The Long Poem: Tuesday, May 5th:

As you read the following poems, make note of the figurative language both line-to-line and of the poem as a whole text. 

What statement on life and society are each poem making? Or, how is each poem seeing its society?

Here are other questions to help prepare for Tuesday's discussion of these poems, and answering the above more general question:

1. What is the main subject of the poem? (a person, place, animal, etc.)

2. What is that main subject being compared to? (metaphors and similes)

3. Are there multiple comparisons (there should be!)?

4. Is there a connection among all of the comparisons?

5. At any point in the poem, do the comparisons change? When? To what?

6. What thematic meaning do you get from the different comparisons?

 Allen Ginsberg's "Howl", part I and II  with the poet reading!

T.S. Eliot's "The Wasteland" and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"

Also, here is a link to some of the work from Juliana Spahr's collection of long poems, Fuck You-Aloha-I Love You:

Here is Spahr reading the first poem, a preface to the collection (one could say), with the catalyst for the poem explained!

Here is the the long poem "things" through Google Books. Click through each page. 

And, in class you will be given a handout!

For the Last Day of April (Thursday, the 30th):

Read:

Metaphor and Simile, and Symbol: pages 481-500 (minus the ED poem!)

Also: John Donne's "The Flea," p. 450.

Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach," p. 454

Pay special attention to: Shakespeare's "[Shall I compare thee...]," Jarrell's "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner," Sharon Olds' "Leningrad Cemetery, Winter of 1941," the three rose poems!, and the two above!!!

iPod Podcasts

Dear Students,

Besides reminding those not in class that there's no class Thursday, April 23 -- I wanted to make note of those who use iTunes that...if you were interested...you can find free podcasts of classic poetry! I've been wanting to, and still intend, to have us listen to some on-line readings before the semester is over.

And for those that were interested in reading something of mine own! I doth protest no more...as we gear up for Thursday's Talk Like Shakespeare day. Click here to read the only other poem of mine on the web. Warning: It contains profanity, and that profanity is within context of the poem!

If I were to teach my own poems (ugh), I'd say the two exemplify a fake confessional voice (very 2000-chic) to explore their themes, but one is more narrative and the other more lyrical. 

The rest are all in print journals, or want to be, or soon will be. 

Reader Response #5; Final Project outline

Reader Response #5 – Thou Entice The Mouse With Cheese

Due: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 (in-class typed; 6pm by e-mail)

•  Find a poem (use the Poetry Foundation’s Poetry Tool) from a published, canonical author. 
  
• How does metaphor uncover the tone of a particular poem – or vice versa?
  
• Give a reading of the poem, while answering the question above.
• Attach the poem to the response
  

Guidelines: 1-2 pages, double-spaced; 12-point font

*

 Final Projects: 

Creative response that brings literature to a more public sphere: visual media, verbal media, dance, etc….

•  A song (PJ Harvey has a song called “Joy” inspired by O’Connor’s “Good Country People” ; The Airborne Toxic Event named their band from Don DeLillo's novel White Noise)
  
• A dance with music that interprets literature
• Poster for a movie (or play) based on a piece of literature (real or imagined)
  
• Piece of art inspired by a particular piece of writing that isn't already mentioned here!
  
• A dramatic monologue
• A quick film/performance

- Make sure that the inspiration / influence of the written work is evident in the response “text” that you make…

- You will make a 5 minute presentation of your creative response in Week 15, explaining what inspired and influenced your response.

For Tuesday, April 21: Founders of American Poetry

Dickson (the isolated?) and Whitman (free/democratic?): 

Read: all of their poems in our book – Index in back of book besides my kind listing below:

ED: p. 469, 471, 490, 517, 533, 568, 577, 578, 579

WW: p. 444, 625, 626, also on-line:

“O Captain! My Captain!”

“The Sleepers”

“For You O Democracy”

Also: Consider the idea of "precision" (or control) in their language. How would you describe the complexity of precision (control) in the works of these two authors, based on the samples we're provided?

Week 11 Update: for Thursday, 4/16

1. Remember that your Mimicking Drama is due on Thursday (see last post for further instructions).

2. Read: Language, p. 465 – 489: Answer the question with each poem…in margin, in notes.

Read all of the poems in those pages, but pay closer attention to these below, as they are the ones we're likely to discuss. 

Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz,” p. 470
WCW’s “The Red Wheelbarrow”, “This is Just to Say,” p.472
ee cummings’ “[in Just – ], p. 473
Hopkins’ “Pied Beauty,” p. 473
Dickinson’s “[After great pain, a formal feeling comes – ]”, p. 469, “[I dwell in Possibility]” p. 471

Poetry HW for 4/14, and Mimicking Fiction

For Tuesday, 4/14:

Read pages 398-415, as we will begin discussing the poetry.

Also, I am giving an extra day for the Mimicking Drama (assigned below) assignment. It will be due on Thursday, April 16th (a week from this post):

Mimicking Drama (Plays, : ) ):

We've read three plays that deal with similar themes but written in different eras, on different cultures. Each play, we can agree, revolves around a central conflict in the plot. In Oedipus, the King is in conflict with his own fate. In The Piano Lesson family history and a family heirloom are fought over. In A Doll House we are introduced to another Modern social issue -- marital conflict/ gender equality.

You may choose to imitate any of our three authors, or honor your own favorite playwright.

The main qualification is that you write ONE SCENE (1-3 pages, single-spaced) that discusses/enlightens audience on the main conflict between two characters.

The only other thing is obvious: in a play, dialogue is key. Write in the appropriate dialect for your play scene's setting.

Reader Response #4 (50pts): Due 4/9