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.