Poetry Essay

Students, please follow the guidelines below regarding your third and last essay in the 3011, Honors English course:

1) Your essay must be based on a poem of your choosing. The poem should have an author and a title. Your poem should have been published in a literary text (book, article, chapter, etc.)

2) Your topic should be based on a theme in the poem; for instance, hope, grief, love, fear, loss, belonging, etc.

3) You must be able to analyze your topic using the following elements of poetry:

a. image
b. diction (why the poet chose the words she chose)
c. comparisons (metaphor, simile, allegory, analogy)
d. form and structure: line and sentence
e. meaning: literal and figurative meaning

We have discussed these elements in class. However, feel free email me your questions.

4) Your essay should be at least 2 pages in length to read in the Honors Colloquium. However, you may wish to turn in an essay which is longer than two pages.

5) Your essay must be placed in a folder with your outline (hand-written) and your in-class draft (hand-written.)

We will work on the draft on Monday.

Sylvia Plath, Bio and Poems

Please visit the sites below to discover more about Sylvia Plath and her poetry. Feel free to post your comments on the blog space:

Critical essays written on "Lady Lazarus":

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/m_r/plath/lazarus.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A688197

http://www.sylviaplath.de/plath/oberg.html

Understanding the "The Three Systems of a Poem" by Molly Peacock, through Sylvia Plath's "Lady Lazarus"

"Poetry is really the fusion of three arts: music, storytelling, and painting."The line displays the poem's music, the sentence displays its thoughts, and the image displays the vision of the poet. When we talk about the body of a poem - its anatomy - the line is like a skeletal system, the sentence is like a circulatory system, and the image is like a central nervous system."

"THE LINE. Lines make the music of the poem. They function as a skeleton, holding the poem up. Lines contain every aspect of sound, from how words sound alike and different to how they reflect emotion - how such sounds, in fact, are emotions themselves. The line always means rhythm and sometimes means rhyme. Even a free verse poem that doesn't seem to have a regular rhythm or an obvious rhyme schme still has the baseline bones of music. The line's music give us our instinctive understanding of a poem, even when we can't articulate it" (How To Read a Poem and Start a Poetry Circle, 19-20).

"THE SENTENCE. Sentences open up the thoughts of the poem. The mainstay of prose, the storyteller's tool, sentences circulate through the lines of poems, often flowing past the lines themselves, pumping their meaning down through the poem, even when the poem is in fragments or has no punctuation to let us know where sentences begin and end. The sentences appeals to our intellectual pleasure, and following a sentence through a poem often enables us to articulate what we've understood."

"THE IMAGE. The image is the visual art of the poem. ... imagery sends the poet's vision, fired into word-pictures, throughout its length, the way the nerves inside a spinal cord send electrical charges to muscles. If the line is a way a child apprehends, intuitively, and the sentence is the way an adult apprehends, intellectually, then the image functions as a two-way mirror bewteen these states of understanding. It is both instinctive and constructed" (Peacock, 20-21).

POEM: "Lady Lazarus", Sylvia Plath

I have done it again.
One year in every ten
I manage it--

A sort of walking miracle, my skin
Bright as a Nazi lampshade,
My right foot

A paperweight,
My face a featureless, fine
Jew linen.

Peel off the napkin
O my enemy.
Do I terrify?--

The nose, the eye pits, the full set of teeth?
The sour breath
Will vanish in a day.

Soon, soon the flesh
The grave cave ate will be
At home on me

And I a smiling woman.
I am only thirty.
And like the cat I have nine times to die.

This is Number Three.
What a trash
To annihilate each decade.

What a million filaments.
The peanut-crunching crowd
Shoves in to see

Them unwrap me hand and foot--
The big strip tease.
Gentlemen, ladies

These are my hands
My knees.
I may be skin and bone,

Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman.
The first time it happened I was ten.
It was an accident.

The second time I meant
To last it out and not come back at all.
I rocked shut

As a seashell.
They had to call and call
And pick the worms off me like sticky pearls.

Dying
Is an art, like everything else.
I do it exceptionally well.

I do it so it feels like hell.
I do it so it feels real.
I guess you could say I've a call.

