
Waiting to see his swift hard claws.
30 Grendel snatched at the first Geat
He came to, ripped him apart, cut
His body to bits with powerful jaws,
Drank the blood from his veins, and bolted
35 And Grendel’s great teeth came together,
Snapping life shut. Then he stepped to another
Still body, clutched at Beowulf with his claws,
Grasped at a strong-hearted wakeful sleeper
—And was instantly seized himself, claws
40 Bent back as Beowulf leaned up on one arm.
That shepherd of evil, guardian of crime,
Knew at once that nowhere on earth
Had he met a man whose hands were harder;
His mind was flooded with fear—but nothing
45 Could take his talons and himself from that tight
Hard grip. Grendel’s one thought was to run
From Beowulf, flee back to his marsh and hide there:
This was a different Herot than the hall he had emptied.
But Higlac’s follower remembered his final
50 Boast and, standing erect, stopped
The monster’s flight, fastened those claws
In his fists till they cracked, clutched Grendel
Closer. The infamous killer fought
For his freedom, wanting no flesh but retreat,
55 Desiring nothing but escape; his claws
Had been caught, he was trapped. That trip to Herot
Was a miserable journey for the writhing monster!
The high hall rang, its roof boards swayed,
And Danes shook with terror. Down
60 The aisles the battle swept, angry
And wild. Herot trembled, wonderfully
Built to withstand the blows, the struggling
Great bodies beating at its beautiful walls;
Shaped and fastened with iron, inside
65 And out, artfully worked, the building
Stood firm. Its benches rattled, fell
To the floor, gold-covered boards grating
As Grendel and Beowulf battled across them.
Hrothgar’s wise men had fashioned Herot
70 To stand forever; only fire,
They had planned, could shatter what such skill had put
Together, swallow in hot flames such splendor Of ivory and iron and wood. Suddenly
The sounds changed, the Danes started
75 In new terror, cowering in their beds as the terrible
Screams of the Almighty’s enemy sang
In the darkness, the horrible shrieks of pain
And defeat, the tears torn out of Grendel’s
Taut throat, hell’s captive caught in the arms
80 Of him who of all the men on earth
Was the strongest.
2

Click here to listen That mighty protector of men
Meant to hold the monster till its life
Leaped out, knowing the fiend was no use
To anyone in Denmark. All of Beowulf’s
85 Band had jumped from their beds, ancestral
Swords raised and ready, determined
To protect their prince if they could. Their courage
Was great but all wasted: They could hack at Grendel
From every side, trying to open
85 A path for his evil soul, but their points
Could not hurt him, the sharpest and hardest iron
Could not scratch at his skin, for that sin-stained demon
Had bewitched all men’s weapons, laid spells
That blunted every mortal man’s blade.
90 And yet his time had come, his days
Were over, his death near; down
To hell he would go, swept groaning and helpless
To the waiting hands of still worse fiends.
Now he discovered—once the afflictor
100 Of men, tormentor of their days—what it meant
To feud with Almighty God: Grendel
Saw that his strength was deserting him, his claws
Bound fast, Higlac’s brave follower tearing at
His hands. The monster’s hatred rose higher,

105 But his power had gone. He twisted in pain,
And the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder
Snapped, muscle and bone split
And broke. The battle was over, Beowulf
Had been granted new glory: Grendel escaped,
110 But wounded as he was could flee to his den,
His miserable hole at the bottom of the marsh,
Only to die, to wait for the end
Of all his days. And after that bloody
Combat the Danes laughed with delight.

115 He who had come to them from across the sea,
Bold and strong-minded, had driven affliction
Off, purged Herot clean. He was happy,
Now, with that night’s fierce work; the Danes
Had been served as he’d boasted he’d serve them; Beowulf,

120 A prince of the Geats, had killed Grendel,
Ended the grief, the sorrow, the suffering
Forced on Hrothgar’s helpless people
By a bloodthirsty fiend. No Dane doubted
The victory, for the proof, hanging high

125 From the rafters where Beowulf had hung it, was the monster’s
Arm, claw and shoulder and all.
3

Click here to listenAnd then, in the morning, crowds surrounded
Herot, warriors coming to that hall
From faraway lands, princes and leaders
130 Of men hurrying to behold the monster’s
Great staggering tracks. They gaped with no sense
Of sorrow, felt no regret for his suffering,
Went tracing his bloody footprints, his beaten
And lonely flight, to the edge of the lake
135 Where he’d dragged his corpselike way, doomed
And already weary of his vanishing life.
The water was bloody, steaming and boiling
In horrible pounding waves, heat
Sucked from his magic veins; but the swirling
140 Surf had covered his death, hidden
Deep in murky darkness his miserable
End, as hell opened to receive him.
Then old and young rejoiced, turned back
From that happy pilgrimage, mounted their hard-hooved
145 Horses, high-spirited stallions, and rode them
Slowly toward Herot again, retelling
Beowulf’s bravery as they jogged along.
And over and over they swore that nowhere
On earth or under the spreading sky

150 Or between the seas, neither south nor north,
Was there a warrior worthier to rule over men.
(But no one meant Beowulf’s praise to belittle
Hrothgar, their kind and gracious king!)…

Grendel’s monstrous mother, in grief for her son, next attacks
Herot, and in her dripping claws she carries off one man—
Hrothgar’s closest friend. The monster also carries off Grendel’s arm, which Beowulf had hung high from the rafters.
Beowulf is awakened and called for again. In one of the most
famous verses in the epic, the old king describes where
Grendel and his mother live.
4

…“They live in secret places, windy
155 Cliffs, wolf-dens where water pours
From the rocks, then runs underground, where mist
Steams like black clouds, and the groves of trees
Growing out over their lake are all covered
With frozen spray, and wind down snakelike
160 Roots that reach as far as the water
And help keep it dark. At night that lake
Burns like a torch. No one knows its bottom,
No wisdom reaches such depths. A deer,
Hunted through the woods by packs of hounds,
165 A stag with great horns, though driven through the forest
From faraway places, prefers to die
On those shores, refuses to save its life
In that water. It isn’t far, nor is it
A pleasant spot! When the wind stirs

170 And storms, waves splash toward the sky,
As dark as the air, as black as the rain
That the heavens weep. Our only help,
Again, lies with you. Grendel’s mother
Is hidden in her terrible home, in a place
175 You’ve not seen. Seek it, if you dare! Save us,
Once more, and again twisted gold,
Heaped-up ancient treasure, will reward you
For the battle you win!”

Carrying the sword Hrunting, Beowulf goes to the lake where
Grendel’s mother has her underwater lair. Then, fully
armed, he dives to the depths of this watery hell.
THE MONSTER’S MOTHER
5

…He leaped into the lake, would not wait for anyone’s
180 Answer; the heaving water covered him
Over. For hours he sank through the waves;
At last he saw the mud of the bottom.

Who’d ruled those waters for half a hundred
185 Years discovered him, saw that a creature
From above had come to explore the bottom
Of her wet world. She welcomed him in her claws,
Clutched at him savagely but could not harm him,
Tried to work her fingers through the tight

190 Ring-woven mail on his breast, but tore
And scratched in vain. Then she carried him, armor
And sword and all, to her home; he struggled
To free his weapon, and failed. The fight
Brought other monsters swimming to see
195 Her catch, a host of sea beasts who beat at
His mail shirt, stabbing with tusks and teeth
As they followed along. Then he realized, suddenly,
That she’d brought him into someone’s battle-hall,
And there the water’s heat could not hurt him,

200 Nor anything in the lake attack him through
The building’s high-arching roof. A brilliant
Light burned all around him, the lake
Itself like a fiery flame.
Then he saw
The mighty water witch, and swung his sword,
205 His ring-marked blade, straight at her head;
The iron sang its fierce song,
Sang Beowulf’s strength. But her guest
Discovered that no sword could slice her evil
Skin, that Hrunting could not hurt her, was useless

210 Now when he needed it. They wrestled, she ripped
And tore and clawed at him, bit holes in his helmet,
And that too failed him; for the first time in years
Of being worn to war it would earn no glory;
It was the last time anyone would wear it. But Beowulf

215 Longed only for fame, leaped back
Into battle. He tossed his sword aside,
Angry; the steel-edged blade lay where
He’d dropped it. If weapons were useless he’d use
His hands, the strength in his fingers. So fame
220 Comes to the men who mean to win it
And care about nothing else! He raised
His arms and seized her by the shoulder; anger
Doubled his strength, he threw her to the floor.
She fell, Grendel’s fierce mother, and the Geats’

225 Proud prince was ready to leap on her. But she rose
At once and repaid him with her clutching claws,
Wildly tearing at him. He was weary, that best
And strongest of soldiers; his feet stumbled
And in an instant she had him down, held helpless.

230 Squatting with her weight on his stomach, she drew
A dagger, brown with dried blood and prepared
To avenge her only son. But he was stretched
On his back, and her stabbing blade was blunted
By the woven mail shirt he wore on his chest
235 The hammered links held; the point
Could not touch him. He’d have traveled to the bottom of
the earth,
Edgetho’s son, and died there, if that shining
Woven metal had not helped—and Holy
God, who sent him victory, gave judgment
240 For truth and right, Ruler of the Heavens,
Once Beowulf was back on his feet and fighting.
Then he saw, hanging on the wall, a heavy
Sword, hammered by giants, strong
And blessed with their magic, the best of all weapons
245 But so massive that no ordinary man could lift
Its carved and decorated length. He drew it
From its scabbard, broke the chain on its hilt,°
And then, savage, now, angry
And desperate, lifted it high over his head
250 And struck with all the strength he had left,
Caught her in the neck and cut it through,
Broke bones and all. Her body fell
To the floor, lifeless, the sword was wet
With her blood, and Beowulf rejoiced at the sight.
255 The brilliant light shone, suddenly,
As though burning in that hall, and as bright as Heaven’s
Own candle, lit in the sky. He looked
At her home, then following along the wall
Went walking, his hands tight on the sword,
260 His heart still angry. He was hunting another
Dead monster, and took his weapon with him
For final revenge against Grendel’s vicious
Attacks, his nighttime raids, over
And over, coming to Herot when Hrothgar’s

265 Men slept, killing them in their beds,
Eating some on the spot, fifteen
Or more, and running to his loathsome moor
With another such sickening meal waiting
In his pouch. But Beowulf repaid him for those visits,

270 Found him lying dead in his corner,
Armless, exactly as that fierce fighter
Had sent him out from Herot, then struck off
His head with a single swift blow. The body
Jerked for the last time, then lay still….

2008-07-27T07:28:00.001-07:00

The Odd World of E-School Teachers
Distance From Students Alters Exchange of Ideas

By Ian Shapira
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 25, 2008; A01

For Trinity Wilbourn, teaching high school via the Internet offers a heartening and maddening prism into the teenage mind-set.

Sitting one day at her home office overlooking a golf course, the Prince William County teacher received a snarky comment in all capital letters from a devil-may-care summer school student. But the next moment, she marveled at another male student's frank e-mail: "[W]hen I first went to high school, I did not know who I was for awhile. . . . I tried being someone I could not be."

"I feel like, what kind of guy is going to say that out loud in his class?" Wilbourn said.

Educators who supplement or replace their day jobs with online teaching for local public schools are discovering that the perks of working at home come with hurdles: grappling with awkward or confusing lines of communication with their pupils; gauging student performance without seeing facial expressions; and struggling to withstand the urge to check e-mails from students during weekends.

Online courses, mostly in high schools, have proliferated in recent years despite debate about their effectiveness compared with face-to-face instruction. The number of times students enrolled in distance education courses connected with public schools (using Internet, two-way video or other technologies) rose from about 317,000 in 2002-03 to more than 506,000 in 2004-05, the National Center for Education Statistics reported in June. That's a 60 percent increase. In at least 66 percent of the cases, the report says, students earned credit with a passing grade.

Such students could be taking advanced courses unavailable at local schools, fulfilling graduation requirements or pursuing online schooling for other reasons. Prince William's Virtual High, for instance, is open to all students enrolled in a regular high school and rising ninth-graders; it also accepts some home-schooled students.

Competition for online teaching jobs, even those that are part-time, can be intense. Many school systems are willing to finance a limited number of courses and teachers. Fairfax and Arlington counties, for the most part, offer free online courses; Prince William and Loudoun counties charge fees in the hundreds of dollars. Teachers typically get paid stipends per pupil or course, funded by tuition or the operating budget.

"We don't have much turnover at all. People do randomly send in their résumé, but I am not able to offer much opportunity," said Gina Jones, administrative coordinator of Prince William's Virtual High, which has about 17 teachers, nearly half of whom work only at home and don't need regular classroom jobs.

Teachers who want full-time online jobs with benefits can work in some statewide programs, which can draw students from anywhere in the country or world. Virtual Virginia recently enrolled a student from Shanghai for Advanced Placement English. Jobs in the state-funded program, which has nearly 40 teachers and offers annual salaries of nearly $40,000, are highly coveted. "We'll have three openings next year, and I expect to get hundreds of applications," said program director Cathy Cheely. "People are intrigued and realize it's pure teaching -- you're not worrying about cafeteria duty."

A D.C. schools spokeswoman said the school system does not offer online courses. They are available throughout Maryland, through programs such as the state's Virtual School.

In Fairfax, where about 40 online teachers earn $9,000 a course, there are four openings a year, said Mike Kowalski, the school system's online program administrator. "We have a lot of people interested. Those who are qualified, that's another issue -- many haven't gone through training," he said. "The job is a lot of one-on-one time. If personal communication isn't your forte, this isn't your job."

The typical day for online teachers entails sitting down at a computer during "office hours" -- four hours a day in the summer, one to two in the fall and spring -- and answering student questions through e-mail, instant messages or phone calls. They grade assignments and call parents. They often proctor major tests in a school building.

At her three-bedroom home in Manassas Park, Wilbourn, 28, a part-time English teacher, sat cozily at her desk, on a fake-fur-covered seat, as she spent the day e-mailing summer school students and grading their work. She chatted with her interloping toddlers and her husband, Michael, a regular teacher. The faint tappings on her Apple keyboard were joined every so often by the thwacking of golf balls at General's Ridge Golf Course.

On her computer, she saw a comment on a class discussion board that slightly peeved her. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, poised to reply to a student's comment. "This is good," she said. "I can edit my thoughts."

Wilbourn, who is paid $300 a student per course, figures her family does decently. She reasons that her husband is a full-time teacher; that she does not pay for a car or high gas prices; that she can work two other jobs as an online college teacher and an independent distributor for Shaklee, a nutritional and cleaning products company; and that she can watch her kids instead of sending them to a pricey day care.

