Sorry that this did not appear by Sunday. My internet service sent a new router and modem and they did not work. I worked on it myself for two hours and then was on the phone for another two hours. We are supposed to get someone out to our house on Tuesday. So anyway, it's Monday morning--and here goes:
Monday/Tuesday:
Do not forget to bring your Bedford Anthology of World Literature textbooks.
I will collect the questions that you answered to "Shooting an Elephant." They had better be your own answers this time. Many of the answers that I received for "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" were nearly alike. By the way, stream-of-consciousness is a prose technique--not poetic. Eliot writes in free verse. The poem could also be considered dramatic monologue. Know these things.
We will talk about Orwell's essay and relate it to a work we read earlier in the year, Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart." You will also receive a copy of Thomas Hardy's poem, "The Subalterns." We will talk about that in the context of Orwell's essay.
Next, you will get a copy of "Ulysses," by Tennyson. We will read that poem and talk about it in the context of colonialism.
For second period, I will make copies of two poems that your class did not go over on Friday. One is "To His Coy Mistress." The other is a more contemporary response to that called "Coy Mistress."
Also, for classes that did not receive the longer and revised form for their portfolios, you will receive those and answer the questions as directed. It will be graded as a separate grade.
Next, we will read aloud the poem, "Ode with a Lament" by Pablo Neruda (pp. 677-678). We will discuss it briefly.
Although I love the movie, "The Motorcycle Diaries," I have decided instead to show another wonderful movie called "Il Postino," or The Postman. It is about a poor, uneducated Italian postman who gets to meet Pablo Neruda who is living in exile in Italy. Neruda and the postman become friends and Neruda introduces him to poetry. Meanwhile, the postman falls in love with a beautiful girl from the village. Normally, she would probably be out of reach for him, but as the postman learns about poetry--including how to write it--they start to fall in love. Many of Neruda's poems are about love. Others are about politics. Most of the poems in our textbooks seem to be about politics.
Homework: Read about the background of Pablo Neruda on pp. 672-676. Then read Neruda's poem "Alberto Rojas Jimenez Comes Flying" (pp. 680-682) and "Ode to the Sun to the People's Army" (pp. 683-684). Answer the following questions. Do not discuss them with your classmates or anyone else. This should be your work alone. It should also be legible. If you write by hand, use a pen--blue or black ink. Write out the questions too.
1. What is an ode? If you do not know, then look in the glossary.
2. What is a lament?
3. For "Ode with a Lament," answer the question in the footnote on page 677. "Although 'roses' and 'doves' are often linked with love, Neruda indicates that he is exploring new territory when teh speaker says, 'Your soul is a bottle of dry salt / And your skin is a bell full of grapes.' Are those compliments?" Then explain your answer.
4. How does Neruda evoke an image from a Salvador Dali painting?
For "Alberto Rojas Jiminez Comes Flying":
5. Who was Jiminez? What caused his untimely death?
6. How close were these two men? What images evoke that closeness?
From "Ode of the Sun to the People's Army":
7. Neruda wrote this poem during the time of what war?
8. Look up the word, "propaganda." In what ways is the poem a propaganda piece--that is, aside from the fact that the editors say that it is a poem best read aloud? What words or lines suggest propaganda?
9. Does this enhance your understanding of the poem or detract from it? Explain.
Wednesday/Thursday:
Again, have your Bedford Anthologies with you. Turn in your homework with your name, date, and class period. I will not take anything written in pencil or with illegible handwriting.
In small groups, you will be assigned different poems. Each person in the group will practice reading a part of the poem. You will be graded for how well you know your part and how well you present yourself before the class. You will also be graded on your understanding of the poem. You may look up information, but do not rely on a Google search. Instead, use the school's database to find what you might need. Or use a dictionary. You will present them in class on Friday.
We will watch a little more of "Il Postino," which should give you more of a context for understanding Neruda's poems.
Homework: Work on the presentation of your poem.
Friday: Present the poems.
By the way, anyone who has not yet taken the last quiz must do so either during the first part of lunch on Monday or after school on Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday. I want to give quizzes back before final exams.