It's easy enough to do it in a cell.
It's easy enough to do it and stay put.
It's the theatrical

Comeback in broad day
To the same place, the same face, the same brute
Amused shout:

'A miracle!'
That knocks me out.
There is a charge

For the eyeing of my scars, there is a charge
For the hearing of my heart--
It really goes.

And there is a charge, a very large charge
For a word or a touch
Or a bit of blood

Or a piece of my hair or my clothes.
So, so, Herr Doktor.
So, Herr Enemy.

I am your opus,
I am your valuable,
The pure gold baby

That melts to a shriek.
I turn and burn.
Do not think I underestimate your great concern.

Ash, ash--
You poke and stir.
Flesh, bone, there is nothing there--

A cake of soap,
A wedding ring,
A gold filling.

Herr God, Herr Lucifer
Beware
Beware.

Out of the ash
I rise with my red hair
And I eat men like air.
23-29 October 1962

Gabriel d'Annunzio, the Italian Poet and Neruda in the film "Il Postino"

Students, I am astounded. I have seen "Il Postino" several times, the first three times I saw it for pleasure: at the beginning, I saw it in a theater, amid the smell of hot but stale popcorn, nacho cheese, and cologne. The second set of times I showed it to my classes, watching them to make sure they were enjoying it for what it offers: a view into the magic of poetry. And honestly I would continue to watch it because I enjoy hearing the poems again and again.

Today, as I posted questions for you to consider in your blog commentary, I realized that ART (poetry, literature, visual art, film, dance, music) always moves us to view more and more of our world's brilliant spectrum. It is a planet's conscious and yet unconscious mouthpiece. And poetry connects us to our history. Why am I telling you this?

I was searching for information on Gabriel d'Annuzio so that the class could see the Italian poet's work, when I discovered an amazing connection between the poet, Neruda and the film (I am not the first to "discover" this information. Remember, teachers are also learners.)

The politician with the fedora hat in the film (the one who Mario confronted after he said he would not be able to continue work on the town's water system) mentions to Mario that he reads Gabriel d 'Annuzio. He does not mention it in passing; he purposefully gives Mario the poet's name. Why? Gabriel d'Annunzio was thought of a hero, a 19th century forerunner to Benito Mussolini - the creator of Fascism and a dictator of early 20th century Italy. Mussolini who spread terror among his populace. It is thought that Mussolini incorporated many of d'Annunzio's nationalists ideas into his own politic (kirjasto, para 4).

Remember, Mario is fraternizing with a loved poet, a man exiled from his own country for his ideas and for his confrontation against the government. Neruda is a communist. Communist and Fascists ideologies, though similar in the belief that class difference should not exist, constrasted in other ways.

The politician's mention of d'Annunzio in many ways adds a new layer to the film's point-of-view.

Please add your comments to this discussion. Feel free to search online to educate yourselves more on Fascism and Communism, unless you already have a healthy understanding of the two. I leave you with a quote from the scholar and Columbia University professor, Robert O. Paxton:

Fascism is "...a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion" (The Anatomy of Fascism, 218).

Pablo Neruda

Students, please peruse the information on Pablo Neruda at the above link. Read the poems there. Neruda was the king of metaphor. Find those metaphors.

I've added a second link which shows how much he was loved by his readers. The picture is titled "Pablo Neruda's Funeral, Santiago, Chile, Sept. 73". The link follows:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcelo_montecino/11239157/

Film "Il Postino"

Please respond in the Comment Box. We will also briefly discuss these notions in class:

How does metaphor affect Mario?

Mario is not the only person affected or moved by metaphor or poetry. Is there anyone else in the film who is affected by metaphor?

In the film, poetry comes out an experience with the natural world. In which other ways does poetry manifest itself? Be specific; your answers should relate back to particular scenes in the film.

Mario asks Neruda a very complex question, in which he ponders on whether everything in the world is a metaphor for something else. Neruda never answers him. What do you think Neruda might have answered?

Class Scheduled for Saturday, December 5, from 9am -10 am

Students, please remember that we have a make-up class scheduled for Saturday, December 5th, at 9 am. We will meet in Room 221, which is the English Lab (large green doors on the second floor).