"My husband and I don't want to be working 9-to-5. We are doing a somewhat entrepreneurial model," she said, glancing up at her desk wall, on which are posted aphorisms and a self-described "Trini-tree" pyramid chart of Shaklee distributors.

Sometimes, Wilbourn must be stern, but diplomatic, in e-mail.

To a student who wrote on a class discussion board that his parents "HAVE NO POWER OVER ME," Wilbourn replied: "It seems to me as long as they are putting a roof over your head and paying for your food and your clothes and your various electronic equipment they do have some power over you."

Protracted e-mail conversations about grades and homework can be tricky, said Amy Bianco, 40, a Prince William online math teacher, who started in the field several years ago because it allowed her to spend more time with family.

One day, while watching her children and husband, a middle school teacher, tussle in the pool, Bianco sat at the living room table, shaking her head at her laptop. A summer school student e-mailed asking to submit an assignment late because the deadline coincided with a tutoring appointment.

"What do I say to this kid?" she asked. "You've got to be careful with these kids because you give them an inch, they'll take a mile."

She typed out a diplomatic response. Then a couple of students instant-messaged her, asking why they had what appeared to be zeroes on an assignment. "Hi Sarah, I have not graded the [module] 5 discussion forum yet:)," she wrote, slightly irked. Then: "Hi Joseph, I haven't graded them yet!"

Bianco wondered why Joseph had not been turning in assignments. She checked the course's online records to see how often he was logging on and saw that he hadn't completed his orientation assignments. "Before I make a phone call home, I want to get his side," she said. "But the worst part is that I can't see him and I can't look him in the eyes. Here, he has a chance to ignore my e-mails or [instant messages]."

She wrote: "Joseph, I was looking over our grades and I noticed that you are missing the module 1 and 3 activities. Is there a reason they were not submitted? Mrs. B."

The response, it's safe to say, was imperfect: "ok i wasnt sure cus i tried the best i could on it cus i just don fully understand exactaly what there asin most of the time so i jus do the best i can with what i no so ya."

Bianco laughed and chalked up the poor writing to different generational expectations. "Joseph, When you are having trouble understanding the material, please contact us and ASK questions!" she wrote. "This is what I am here for!"

She crunched her knuckles and continued typing her message.

Article on Friday's Rally

2008-05-15T07:41:00.001-07:00

PA FAMILIES FOR PUBLIC CYBER SCHOOLS RALLY AT CAPITOL

By Rick Morrison

Several hundred students and parents affiliated with PA Families for Cyber Schools held an outdoor rally at the Capitol today and recognized several legislators for their contributions to supporting the cyber schools movement.

Jenny Bradmon, President of PA Families for Cyber Schools told the group that urban, rural, poor and affluent students have all benefited from cyber schools. "Our day here at the Capitol is evidence of our commitment to these innovative public schools, which have the ability and the flexibility to educate a range of students – some with special needs – who otherwise could not be accommodated by traditional public schools," Bradmon commented. "Despite what our critics may say, they also are accountable and are held to the same standards of achievement and regulation as any other public school in Pennsylvania. Cyber schools also offer parity in education as no other schools can. Public cyber school students have the same opportunity at the same education."

Rose Fernandez, President of the Wisconsin Coalition of Virtual School Families, told the group the same advocacy for cyber schools needed in Pennsylvania had already taken place in Wisconsin, in an effort to re-establish cyber schools. In response to a suit filed by the public school teacher’s union in Wisconsin, families from all over the state gathered at that state’s capitol in Madison to tell legislators how important cyber schools are to the parents and students in that Midwestern state. The Department of Public Instruction originally favored virtual public schools, as they are known in Wisconsin. However, they eventually switched sides and closed the schools and removed funding for them in response to the teachers’ union lawsuit. Several court appeals later, however, and through grass-roots parental pressure, the legislature in Wisconsin listened and restored the virtual schools there. "We went toe-to-toe with the mighty special interests," Fernandez said. The parents made the case that cyber schools are a sound alternative to traditional bricks-and-mortar schools and they were re-established.

Fernandez said she was encouraged by the large turnout at this second annual rally held by PA Families for Public Cyber Schools. This is a national effort, she continued and noted that Pennsylvania is a leader in the cyber schools movement. She encouraged all those in attendance to tell anyone why their children are doing well and that cyber schools are a complement, not a threat, to public education.

Rep. Bill DeWeese (D-Greene), House Majority Leader, said it is important for anyone interested in public education to listen to the arguments of cyber school proponents. "Studying and learning and attempting to make a better opportunity for youngsters in our state is, in itself, a very aggressive declaration of our democracy," Rep. DeWeese said. He noted that he wanted to learn more about cyber schools. "The nuances and aggressive efforts of your goals are something that I will continue to watch over to the degree that I can with our education committee and our leadership team," he added.

Rep. Sam Rohrer (R-Berks) said that as a father of six, he hasn’t always enrolled his children in cyber schools, but he and his wife began home-schooling them at an early age. "There is nothing that surpasses the involvement of parents who care, who are willing to sacrifice time and schedules to be invested heavily in the education of their children," Rep. Rohrer said. "When you stand up and speak about cyber school education, you can speak with passion, conviction and demonstration that it works. I will continue to work to make sure the opportunities are not restricted, but are enhanced."

Rep. Barbara McIlvaine Smith (D-Chester) noted that she has visited several cyber schools in her district and the Pennsylvania Virtual School in Norristown. She added that students will have many careers in their lives and their early education will help to shape those careers. "Learning is not a one-size-fits-all experience," she said. "There are 12 cyber charter schools with 10,000 students in them in Pennsylvania and they are learning how to learn independently, not with someone looking over their shoulder all the time. These schools are important because the curriculum is designed to fit the student, not the other way around."

Bradmon presented her organization’s first-ever Cyber Leadership Award trophies to Rep. DeWeese, Rep. Rohrer, Rep. McIlvaine Smith. Senator Jeff Piccola (R-Dauphin), also an award recipient, was not on hand to accept his award.

For more information on PA Families for Cyber Schools, visit their website at www.pacyberfamilies.org . For more information on the Wisconsin Coalition of Virtual School Families, visit their website at www.wivirtualschoolfamilies.org .

2008-05-07T17:57:00.001-07:00

Quote of the Day - Bern Williams - "Man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit."

Literary Essay Prewriting Assignment due Friday April 18th

2008-04-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

Writing a Literary Essay Workshop

Because they reflect universal human feelings and experiences, great works of literature such as Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote transcend time. Yet every work of literature is shaped by the era in which it is produced. In this workshop you’ll write a literary essay that analyzes three works from the same literary period to discover how they reflect the literary trends of the time in which they were written.

Step ONE: Choose a Topic

A Trendy Topic Start by choosing a literary period on which to focus. You may want to investigate the literary period of one of your favorite authors or works, or you might get ideas about important literary periods by talking to your teacher or school librarian. Below is a list of literary periods you MUST CHOOSE ONE from the list below for your essay.

•

Romantic Period (1798–1832)
•

Victorian Period (1832–1901)
•

Twentieth Century (1901–2000)

Once you’ve chosen a literary period, do research to identify the literary trends, such as changes in style or the development of new literary genres, of that period and the works that reflect those trends. Find information about literary trends and works by looking through this textbook—particularly at the introduction to the literary period you’ve chosen—or by checking out library books or websites that discuss the literary period.

Select one literary trend and three works by three different writers that reflect that trend. If the works you choose are long works, such as novels or epic poems, you will probably need to deal with a single section or small excerpt of each work to include in your essay.

For example, one student who selected the eighteenth century as the focus of his literary essay chose to write about “A Voyage to Laputa” from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Book I of Alexander Pope’s The Dunciad, and all of Voltaire’s short novel Candide to show how they reflect a dominant trend in eighteenth-century literature—satire.

For this step of this prewriting, you need to submit your selected literary time period and the names of AT LEAST THREE literary works you plan to include in the essay into the free response box below.

For this step of this prewriting, you need to submit your selected literary time period and the names of AT LEAST THREE literary works you plan to include in the essay into the free response box below.

Submit your selection using this as a Model:

My selected time period is _________________________________.

The theme I will demonstrate from this period is ______________________________.

The literary work I will reference in my essay include:
1.
2.
3.

Rhetorical Devices in Vindication

2008-04-10T06:51:00.000-07:00

Analyzing Rhetorical Devices

Rhetorical devices are methods writers or speakers use to make their language more effective or to reinforce a particular point. Rhetorical devices are particularly important in any kind of communication that seeks to win the reader over to a writer’s point of view. Speeches, policy statements, debates, political and religious tracts, arguments, persuasive essays, and many other kinds of public documents freely employ a variety of rhetorical devices, such as the following:

•

rhetorical question: The writer, for effect, asks a question for which an answer is not expected—usually because the writer expects that the audience will agree with the opinion being expressed.

•

argument by analogy: The writer points out a parallel between two subjects or situations in order to make a point.

•

historical allusion: The writer cites a person, a place, or an event from history that relates to the topic at hand.

•

repetition or restatement: The writer repeats the main idea in different ways.

•

counterargument: The writer anticipates the audience’s objections or concerns and openly addresses them.

•

appeal to authority: The writer cites the opinions of experts on the subject.

•

illustrative anecdote or example: The writer uses a brief story or cites a particular case in order to support his or her point.

In the following selection on the topic of women’s rights, be alert for these various rhetorical devices. How does the writer use them to reinforce her main points?

In the free response box below, list, label and explain AT LEAST four of the Rhetorical Devices listed above that are used in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Be sure to LABEL AND EXPLAIN each of your four quotes.

For Example:

1. In paragraph one, Wollstonecraft states “blah, blah” this is an example of an argument by analogy. The analogy…

Vindication of Woman Reading and Questions

2008-04-10T06:49:00.000-07:00

The readings for this week are from the Political Points of View section on Pages 482–498 in your Elements of Literature text book.

from A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Political Points of View

In much of today’s world, the same educational opportunities are available to both genders. Women share the vote with men, and women may study for and pursue virtually any career they wish. These opportunities, often taken for granted, were not always available to women. In England, during the Restoration, the educated woman was the exception to the rule, and women were not allowed to vote. Keep these facts in mind as you read this excerpt from a famous feminist’s essay. How much of what she says still rings true today? How far have we—or haven’t we—come since the late 1700s?

Answer the following questions in full and complete sentences in the free response box below. I have included a copy of the reading for your convenience, but use the online text book whenever possible. The interactive text on the HRW website provides vocabulary assistance and audio support for this reading. Find it on page 483.

Reading Check

1.

In the first paragraph, Wollstonecraft sets up her argument by asserting that women are
denied proper educations.
What loaded words does she use in this opening paragraph?

2.

In the fourth paragraph Wollstonecraft anticipates her readers’ concerns and presents a counterargument explaining why women should aspire to be “masculine.”
What does Wollstonecraft understand the word masculine to mean? What implicit assumptions underlie her use of the word?

Thinking Critically

3.

Overall, what basic roles for women does the author continue to accept? In her view, how would better education help women fulfill these roles?

4.

The author uses wit and satire throughout the essay whenever she discusses the qualities conventionally assigned to men and to women. List some of those qualities. How does the writer satirize the belief that educating women will make them masculine?

5.

In her concluding paragraph, how does Wollstonecraft explain women’s use of cunning to get their way? What solution does she propose?

6.

How would you describe the tone of Wollstonecraft’s text? What particular words, phrases, or longer passages contribute to this tone?

In a treatise, therefore, on female rights and manners, the works which have been particularly written for their improvement must not be overlooked; especially when it is asserted, in direct terms, that the minds of women are enfeebled by false refinement; that the books of instruction, written by men of genius, have had the same tendency as more frivolous productions; and that, in the true style of Mahometanism,3 they are treated as a kind of subordinate beings, and not as a part of the human species, when improvable4 reason is allowed to be the dignified distinction which raises men above the brute creation, and puts a natural scepter5 in a feeble hand.

Yet, because I am a woman, I would not lead my readers to suppose that I mean violently to agitate the contested question respecting the equality or inferiority of the sex; but as the subject lies in my way, and I cannot pass it over without subjecting the main tendency of my reasoning to misconstruction,6 I shall stop a moment to deliver, in a few words, my opinion. —In the government of the physical world it is observable that the female in point of strength is, in general, inferior to the male. This is the law of nature; and it does not appear to be suspended or abrogated in favor of woman. A degree of physical superiority cannot, therefore, be denied—and it is a noble prerogative!7 But not content with this natural pre-eminence, men endeavor to sink us still lower, merely to render us alluring objects for a moment; and women, intoxicated by the adoration which men, under the influence of their senses, pay them, do not seek to obtain a durable interest in their hearts, or to become the friends of the fellow creatures who find amusement in their society.

I am aware of an obvious inference:—from every quarter have I heard exclamations against masculine women; but where are they to be found? If by this appellation8 men mean to inveigh9 against their ardour in hunting, shooting, and gaming, I shall most cordially join in the cry; but if it be against the imitation of manly virtues, or, more properly speaking, the attainment of those talents and virtues, the exercise of which ennobles the human character, and which raise females in the scale of animal being, when they are comprehensively termed mankind;—all those who view them with a philosophic eye must, I should think, wish with me, that they may every day grow more and more masculine.

This discussion naturally divides the subject. I shall first consider women in the grand light of human creatures, who, in common with men, are placed on this earth to unfold their faculties; and afterwards I shall more particularly point out their peculiar designation.

I wish also to steer clear of an error which many respectable writers have fallen into; for the instruction which has hitherto been addressed to women, has rather been applicable to ladies, if the little indirect advice, that is scattered through Sandford and Merton,10 be excepted; but, addressing my sex in a firmer tone, I pay particular attention to those in the middle class, because they appear to be in the most natural state. Perhaps the seeds of false refinement, immorality, and vanity, have ever been shed by the great. Weak, artificial beings, raised above the common wants and affections of their race, in a premature unnatural manner, undermine the very foundation of virtue, and spread corruption through the whole mass of society! As a class of mankind they have the strongest claim to pity; the education of the rich tends to render them vain and helpless, and the unfolding mind is not strengthened by the practice of those duties which dignify the human character.—They only live to amuse themselves, and by the same law which in nature invariably produces certain effects, they soon only afford barren amusement.

But as I purpose11 taking a separate view of the different ranks of society, and of the moral character of women in each, this hint is, for the present, sufficient; and I have only alluded to the subject, because it appears to me to be the very essence of an introduction to give a cursory account of the contents of the work it introduces.

