Week 5

Notes and Readings:

We're going to review these works from last week, so give them an "update":

"Frederick Douglass"; "Dulce et Decorum Est"; "On Seeing the Elgin Marbles"; "Yet Do I Marvel"; "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"; "The Tyger"; "[Death Be Not Proud]"; "The Road Not Taken"; "Blackberry Eating"; "The Lake Isle of Innisfree"; "The Second Coming"

Add the following:

"Harlem Sweeties";  "On Being Brought from Africa to America"; "The Red Wheelbarrow"; "On a Drop of Dew"; [A narrow Fellow in the Grass]; "The Tyger"; "Musee des Beaux Art"

Journal:

Still taking a break here.....

Writings and other assignments:

Don't forget--->Poetry Essay: You have two responses to build on--and a much closer look at the poem you selected. To complete this more formal essay, you will need to pull together (not copy/paste!) the ideas you've gathered in those first two writings and determine what point you want to make about the piece you chose. Here is where all that thinking comes together.

Don't forget that the strongest foundation for good writing is good thinking, so give yourself time to consider what you've recognized so far, given your first reaction, your look at the form, language, and tone of the poem, and the reaction of others that you've researched....what do you see now and why do you see it? What do you think now and why do you think it? Your handout on Poetry Analysis gives you a guide, so be sure to read it, and then rely on what you know.....and write a solid essay!

We will have a writing workshop on 2/08/12, and you need to bring two copies of your typed draft with you to class.

**In your final paper, you need to use at least two sources for support in your essay, and your finished piece should be in MLA format, standard font, dbl-spaced, and at least three pages (not two and a half....) in length. Turn in your paper and ALL rough draft work on 2/13/12.

TAB #4:   In the early 1900s, the poets who were "leading the pack" decided that the best poetry should rely only on image--that an awareness of place, poet, or particulars outside the poem should not matter.  These poets, soon known as Imagists, considered this creation of clear imagery the highest and best use of language and verse, bar none.  Rules of form fell away as words were tested and argued and wrestled. 

In our text, you have several of these Imagists, among them Ezra Pound who advised young poets that "[a]n 'Image' is that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time. . . ." --a moment, a fraction of a second.  That focus is a heady one, calling the poet in action to question every word and weigh its significance.  As a result, we often associate imagist poetry with few words, much like what we find in "The Red Wheelbarrow." Yet, Pound's fellow writer, T. S. Eliot, was also an Imagist and gives most a head-scratching moment because he wrote poetic works of book-length proportion and often published pages of notes to enable the reader to understand the lines.

So......what determines the best poetry?  Is it concise wording? Rhythmic lines? Powerful subject? Clear emotion?  All....or perhaps none....of the above?  What makes poetry "good"?  Think a bit......

Due Dates:

2/08/12: Poetry essay writing workshop--bring two copies of your typed draft to class

2/13/12: Poetry Essay due in class, with all rough draft work, including your workshop draft.

Please remember.....if you are late to class, so is your paper.