I will post a sign on the doors in case you aren't sure which room it is.

We will view a short film and continue to discuss poetry. Next week we will discuss the conference paper for the Honors oral presentations.

Yusef Komunyakka Reads "Facing It"

Poem: "Facing It" by Yusef Komunyakaa

Click on the link above to read the poem "Facing It" by Yusef Komunyakaa, Pulitzer-prize-winning American poet.

Questions to consider in relation to in-class discussion on language (image and figures of speech):

1) Which metaphors or similes jump out at you?

2) Find the intriguing juxtapositions in the poem and explain how they affect your reading of the poem.

3) Komunyakaa employs a tool of craft called enjambment, defined by Merriam-Webster as "the running over of a sentence from one verse or couplet into another so that closely related words fall in different lines." Enjambment creates a collision of meaning, a surprise twist of meaning between line breaks. For instance, in "Facing It", we find the following collision of image and meaning:

"...slanted against morning. I turn
this way--the stone lets me go."

The enjambment occurs when the reader arrives at the image of the narrator as he turns. ("I turn"). The reader does not know to where the narrator is turning and when he will stop turning. The reader knows only that narrator will turn. However, when the reader arrives at the beginning of the next line, she sees the narrator's direction: "this way - the stone lets me go." Though the reader does not know the direction in literal terms, she understands that the narrator no longer sees himself in the stone, the reflection has disappeared (the stone lets me go) as he has finished "the turn" that started in the previous line. What's most important here is that the enjambed lines take the reader on the same trip at the narrator. The narrator turns, therefore, the reader will turn too.

If the poet had NOT used enjambment and deleted the line break, then the surprise collision of meaning would have been missed. "I turn this way -- the stone lets me go."


Which other lines use enjambment in the Komunyakaa poem?

Important Questions to Consider

What is the function of a written text vs. storytelling or oral literature?

What is a poem? How do you define poetry?

What types of poetry did you hear in your childhood?

What is the function of poetry? (Feel free to imagine poetry in all its variations: on the page, on the stage, in rap, in commercials, etc.)

Music: Decima: "Alla En La Altura" by Juan Morales Ramos, Puerto Rican troubador

Yo tengo en la serranía
una finca bien sembrada
desde malanga morada
ñame, plátano, y yautía.
Es porque al salir el día
enseguida cojo el arado,
el terreno preparado,
señores, y lo cultivo
así de felíz yo vivo,
mejor que un adinerado.

I have in the mountains
a well-planted farm
from purple malanga
yams, plantains, and yautía.
It’s because at sun rise
I immediately grab my plow,
people, and I cultivate it
the ground prepared,
Thus I live happily,
better than a rich person.

Article: "Defendiendo la (Agri)Cultura: Reterritorializing Culture in the Puerto Rican Décima"

Students, I'd like you to read the article linked above. Though you might recognize the form of poetry discussed (the decima), I think it's important to understand the context of the style of poetry as it relates to historical and socio-cultural norms and practices on the island.

Critical reading/thinking: The quote below, taken from the article linked above, highlights an important aspect of poetry. What does the author mean by "I thought I was hearing formulas?" What is the importance of the repetition of themes?

"As I listened to the songs, I thought that I was hearing formulas. This turned out not to be the case, the similarities coming instead from the repetition of themes. Reading through transcripts of the 58 improvised verses, the major themes that emerged were music or poetry (referring specifically to the décima form and its composition) and life in the country where people work hard on the land, eat traditional foods, and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Deictic references emphasizing a co-presence in time and space were also plentiful as is common in improvisatory traditions."

Critical reading/thinking: How does the style serve the poet, the community or audience listening to the poet, and the reader who reads the poem?

Critical thinking: How is the decima, an improvised form, different from the forms of poetry we've discussed in class so far?

Questions on Oral Traditions in Puerto Rico

1) What are the different ways of storytelling in Puerto Rico or what is the island's oral tradition? Names two forms of orality on the island and explain why you think they fall into the category of oral tradition.

2) Have oral traditions in Puerto Rico changed or died out?