My own sex, I hope, will excuse me, if I treat them like rational creatures, instead of flattering their fascinating graces, and viewing them as if they were in a state of perpetual childhood, unable to stand alone. I earnestly wish to point out in what true dignity and human happiness consists—I wish to persuade women to endeavor to acquire strength, both of mind and body, and to convince them that the soft phrases, susceptibility of heart, delicacy of sentiment, and refinement of taste, are almost synonymous with epithets12 of weakness, and that those beings who are only the objects of pity and that kind of love, which has been termed its sister, will soon become objects of contempt.

Dismissing then those pretty feminine phrases, which the men condescendingly use to soften our slavish dependence, and despising that weak elegancy of mind, exquisite sensibility, and sweet docility of manners, supposed to be the sexual characteristics of the weaker vessel, I wish to shew13 that elegance is inferior to virtue, that the first object of laudable14 ambition is to obtain a character as a human being, regardless of the distinction of sex; and that secondary views should be brought to this simple touchstone.15

This is a rough sketch of my plan; and should I express my conviction with the energetic emotions that I feel whenever I think of the subject, the dictates of experience and reflection will be felt by some of my readers. Animated by this important object, I shall disdain to cull16 my phrases or polish my style;—I aim at being useful, and sincerity will render me unaffected; for, wishing rather to persuade by the force of my arguments, than dazzle by the elegance of my language, I shall not waste my time in rounding periods, or in fabricating the turgid bombast17 of artificial feelings, which, coming from the head, never reach the heart.—I shall be employed about things, not words!—and, anxious to render my sex more respectable members of society, I shall try to avoid that flowery diction which has slided from essays into novels, and from novels into familiar letters and conversation

These pretty superlatives,18 dropping glibly from the tongue, vitiate the taste, and create a kind of sickly delicacy that turns away from simple unadorned truth; and a deluge of false sentiments and overstretched feelings, stifling the natural emotions of the heart, render the domestic pleasures insipid, that ought to sweeten the exercise of those severe duties, which educate a rational and immortal being for a nobler field of action.

The education of women has, of late, been more attended to than formerly; yet they are still reckoned a frivolous sex, and ridiculed or pitied by the writers who endeavor by satire or instruction to improve them. It is acknowledged that they spend many of the first years of their lives in acquiring a smattering of accomplishments; meanwhile strength of body and mind are sacrificed to libertine19 notions of beauty, to the desire of establishing themselves,—the only way women can rise in the world,—by marriage. And this desire making mere animals of them, when they marry they act as such children may be expected to act:—they dress; they paint, and nickname God’s creatures.—Surely these weak beings are only fit for a seraglio!20 —Can they be expected to govern a family with judgment, or take care of the poor babes whom they bring into the world?

If then it can be fairly deduced from the present conduct of the sex, from the prevalent fondness for pleasure which takes place of ambition and those nobler passions that open and enlarge the soul; that the instruction which women have hitherto received has only tended, with the constitution21 of civil society, to render them insignificant objects of desire—mere propagators22 of fools!—if it can be proved that in aiming to accomplish them, without cultivating their understandings, they are taken out of their sphere of duties, and made ridiculous and useless when the short-lived bloom of beauty is over,* I presume that rational men will excuse me for endeavoring to persuade them to become more masculine and respectable.

*A lively writer, I cannot recollect his name, asks what business women turned of forty have to do in the world?

Indeed the word masculine is only a bugbear:23 there is little reason to fear that women will acquire too much courage or fortitude; for their apparent inferiority with respect to bodily strength, must render them, in some degree, dependent on men in the various relations of life; but why should it be increased by prejudices that give a sex to virtue, and confound simple truths with sensual reveries?24

Women are, in fact, so much degraded by mistaken notions of female excellence, that I do not mean to add a paradox when I assert, that this artificial weakness produces a propensity to tyrannize, and gives birth to cunning, the natural opponent of strength, which leads them to play off those contemptible infantine airs that undermine esteem even whilst they excite desire. Let men become more chaste and modest, and if women do not grow wiser in the same ratio, it will be clear that they have weaker understandings. It seems scarcely necessary to say, that I now speak of the sex in general. Many individuals have more sense than their male relatives; and, as nothing preponderates25 where there is a constant struggle for equilibrium, without it has naturally more gravity, some women govern their husbands without degrading themselves, because intellect will always govern.

Assignment: Robinson Crusoe (Free Response)

2008-03-31T09:02:00.000-07:00

Due 04-07-2008.

The reading is included in the lesson. If you enjoy chapter one, consider reading the rest!!

An Excerpt from Chapter One Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe is a story of adventure and ingenuity, and also a travel narrative in which the hero journeys to Africa, Brazil, China, and Siberia, and then is shipwrecked on a deserted island. But to view the novel as simply a fascinating travelogue is to ignore much of what makes it valuable and interesting to modern readers. Long a centerpiece of eighteenth-century literary studies and a significant influence on the fiction of its day, Defoe's Robinson Crusoe remains a standard text for teaching the period and continues to inspire popular adaptations and imitations, from children's books to adventure films to reality TV.

Throughout the narrative, Defoe details an individual's struggle to survive in hostile surroundings. As part of his day-to-day existence, Robinson Crusoe faces starvation, illness, pain, possible insanity, even danger from cannibals, but he survives. Read the excerpt below to see how the journey began!

Chapter One: The story begins in mid-seventeenth-century York, England with a brief account of Robinson Crusoe's early years.

One day at Hull, where I went casually, and without any purpose of making an

elopement that time; but I say, being there, and one of my

companions being going by sea to London, in his father's ship, and

prompting me to go with them, with the common allurement of sea-faring

men, that it should cost me nothing for my passage, I

consulted neither father nor mother any more, nor so much as sent them

word of it; but leaving them to hear of it as they might, without

asking God's blessing, or my father's, without any consideration of

circumstances or consequences, and in an ill hour, God knows, on the

first of September, 1651, I went on board a ship bound for London.

Never any young adventurer's misfortunes, I believe began sooner, or

continued longer than mine. The ship was no sooner gotten out of the

Humber, but the wind began to blow, and the waves to rise in a most

frightful manner; and as I had never been at sea before, I was most

inexpressibly sick in body, and terrified in my mind. I began now

seriously to reflect upon what I had done, and how justly I was

overtaken by the judgment of Heaven for my wicked leaving my

father's house, and abandoning my duty; all the good counsel of my

parents, my father's tears and my mother's entreaties, came now

fresh into my mind, and my conscience, which was not yet come to the

pitch of hardness which it has been since, reproached me with the

contempt of advice and the breach of my duty to God and my father.

All this while the storm increased, and the sea, which I had never

been upon before, went very high, though nothing like what I have seen

many times since; no, nor like what I saw a few days after. But it was

enough to affect me then, who was but a young sailor, and had never

known anything of the matter. I expected every wave would have

swallowed us up, and that every time the ship fell down, as I thought,

in the trough or hollow of the sea, we should never rise more; and

in this agony of mind I made many vows of resolutions, that if it

would please God here to spare my life this one voyage, if ever I

got once my foot upon dry land again, I would go directly home to my

father, and never set it into a ship again while I lived; that I would

take his advice, and never run myself into such miseries as these

any more. Now I saw plainly the goodness of his observations about the

middle station of life, how easy, how comfortably he had lived all his

days, and never had been exposed to tempests at sea, or troubles on

shore; and I resolved that I would, like a true repenting prodigal, go

home to my father.

These wise and sober thoughts continued all the while the storm

continued, and indeed some time after; but the next day the wind was

abated and the sea calmer, and I began to be a little inured to it.

However, I was very grave for all that day, being also a little

sea-sick still; but towards night the weather cleared up, the wind was

quite over, and a charming fine evening followed; the sun went down

perfectly clear, and rose so the next morning; and having little or no

wind, and a smooth sea, the sun shining upon it, the sight was, as I

thought, the most delightful that ever I saw.

I had slept well in the night, and was now no more sea-sick but very

cheerful, looking with wonder upon the sea that was so wrought and

terrible the day before, and could be so calm and so pleasant in so

little time after. And now lest my good resolutions should continue,

my companion, who had indeed enticed me away, comes to me: "Well,

Bob," says he, clapping me on the shoulder, "how do you do after it? I

warrant you were frighted, wa'n't you, last night, when it blew but

a capful of wind?" "A capful, d'you call it?" said I; It was a

terrible storm." "A storm, you fool you," replied he; "do you call

that a storm? Why, it was nothing at all; give us but a good ship

and sea-room, and we think nothing at all; give us but a good ship and

sea-room, and we think nothing of such a squall of wind as that; but

you're but a fresh-water sailor, Bob. Come, let us make a bowl of

punch, and we'll forget all that; d'ye see what charming weather

'tis now?" To make short this sad part of my story, we went the old

way of all sailors; the punch was made, and I was made drunk with

it, and in that one night's wickedness I drowned all my repentance,

all my reflections upon my past conduct, and all my resolutions for my

future. In a word, as the sea was returned to its smoothness of

surface and settled calmness by the abatement of that storm, so the

hurry of my thoughts being over, my fears and apprehensions of being

swallowed up by the sea being forgotten, and the current of my

former desires returned, I entirely forgot the vows and promises

that I made in my distress. I found indeed some intervals of

reflection, and the serious thoughts did, as it were, endeavor to

return again sometime; but I shook them off, and roused myself from

them as it were from a distemper, and applying myself to drink and

company, soon mastered the return of those fits, for so I called them,

and I had in five or six days got as complete a victory over

conscience as any young fellow that resolved not to be troubled with

it could desire. But I was to have another trial for it still; and

Providence, as in such cases generally it does, resolved to leave me

entirely without excuse. For if I would not take this for a

deliverance, the next was to be such a one as the worst and most

hardened wretch among us would confess both the danger and the mercy.

Reflection Questions: As always, please answer each of the following questions in full and complete sentences in the free response box below.

1. What do you learn about Robinson Crusoe from this passage? What are at least two examples of how Defoe reveals Crusoe's character to the reader?

2. What do you learn about Robinson’s relationship with his parents from this excerpt?

3. How does Robinson respond to the storm? How would you react in a similar situation?

4. How does his attitude change after the storm has ended and the sea is calm?

5. Based the last sentence and your prior knowledge, what do you predict will happen next?

6. If you were going to be stranded on desert island, what three things and one person would you like to have with you?

Class Notes March 25th

2008-03-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

TODAY’S OBJECTIVES:

REVIEW THE PURPOSE OF SATIRICAL WRITING

INTRODUCTION TO CERVANTES AND DON QUIXOTE

English 12
March 25, 2008

Upcoming Assignments:

* Due 3/24: Letter to the Editor
* Due 3/27: Your Turn at Satire
* Due 3/28: Introduction to Don Quixote
* Due 4/01: Don Quixote Reflection Questions

Novel for the 4th Marking Period

* 1984 With Connections: With Connections (Hrw Library) (Hardcover)
by George Orwell (Author)

* The full is available online, but having the actual novel will make for a much better experience. You can purchase any edition from a book store or website. Local libraries will also have copies.
* BUY THE BOOK!!!

* Used copies can be purchased from Amazon for $1.20.

Creating your own Satire

* First, describe the problem. What is one of the major problems in the world today? What is something that is really negatively impacting the way people live their lives? What do you think is wrong with the world? Give examples and descriptions of the problem.
* Second, suggest a solution for the problem. Your solution should be extreme and outrageous. Don't worry about offending anyone (You can't get much more offensive that suggesting that we eat children!) Think sarcastically-- what would be a crazy way to solve the problem? The reader should think "No way! We don't want that solution!" Then, they will be forced to think about how to really solve the problem.
* Third, give reasons that your solution would be successful. Give at least two reasons why you feel your solution will be effective. Imagine what life will be like when your solution is put into effect. (Think positive! Don't think about the negative stuff that might happen-- Remember, you are trying to convince people to do it) This is your chance to be an unreliable narrator.

Creating a Satirical Essay

Student Example: Stating the Problem

Education systems all around the world are failing to meet the needs of students. This is an important factor for every society and especially for the United States. The education system here has always been faulty, but the problem is more serious now with the extreme pressure coming from international competition. There are few educational systems out there that are really suited to help the specific needs of students. The dropout rate in the USA has risen consistently over the last 20 years and it shows no sign of improvement. In the past, students only needed basic skills for the American manufacturing economy. A young person graduating from high school could be confident that they would earn a decent living with minimal education. This is no longer true in the globalized economy. Nowadays, young people need to go to college and/or acquire specialized skills if they want to survive on their own and make real money. We must ask ourselves, how can we improve the graduation rate and meet the diverse needs of American students?

Possible Solutions

* Reasonable Options:

* Extreme Options:

The Proposal

* Would it be outrageous if every child was home-schooled by a robot? I say NO it would not be! Students would achieve all their educational requirements and goals much more efficiently and economically. They would also learn to explore and examine more of life and become innovative thinkers. The robots would help keep them on track and guide them through their schoolwork. Getting rid of inefficient human teachers and traditional curriculum timelines would increase educational effectiveness. Getting rid of traditional schools would save billions of dollars.
* A huge improvement will be seen in student performance and skill acquisition. The robots will take control and effectively deliver every piece of data students need to learn in a systematic way. These robots will produce highly skilled students that are able compete in the job market and with students from other countries.

What is Satire?

* SATIRE A kind of writing that ridicules human weakness, vice, or folly in order to bring about social reform.

* Verbal irony occurs when a writer or speaker says one thing but really means something quite different—often the opposite of what he or she has said.

* PARODY The imitation of a work of literature, art, or music for amusement or instruction. Parodies usually use exaggeration or inappropriate subject matter to make a serious style seem ridiculous.

WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?

What is the purpose of Satire?

The Sting of Satire

* Introduction to the genre on pages 462 – 485 in your text book.
* Satirists make fun of vicious, selfish, mean-spirited people in the hope that we will see aspects of ourselves in such people and mend our ways. Thus, satirists perform an important function in society: They expose errors and absurdities that we no longer notice because custom and familiarity have blinded us to them.

The Timeline

* Timeline

* Rape of the Lock:
* 1702 Alexander Pope

Scathing Humor: The Weapon of the Satirist

* One of the most useful techniques available to the satirist is parody, a mocking imitation of a writer’s style or of a particular genre.
* Pope’s The Rape of the Lock, for example, parodies the epic style to describe the theft of a lock of hair.
* Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote (see page 475) parodies the chivalric romance, finding its satire in the incongruity that arises from the clash between the romantic and the real. Parody can only be used successfully by writers who are familiar with many works of literature and who understand and appreciate style.

Cervantes’ Masterpiece

Who is Cervantes?

