Homework 11/29

1) read through the 5 poems, and have questions ready for tomorrow.

Table #1 "Ex Basketball Player" (694)
Table #2 "Meeting at Night" (700)
Table #3 "The Fish" (714)
Table #4 "Sonnet XXX" (732)
Table #5 "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" (792)
Table #6 "Who Makes the Journey" (933)

2) poetry exam on Thursday, w/root words ----> PATER

3) check the list of Culture Vulture activities

Culture Vulture Ideas!

Musuem:

    Art and Architecture Tour @Copley Library

The Boston Public Library offers free tours highlighting the architecture of Charles Follen McKim and Philip Johnson, as well as the many works of famed sculptors and painters. The tours last about an hour. They are led by volunteers and begin at the Dartmouth Street entrance of the Central Library in Copley Square. No appointment is necessary.
The full schedule of Art & Architecture tours is Mondays at 2:30 p.m., Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m., Thursdays at 6:00 p.m.; and Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.

Event:

    Copley Square Holiday Tree Lighting 
 
Tuesday, November 29, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The free event will feature appearances by Back Bay resident and WHDH-TV anchor Janet Wu, Santa Claus, Rudolph, and the Bear from Boston Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” along with live entertainment including the Trinity Church Choristers, Boston Children’s Chorus, and a holiday sing-along.

Boston’s Official Christmas Tree lighting

6-8 p.m. Boston Common
New Kid on the Block Joey McIntyre, American Idol finalist Siobhan Magnus, the Radio City Rockettes, Rockapella, the Boston Ballet, the Boston Children’s Choir, MAGIC 106.7’s Nancy Quill and Mike Addams, and saxophonist Grace Kelly.

As an added element to the City of Boston’s annual tree lighting ceremony, The Skating Club of Boston will present a spectacular skating show at the Boston Common Frog Pond featuring a dynamic and exciting assortment of local skating stars in all the various disciplines of ice-skating.

Winter Holiday Party @Jamaica Plain Library

Thursday, December 8
Join us for our annual Winter Holiday Party! We'll begin the night with holiday crafts and food from 6-7 p.m. At 7 p.m. the Boston Typewriter Orchestra will perform.

Book Reading @Mattapan Library

Tuesday, December 13, 2011, 6 p.m.
 Local author Paul J. Williams reads from his book "I Witness." Paul J. Williams grew up in Dorchester, Massachusetts and attended Boston Public Schools. Paul studied at Northeastern University and is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Management degree. He serves as a Deacon at Greater Vision Tabernacle Church of Randolph, Massachusetts.

Book Reading @Harvard Book Store

Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Tuesday December 6, 2011 7:00 PM
  Life Upon These Shores: Looking at African American History, 1513-2008 


Film:

Alfred Hitchcock Film Festival @West End Library

Psycho (Wednesday, November 30th 3pm)
 

Homework 11/28

1) TPCASTT on your table's poem:

Table #1 "Ex Basketball Player" (694)
Table #2 "Meeting at Night" (700)
Table #3 "The Fish" (712)
Table #4 "Sonnet XXX" (732)
Table #5 "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" (792)
Table #6 "Who Makes the Journey" (933)

2) Poetry Examination on Thursday, on ALL poems we have read:
"Fifteen"
"The Sloth"
"Piano"
"The Red Wheel Barrow"
"Tonight I Can Write"

3) Root Word Quiz (PATER) on Thursday

4) keep up with ROAR reading and find a good Culture Vulture!

Homework 11/21

1) check to see your blog listed on the right column. If it's not there, you have a zero for the Term 1 ROAR notes

2) first set of ROAR bildungsroman notes! Make sure you have at least 60 pages covered by the summary.

3) Poem reading and questions, have these completed for Wednesday.

"The Sloth"
 What is the poem’s structure?    
-stanza and line arrangement?   
-end rhyme scheme? 
What is the poem’s meter?            
-line length (count the syllables)   
What is the poem’s rhythm?    
-scan line eleven (stressed and unstressed)    
-how does line 7 mimic the sloth’s manner?  
What does the Sloth know?
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"Piano"
 What is the poem’s structure?    
-line and stanza arrangement?
 -end rhyme scheme?
What is the poem’s sound?  
 -assonance (line 5)
 -Consonance (line 11 and 12)
What do these words mean?    
-vista (2)     -poised (4)     -insidious (5)     -clamour (9)     -appassionato (10)
What image is used to describe sadness in line 12?
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"Tonight I can write" (not found online)

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.

Write, for example, 'The night is starry
and the stars are blue and shiver in the distance.'

The night wind revolves in the sky and sings.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.