Joel Dias Porter's Blogspace

Everyone,

I've pasted a link below to Joel Dias Porter's website. You might enjoy the other poems he's written. You can also click on the title above and will take you directly to the link.

http://renegadesblog.blogspot.com/

Keep track of the webpages of poets and poems I send you, so that you will have a list of possible poems for your final response essay.

Have a great holiday with your family.

Prof. Alberdeston

Pablo Neruda's Ode to a large Tuna in the Market

Ode to a Large Tuna in the Market

by Pablo Neruda
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=179412


Here,
among the market vegetables,
this torpedo
from the ocean
depths,
a missile
that swam,
now
lying in front of me
dead.

Surrounded
by the earth's green froth
—these lettuces,
bunches of carrots—
only you
lived through
the sea's truth, survived
the unknown, the
unfathomable
darkness, the depths
of the sea,
the great
abyss,
le grand abîme,
only you:
varnished
black-pitched
witness
to that deepest night.

Only you:
dark bullet
barreled
from the depths,
carrying
only
your
one wound,
but resurgent,
always renewed,
locked into the current,
fins fletched
like wings
in the torrent,
in the coursing
of
the
underwater
dark,
like a grieving arrow,
sea-javelin, a nerveless
oiled harpoon.

Dead
in front of me,
catafalqued king
of my own ocean;
once
sappy as a sprung fir
in the green turmoil,
once seed
to sea-quake,
tidal wave, now
simply
dead remains;
in the whole market
yours
was the only shape left
with purpose or direction
in this
jumbled ruin
of nature;
you are
a solitary man of war
among these frail vegetables,
your flanks and prow
black
and slippery
as if you were still
a well-oiled ship of the wind,
the only
true
machine
of the sea: unflawed,
undefiled,
navigating now
the waters of death.

Joel Dias Porter's "Rap 23"

Question: First read aloud Dias Porter's poem, "Rap 23" and then read "Psalm 23" from the Bible. Listen to yourself speak the poems.

What rhythms do you hear or sense?
What do these poems share?
Do they share images, analogies, narratives or contexts?
How do the poems reflect on and/or conflict with another?


"Rap 23", Libation Song

The creator's my homey, so I'm never short.
He lets me know when to chill in the park
and when to cool out by the river.
He schools me with knowledge of self
and keeps me doing the right thing, to protect his rep.
And yo, even when I step through the shadows
of the buildings in the projects,
I don't sweat it, cuz he's got my back.
He flexes whenever suckers try to jump bad
and keeps me hooked up.
I'll definitely be living large until I'm outta here.
And then I'll be chilling at his crib, forever.
Peace.

Credit: http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2008/01/rap-23.html


Pslam 23, The Bible

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.  2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,  he leads me beside quiet waters, / 3 he restores my soul. / He guides me in paths of righteousness / for his name's sake. / 4 Even though I walk / through the valley of the shadow of death, [a] /  I will fear no evil, / for you are with me; / your rod and your staff, they comfort me. / 5 You prepare a table before me /  in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; / my cup overflows. / 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me / all the days of my life, / and I will dwell in the house of the LORD / forever.

MLA Citation Guides: Online Sources

Everyone, please link to the following websites for assistance with creating your Works Cited, Works Referenced page. The last one seems to be the clearest resource. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me by email.

http://www.liu.edu/CWIS/CWP/library/workshop/citmla.htm

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/

http://www.andyspinks.com/mla/pdf/MLAguide.pdf

Eudora Welty Quote

The quote below is by late American Southern writer Eudora Welty. It might help you as you write your essays on "Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?":
'
The writer "works neither to correct nor to condone, not at all to comfort, but to make what's told alive."

Citation: Dean Flower. (2007, July). Eudora Welty and Racism. Review The Hudson Review, 60(2), 325-332. Retrieved November 18, 2009, from ProQuest Central.

Guidelines for Thesis Statements (from LitWeb)

The information pasted below is from the following LitWeb Writing About Literature website. I've extracted the most important parts for you to remember as you write your essays:

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/litweb05/welcome.asp

It is important that you discover and create your thesis before attempting to draft the essay. The thesis statement is the guide which helps the writer move through the ideas of the essay.