* Where is he from?

* What incredible events happened in his life?

Don Quixote

* When Cervantes wrote Don Quixote, stories of romantic love and knightly adventure stories were very popular. In these stories, knights fought villains, dragons, and monsters, and went on quests in honor of ladies to whom they had sworn their love. Such heroes stood for military values such as honor, courage, and loyalty, combined with values such as piety, courtesy, and chastity. Cervantes wrote Don Quixote as a parody of those stories.

Reason for the Parody

* The narrator tells us that Don Quixote read so many romances that “his brain dried up.” Many passages from such tales are so convoluted that “Aristotle himself would not have been able to understand them, even if he had been resurrected for that sole purpose.” Wickedly, Cervantes quotes literally from a tale by a sixteenth-century writer whose language is so exaggerated that Cervantes does not need to embellish it further

To Dream a Little Dream

* In the story, Quixote, a quiet man who likes to read a lot, dreams of being a knight and saving the world. That is his "impossible dream." As stated above, we all have impossible dreams.

* What is yours? (What would you do if you could be anyone and do anything?)

Background for Don Quixote

* According to legend, it was while he was in jail that the idea for Don Quixote came to Cervantes. His hero, Don Quixote, is a poor, aging landowner who reads nothing but romantic tales of chivalry. As he teeters on the edge of insanity, the old man becomes convinced that he is a knight-errant, even though the age of knights is long past.
* The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha was published in January of 1605 and immediately caused a sensation. Once the first edition sold out, pirated (illegally printed) copies began to appear. Six editions were issued in the first year, and translations into French and English appeared within ten years. It seemed that everyone in Spain, and soon everyone in Europe, was laughing at the adventures of the ridiculous knight Don Quixote.

Class Notes March 14th

2008-03-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

TODAY’S OBJECTIVES:

FINAL ANALYSIS OF A MODEST PROPOSAL

PREPARATION FOR EDITORIAL WRITING

English 12
March 14, 2008

Upcoming Assignments:

* Due Thursday March 13:
* Modest Proposal Response Questions

* Due Monday March 24:
* Letter to the Editor

* Due Thursday March 27:
* Your Turn at Satire

Spring Break

* No school, No chats, No assignments!!!
* From March 17th to the 21st

* I will be away for the week and unable to answer emails or grade assignments.

* Have a great week! I hope you relax and have fun!

WHAT IS THE MODERN RELEVANCE OF THIS ESSAY?

IS THERE A GOOD REASON TO READ IT?

Why would I ask you to read an essay about eating children?

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS?

WHAT ARE OTHER EXAMPLES OF WORKS WITH UNRELIABLE NARRATOR?

How do you know when you have an unreliable narrator?

Unreliable?

* Self-Interested
* Biased Towards the Subject Matter
* Uses Derogatory Terms
* Uses Faulty Logic

How is the narrator of the Modest Proposal unreliable?

Conclusion

* I profess in the sincerity of my heart that I have not the least personal interest in endeavoring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive than the public good of my country, by advancing our trade, providing for infants, relieving the poor, and giving some pleasure to the rich. I have no children, by which I can propose to get a single penny; the youngest being nine years old, and my wife past childbearing.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?

WHAT IS THE EFFECT?

Why do authors use unreliable narrators?

Swift’s Real Ideas page 436

* Therefore let no man talk to me of other expedients:
* Of taxing our absentees49 at five shillings a pound;
* of using neither clothes, nor household furniture, except what is of our own growth and manufacture; of utterly rejecting the materials and instruments that promote foreign luxury;
* of learning to love our country, wherein we differ even from Laplanders, and the inhabitants of Topinamboo;52
* of quitting our animosities, and factions,53 nor act any longer like the Jews, who were murdering one another at the very moment their city54 was taken;
* of being a little cautious not to sell our country and consciences for nothing;
* of teaching landlords to have at least one degree of mercy toward their tenants.
* Lastly of putting a spirit of honesty, industry, and skill into our shopkeepers, who, if a resolution could now be taken to buy only our native goods, would immediately unite to cheat and exact55 upon us in the price, the measure, and the goodness, nor could ever yet be brought to make one fair proposal of just dealing, though often and earnestly invited to it.

Letter to the Editor

Practice writing a "letter to the editor," but you are going to do so from the viewpoint of a person in 1729: A person who has just read Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" in the Irish Times Newspaper. Now is your time to "let go" and express all of your opinions!

* Suggestions:
* First, brainstorm by making a list of three or four things you either strongly agree with or strongly disagree with in Swift's proposal. Then, think of ways you can either refute (disprove or disagree with) or back-up those points.
* In your first paragraph, you should say WHY you are writing, and you should IDENTIFY yourself.
* In the second paragraph, you should share your opinions.
* In the third paragraph, you should sum things up, and end with a bang-- Try to end with a good, strong sentence.

Who will you be? And Why?

* Assignment:
* Write a letter to the editor of the Irish Times, expressing either your agreement or disagreement with Jonathan Swift and his "modest proposal." Choose a date in 1729, and share your views on the matter. Write as if you are the mother of a baby, a farm worker, a landlord or any other person who might have an interest in the matter. Your letter should be at least 200 words.

WHY OR WHY NOT?

Will you be reliable or unreliable?

Making a Modern Connection

* What are the most pressing problems in the world today?
* Poverty
* Economy

* War in the Middle East

* AIDS

* What are solutions?

* Free Market vs. Communist

* Diplomacy vs. Annihilation

* Drugs vs. Abstinence

Create Your Own Satire

* First, describe the problem. What is one of the major problems in the world today? What is something that is really negatively impacting the way people live their lives? What do you think is wrong with the world? Give examples and descriptions of the problem.
* Second, suggest a solution for the problem. Your solution should be extreme and outrageous. Don't worry about offending anyone (You can't get much more offensive that suggesting that we eat children!) Think sarcastically-- what would be a crazy way to solve the problem? The reader should think "No way! We don't want that solution!" Then, they will be forced to think about how to really solve the problem.
* Third, give reasons that your solution would be successful.

Building a Satirical Response

Satire

What is it again?

* SATIRE A kind of writing that ridicules human weakness, vice, or folly in order to bring about social reform.

* Verbal irony occurs when a writer or speaker says one thing but really means something quite different—often the opposite of what he or she has said.

* PARODY The imitation of a work of literature, art, or music for amusement or instruction. Parodies usually use exaggeration or inappropriate subject matter to make a serious style seem ridiculous.

Who is Swift?

* 1667 – 1745
* Anglo-Irish Protestant
* Served as a Priest in rural Ireland before being made Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Swift justified these pro-Irish writings:

* “What I do is owing to perfect rage and resentment, and the mortifying sight of slavery, folly, and baseness about me, among which I am forced to live.”

What is the proposal?

* A Modest Proposal was written by Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), who is well-known as the author of the satirical political fantasy, Gulliver's Travels.

* Swift published the Modest Proposal in 1729 as a pamphlet (a kind of essay in an unbound booklet).

* At this time, and for many years afterward, Ireland (not an independent country) was far poorer than England. Most people born there were Roman Catholics and employed as agricultural laborers or tenant farmers. The landlords (landowners) were paid from the produce of the land, at rates which the workers could rarely afford. This ruling class were usually Protestants. Many of them were not born in Ireland, nor did they live there permanently.

Background

* Swift assumes the voice of a practical economic planner.

* He pretends to be objective, full of common sense, even sensitive and kind.

* It is this difference between sober, straightforward style and appalling content that gives Swift’s pamphlet its force.

Map of the Area

The Text

* FOR PREVENTING THE CHILDREN OF POOR PEOPLE IN IRELAND FROM BEING A BURDEN TO THEIR PARENTS OR COUNTRY, AND FOR MAKING THEM BENEFICIAL TO THE PUBLIC
* It is a melancholy object to those, who walk through this great town,1 or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads, and cabin doors, crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for an alms.2 These mothers instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling, to beg sustenance for their helpless infants, who, as they grow up either turn thieves for want3 of work, or leave their dear native country to fight for the Pretender4 in Spain, or sell themselves to the Barbadoes.5

*
* I think it is agreed by all parties, that this prodigious number of children, in the arms, or on the backs, or at the heels of their mothers, and frequently of their fathers, is in the present deplorable state of the kingdom, a very great additional grievance; and therefore whoever could find out a fair, cheap, and easy method of making these children sound and useful members of the commonwealth would deserve so well of the public, as to have his statue set up for a preserver of the nation.
* #1. What problem does the speaker describe in the first two paragraphs?

Unreliable Narrator

* Self-Interested
* Biased Towards the Subject Matter
* Uses Derogatory Terms
* Uses Faulty Logic

Class Notes March 11th

2008-03-27T19:19:00.000-07:00

TODAY’S OBJECTIVES:

REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF JONATHAN SWIFTS “A MODEST PROPOSAL”

English 12
March 10, 2008

Upcoming Assignments

* Due Tuesday March 11:
* Introduction to the Period Vocabulary Activity

* Due Thursday March 13:
* Modest Proposal Response Questions

* Due Friday March 24:
* Letter to the Editor

Introduction to the Period Assignment

* In the Free Response box below, you will create a group of sentences, paragraph or short story that uses AT LEAST 12 of the 15 vocabulary words from the word bank. Because of its importance in this collection, you MUST use the word satire in your writing.
* You can be creative or literal in your presentation of the words, but your writing must demonstrate an understanding of the time period and the meaning of the vocabulary word. You can use more than one word in each sentence, but you must have a minimum of ten sentences. Be creative!! Please make sure that you carefully proofread your work before you submit it to me. Responses that do reference the time period will be returned.

Collection 4: The Restoration

* Enlightenment
* Reason
* Jonathan Swift
* Revolution
* Augustan
* Robinson Crusoe
* Alexander Pope
* Conservative

* Science
* Sir Isaac Newton
* Satire*
* Elegy
* Ode
* Journalism
* Novels

Introduction to this Literary Time Period pages 406 - 424

* Think the following questions while you are reading…
* In 1660, the English monarchy was restored after nearly twenty years of civil war and repressive Puritan rule. Then plague descended, followed by a devastating fire in London. No wonder, then, that the English were ready for a period of stability in which the conservative values of order, decorum, and clarity were of the utmost importance.
* As you read about this period, look for answers to these questions:

* What was new about the way in which nature was regarded and analyzed in the eighteenth century?

* How did Enlightenment values affect beliefs?

* What new forms of popular literature developed in the eighteenth century?

Excellent Example

* This time period of 1660-1800 has been given several names such as, the Augustan Age, the Enlightenment and the Age of Reason. It has been given so many names because this time period was like a Revolution which brought about many new ideas and arts making it a greatly varied time in history as well as demonstrating how people were growing and changing their views of not only themselves but the world as well. In this time, more writers were putting their focus more towards the middle class of society rather than the upper class. These writers began to practice the new profession of journalism. Novels also became popular amongst the middle class, especially with women. Daniel Defoe wrote what is sometimes considered to be the first novel in English, Robinson Crusoe. Such poets as Alexander Pope were well noted for his translation of Homer and was a master of heroic couplet. Jonathan Swift was also a famous writer during this time period creating such works as Gulliver's Travels and A Modest Proposal. As stated by Jonathan Swift, "Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own". Satire was something that was greatly making its way around in writings during this time period. Science was also a booming discovery in this time period. Sir Isaac Newton is well noted for describing universal gravitation as well as the three laws of motion.

*
* Catastrophes struck England in the 17th century including a massive fire in London, and an outbreak of the plague. The nation saw a revolution into a period of Enlightenment, or Augustan Age, where the people began to care about the arts, and knowledge again. Authors began to write more about morals and social issues, creating novels. Satires became popular, using irony and other literary techniques to make fun of something or someone. Writers began to write the Ode--a poem that is supposed to be sung and another type of poem known as an Elegy, which has a sadder tone and is meant for mournful times. The general public itself started to think of how certain things could happen, instead of thinking that they were punishments from a superior being. This kind of reasoning that the public began to think of, lead to this age also being known as an Age of Reason. Although there was this movement of more thinking and a new understanding, people generally were conservative, wanting to keep things the way they are with no radicalism. Science began to make more sense, with scientists such as Edmond Halley looking into space and not connecting those events with events in the human world. Religion was also brought into question, with Alexander Pope and other people believing that they should just be content with what is going on, with the philosophy of "Whatever is, is right." Meanwhile, some scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton balanced religion and science by still believing in religion while studying science.

Making a Modern Connection

* What are the most pressing problems in the world today?
* Poverty
* Economy

* War in the Middle East

* AIDS

* What are solutions?

* Free Market vs. Communist

* Diplomacy vs. Annihilation

* Drugs vs. Abstinence

Building a Satirical Response

How can you get people to listen?

* How can you bring about change?

* How can you get people to listen?

* What will you do if they don’t listen?

Satire

What is it again?

* SATIRE A kind of writing that ridicules human weakness, vice, or folly in order to bring about social reform.

* Verbal irony occurs when a writer or speaker says one thing but really means something quite different—often the opposite of what he or she has said.

* PARODY The imitation of a work of literature, art, or music for amusement or instruction. Parodies usually use exaggeration or inappropriate subject matter to make a serious style seem ridiculous.

Who is Swift?

* 1667 – 1745
* Anglo-Irish Protestant
* Served as a Priest in rural Ireland before being made Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Swift justified these pro-Irish writings:

* “What I do is owing to perfect rage and resentment, and the mortifying sight of slavery, folly, and baseness about me, among which I am forced to live.”

What is the proposal?

* A Modest Proposal was written by Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), who is well-known as the author of the satirical political fantasy, Gulliver's Travels.

* Swift published the Modest Proposal in 1729 as a pamphlet (a kind of essay in an unbound booklet).

* At this time, and for many years afterward, Ireland (not an independent country) was far poorer than England. Most people born there were Roman Catholics and employed as agricultural laborers or tenant farmers. The landlords (landowners) were paid from the produce of the land, at rates which the workers could rarely afford. This ruling class were usually Protestants. Many of them were not born in Ireland, nor did they live there permanently.

Background

* Swift assumes the voice of a practical economic planner.

* He pretends to be objective, full of common sense, even sensitive and kind.

* It is this difference between sober, straightforward style and appalling content that gives Swift’s pamphlet its force.