Through nights like this one I held her in my arms.
I kissed her again and again under the endless sky.

She loved me, sometimes I loved her too.
How could one not have loved her great still eyes.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
To think that I do not have her. To feel that I have lost her.

To hear the immense night, still more immense without her.
And the verse falls to the soul like dew to the pasture.

What does it matter that my love could not keep her.
The night is starry and she is not with me.

This is all. In the distance someone is singing. In the distance.
My soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.

My sight tries to find her as though to bring her closer.
My heart looks for her, and she is not with me.

The same night whitening the same trees.
We, of that time, are no longer the same.

I no longer love her, that's certain, but how I loved her.
My voice tries to find the wind to touch her hearing.

Another's. She will be another's. As she was before my kisses.
Her voice. Her bright body. Her infinite eyes.

I no longer love her, that's certain, but maybe I love her.
Love is so short, forgetting is so long.

Because through nights like this one I held her in my arms
my soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.

Though this be the last pain that she makes me suffer
and these the last verses that I write for her.
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What is the poem’s structure in the translated poem?   
-line and stanza arrangement?   
-why are lines 19 and 20 parallel in the translated poem?    
What is the poem’s structure in the original poem? 
-is there parallelism in lines 19 and 20?        
-end rhyme scheme?  
How does the poem use anaphora? 
-what do you see and hear in line 26?  
What is ironic about the speaker’s feelings in lines 29-32?

"Fifteen"
 What is the poem’s structure? 
-line and stanza arrangement? 
What is the only line that is not part of an enjambed line?  
How does the poem sound?      -consonance (line 9)     -assonance (line 7)  
How does the speaker have a Bildungsroman moment?

Homework 11/17

1) bring your TKAM essay to class tomorrow for some editing work

-new due time 8:00pm, print a copy for Monday

2) print your Culture Vulture final draft for Monday

3) bring a signed copy of your report card for Monday

Homework 11/16

1) using the chart on p.146, complete steps 2 and 3 for your TKAM essay. You need at least one direct quote per paragraph, and remember that a quote can be as short as 2 words.

Here's TKAM as a .pdf file. Makes searching so easy! Click here

2) root word quiz!

3) do you have your ROAR book? Reading? Save up some time this weekend for good reading.

4) print out your Final Draft of Term 1 Culture Vulture, sorry turnitin.com grading has been a nightmare...

Homework 11/15

1) using the example on p.146 (step 1) in our text book, create an outline that shows your thesis and 3 main points. Remember, the paper is due on Friday so if you wish to work at a faster pace you may do so.
Online Book: instructions on registration and book activation code are in the right-hand column.

2) have that ROAR book? Start up your reading!

Homework 11/14

1) look at the instruction sheet for your To Kill a Mockingbird essay, compose a thesis sentence for tomorrow

2) consolidate your ROAR notes into one post, upload to turnitin.com and post on your blog

3) Root Words---> MY

4) get cracking on your ROAR bildungsroman

Homework 11/10

Solid work with the Film Examination today, it felt like you were prepared and well paced through the sections.

Enjoy some non-school time tomorrow, and the weekend as well. We do not have anything scheduled for Monday, but here are upcoming dates:

Tuesday: ROAR consolidated post to turnitin.com/posted on your blog

Thursday: Root Words #8 (MY)

Friday: To Kill a Mockingbird essay

Homework 11/9

1) for the film examination tomorrow, be ready to shine a light on film frames. Also, bring the paragraph reflection you wrote over the weekend on what was learned from the To Kill a Mockingbird exam.

2) ROAR proposal, find them books!

3) root words---> LUN

Homework 11/8

1) Culture Vulture final draft, submit to Turnitin.com

2) practice your film terms on the TKAM frames

3) find a good ROAR bildungsroman for term 2, proposal sheet is due on Thursday

Homework 11/4

1) one paragraph response on what you learned by taking the To Kill a Mockingbird test.

2) Perfectly Printed Paper, moved to Tuesday

3) Culture Vulture final draft on Wednesday, turnitin.com

4) find your ROAR for Term 2, bildungsroman

5) root words #7, LUN on Thursday

Perfectly Printed Paper!

Here is a mighty challenge. I ask that you prove your MLA and computer skills by printing a perfectly formatted paper. You do not need to write the paper; it's already done for you!

Papers must be printed prior to class on TUESDAY (11/8). My room will be open for printing at 6:45 on Monday. If you are tardy to class, the paper will not count. If your paper does not pass, then you will have one week to make changes.