LitWeb: "A thesis must be debatable—a claim that all readers won’t automatically accept. It’s a proposition that can be proven with evidence from the text. Yet it’s one that has to be proven, that isn’t obviously true or factual, that must be supported with evidence in order to be fully understood or accepted by the reader. The following examples juxtapose a series of inarguable topics or fact statements—ones that are merely factual or descriptive—with thesis statements, each of which makes a debatable claim about the topic or fact."

Once you have discovered and carefully thought about your thesis, you will be able to begin looking at secondary sources (research materials such as articles, book chapters, interviews, internet sources, etc.) "The chief advantage of this approach is that you can look at secondary sources more selectively and critically, seeking information and opinions that will deepen, confirm, or challenge your argument. And since you’ve already formulated your opinion, you may be in less danger of becoming overwhelmed by others’."

"There are, however, several things to watch out for if you take this approach. First, you must be especially careful not to ignore, distort, or misrepresent any source’s argument in the interest of maintaining your own. Second, you must strive to keep your mind open, remembering that the goal of your research is to test and refine your opinion, not just to confirm it. A compelling argument or new piece of information may well require you to modify or broaden your original argument."

Essay Guidelines: "Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?"

RESEARCH-BASED ESSAY GUIDELINES:

ESSAYS WILL BE DUE ON WEDNESDAY, NOV 18TH.

ESSAYS SHOULD MEET THE FOLLOWING PAGE REQUIREMENTS: NO LESS THAN FIVE (5) COMPLETE PAGES. ANY ESSAYS WHICH DO NOT MEET THE MINIMUM 5 PAGES WILL NOT BE GRADED.

THE MINIMUM FOR RESEARCHED MATERIALS (ARTICLES, BOOK CHAPTERS, INTERVIEWS, ETC.) IS FIVE (5) SECONDARY RESOURCES.

ESSAYS SHOULD HAVE A MAXIMUM OF EIGHT (8) QUOTES. QUOTES SHOULD BE RELEVANT TO YOUR TOPIC AND SHOULD NOT BE LONGER THAN THREE (3) SENTENCES. REMEMBER, QUOTES SHOULD ONLY PROVIDE THE READER AN ADDITIONAL POINT OF VIEW CONCERNING YOUR TOPIC. THEY SHOULD NOT REPLACE YOUR PERCEPTION OR OPINION.

QUOTES AND PARAPHRASED INFORMATION (INFORMATION WHICH YOU LEARNED DURING YOUR RESEARCH FOR THE ESSAY) SHOULD BE FOLLOWED BY IN-TEXT CITATIONS.

ESSAYS MUST INCLUDE A WORKS CITED PAGE. ESSAYS WITHOUT A WORK CITED PAGE WILL NOT BE READ OR GRADED.

ESSAYS SHOULD BE CRITICAL EXPLORATIONS OF YOUR CHOSEN TOPIC AS IT RELATES TO THE JOYCE CAROL OATES STORY. IN ADDITION, YOU SHOULD REMEMBER TO COMMENT ON THE ELEMENTS OF THE SHORT FICTION (PLOT-CONFLICT, SETTING, CHARACTER, THEME, SYMBOL), AS THEY RELATE TO THE STORY AND TO YOUR TOPIC.

TO REITERATE, YOU SHOULD DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING IDEAS IN YOUR RESEARCH-BASED ESSAY:
A. YOUR TOPIC (DEVELOPED THROUGH RESEARCH AND YOUR UNDERSTANDING OR OPINION)
B. THE STORY
C. THE ELEMENTS OF FICTION

YOU WILL NEED TO ANALYZE YOUR TOPIC AND THE STORY, LOOKING AT CONNECTIONS AND JUXTAPOSITIONS, CONTRADICTIONS, OPPOSITIONS, ETC.

ESSAYS SHOULD BE IN A TWO-POCKET FOLDER (JUST LIKE THE LAST TIME) AND INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

1) TYPED FINAL ESSAY, DOUBLE-SPACED
2) OUTLINE
3) WORKS CITED PAGE

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO LET ME KNOW.