The Text

* FOR PREVENTING THE CHILDREN OF POOR PEOPLE IN IRELAND FROM BEING A BURDEN TO THEIR PARENTS OR COUNTRY, AND FOR MAKING THEM BENEFICIAL TO THE PUBLIC
* It is a melancholy object to those, who walk through this great town,1 or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads, and cabin doors, crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for an alms.2 These mothers instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling, to beg sustenance for their helpless infants, who, as they grow up either turn thieves for want3 of work, or leave their dear native country to fight for the Pretender4 in Spain, or sell themselves to the Barbadoes.5

*
* I think it is agreed by all parties, that this prodigious number of children, in the arms, or on the backs, or at the heels of their mothers, and frequently of their fathers, is in the present deplorable state of the kingdom, a very great additional grievance; and therefore whoever could find out a fair, cheap, and easy method of making these children sound and useful members of the commonwealth would deserve so well of the public, as to have his statue set up for a preserver of the nation.
* #1. What problem does the speaker describe in the first two paragraphs?

Unreliable Narrator

* Self-Interested
* Biased Towards the Subject Matter
* Uses Derogatory Terms
* Uses Faulty Logic

At what age are children ready to participate?

* But my intention is very far from being confined to provide only for the children of professed beggars; it is of a much greater extent, and shall take in the whole number of infants at a certain age, who are born of parents in effect as little able to support them, as those who demand our charity in the streets. As to my own part, having turned my thoughts, for many years, upon this important subject, and maturely weighed the several schemes of other projectors,6 I have always found them grossly mistaken in their computation. It is true a child, just dropped from its dam,7 may be supported by her milk, for a solar year8 with little other nourishment, at most not above the value of two shillings, which the mother may certainly get, or the value in scraps, by her lawful occupation of begging, and it is exactly at one year old that I propose to provide for them, in such a manner, as, instead of being a charge upon their parents, or the parish, or wanting food and raiment9 for the rest of their lives, they shall, on the contrary, contribute to the feeding and partly to the clothing of many thousands.

*
* There is likewise another great advantage in my scheme, that it will prevent those voluntary abortions, and that horrid practice of women murdering their bastard children, alas! too frequent among us, sacrificing the poor innocent babes, I doubt,10 more to avoid the expense, than the shame, which would move tears and pity in the most savage and inhuman breast.

#3 What is ironic about the speaker’s comments on stealing?

* The number of souls11 in Ireland being usually reckoned one million and a half, of these I calculate there may be about two hundred thousand couples whose wives are breeders, from which number I subtract thirty thousand couples, who are able to maintain their own children, although I apprehend there cannot be so many under the present distresses of the kingdom, but this being granted, there will remain an hundred and seventy thousand breeders. I again subtract fifty thousand for those women who miscarry, or whose children die by accident, or disease within the year. There only remain an hundred and twenty thousand children of poor parents annually born: The question therefore is, how this number shall be reared, and provided for, which, as I have already said, under the present situation of affairs, is utterly impossible by all the methods hitherto proposed, for we can neither employ them in handicraft,12 or agriculture; we neither build houses (I mean in the country) nor cultivate land: They can very seldom pick up a livelihood by stealing until they arrive at six years old, except where they are of towardly parts,13 although, I confess they learn the rudiments much earlier, during which time, they can however be properly looked upon only as probationers,14 as I have been informed by a principal gentleman in the county of Cavan,15 who protested to me, that he never knew above one or two instances under the age of six, even in a part of the kingdom so renowned for the quickest proficiency in that art.16

*
* I am assured by our merchants, that a boy or girl, before twelve years old, is no saleable commodity, and even when they come to this age, they will not yield above three pounds, or three pounds and half a crown at most on the exchange, which cannot turn to account17 either to the parents or the kingdom, the charge of nutriment and rags having been at least four times that value. I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection.
* I have been assured by a very knowing American18 of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled, and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee,19 or ragout.20

#4 The speaker “humbly” offers his proposal.
What horrible plan is he actually proposing?

* I do therefore humbly offer it to public consideration, that of the hundred and twenty thousand children, already computed, twenty thousand may be reserved for breed, whereof only one-fourth part to be males, which is more than we allow to sheep, black cattle, or swine, and my reason is that these children are seldom the fruits of marriage, a circumstance not much regarded by our savages; therefore one male will be sufficient to serve four females. That the remaining hundred thousand may at a year old be offered in sale to the persons of quality, and fortune, through the kingdom, always advising the mother to let them suck plentifully in the last month, so as to render them plump, and fat for a good table. A child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends, and when the family dines alone, the fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned with a little pepper or salt will be very good boiled on the fourth day, especially in winter.

ALLOWING CHILDREN TO STARVE

OR

SWIFT’S RECOMMENDATION

Which is more immoral? Why?

#5 What bias does the speaker of this essay reveal?

* I have reckoned upon a medium, that a child just born will weigh twelve pounds, and in a solar year if tolerably nursed increaseth to twenty-eight pounds.
* I grant this food will be somewhat dear,21 and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured22 most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children.
* Infant’s flesh will be in season throughout the year, but more plentiful in March, and a little before and after, for we are told by a grave author,23 an eminent French physician, that fish being a prolific diet, there are more children born in Roman Catholic countries about nine months after Lent, than at any other season, therefore reckoning a year after Lent, the markets will be more glutted than usual, because the number of popish24 infants, is at least three to one in this kingdom, and therefore it will have one other collateral advantage by lessening the number of papists among us.

In discussing the economics of his proposal, what kind of appeal is the speaker making?

* I have already computed the charge of nursing a beggar’s child (in which list I reckon all cottagers,25 laborers, and four-fifths of the farmers) to be about two shillings per annum,26 rags included, and I believe no gentleman would repine to give ten shillings for the carcass of a good fat child, which, as I have said will make four dishes of excellent nutritive meat, when he hath only some particular friend, or his own family to dine with him. Thus the squire will learn to be a good landlord, and grow popular among his tenants, the mother will have eight shillings net profit, and be fit for work until she produceth another child.

What effect does he expect his word choice to create?

* Those who are more thrifty (as I must confess the times require) may flay27 the carcass; the skin of which, artificially28 dressed, will make admirable gloves for ladies, and summer boots for fine gentlemen. As to our city of Dublin, shambles29 may be appointed for this purpose, in the most convenient parts of it, and butchers we may be assured will not be wanting, although I rather recommend buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife, as we do roasting pigs.

*
* A very worthy person, a true lover of his country, and whose virtues I highly esteem, was lately pleased, in discoursing on this matter, to offer a refinement upon my scheme. He said, that many gentlemen of this kingdom, having of late destroyed their deer, he conceived that the want of venison might be well supplied by the bodies of young lads and maidens, not exceeding fourteen years of age, nor under twelve, so great a number of both sexes in every country being now ready to starve, for want of work and service:30 and these to be disposed of by their parents if alive, or otherwise by their nearest relations. But with due deference to so excellent a friend, and so deserving a patriot, I cannot be altogether in his sentiments, for as to the males, my American acquaintance assured me from frequent experience, that their flesh was generally tough and lean, like that of our schoolboys, by continual exercise, and their taste disagreeable, and to fatten them would not answer the charge. Then as to the females, it would, I think with humble submission,31 be a loss to the public, because they soon would become breeders themselves: And besides it is not improbable that some scrupulous people might be apt to censure such a practice (although indeed very unjustly) as a little bordering upon cruelty, which, I confess, hath always been with me the strongest objection against any project, how well soever intended.

*
* But in order to justify my friend, he confessed that this expedient was put into his head by the famous Sallmanaazor,32 a native of the island Formosa, who came from thence to London, above twenty years ago, and in conversation told my friend, that in his country when any young person happened to be put to death, the executioner sold the carcass to persons of quality, as a prime dainty, and that, in his time, the body of a plump girl of fifteen, who was crucified for an attempt to poison the emperor, was sold to his imperial majesty’s prime minister of state, and other great mandarins33 of the court, in joints34 from the gibbet,35 at four hundred crowns. Neither indeed can I deny, that if the same use were made of several plump young girls in this town, who, without one single groat to their fortunes, cannot stir abroad without a chair,36 and appear at the playhouse, and assemblies in foreign fineries, which they never will pay for; the kingdom would not be the worse.

Become a Castaway!

2008-03-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

Read the full text of Robinson Crusoe HERE

Heroic Couplets from Pope

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1 Music resembles poetry: in each
Are nameless graces1 which no methods teach,
And which a master hand alone can reach.
—An Essay on Criticism, lines 143–145
2 A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian3 spring.
—An Essay on Criticism, lines 215–216
3 Be not the first by whom the new are tried,
Nor yet the last to lay the old aside.
—An Essay on Criticism, lines 335–336
4 True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,
As those move easiest who have learned to dance.
—An Essay on Criticism, lines 362–363
5 Be thou the first true merit to befriend;
His praise is lost, who stays till all commend.
—An Essay on Criticism, lines 474–475
6 Good nature and good sense must ever join;
To err is human, to forgive, divine.
—An Essay on Criticism, lines 524–525
7 Hope springs eternal in the human breast:
Man never is, but always to be blest.
—An Essay on Man, Epistle I, lines 95–96
8 ’Tis education forms the common mind,
Just as the twig is bent, the tree’s inclined.
—Moral Essays, Epistle I, lines 149–150
9 But when to mischief mortals bend their will,
How soon they find fit instruments of ill!
—The Rape of the Lock, Canto III, lines 125–126
10 Satire’s my weapon, but I’m too discreet
To run amuck, and tilt4 at all I meet.
—Imitations of Horace, Satire I, Book II,

Don Quixote Reflection Questions

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Due 04-01-2008.
You can find the excerpt from Don Quixote on page 476 of your online textbook.
Please read the excerpt, and answer the comprehension questions. Answer these reflection questions in the Free Response Box below.
Reading Check:

1. After being knocked down by the windmill, how does Don Quixote explain the fact that he has not killed a giant?

2. What natural human needs does Don Quixote ignore? How does Sancho Panza, in contrast, satisfy those needs?
Thinking Critically

3. Cervantes directly pokes fun at the medieval romance every time Don Quixote obeys one of the rules of knighthood, or "ordinances of chivalry," as he understands them. List three such "rules" that Don Quixote cites.

4. An idealist, or romantic, views the world as he or she thinks it ought to be. A realist views the world as it is. Is Don Quixote an idealist or a realist? What about Sancho Panza? Give evidence from the text.

Alexander Pope: Heroic Couplets

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Lesson Questions for Today:
What was Pope's purpose in writing heroic couplets?

For the writers in Alexander Pope's time, the purpose of poetry was to entertain and to instruct. The clearness, elegance, and short length of Pope's poetry guaranteed that people would enjoy and learn from his work. Aside from Shakespeare, Alexander Pope may be the most widely quoted writer in English literature, in part because his rhyming couplets are so pleasing and easy to remember. Pope’s most famous work is a mock epic poem entitled Rape of the Lock. The entire poem is made of heroic couplets.
Today, we are going to read and analyze some heroic couplets by Pope from his most famous works. A heroic couplet is two rhyming lines of iambic pentameter. Pope uses heroic couplets to briefly and clearly explain his views on subjects such as human nature, proper education, and good writing.
Take a look at the 10 couplets on page 447 in your text and answer the following questions.

Assignment-- Answer the following questions in the free response box:
1. Paraphrase the second and fourth heroic couplets in your own words.
2. Think of an example of how a little learning could be a dangerous thing. (first couplet)
3. Which couplet do you agree with LEAST? Why?
4. Write a paragraph, giving an example of how one of the heroic couplets relates to a lesson or situation you have experienced in your own life.
5. Write a heroic couplet in Pope's style. Share an opinion on society or life using two rhyming lines of iambic pentameter.

A Modest Proposal

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Lesson: A Modest Proposal (Free Response)
Course: English 12 Unit:
Lesson: A Modest Proposal Chapter: Week Six: The Reformation and Jonathan Swift
Lesson Status: This lesson has not been submitted and was due on 03-13-2008 and is now late.
Grade Comments:

Lesson Materials:

Today, you will read "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift, and answer some comprehension questions. I would like you to stop at certain points in the proposal to answer questions. Write your answers to these questions in the free response box.

I will be offering help with this assignment in our chat. You may also read "A Modest Proposal" in your textbook on page 430. If you are reading in the textbook, note that I would like you to answer the following questions, which are listed on the right side of the story: 1, 4, 9, 10, 12 in the textbook, and #6 in this lesson.

A MODEST PROPOSAL

FOR PREVENTING THE CHILDREN OF POOR PEOPLE IN IRELAND FROM BEING A BURDEN TO THEIR PARENTS OR COUNTRY, AND FOR MAKING THEM BENEFICIAL TO THE PUBLIC

IT IS a melancholy object to those who walk through this great town or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads, and cabin doors, crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for an alms. These mothers, instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling to beg sustenance for their helpless infants: who as they grow up either turn thieves for want of work, or leave their dear native country to fight for the Pretender in Spain, or sell themselves to the Barbadoes.

I think it is agreed by all parties that this prodigious number of children in the arms, or on the backs, or at the heels of their mothers, and frequently of their fathers, is in the present deplorable state of the kingdom a very great additional grievance; and, therefore, whoever could find out a fair, cheap, and easy method of making these children sound, useful members of the commonwealth, would deserve so well of the public as to have his statue set up for a preserver of the nation.

1. What problem does the speaker describe in the first two paragraphs?

But my intention is very far from being confined to provide only for the children of professed beggars; it is of a much greater extent, and shall take in the whole number of infants at a certain age who are born of parents in effect as little able to support them as those who demand our charity in the streets.

As to my own part, having turned my thoughts for many years upon this important subject, and maturely weighed the several schemes of other projectors, I have always found them grossly mistaken in the computation. It is true, a child just dropped from its dam may be supported by her milk for a solar year, with little other nourishment; at most not above the value of 2s., which the mother may certainly get, or the value in scraps, by her lawful occupation of begging; and it is exactly at one year old that I propose to provide for them in such a manner as instead of being a charge upon their parents or the parish, or wanting food and raiment for the rest of their lives, they shall on the contrary contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing, of many thousands.

There is likewise another great advantage in my scheme, that it will prevent those voluntary abortions, and that horrid practice of women murdering their bastard children, alas! too frequent among us! sacrificing the poor innocent babes I doubt more to avoid the expense than the shame, which would move tears and pity in the most savage and inhuman breast.

