Drama Reflection

Directions: You have now learned a little more about drama and Shakespeare. Yay you! Please, now, describe what you found most helpful about the unit, what you thought was most difficult, and what you would like to know more about. While I will not be able to help you with this last part, you might be able to learn more in a class or on your own.

Thank you so much for a wonderful semester!

Due before 5pm on December 6th.

No reply.

Historical view of Othello

Directions: Given the source you chose to bring to class (list the source with your response in MLA format), what do you now understand about the works of Shakespeare, the setting of Othello, the plot of Othello or the characters in Othello? Did understanding the historical approach to Othello help you to understand the play (Acts I-III) better? Why or why not? Please answer the questions in paragraph form. 200 words or less.

Blog due before class on Wednesday, November 19th.

Reply to classmate: Find a classmate's blog that allowed you to think differently about the play. Whether you agree with what your classmate said or not, ask your classmate a question that might provoke further research into the classmate's particular historical approach.

Reply due before 5pm on Friday, November 21st.

Character in Drama

Directions: Read Mistaken Identity, by Sharon E. Cooper (1326-1330) and write a 50-100 word character sketch for Kali and Steve that moves beyond/deepens the initial sketch on page 1326. Who are these people? What are their views on life? What shapes their expectations and reactions? Feel free to assume some information, but do not color too far outside the lines.

Initial Response Due before class on Wednesday, November 12th.

Reply to Classmate: add a 50-word or less piece of information to a classmate's description of one or both of the characters. Your additions must follow the story the classmate has already set up, but your response should either bring them new insight into the character or bring them back into the scope of the actual play.

Reply Due before 5pm on Friday, November 14th.

Play Comprehension

Directions: many modern plays have stage direction, but the primary aim of writing a screenplay is to allow the director creative license and to let the dialogue carry the exposition and relate the plot and action. Please read The Reprimand, by Jane Anderson and answer the following questions: Based on what you already know, what are the plot and theme of the play? When you read the scene, what do you picture--what would the scene look like to you if you were to perform or direct the play? Offer a 100-200 word summary of the scene.

Initial reply due before class on Wednesday, November 5th.

Response to classmate: comment on a classmate's summary by offering a suggestion for how the play might be different than the classmate believed, given that s/he seems to have missed one aspect of the dialogue. If you believe the scene your classmate depicted is fairly accurate, point out one or two specific aspects of your classmate's summary that were particularly interesting.

Reply due before 5pm on Friday, November 7th.

Reflection: Fiction Analysis

Directions: look back on the entire fiction unit and the analysis you just wrote. What new aspects of fiction did you discover, either through class discussions, the blogs or the readings? Be specific about the lessons and the modes. What do you still wish you knew about fiction? Do you feel like you were prepared to write your analysis? What do you think might have helped you become more prepared?

Reflection due by 5pm on Saturday, November 1st. Write your blog after you have dropped your paper.

No reply from classmates.

5 points for posting on time
5 points for following directions

Life In Hell

Directions: read "Life In Hell," by Matt Groening on pg. 292 of the Bedford book and answer the following questions: what is the real message of the strip? How does that message reinforce and/or contradict what the father actually says? This message is very simply constructed and delivered. How does the language and delivery of comics compare to the language and delivery of messages via traditional fiction?

Initial post due before class on Wednesday, October 22nd.

Reply to Classmate: ask a classmate a question that will encourage him/her to think more deeply about his/her interpretation of the comic strip.

Reply due by 5pm on Friday, October 24th.

Midterm Reflection

Directions: Your response will, of course, be determined by which prompt you chose, so discuss, briefly, which prompt you chose and why.  Then, reflect on your your experience with the midterm in 200 words or less. Did you feel more prepared this time to discuss poetry? Did the compare/contrast help give you focus (if you compared and contrasted)? Did the feedback from your explication help you perform the midterm better than you might have if you'd gone in cold? Was it useful to have poetry you had discussed in class be part of the prompt or was it easier to choose two poems of your own (again, depending on the prompt you chose)?

Do not write the reflection until after the midterm.

Due by 5pm on Friday, October 17th.

Plot and Character

Directions: discuss how point--of-view and setting serve to develop the characters and plot in "Romero's Shirt?" Keep your answer to 200 words.

Consider the following questions:

1. How does the point-of-view limit or expand the potential for character and plot development?
2. How does the setting limit or expand character and plot development?
3. How did the point-of-view give you insight into Romero's situation/character?
4. How did the setting help you to understand Romero's character?

Reply before class on October 8th.

Reply to classmate: Find a classmate whose response lacks details that you find important or information that you found was necessary in determining the different styles of the author. Ask your classmate a question that will provoke a detailed response.

Reply due by 5pm on October 10th.

Extra credit: Again, you can get up to five points of extra credit by responding to more than one blog (one point each) and/or answering the question posed by one of your classmates to clarify your style/tone analysis.

Comparing Style and Tone (Discovery)

Directions: Consider the style of Faulkner and Hemingway. State a brief initial impression of each author's writing and then compare word choice, sentence structure, sentence length of each excerpt. What do you think that the different styles suggest about the writers and the stories they are likely to tell? For the Hemingway story, come to your own conclusions, in addition to or in spite of what the book says. Keep your argument to 200 words or less.

Due before class on October 1.