Academic Schedule and Course Changes

Everyone,

Please see below the days we will meet for class. I have noted the holidays. Dates have been added by the University in order to make up for days lost during the academic recess/strikes:

Monday, November 9th

Wednesday, November 11th - Veterans Day

Friday, November 14th
Monday, November 16th
Wednesday, November 18th
Friday, November 20th
Monday, November 23rd
Wednesday, November 25th

November 26 - 29th: Thanksgiving Day Weekend

Monday, November 30th
Wednesday, December 2nd
Friday, December 4th
Monday, December 7th
Wednesday, December 9th
Friday, December 11th - Last day of class before the Honors Colloquim
MONDAY, DECEMBER 14TH - HONORS COLLOQUIM (Oral presentation - carries the weight of a final exam).

If you have any questions or concerns about the schedule or about possible absences, please let me know as soon as possible.

Joyce Carol Oates Lecture on Writing Characters

Joyce Carol Oates - On Writing Characters (an excerpt)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgJ809QKmas&feature=fvs

or

you'll find the entire lecture at the following link:

http://fora.tv/2007/06/07/Joyce_Carol_Oates_Gravedigger_s_Daughter

"Connecting the Unique and Universal" by Joyce Carol Oates

The following article "Connecting the Unique and Universal" by fiction writer Joyce Carol Oates discusses how art or the writing process connects people to one another.

We will discuss the article as it relates to her story in class.

Bibliographic citation:

Joyce Carol Oates. The Writer. Boston: Aug 2009. Tomo 122, No. 8; pág. 24

Article text:

Writers of great fiction draw upon specific experiences to illuminate the experiences of others


"AS A TEACHER of creative writing, as well as a writer, I am very deeply concerned with the phenomenon of creativity - it is one of the most mysterious of all human endeavors, and must ultimately be considered in the light of long-range evolutionary patterns in man. The process of creating art cannot be understood, cannot be explained in rational or scientific terms.

What writers can share with one another, however, is their knowledge of how the process can be stimulated and formalized into art. For, without the conscious and intelligent formalization of one's deepest, instinctive fantasies, no communication at all is possible.

I think that post-Romantic, existentialist attitudes toward art - that it should be spontaneous, that it should reflect a vital but unintellectual reality - are quite erroneous, and present a dangerous temptation to writers who are not certain of themselves. Whenever a writer or philosopher or poet stresses the unconscious, one should remember that it is not his unconscious that is speaking, but his conscious mind.

A celebration of the unique

Fiction and poetry celebrate the unique - what the writer has experienced or thought, personally; without this personal, private experience, the story or poem will be simply manufactured. One really cannot manufacture emotions. But there is no reason to make them up, since everyone has emotions - daydreams - unique and unrepeatable experiences.

The important thing is, do people correctly value themselves? If they are writing, why are they writing? Anyone who is writing to make money is deluding himself; he is writing for other, deeper reasons, reasons he cannot explain. But as long as he believes that he is writing for money or for prestige, he will write in a falsifying way, manufacturing emotions in conformity with emotions he sees in others; and yet his own life is filled with enough drama to constitute any number of novels.

When one writes about his true subject, in contrast to the usual false subject, he really has no difficulty with writing. But he must understand how his unique life is related to a vast universal life: the connection between the two is what he must write about.

Art that communicates

I would be unable to write about thing that did not seem to me both unique and universal - an event I have lived through myself, or experienced intensely through my imagination, and an event that has some meaning, some larger appeal, which may go far beyond the temporal limitations of the subject. If art has any general evolutionary function, it must be to enhance the race, to work somehow toward an essential unity and harmony - survival and growth -and perhaps an integration of the human world with the natural world.

The genesis for my novel Wonderland was a newspaper item I read years ago; it took a very long time for this to work its way through my imagination, and to emerge into consciousness, and the entire process is unknown to me. But the important thing, for me, is that the novel's basis is a real event; that it happened in the world out there and not in my head; that it must be sent back out into the world, and given a definite time and place, and related to current history.

Until this is settled, I am unable to write and would not care to write - my own fantasies, however intriguing, simply don't seem substantial enough for me to formalize into art. I can sometimes marry them to objective events, since we all experience a number of the same things, and this allows me to write quite swiftly and happily. One of the large consolations for experiencing anything unpleasant is the knowledge that one can communicate it, especially one's triumph over it, to other people.