The number of souls in this kingdom being usually reckoned one million and a half, of these I calculate there may be about two hundred thousand couple whose wives are breeders; from which number I subtract thirty thousand couples who are able to maintain their own children, although I apprehend there cannot be so many, under the present distresses of the kingdom; but this being granted, there will remain an hundred and seventy thousand breeders. I again subtract fifty thousand for those women who miscarry, or whose children die by accident or disease within the year. There only remains one hundred and twenty thousand children of poor parents annually born. The question therefore is, how this number shall be reared and provided for, which, as I have already said, under the present situation of affairs, is utterly impossible by all the methods hitherto proposed. For we can neither employ them in handicraft or agriculture; we neither build houses (I mean in the country) nor cultivate land: they can very seldom pick up a livelihood by stealing, till they arrive at six years old, except where they are of towardly parts, although I confess they learn the rudiments much earlier, during which time, they can however be properly looked upon only as probationers, as I have been informed by a principal gentleman in the county of Cavan, who protested to me that he never knew above one or two instances under the age of six, even in a part of the kingdom so renowned for the quickest proficiency in that art.

I am assured by our merchants, that a boy or a girl before twelve years old is no salable commodity; and even when they come to this age they will not yield above three pounds, or three pounds and half-a-crown at most on the exchange; which cannot turn to account either to the parents or kingdom, the charge of nutriment and rags having been at least four times that value.

I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection.

I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout.

I do therefore humbly offer it to public consideration that of the hundred and twenty thousand children already computed, twenty thousand may be reserved for breed, whereof only one-fourth part to be males; which is more than we allow to sheep, black cattle or swine; and my reason is, that these children are seldom the fruits of marriage, a circumstance not much regarded by our savages, therefore one male will be sufficient to serve four females. That the remaining hundred thousand may, at a year old, be offered in the sale to the persons of quality and fortune through the kingdom; always advising the mother to let them suck plentifully in the last month, so as to render them plump and fat for a good table. A child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends; and when the family dines alone, the fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned with a little pepper or salt will be very good boiled on the fourth day, especially in winter.

2. The speaker “humbly” offers his proposal. What horrible plan is he actually proposing?

I have reckoned upon a medium that a child just born will weigh 12 pounds, and in a solar year, if tolerably nursed, increaseth to 28 pounds.

I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children.

Infant's flesh will be in season throughout the year, but more plentiful in March, and a little before and after; for we are told by a grave author, an eminent French physician, that fish being a prolific diet, there are more children born in Roman Catholic countries about nine months after Lent than at any other season; therefore, reckoning a year after Lent, the markets will be more glutted than usual, because the number of popish infants is at least three to one in this kingdom: and therefore it will have one other collateral advantage, by lessening the number of papists among us.

I have already computed the charge of nursing a beggar's child (in which list I reckon all cottagers, laborers, and four-fifths of the farmers) to be about two shillings per annum, rags included; and I believe no gentleman would repine to give ten shillings for the carcass of a good fat child, which, as I have said, will make four dishes of excellent nutritive meat, when he hath only some particular friend or his own family to dine with him. Thus the squire will learn to be a good landlord, and grow popular among his tenants; the mother will have eight shillings net profit, and be fit for work till she produces another child.

Those who are more thrifty (as I must confess the times require) may flay the carcass; the skin of which artificially dressed will make admirable gloves for ladies, and summer boots for fine gentlemen.

As to our city of Dublin, shambles may be appointed for this purpose in the most convenient parts of it, and butchers we may be assured will not be wanting; although I rather recommend buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife, as we do roasting pigs.

A very worthy person, a true lover of his country, and whose virtues I highly esteem, was lately pleased in discoursing on this matter to offer a refinement upon my scheme. He said that many gentlemen of this kingdom, having of late destroyed their deer, he conceived that the want of venison might be well supplied by the bodies of young lads and maidens, not exceeding fourteen years of age nor under twelve; so great a number of both sexes in every country being now ready to starve for want of work and service; and these to be disposed of by their parents, if alive, or otherwise by their nearest relations. But with due deference to so excellent a friend and so deserving a patriot, I cannot be altogether in his sentiments; for as to the males, my American acquaintance assured me, from frequent experience, that their flesh was generally tough and lean, like that of our schoolboys by continual exercise, and their taste disagreeable; and to fatten them would not answer the charge. Then as to the females, it would, I think, with humble submission be a loss to the public, because they soon would become breeders themselves; and besides, it is not improbable that some scrupulous people might be apt to censure such a practice (although indeed very unjustly), as a little bordering upon cruelty; which, I confess, hath always been with me the strongest objection against any project, however so well intended.

But in order to justify my friend, he confessed that this expedient was put into his head by the famous Psalmanazar, a native of the island Formosa, who came from thence to London above twenty years ago, and in conversation told my friend, that in his country when any young person happened to be put to death, the executioner sold the carcass to persons of quality as a prime dainty; and that in his time the body of a plump girl of fifteen, who was crucified for an attempt to poison the emperor, was sold to his imperial majesty's prime minister of state, and other great mandarins of the court, in joints from the gibbet, at four hundred crowns. Neither indeed can I deny, that if the same use were made of several plump young girls in this town, who without one single groat to their fortunes cannot stir abroad without a chair, and appear at playhouse and assemblies in foreign fineries which they never will pay for, the kingdom would not be the worse.

Some persons of a desponding spirit are in great concern about that vast number of poor people, who are aged, diseased, or maimed, and I have been desired to employ my thoughts what course may be taken to ease the nation of so grievous an encumbrance. But I am not in the least pain upon that matter, because it is very well known that they are every day dying and rotting by cold and famine, and filth and vermin, as fast as can be reasonably expected. And as to the young laborers, they are now in as hopeful a condition; they cannot get work, and consequently pine away for want of nourishment, to a degree that if at any time they are accidentally hired to common labor, they have not strength to perform it; and thus the country and themselves are happily delivered from the evils to come.

I have too long digressed, and therefore shall return to my subject. I think the advantages by the proposal which I have made are obvious and many, as well as of the highest importance. For first, as I have already observed, it would greatly lessen the number of papists, with whom we are yearly overrun, being the principal breeders of the nation as well as our most dangerous enemies; and who stay at home on purpose with a design to deliver the kingdom to the Pretender, hoping to take their advantage by the absence of so many good protestants, who have chosen rather to leave their country than stay at home and pay tithes against their conscience to an episcopal curate.

Secondly, The poorer tenants will have something valuable of their own, which by law may be made liable to distress and help to pay their landlord's rent, their corn and cattle being already seized, and money a thing unknown.

Thirdly, Whereas the maintenance of an hundred thousand children, from two years old and upward, cannot be computed at less than ten shillings a-piece per annum, the nation's stock will be thereby increased fifty thousand pounds per annum, beside the profit of a new dish introduced to the tables of all gentlemen of fortune in the kingdom who have any refinement in taste. And the money will circulate among ourselves, the goods being entirely of our own growth and manufacture.

Fourthly, The constant breeders, beside the gain of eight shillings sterling per annum by the sale of their children, will be rid of the charge of maintaining them after the first year.

Fifthly, This food would likewise bring great custom to taverns; where the vintners will certainly be so prudent as to procure the best receipts for dressing it to perfection, and consequently have their houses frequented by all the fine gentlemen, who justly value themselves upon their knowledge in good eating: and a skilful cook, who understands how to oblige his guests, will contrive to make it as expensive as they please.

Sixthly, This would be a great inducement to marriage, which all wise nations have either encouraged by rewards or enforced by laws and penalties. It would increase the care and tenderness of mothers toward their children, when they were sure of a settlement for life to the poor babes, provided in some sort by the public, to their annual profit instead of expense. We should see an honest emulation among the married women, which of them could bring the fattest child to the market. Men would become as fond of their wives during the time of their pregnancy as they are now of their mares in foal, their cows in calf, their sows when they are ready to farrow; nor offer to beat or kick them (as is too frequent a practice) for fear of a miscarriage.

3. List the six advantages of the speaker’s proposal. Who profits from these “advantages”? Who suffers?

Many other advantages might be enumerated. For instance, the addition of some thousand carcasses in our exportation of barreled beef, the propagation of swine's flesh, and improvement in the art of making good bacon, so much wanted among us by the great destruction of pigs, too frequent at our tables; which are no way comparable in taste or magnificence to a well-grown, fat, yearling child, which roasted whole will make a considerable figure at a lord mayor's feast or any other public entertainment. But this and many others I omit, being studious of brevity.

Supposing that one thousand families in this city, would be constant customers for Infant's Flesh, besides others who might have it at merry meetings, particularly at weddings and christenings, I compute that Dublin would take off annually about twenty thousand carcasses, and the rest of the Kingdom (where probably they will be sold somewhat cheaper) the remaining eighty thousand.

I can think of no one objection, that will possibly be raised against this proposal, unless it should be urged, that the number of people will be thereby much lessened in the Kingdom. This I freely own, and 'twas indeed one principal design in offering it to the world. I desire the reader will observe, that I calculate my remedy for this one individual kingdom of Ireland, and for no other that ever was, is, or I think, ever can be upon Earth. Therefore let no man talk to me of other expedients: of taxing our absentees at five shillings a pound: of using neither clothes, nor household furniture, except what is of our own growth and manufacture: of utterly rejecting the materials and instruments that promote foreign luxury: of curing the expensiveness of pride, vanity, idleness, and gaming in our women: of introducing a vein of parsimony, prudence and temerance: of learning to love our country, wherein we differ even from Laplanders, and the inhabitants of Topinamboo: of quitting our animosities, and factions, nor act any longer like the Jews, who were murdering one another at the very moment their city was taken: of being a little cautious not to sell our country and consciences for nothing: of teaching our landlords to have at least one degree of mercy towards their tenants. Lastly, of putting a spirit of honesty, industry, and skill into our shop-keepers, who, if a resolution could now be taken to buy only our native goods, would immediately unite to cheat and exact upon us in the price, the measure and the goodness, nor could ever yet be brought to make one fair proposal of just dealing, though often and earnestly invited to it.

4. What is the one objection that Swift thinks readers may have?

Therefore I repeat, let no man talk to me of these and the like expedients, till he hath at least some glimpse of hope, that there will ever be some hearty and sincere attempt to put them into practice.

But as to my self, having been wearied out for many years with offering vain, idle, visionary thoughts, and at length despairing of success, I fortunately fell upon this proposal, which as it is wholly new, so it hath something solid and real, of no expense and little trouble, full in our own power, and whereby we can incur no danger in disobliging England. For this kind of commodity will not bear exportation, the flesh being of too tender a consistence, to admit a long continuance in salt, although perhaps I could name a country, which would be glad to eat up our whole nation without it.

After all, I am not so violently bent upon my own opinion as to reject any offer proposed by wise men, which shall be found equally innocent, cheap, easy, and effectual. But before something of that kind shall be advanced in contradiction to my scheme, and offering a better, I desire the author or authors will be pleased maturely to consider two points. First, as things now stand, how they will be able to find food and raiment for an hundred thousand useless mouths and backs. And secondly, there being a round million of creatures in human figure throughout this kingdom, whose whole subsistence put into a common stock would leave them in debt two millions of pounds sterling, adding those who are beggars by profession to the bulk of farmers, cottagers, and laborers, with their wives and children who are beggars in effect: I desire those politicians who dislike my overture, and may perhaps be so bold as to attempt an answer, that they will first ask the parents of these mortals, whether they would not at this day think it a great happiness to have been sold for food, at a year old in the manner I prescribe, and thereby have avoided such a perpetual scene of misfortunes as they have since gone through by the oppression of landlords, the impossibility of paying rent without money or trade, the want of common sustenance, with neither house nor clothes to cover them from the inclemencies of the weather, and the most inevitable prospect of entailing the like or greater miseries upon their breed forever.

I profess, in the sincerity of my heart, that I have not the least personal interest in endeavoring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive than the public good of my country, by advancing our trade, providing for infants, relieving the poor, and giving some pleasure to the rich. I have no children by which I can propose to get a single penny; the youngest being nine years old, and my wife past child-bearing.

5. The speaker concludes with an ethical appeal to show that he is fair and trustworthy and has no ulterior motive. What is ironic in this paragraph?

6. What is Swift's true purpose in writing this proposal? (Hint: Remember, it is satirical)

Your Turn to Create Satire

2008-03-24T13:17:00.000-07:00

Due until 03-27-2008

Lesson Questions:

* What is the purpose of writing satire?
* How can we create our own satirical piece?

Remember, Swift did not really think we should eat children! He made such an outrageous suggestion to get people to pay attention to the problems in society.

Take some time to make a list of some problems you think exist in our society.

Today, you are going to write your own satirical editorial!

Use Swift's satire as a model:

First, describe the problem. What is one of the major problems in the world today? What is something that is really negatively impacting the way people live their lives? What do you think is wrong with the world? Give examples and descriptions of the problem.

Second, suggest a solution for the problem. Your solution should be extreme and outrageous. Don't worry about offending anyone (You can't get much more offensive that suggesting that we eat children!) Think sarcastically-- what would be a crazy way to solve the problem? The reader should think "No way! We don't want that solution!" Then, they will be forced to think about how to really solve the problem.

Third, give reasons that your solution would be successful. Give at least two reasons why you feel your solution will be effective. Imagine what life will be like when your solution is put into effect. (Think positive! Don't think about the negative stuff that might happen-- Remember, you are trying to convince people to do it) This is your chance to be an unreliable narrator.

Pa.: Biggest prize left for Democrats

2008-03-05T14:57:00.001-08:00

By PETER JACKSON, Associated Press Writer 45 minutes ago

Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama: Welcome to Pennsylvania, a sprawling state with two large cities and a farm region larger than Massachusetts.

Its 12.4 million diverse residents like the kind of face-to-face interaction with candidates more often seen in small caucus states such as Iowa and they're likely to get just that during the seven weeks until they vote in a primary to allocate 158 delegates to the Democratic national convention.

Thanks to Clinton's wins in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island on Tuesday, Pennsylvania has gone from political afterthought to must-win state for the Democratic presidential contenders.

With just two much smaller contests between now and the state's April 22 primary — in Wyoming and Mississippi — Pennsylvania is in for a marathon of rallies, town-hall meetings, television ads and high stakes get-out-the-vote efforts.

"We're going to get every bit, if not more, than the voters in Iowa and New Hampshire got," boasted Philadelphia lawyer Mark Aronchick, a national fundraiser for Clinton's campaign. Mark Alderman, a national fundraiser for Obama, agreed that Pennsylvania is going to "look more like the Iowa campaign than anything since Iowa."

One additional wrinkle in Pennsylvania: Only Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary; independents, who have strongly supported Obama in other states, are barred. But the campaigns have until March 24 to persuade the state's 984,000 registered voters who are not members of either major party — plus any wavering Republicans — to sign up as Democrats so they can vote in the primary.

The nation's sixth most populous state, Pennsylvania bears many similarities to Ohio, where Clinton defeated Obama handily.