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Instructions:

1) copy and paste SPECIAL (just text) into Word
2) set up a cover page using your name, date, class, and the paper's title
3) center title at the top of the 1st page, hit return and indent the first
4) insert page number with your last name as a header, but do not include the cover page
5) format the essay (double space, Times New Roman 12pt, indent new paragraphs, title of books italicized)
6) format the works cited page

NOTE: the essay should fit on two pages, not including cover and works cited page
-watch paragraph indents
-keep all text Times New Roman 12 pt. font, even the header!
-double space, but no extra space between paragraphs (set to zero for spacing between paragraphs before and after)
-use the paperclip in Word, the help box, or even find a youtube video!
-remember, Gawain can refer to the poem or the character. Notice!
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Evaluating the Medieval in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight  

In an era known for chivalry and heraldry, the romance of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight weaves an engaging story. It starts with a Christmas feast for King Arthur’s knights, but an uninvited guest interrupts their revels. What follows is dark comedy as the Green Knight’s decapitation leads to the first recorded soccer match. This is entertainment, circa 1375.   

As a romance from the 14th century, the poem displays literary devices common to the medieval era. The Gawain poet created his verse with attention to alliterative patterns, and employed stanzas of unfixed length that are connected through the bob and wheel device. Thematically, the poet places Gawain in situations that test his devotion to the medieval ideals of courtly love and chivalry.   

Ironically, the “secular” text of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is preserved in a religious manuscript that also contains three poems: “Pearl,” “Patience,” and “Purity” (Borroff 20). Yet, Gawain opens with a passage more accustomed to the nationalist ethos of epic poetry. The poet offers an account of Britain’s founding, connecting the heroes at Troy with the “Bold boys bred there, in broils delighting,” that inhabit England (line 21). As in Beowulf, alliteration punctuates the poetic line. Where the device once served as a rhythmic and mnemonic tool, the sound repetition in Gawain belongs to a revival of alliterative verse in the medieval period. The medieval audience would have recognized this poetic element as it suggested a popular Anglo-Saxon form of storytelling. Thus, the poet insists for the reader to “listen to my lay but a little while,/ As I heard it in hall, I shall hasten to tell/ anew” (line 30-32). Alluding to elements of Old English oral poetry, the Gawain poet attracts the interest of his medieval readers.   

However, the form of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight breaks from the Anglo-Saxon pattern in its stanza construction. Visually, the poem lacks caesura line breaks that divided the line after two stressed syllables. In its place, the Gawain poet employs a bob and wheel at the end of each stanza. The bob is a two-syllable line that sets a rhyme scheme in the four-line wheel. Most often, the bob and wheel offers a conclusion to a stanza, as shown in lines 485-490: "Such happiness wholly had they that day/in hold./Now take care, Sir Gawain/That your courage wax not cold/When you must turn again/To your enterprise foretold." Here the bob presents “hold” as the initial sound to be rhymed in the wheel; the poet forms the wheel around this sound in an ABABA arrangement. Before expanding the narrative by offering further description or changing scenes, the Gawain poet uses the bob and wheel to alter the physical line length.  

In plotting, the poem exemplifies the paradoxical romantic virtues of courtly love. Sir Gawain is tested to deny his faith and break his word at Lord Bertilak de Hautdesert’s home. The host and Gawain agree to swap their daily earnings: the lord from hunting in the woods, Sir Gawain from interactions with the lord’s beautiful wife. As a guest, Gawain must obey the wishes of his host and hostess- a situation made difficult by the lady’s bold suggestions. Resembling the game animals Bertilak hunts, Gawain nervously evades the lady’s requests. To preserve the marriage vows, their love is never consummated; still, Gawain obeys the lady’s demands and his own desires by sharing furtive kisses. The competing responsibility required by chivalry and courtly love makes Gawain’s temptation emblematic of a medieval romance.  

The Gawain poet makes skillful use of the romance conventions, writing the poem with attention to medieval aesthetics. Modern readers might not share Bertilak’s claim that Gawain is “polished as a pearl,” or worthy to wear the pentangle star after his blatant deception and failure to trust Mary against the Green Knight (line 2393).  Yet, our perceptions are not shared by 14th century readers of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The romance remains a fitting example of medieval literature in its poetic construction and thematic development.

Works Cited
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Trans. Mary Borroff. The Norton Anthology of English     Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. 7th edition. Volume 1. New York: Norton, 2000.

Homework 11/2

1) root words--->ISO

2) create your ROAR blog, post your info as a comment here:

Post your ROAR Blog web addresses here!

SPECIAL NOTE: because I have not returned your ROAR notes #3, the Turnitin.com assignment listed for Friday is excused. It will have a due date once I give them back to you.

3) Begin work on your Culture Vulture final draft (turning the questions into a newspaper article, advertisement, or journal)