Critics who chide me for dwelling on unpleasant and even bloody subjects miss the point: Art shows us how to get through and transcend pain, and a close reading of any tragic work (Macbeth comes immediately to mind) will allow the intelligent reader to see how and why the tragedy took place, and how he, personally, need not make these mistakes. The more violent the murders in Macbeth, the more relief one can feel at not having to perform them. Great art is cathartic; it is always moral.

Therefore, one should contemplate his own experiences and see how they illuminate the experiences of others; how they transcend the finite; how they may be of value to other people. Unless there is a real value, the resulting art will be manufactured and one-dimensional.

I firmly believe that mankind is so instinctively, unconsciously involved with the survival and growth of the species that when an individual attempts to live selfishly, he will either fail or will fall into despair. Only when men are connected to larger, universal goals are they really happy- and one result of their happiness is a rush of creative activity. Any writer who has difficulty in writing is probably not onto his true subject, but wasting time with false, petty goals; as soon as you connect with your true subject, you will write.

Connecting on a deeper level

My purpose in writing this essay is to point out, I hope not dogmatically, that the average person is deeper, more talented and more intelligent than he probably believes. If man is faced with a new challenge, he can summon up amazing reservoirs of energy.

Unfortunately, our complex civilization reduces challenges for us or makes them seem insoluble. It is the task of the writer to think his way through all the temporal, private, petty, headline- tormented confusion of his life, and connect with deeper rhythms, either through a conscious exploration of art, history, music, literature, or through personal discipline and meditation. Man is the only creature in possible control of his own destiny, and the most imaginative people will imagine their futures and the future of their society, not through being passive or influenced by current trends, but through a conscious exertion of the mind.

How it all comes together

On a more practical level, I can offer a few general advisory words, which may be too personal for broader application. My ideas come to me partly out of the world (I scan newspapers often) and partly out of my own life. They seem to sink into unconsciousness, sometimes for a long period of time, and are drawn out again by some stray reminder in my daily life (in the case of Wonderland, I came across a number of similar news items - dealing with the murder-suicide tragedy, eerily common in our country, in which a father kills his entire family and then himself).

Then a long process of "dreaming-through" takes place, in which I think about the entire novel - living through various scenes, hearing or inventing dialogue, walking around with my characters in my head for months; only when the process is completed can I begin to write, and I can't hurry the process. I can assign to myself occasional tasks - how to manage a certain scene, how to dramatize the relationship of one character to another - before going to sleep at night, and sometimes by morning I have figured out the problem - sometimes - this might work about half the time. But I never despair or become impatient; it is simply a matter of waiting until the entire book is thought out.

After this strange, uncanny, intuitive stage of a novel is more or less completed in my mind, I write the first draft. I usually write very quickly, chapter by chapter, though I try to alter- nate work on a novel with shorter pieces - stories, articles or reviews - in order to keep some objectivity. I always know exactly how the novel will end, even the wording of the final paragraph. I always know ex- actly the crucial scenes, the dia- logue, even the way my char- acters look, though I may not describe them in that much detail.

But as I write this first draft, I often discover new, small things about my characters, and allow any workable rearrangements in. I wrote a rather long novel titled Do With Me What You Will, which is a complex narrative concentrating on two individuals who happen to be lovers, and who are married and thinking back over the circumstances of their having met and fallen in love; it involved many exasperating problems, but as long as I waited patiently, the narrative always straightened out, and the characters asserted themselves in accordance with their own integrity.

After the first draft is finished, I put it aside temporarily and work on other things. Then, when I feel the time is come for me to really formalize it, I begin the second and final draft - and this part of the process is, strangely enough, the most enjoyable of all. I cut each chapter drastically, seeing as objectively as possible what can be eliminated or shortened, trying to read the work as if from another part of myself, or from the point of view of another person. Though the original, spontaneous part of writing can be very exciting, the real reward for me at least is this third and most conscious, most intellectual organization of material. Man is a problem-solving animal, and the organizing of vast subjects must give pleasure, evidently; nothing seems to me to involve more in-tellectual effort than the organizing of a big novel, and I cannot imagine anything more rewarding.