Two major metropolises — Philadelphia in the southeast and Pittsburgh in the southwest — bookend a vast rural region with 58,000 farms on 7.7 million acres — an area larger than Massachusetts.

It's a Rust Belt state largely abandoned by the once-mighty steel, coal and railroad industries. Today, its biggest employers are the federal government, the state government and Wal-Mart, in that order.

Pennsylvania's comparatively high union membership — 13.5 percent of state wage earners compared with 12 percent nationally — and large elderly population — only Florida and West Virginia exceed its 15 percent aged 65 or older — make it fertile ground for Clinton, whose political base is anchored by older white voters and blue-collar workers. The state AFL-CIO estimates a third of the registered voters live in union households.

Only 10 percent of Pennsylvanians are between age 18 and 24, a group that Obama has captured in other states.

Bacon and the True Ends of Skepticism

2008-03-03T20:47:00.000-08:00

Long ago, Bacon asserted that science must begin with doubts in order to end in certainties, a paradox that stills leads to misunderstandings about Bacon and about science. Read the full article HERE.

EXTRA CREDIT!!!! Parallelism in Modern Speech

2008-02-27T04:12:00.000-08:00

All examples must be posted by March 7, 2007

Bacon loved to use parallelism.
As we discussed in class, parallelism uses successive words, phrases, clauses with the same or very similar grammatical structure. It is a rhetorical device that often occurs in political speeches and essays.

* To earn 50 extra credit points find and post a comment with a modern example of parallelism (20th - 21st century). Examples can come from speeches, editorials, articles, or campaign materials. Include info on where you found the example and why you picked it.

Here is a famous example from JFK:
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

-- John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address

This is a great example, but don't worry there are millions more out there.
Go find them!

Class Notes February 26th

2008-02-27T04:06:00.000-08:00

English 12
February 25, 2008

Today’s Objectives:

Dramatic Songs and their function

Francis Bacon Life and Writings

Seven Stages in Limerick Form

* Seven ages: first puking and mewling,
* Then very ticked off with one's schooling,
* Then loves, and then fights,
* Then judging chaps' rights,
* Then sitting in slippers, then drooling.

*
* Were women legally barred from performing on stage in the Elizabethan age?

* Yes. Women were only allowed on stage after 1660, following the downfall of Cromwell's puritanical government.

Dramatic Song

What is Onomatopoeia?

Where do you find examples?

* The songs in Shakespeare’s plays are the best of this kind that have come down to us, for Shakespeare excelled in lyric and dramatic poetry. Shakespeare’s songs serve a variety of dramatic purposes: Some advance the play’s action; some help establish the mood of a scene; some reveal character. The songs, which use a variety of poetic techniques, rely heavily on onomatopoeia, language that sounds like what it means.

What effect do songs and soundtracks have on movies or film?

Can you think of modern examples?

MARKETA IRGLOVA: Academy Award winner for Best Song from the film “Once”

* I just want to thank you so much. This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling.
* This - the fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to hold this - it's just to prove, no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible.
* And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don't give up.
* And this song was written from a perspective of hope and hope, at the end of the day, connects us all, no matter how different we are.

Shakespeare’s Comedy

* A character named Amiens sings this song in As You Like It (Act II, Scene 7), a comedy about a group of sophisticated courtiers exiled from their palaces and living in a very comfortable wilderness, the Forest of Arden.

* The song Blow, Blow Winter Wind makes a playful comment on a common human failing: ingratitude. In comparison with people’s ungrateful behavior, the cruel winter weather seems kind.

Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind

Blow, blow, thou winter wind,°

* Thou art not so unkind As man’s ingratitude;
* Thy tooth is not so keen,
* Because thou art not seen,
* Although thy breath be rude.

* Heigh-ho! Sing, heigh-ho! Unto the green holly:
* Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
* Then, heigh-ho, the holly!
* This life is most jolly.

Blowing Winter Wind

* Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
* That dost not bite so nigh
* As benefits forgot:
* Though thou the waters warp°
* Thy sting is not so sharp
* As friend remembered not.

* Heigh-ho! Sing, heigh-ho! Unto the green holly:
* Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
* Then, heigh-ho, the holly!
* This life is most jolly.

Questions

* 1.What aspects of human nature does the singer of “Blow, Blow” criticize?

* 2. How does man’s bite compare with winter’s in “Blow, Blow”?

* 3.The song “Blow, Blow” is sung by a character named Amiens. What would you say this song reveals about Amiens’s character?

* 4. What details personify the wind and the sky in “Blow, Blow”?

* 5. How does the merry-sounding chorus of “Blow, Blow” affect the impression created by the preceding verses?

Education and Equality

* With the advent of humanism, education was no longer restricted to the clergy. In fact, men of the privileged classes were now expected to study a wide array of subjects, from philosophy and economics to music and science. Education for Renaissance women, however, was a different story. Only women of noble birth had access to education, and the goal of education was to produce better wives and mothers, since education was linked to growth in moral virtue and since women directed the early education of their children.

* Although education was held up as a primary good during the Renaissance, it was certainly not available to all—and its goal was not to create equality, either between classes or between men and women.

* Do you think that education is different today? Why or Why not?

Ideas about Learning

* What is your view of the value of reading and learning?

* What are some of the benefits of being well-educated?

* Is real life experience more valuable than academic knowledge?

Bacon’s Life

* In a now famous letter Bacon wrote, “I have taken all knowledge to be my province.”

* He did not master all knowledge, but he did make important contributions to many different branches of knowledge: political science, economics, biology, physics, music, architecture, botany, constitutional law, industrial development, philosophy, theology, mythology, astronomy, chemistry, landscape gardening, and literature.

* He is most famous for his essays and axioms.

* He is most famous, however, for his vision of humanity’s future, when knowledge would be based on verifiable experimentation and science would be separate from theology.

Axioms

Many of the sentences contain nuggets of wisdom known as axioms or adages. Like proverbs, axioms do not argue or explain but merely make positive statements.

* Bacon’s essays are written in a terse, compressed style that demands a reader’s full attention. For the most part, Bacon does not develop his ideas in paragraphs. Instead, he writes a sentence containing one idea, then follows it with a sentence containing another idea. While the sentences are all related to the topic of the essay, they are related in different ways—and they could be rearranged without much damage to the whole. The effect is like a string of beads all the same size.

Axiom assignment

* Select an axiom and write a personalized interpretation along with an explanation of your choice, including:

* Why did you pick that axiom?
* What does it mean to you?
* How is it relevant to your life?

Parallelism

* Bacon’s sentences have been studied for centuries as models of parallelism, or parallel structure—the repetition of words, phrases, or sentences that have a similar grammatical structure. Parallelism is a powerful rhetorical device that enhances a passage’s clarity and makes it rhythmic and memorable. Bacon also uses parallel structure to present contrasting ideas. Reading aloud and paying attention to punctuation and parallel structure will help you make sense of Bacon’s long, complex sentences.

Examples

* Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested."

* Children who show signs of sloth will grow up to be lazy adults. Children who show signs of apathy with grow up to indifferent adults. Children who show signs of intolerance will grow up to be intolerable adults.

Modern Use of Parallelism

* Who uses Parallelism?

* Can you think of any famous examples?

Of Studies

2008-02-24T20:47:00.000-08:00

This is a dense reading with A LOT of footnotes. Make sure you use the footnotes to help you understand the reading. Take your time with the reading and the questions.

Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight is in privateness and retiring;1 for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition2 of business.For expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of particulars, one by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and marshaling of affairs, come best from those that are learned. To spend too much time in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament is affectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules is the humor3 of a scholar. They perfect nature and are perfected by experience; for natural abilities are like natural plants that need pruning by study; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience. Crafty men contemn4 studies; simple men admire5 them; and wise men use them: For they teach not their own use; but that is a wisdom without them6 and above them, won by observation. Read not to contradict and confute;7 nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.Click on icon to answer this question in your Notebook. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: That is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously;8 and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. Some books also may be read by deputy, and extracts made of them by others; but that would be only in the less important arguments, and the meaner sort of books; else distilled books are like common distilled waters,9 flashy10 things. Reading maketh a full man; conference11 a ready man; and writing an exact man. And therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit;12 and if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know that13 he doth not.
Histories make men wise; poets witty;14 the mathematics subtle; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend. Abeunt studia in mores.15 Nay, there is no stond16 or impediment in the wit but may be wrought17 out by fit studies: like as diseases of the body may have appropriate exercises. Bowling is good for the stone and reins;18 shooting for the lungs and breast; gentle walking for the stomach; riding for the head; and the like. So if a man’s wit be wandering, let him study the mathematics; for in demonstrations, if his wit be called away never so little, he must begin again: If his wit be not apt to distinguish or find differences, let him study the Schoolmen;19 for they are cymini sectores:20 If he be not apt to beat over21 matters, and to call one thing to prove and illustrate another, let him study the lawyers’ cases; so every defect of the mind may have a special receipt.22

1. What three things can studies (reading, writing, and discussion) be helpful for? How can studies be used for each of these things?

2. In the sentence that begins “Read not to contradict and confute…,” what does Bacon conclude that reading should be used for? What should it not be used for?

3. According to Bacon, what is the difference among books that are meant to be “tasted,” books that are meant to be “swallowed,” and books that are meant to be “chewed and digested”?

4. Bacon uses an extended analogy to argue the value of “fit studies.”
Summarize Bacon’s analogy: Studies are to the mind as ____________ is to __________________ .

5. Bacon says that too much studying is “sloth”—laziness. Do you agree? Explain how this paradox, or seeming contradiction, can be true.

6. Which sentence from the essay best sums up Bacon’s views on the value of study? Cite reasons and examples he offers to support his argument. Has Bacon convinced you of his point of view? Explain.

Want more Bacon??

2008-02-24T20:42:00.000-08:00

Find more essays from Sir Francis Bacon HERE.

Class Notes February 22nd

2008-02-22T09:02:00.000-08:00

TODAY’S OBJECTIVES:

SHAKESPEARE’S DRAMATIC SPEECHES: SOLILOQUY AND MONOLOGUES

THE SEVEN STAGES OF MAN

English 12
February 22, 2008

Upcoming Assignments

* Today: The Seven Stages of Man
* 2/26: Blow, Blow Winter Wind
* Francis Bacon Activities
* 2/28: Ideas about Learning
* 2/29: Bacon’s Axioms
* 3/3: From Bacon’s “Of Learning”

* What is the first thing you think of when you hear the name Shakespeare?

Shakespeare’s Drama

Shakespeare's plays form one of literature's greatest legacies.

Believed to have written 37 plays.

Mystery surrounding the Plays:

* Chronology
* Amount of rewrites made by actors and others
* Lost Manuscripts

* Three Types:

Comedies

Histories

Tragedies

The Big Names

* Tragedies

Antony and Cleopatra
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet

* Histories

Henry VIII
Richard II
Richard III

* Comedies
As You Like It
Love's Labours Lost
Measure for Measure
The Merchant of Venice
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado About Nothing
The Taming of the Shrew

Monologue and Soliloquy

* Most of the words spoken in a play occur in conversation, or verbal exchange between characters—that is, in dialogue. Renaissance playwrights frequently used two other devices for revealing to an audience a dramatic character’s thoughts and feelings: monologues and soliloquies.
* A monologue is a long, usually formal speech spoken by one character to another character or the audience.
* A soliloquy is a meditative kind of monologue in which the speaker, usually alone onstage, shares his or her true inner thoughts and feelings directly with the audience.

Setting the Stage

* Hamlet, the young prince of Denmark, has been told by the ghost of his father (the elder Hamlet) that his uncle, Claudius, now married to Hamlet’s mother, murdered the elder Hamlet. The prince is plagued by doubts, conflicting impulses, and confusing emotions. He both desires and fears to take revenge on his uncle. In this most famous of Shakespearean soliloquies, Hamlet weighs the case for action against inaction. The soliloquy is from Hamlet, Act III, Scene 1.

Hamlet Questions

* 1.What action is Hamlet considering at the opening of his speech?
* 2.What is Hamlet afraid will happen in “that sleep of death”?
* 3. According to lines 15–20 of “To be, or not to be,” what trials in life do we put up with?
* 4. According to lines 21–27 of “To be, or not to be,” why do we bear all those burdens in life?

Hamlet’s Conundrum

* To be, or not to be—that is the question.
* Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
* The slings and arrows of outrageous° fortune,
* Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
* And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep—
* No more, and by a sleep to say we end
* The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
* That flesh is heir to. ’Tis a consummation°
* Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep,
* To sleep—perchance to dream. Aye, there’s the rub,°
* For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
* When we have shuffled off this mortal coil°
* Must give us pause. There’s the respect
* That makes calamity of so long life.°

The Burdens of Endurance

* For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
* The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,°
* The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,
* The insolence of office, and the spurns
* That patient merit of the unworthy takes,°
* When he himself might his quietus° make
* With a bare bodkin?° Who would fardels° bear,
* To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
* But that the dread of something after death,
* The undiscovered country from whose bourn
* No traveler returns, puzzles the will,
* And makes us rather bear those ills we have
* Than fly to others that we know not of?

The final lines

* Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
* And thus the native hue° of resolution
* Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast° of thought,
* And enterprises of great pitch and moment
* With this regard their currents turn awry
* And lose the name of action….°

* 5. What do you think Hamlet means when he says, “Conscience does make cowards of us all” (line 28)? Do you agree?

Riddle of Sphinx

* What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?

As You Like It

* A pastoral comedy written in 1600.

* Pastoral: Literature or art that depicts shepherds or rural people, often in a highly idealized manner.

* A comedy about a group of sophisticated courtiers exiled from their palaces and living in a very comfortable wilderness, the Forest of Arden.

* Made into a film for HBO in 2006.

From As You Like It

Is the world a stage?

What are the Stages of Man?

What is a bubble reputation?

* All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.

* At first the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;

Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.

And then the lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress' eyebrow.

Then a soldier, Full of strange oaths, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth.

Stages Continue

* And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lin'd,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part.

* The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well sav'd a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound.

* Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. (II.vii)

The Stages

Stages: Years Characteristics Events

Infancy

School Age

Lover

Solider

Justice

Old Age

Second Infancy

Reflection Questions

* What stage of life are you in now?

* Which stage do you think is best stage of life?

* Which is the worst?

Reflecting

* Do you think the speaker is overly pessimistic or is he a realist?

* Is a man or woman without anything at the end of their life? What have they lost? What have they gained?