Reply to classmate: Find a classmate whose response lacks details that you find important or information that you found was necessary in determining the different styles of the author. Ask your classmate a question that will provoke a detailed response.

Reply due by 5pm on October 3rd.

Extra credit: Again, you can get up to five points of extra credit by responding to more than one blog (one point each) and/or answering the question posed by one of your classmates to clarify your style/tone analysis.

Reflection on Poetry Unit

Directions: look back on the entire poetry unit and the explication you just wrote. What new aspects of poetry did you discover, either through class discussions, the blogs or the readings? Be specific about the lesson and the mode. What do you still wish you knew about poetry? Do you feel like you were prepared to write your explication? What do you think might have helped you become more prepared?

Reflection due by 5pm on Saturday, September 27th. Write your blog after you have dropped your paper.

No reply from classmates.

What is Imagery? (Discovery)

Directions: you have now seen how poetry is influenced by particular word choice and devices in order to establish tone and meaning. Find a poem that you think demonstrates a good example of imagery and post a link to that poem here (or type it up into your blog). Describe the gist of the poem and explain for your classmates how you believe the poet uses imagery in order to get those ideas across. Max. 200 words. Be clear and concise.

Due before class on September 17th.

Reply to classmate: read a classmate's blog and determine whether or not you agree with your classmate about the gist. If you do agree, point out the words and phrases that you think the author used to get those ideas across, and label them (ex. Olds uses the imagery of insects in order to show the animalistic nature of sex in her poem, "Last night." That imagery is metaphoric, because it shows an experience that is not the writer's exact experience (especially when she uses the metaphor the insect emerging from the chrysalis), but Olds also makes the act of love-making seem much more graphic with her metaphors). If you disagree, give your own gist, and then point out some words and phrases that cause your gist to differ from that of the original post.

Extra credit: Again, you can get up to five points of extra credit by responding to more than one blog (one point each) and/or answering the question posed by one of your classmates to clarify your meaning.

What is poetry? (Discovery)

Directions: Share with the class an example of a poem (provide the link to the example, or include the example in your response; see the D2L links for places you might find poems) and explain what you think it means. If you choose a song, use the explication guide for songs, but if you choose a poem, use the explication guide for poetry. Keep your response to 200 words or less.

Initial reply due before class on September 10th.

Reply to classmate: follow the link or look at your classmate's example in the blog reply. Ask a question about his/her explication.

Reply to classmate due by 5pm on September 12th.

Extra credit: Again, you can get up to five points of extra credit by responding to more than one blog (one point each) and/or answering the question posed by one of your classmates to clarify your meaning.

What is Literature? (Discovery)

Directions: answer these questions in a paragraph, and keep your response to 200 words or less. To you, what is literature? What have you experienced recently that you would consider quality literature? Why was it quality literature? How do you define quality? What have you experienced recently that you would consider low-quality literature? Why was it low-quality? How do you define low-quality? What did you see in our class on the 27th that you would consider high-quality literature, low-quality literature, and/or not literature at all? Why?

Ex. I think literature is anything written down that expresses someone's thoughts. I recently read a news article about the conflict in Gaza. It really made me think about what is going on in the East. It also made me feel really angry. I think it was quality, because quality literature should be something that makes its audience think and feel. I also read a comic strip recently, Beetle Bailey, and I thought it was low quality because I didn't understand the humor. I think that low-quality literature is something that does not appeal to a large number of people.

(this example neither reflects my writing style or my opinions, but it would be an acceptable response.)

Initial reply due before class on September 3rd.

Reply to classmate: ask a question for clarification on one or more of your classmate's answers to the blog questions. Questions are meant to provoke thought, so make sure that your question(s) is (are) well thought-out.

Ex. Do you think that maybe you aren't the audience for Beetle Bailey? Who do you think might be the audience? Do you think that quality depends on the point of view of the audience?

Extra Credit Opportunity: you can get an extra point of credit for responding to more than one blog, and/or replying to a classmate's reply (answer the question(s) put to you). You can earn up to five points of extra credit.

Ex. You're right. I'm probably not the audience for Beetle Bailey. It's probably meant for people who are in or have served in the military, and it might even be for an older audience. So, yes, quality would depend on the audience. The actual audience might see it as quality.

Reply to classmate due by 5pm on September 5th.

Note: all of my examples show a level of respect in tone. Keep your tone respectful.

Welcome!

This blog will be a place for you to log your insight on your readings throughout the semester (a sort of online journal where the journal talks back). As you build an online academic community, you will gain greater understanding of various forms of literature. Online assignments are intended to encourage a freer forum for discussion and exploration of ideas.

Blogging is mandatory, as is respect for your fellow classmates. Each week, you will respond to a different prompt.

See the syllabus for the two different types of blog grading.

For this week's assignment, simply reply to this blog so that I know you are ready to get started.

Reply due by 5pm on August 28th.

Reminders:

1. See D2L Newsfeed, under "Welcome!" for the Blogger sign-in process.
2. You must be signed in to Google under a gmail account in order to post.
3. Your blogging name must reflect your real name in order for you to receive credit (or you must sign your posts with your real name).
4. Write your blog response in some kind of word processing document and then copy and paste it into the posting form for submission (Blogger is fallible and can lose assignments, but cannot be blamed for lost assignments).
5. Spell-check, read-aloud, and edit your posts before submitting.
6. No swearing. While the forum is meant to encourage freedom of speech, a certain amount of professionalism is expected.