Homework: Read about Federico Garcia Lorca (pp. 568-572). Then read "Lament for Ignacio Sanches Mejias" (pp. 579-581) and "The Spilled Blood" (pp. 581-583). I will prepare questions for you to answer over the weekend.
Monday/Tuesday:
Do not forget to bring your Bedford Anthology of World Literature textbooks.
I will collect the questions that you answered to "Shooting an Elephant." They had better be your own answers this time. Many of the answers that I received for "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" were nearly alike. By the way, stream-of-consciousness is a prose technique--not poetic. Eliot writes in free verse. The poem could also be considered dramatic monologue. Know these things.
We will talk about Orwell's essay and relate it to a work we read earlier in the year, Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart." You will also receive a copy of Thomas Hardy's poem, "The Subalterns." We will talk about that in the context of Orwell's essay.
Next, you will get a copy of "Ulysses," by Tennyson. We will read that poem and talk about it in the context of colonialism.
For second period, I will make copies of two poems that your class did not go over on Friday. One is "To His Coy Mistress." The other is a more contemporary response to that called "Coy Mistress."
Also, for classes that did not receive the longer and revised form for their portfolios, you will receive those and answer the questions as directed. It will be graded as a separate grade.
Next, we will read aloud the poem, "Ode with a Lament" by Pablo Neruda (pp. 677-678). We will discuss it briefly.
Although I love the movie, "The Motorcycle Diaries," I have decided instead to show another wonderful movie called "Il Postino," or The Postman. It is about a poor, uneducated Italian postman who gets to meet Pablo Neruda who is living in exile in Italy. Neruda and the postman become friends and Neruda introduces him to poetry. Meanwhile, the postman falls in love with a beautiful girl from the village. Normally, she would probably be out of reach for him, but as the postman learns about poetry--including how to write it--they start to fall in love. Many of Neruda's poems are about love. Others are about politics. Most of the poems in our textbooks seem to be about politics.
Homework: Read about the background of Pablo Neruda on pp. 672-676. Then read Neruda's poem "Alberto Rojas Jimenez Comes Flying" (pp. 680-682) and "Ode to the Sun to the People's Army" (pp. 683-684). Answer the following questions. Do not discuss them with your classmates or anyone else. This should be your work alone. It should also be legible. If you write by hand, use a pen--blue or black ink. Write out the questions too.
1. What is an ode? If you do not know, then look in the glossary.
2. What is a lament?
3. For "Ode with a Lament," answer the question in the footnote on page 677. "Although 'roses' and 'doves' are often linked with love, Neruda indicates that he is exploring new territory when teh speaker says, 'Your soul is a bottle of dry salt / And your skin is a bell full of grapes.' Are those compliments?" Then explain your answer.
4. How does Neruda evoke an image from a Salvador Dali painting?
For "Alberto Rojas Jiminez Comes Flying":
5. Who was Jiminez? What caused his untimely death?
6. How close were these two men? What images evoke that closeness?
From "Ode of the Sun to the People's Army":
7. Neruda wrote this poem during the time of what war?
8. Look up the word, "propaganda." In what ways is the poem a propaganda piece--that is, aside from the fact that the editors say that it is a poem best read aloud? What words or lines suggest propaganda?
9. Does this enhance your understanding of the poem or detract from it? Explain.
Wednesday/Thursday:
Again, have your Bedford Anthologies with you. Turn in your homework with your name, date, and class period. I will not take anything written in pencil or with illegible handwriting.
In small groups, you will be assigned different poems. Each person in the group will practice reading a part of the poem. You will be graded for how well you know your part and how well you present yourself before the class. You will also be graded on your understanding of the poem. You may look up information, but do not rely on a Google search. Instead, use the school's database to find what you might need. Or use a dictionary. You will present them in class on Friday.
We will watch a little more of "Il Postino," which should give you more of a context for understanding Neruda's poems.
Homework: Work on the presentation of your poem.
Friday: Present the poems.
By the way, anyone who has not yet taken the last quiz must do so either during the first part of lunch on Monday or after school on Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday. I want to give quizzes back before final exams.
Homework: Read about Federico Garcia Lorca (pp. 568-572). Then read "Lament for Ignacio Sanches Mejias" (pp. 579-581) and "The Spilled Blood" (pp. 581-583). I will prepare questions for you to answer over the weekend.
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