Modern Takes on the Seven Stages of Mam

2008-02-21T09:03:00.000-08:00

Interesting Article for New York Times HERE

Seven Stages of Man as a Limerick

2008-02-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

The poem was compressed into limerick form:

Seven ages: first puking and mewling,
Then very peeved off with one's schooling,
Then loves, and then fights,
Then judging chaps' rights,
Then sitting in slippers, then drooling.

Seven Stages of Man

2008-02-21T08:58:00.000-08:00

The monologue

The full passage is:

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;
Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin'd,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well sav'd, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything." — Jaques
(Act II, Scene VII, lines 139-169)

Hamlet's Monologue

2008-02-21T05:12:00.001-08:00

HAMLET

A monologue from the play by William Shakespeare

HAMLET: To be, or not to be--that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep--
No more--and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep--
To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprise of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action. -- Soft you now,
The fair Ophelia! -- Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered.

2008-02-15T08:54:00.001-08:00

Sonnets Selected for Explication: The these are a just a few examples of the sonnets your class selected.

2008-02-13T17:57:00.000-08:00

William Shakespeare

Sonnet 1

From fairest creatures we desire increase, A

That thereby beauty's rose might never die, B

But as the riper should by time decease, A

His tender heir might bear his memory: B

But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes, C

Feed'st thy light'st flame with self-substantial fuel, D

Making a famine where abundance lies, C

Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel. D

Thou that art now the world's fresh ornament E

And only herald to the gaudy spring, F

Within thine own bud buriest thy content E

And, tender churl, makest waste in niggarding. F

Pity the world, or else this glutton be, G

To eat the world's due, by the grave and thee. G

SONNET 12
When I do count the clock that tells the time,
And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;
When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls all silver'd o'er with white;
When lofty trees I see barren of leaves
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,
And summer's green all girded up in sheaves
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard,
Then of thy beauty do I question make,
That thou among the wastes of time must go,
Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake
And die as fast as they see others grow;
And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence
Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.

SONNET 30
When to the sessions of sweet silent thought

I summon up remembrance of things past,

I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,

And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:

Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,

For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,

And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe,

And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight:

Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,

And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er

The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,

Which I new pay as if not paid before.

But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,

All losses are restored and sorrows end.

SONNET 60
Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
Nativity, once in the main of light,
Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown'd,
Crooked elipses 'gainst his glory fight,
And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
And delves the parallels in beauty's brow,
Feeds on the rarities of nature's truth,
And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:
And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.

SONNET 142
Love is my sin and thy dear virtue hate,
Hate of my sin, grounded on sinful loving:
O, but with mine compare thou thine own state,
And thou shalt find it merits not reproving;
Or, if it do, not from those lips of thine,
That have profaned their scarlet ornaments
And seal'd false bonds of love as oft as mine,
Robb'd others' beds' revenues of their rents.
Be it lawful I love thee, as thou lovest those
Whom thine eyes woo as mine importune thee:
Root pity in thy heart, that when it grows
Thy pity may deserve to pitied be.
If thou dost seek to have what thou dost hide,
By self-example mayst thou be denied!

144

Two loves I have of comfort and despair,

Which like two spirits do suggest me still:

The better angel is a man right fair,

The worser spirit a woman colour'd ill.

To win me soon to hell, my female evil

Tempteth my better angel from my side,

And would corrupt my saint to be a devil,

Wooing his purity with her foul pride.

And whether that my angel be turn'd fiend

Suspect I may, but not directly tell;

But being both from me, both to each friend,
I guess one angel in another's hell:

Yet this shall I ne'er know, but live in doubt,

Till my bad angel fire my good one out.

When I Consider how my light is spent

by John Milton

When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide,
"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts: who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed
And post o'er land and ocean without rest
They also serve who only stand and wait."

Elizabeth Barret Browning
XIV:
If thou must love me, let it be for nought
Except for love's sake only. Do not say
"I love her for her smile--her look--her way
Of speaking gently,--for a trick of thought
That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
A sense of pleasant ease on such a day"--
For these things in themselves, Beloved, may
Be changed, or change for thee,--and love, so wrought,
May be unwrought so. Neither love me for
Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,--
A creature might forget to weep, who bore
Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!
But love me for love's sake, that evermore
Thou mayst love on, through love's eternity.

Shakespeare’s Sonnet 42

That thou hast her, it is not all my grief,
And yet it may be said I loved her dearly;
That she hath thee is of my wailing chief,
A loss in love that touches me more nearly.

Loving offenders, thus I will excuse ye:
Thou cost love her because thou know'st I love her,
And for my sake even so doth she abuse me,
Suff'ring my friend for my sake to approve her.

If I lose thee, my loss is my love's gain,
And losing her, my friend hath found that loss,
Both find each other, and I lose both twain,
And both for my sake lay on me this cross.

But here's the joy, my friend and I are one:
Sweet flattery! then she loves but me alone.

Explication of Sonnet 130

2008-02-10T10:28:00.001-08:00

William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” beautifully depicts a man’s love for his mistress with realistic eyes, though the woman is a far cry from the popular ideals of a woman’s beauty at the time: “ My mistresses eyes are nothing like the sun” (1) If hairs be wires black wires grow on her head.” (4) He’s trying to prove a mans love for a woman doesn’t have to be for her beautiful godlike body, carved by nature, but rather and honest and deep relationship.
“Sonnet 130” dramatizes the fact that beauty is only skin deep. The whole poem is condescending towards Petrarchan sonnets and other poems of the time declaring how beautiful women are and how special love is. These annoyingly repetitive poems are most likely where Shakespeare got his inspiration for “Sonnet 130” where he is mockingly repetitive with his comparisons to nature: “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun/ corral is far more red than here lips’ red/ If Snow be white, why then her breasts are dun.” (1)
What the speaker is saying is his mistress’ looks are nothing like nature’s beauty: “But no such roses see I in her cheeks.” (6)But that his love is still rare and great all the same. He doesn’t need those qualities sought out by many men for him to be happy and her imperfections are what he admires and loves most about her. “I love to hear her speak, yet well I know/ That music hath a far more pleasing sound.” (9) Although she doesn’t have an angel like voice, he still loves to talk and listen to her. It is also evident in the couplet “And Yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare/ as any she belied with false compare.” (13-14)
Shakespeare is describing what he thinks a relationship should be based upon, personality and inner beauty, not only lust for external beauty. He shuns the idealized fantasies of time and is the reason why he makes a mockery of other love poems

Explication of Donne's Death, Be Not Proud

2008-02-10T10:24:00.000-08:00

The sonnet “Death Be Not Proud”, written by John Donne is one of many sonnets that are part of a collection called The Holy Sonnets. This collection is comprised of nineteen sonnets with themes that pertain to Christian philosophy.
“Death Be Not Proud” is a powerful declaration against death, in which death is personified as a tyrant without real power “…some have called thee / Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe” (1-2). The poem continues to dismantle death from something mysterious and feared, to something weak and irrelevant. From a structural standpoint, the poem conforms to the sonnet form, which is a lyric poem with aconventional rhyme scheme and is made up of fourteen lines. The rhyme scheme for this poem is “abbaabbacddcee”.
The last line of the poem is the final thrust against death. It is a claim that death is meaningless, and a paradox. This is written as a recursive statement “…death, thou shalt die”(14). Since there is no death, the only thing left is Eternal Life. But this poem is not merely a remonstration; it is also a passionate piece of writing that is imbued with emotion and sounds. The entire poem follows in this manner, as a declaration loudly commanded. This continues up until the last lines of the sonnet, where the tone shifts to that of “finality”, “And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die” (14). Also, many of the words in this poem bear heavy connotations, “Thou are slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men” (9), the words “slave” and “desperate” are words with strong emotional connotations.
“Death Be Not Proud” by John Donne passionately argues against the formidability of death. The poem cites hope of Eternal Life as the ultimate escape from death. The sonnet is a literary work of immense beauty and structure.

Hyperbole: A Necessary Evil … In Poetry Or Politics

2008-02-08T05:23:00.000-08:00

Hyperbole seems to have cross-over appeal. It’s not just for poetry any more.

What I mean is this: Anyone who has something to communicate can whip out a hyperbole and sling it around like a broadsword. I picture some political commentators (I won’t name names) in a David Carradine-like movie fighting the evil dragon of “the other” or perhaps “the opposite side of the aisle” using their favorite deadly weapon - the hyperbole. Ann Coulter (oops, that slipped out) comes to mind.

Political commentators tend to use hyperbole when discussing issues that are close to their hearts, which puts good political rhetoric right up there with the masters of writing poetry, giving the whole political spectrum a boost in spiritual and psychological value and a bump (thump?) in economic worth. Except that this isn’t quite true. For some reason, when political ideologues use hyperbole, their economic value goes up while their spiritual and psychological value goes down. This makes me wonder how poets can wrest the power of hyperbole back from the hands of political ideologues.
Why Poets Should Concern Themselves With The Use Of Hyperbole

I’m not quite sure, on the other hand, that most poets have an interest in taking hyperbole back. Particularly political poets. Most political poets consider themselves to be purveyors of truth - which is itself a sort of hyperbole - but in their poetry they seem to lack the use of this poetic technique. That is ironic since political poetry would benefit a great deal from the use of the rhetorical hyperbole that characterizes much of political speech.

Curiously, hyperbole can be used in any type of poem, political or otherwise. Its use is more than academic. It is necessary, for writers of prose and poetry alike have always been known to be liars and exaggerators. Without the use of hyperbole, I suppose neither poetry nor political speech hold any interest for serious students of them. I for one love hyperbole - it is exciting, gut-wrenching when used correctly, and thought provoking, and if it gets the ire of some opponent or the love of a friend then its value has proven itself.

HOW TO EXPLICATE A SONNET

2008-02-07T21:11:00.000-08:00

STEP 1

Read the poem carefully and think about it. Write an initial response (1 paragraph). Tell what you think it means based upon your cursory reading.

STEP 2

List words from the poem that need closer examination. Oftentimes poems play with the multiple denotative and connotative meanings a word can have. Therefore, look up words you think you already know. Provide a thorough definition for each word, using a college edition dictionary that gives a complete rendering of each word's meaning.

STEP 3

Analyze the persona of the poem, as well as the person to whom the poem is addressed. What can you determine about the two? How is each described? What about the relationship between them? How would you characterize it?

STEP 4

Scan the poem for images and symbols; try to see if they relate to a larger thematic portrait; what significance do these images and symbols have?

STEP 5

Are there any metaphors or similes? What elements do they connect?

STEP 6

How would you describe the tone of the poem? Is the author's attitude toward the subject humorous, ironic, sarcastic, somber...? How is this conveyed?

STEP 7

What is the sequential structure of the poem? Is it narrative, descriptive, expository, or dramatic? Also, what does each quatrain focus upon? The couplet?

STEP 8

What is the poem's meter, rhyme, and form?

STEP 9

In a complete sentence, state what you think is the theme of the sonnet. Are there any other possible thematic statements that might also be appropriate? If so, list them.

STEP 10

Write your interpretation of the poem. Your thesis will assert what you believe is the theme of the sonnet? Support your view with the material generated from the steps above; be sure to refer to the bold terms. A three-part approach may work well: an introduction which clearly states the theme; a body which carefully explains the poem in relation to the theme; a conclusion which brings some final considerations of the poem to the reader. The best response will carefully interpret the poem, being clear, precise, and persuasive.

Selecting and Explicating a Sonnet Assignment: Stay tuned for a due date. Get Started now!!

2008-02-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

Selecting and Explicating Your Own Sonnet

Over the last two weeks, you have had to read the poems I selected for you. NOW!! It is your turn to decide what you read. You may select any classic or modern sonnet from any author to explicate. The only requirements are that it must be a published Shakespearean or Pertrarchan style sonnet and you cannot use a sonnet we have covered together as a class. Your sonnet can be from the text book or any internet source. Some good sites to search include:
www.poetry.org
www.sonnet.org
http://libraries.mit.edu/guides/subjects/literature/poetry.html
http://www.onlineshakespeare.com/sonnetsabout.htm
After selecting a sonnet and reading it several times, you are ready to write your explication.
Writing the explication
What is an explication of a poem?
It is an explanation or interpretation of a poem. It discusses the poem’s form (Quatrains? Iambic pentameter? ).
It explains the rhyme scheme (abab? abbacc?).
It analyzes the poem’s tone and theme (serious or humorous? subject and message or “meaning”?).
It analyzes important figures of speech or other techniques (metaphor? simile? alliteration?) which contribute to the overall effect or tone of the poem.
The explication will examine the major themes and basic design of the poem and work through each section to the more specific details and patterns. Be sure to identify and explain the turn or the volta.
The first paragraph
The first paragraph should present the major themes and subjects of sonnet. It also introduces the author and gives a small amount of biographical information.
The next paragraphs
The next paragraphs should expand the discussion of the poem by focusing on details of form, rhetoric, syntax, and vocabulary. In these paragraphs, the writer should explain the poem line by line in terms of these details, and he or she should incorporate important elements of rhyme, rhythm, and meter during this discussion.
The conclusion
Do not simply restate the main points of the introduction! The end of the explication should focus on the overall effect of the sonnet and demonstrate personal reflection.

Tips to keep in mind
1. Use the present tense when writing the explication. The poem, as a work of literature, continues to exist!
2. To avoid unnecessary uses of the verb "to be" in your compositions, the following list suggests some verbs you can use when writing the explication: dramatizes, presents, illustrates, characterizes, underlines, asserts, connects, portrays, contrasts, juxtaposes, suggests, addresses, emphasizes, stresses, accentuates.

Class Notes February 5

2008-02-05T08:07:00.001-08:00

English 12February 5, 2008
TODAY’S OBJECTIVES:
REVIEW SONNET FORMS AND EXPLICATION
DISCUSS CARPE DIEM AS LITERARY THEME
Special Notes
It’s Super Tuesday.
I Corinthians 13:1-13
The Petrarchan Sonnet.
Review
What do these two types of sonnets have in common?
8/6

How are they different?
SONNET 42 PETRARCH
Sonnet 23 Louise Labé
Can you:
Find the Rhyme scheme?
Find the Octave?
Find the Volta?
Find the Sestet?
Petrarch’s Rhyme Scheme
Petrarch typically used an ABBA ABBA pattern for the octave, followed by either CDE CDE or CDC DCD rhymes in the sestet.

The rhyme scheme and structure work together to emphasize the idea of the poem: the first quatrain presents the theme and the second expands on it
What is Carpe Diem?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?

Robert Herrick
Is this a sonnet?
In your own words, summarize the advice Herrick is giving to young people.
Herrick is using "Rosebuds" metaphorically. What do you think the rosebuds represent?

What do you think of Herrick’s advice?

ReynoldsEnglish

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