In all this, I try to keep in mind the delicate relationship between what is unique, perhaps even eccentric, and what is universal - what will, hopefully, transcend the finite nature of newspaper headlines. Only in this relationship is there a true subject, worthy of long hours of work.

[Sidebar]
"Art shows us how to get through and transcend pain," Oates writes.

[Sidebar]
Only when men are connected to larger, universal goals are they really happy.

[Afiliaciones del autor]
Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates has received the National Book Award and the PEN/Malomud Award for short fiction. Her latest novel, My Sister, My Love, was inspired by the real-life JonBenet Ramsey tragedy. Dear Husbond, a story collection, came out in March."

ESSAY ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES

WHAT YOU MUST TURN IN:

You must turn in your essay using the following format. All credited work must have the professor's initials and date on it. The essay and its parts are worth 100 points:

1) In-class Cluster or Brainstorming exercise (10 points)
2) Outline (10) points
3) First body paragraph (10 points)
4) Draft of essay (50 points)
5) Typed draft of essay: 20 points
6) Evaluation sheet (evaluation sheets will be provided)

Your essay and its parts must be enclosed in a two-pocket folder.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT YOUR ESSAY'S CONTENT AND ORGANIZATION:

One of the most important aspects of writing an academic essay is the critical analysis, development, and evaluation of your topic.

Hook/Motivation: These three sentences should work to attract your reader and get them interested in your topic.

Thesis statement: The essay's logic is found in its thesis - your reader should be able to follow the thesis all the way through the body paragraphs to the conclusion.

Subtopics and supporting details: The development of your topic exists in the body paragraphs, in which you provide proof or you support your thesis statement using explanation, examples, facts, statistics, data, anecdotes, quotes, and/or historical background. You must ask yourself if you have developed your topic clearly and intelligently.

Transitional phrases or words: You should remember to use transitions in your essays, between paragraphs and between sentences to show the reader you are taking them from one idea to another or expanding on an idea. Examples of transitions are: such as, for instance, for example, however, therefore, in contrast, additionally, etc.

For more information on transitions, go the following weblink:

http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/trans1.html

Conclusion: Your conclusion is made up of two parts: the restated thesis and the insight. The restated thesis is important because it reminds the reader of the essay's purpose. Like a summary, it must be paraphrased or rewritten, using new words to repeat the same idea. Remember: a restated thesis never repeats the same language as your thesis statement.

Because the insight is the final sentence of the essay, it should leave your reader with a lingering and powerful perspective of your topic. Many writers use proverbs or saysings to close their essays. Some writers offer an insight into the future of the topic. The insight should not, however, offer new or contradictory information on the topic. It should still be relevant to the main idea. Like the hook or the motivation, the insight is used to keep your critical evaluation of the topic in the reader's mind for a very long time.

Examples of Outlines

Everyone,

It is important to create an outline as part of your preparation for the writing of your essay. The outline helps guide you into the writing process by helping you stay on topic. Because it can become a strategy or plan for what you want to say in the essay, it helps you see the "big picture" or the purpose of your essay.

Things to remember about your outline:

You should have two or three subtopics. The subtopics are the reasons which help prove your thesis statement. For instance,
if my thesis statement says that "Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" is a foil for the author's poor mental and physical health, which shows how the line between fiction and non-fiction can be blurred.", then I would need to have two subtopics which help prove that thesis. The subtopics might be: 1) Gregor's mental and physical condition and 2) Kafka's mental and physical condition. My essay would compare the Gregor's health to Franz Kafka's.

You should remember to develop a restated thesis in the first line of your conclusion. The restated thesis reminds the reader of the purpose of your essay. Restated thesis means that you have re-written the idea of your thesis statement but used different words.

The last few lines of your conclusion should have an insightful closing, which tells the reader something about the future of your topic. You may also use a saying or a proverb which provides an insight.

My outline would look like this:

I. Motivation: Quote from Kafka to his girlfriend about his health.
Thesis statement: Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" is a foil for the author's poor mental and physical health, which shows how the line between fiction and non-fiction can be blurred."

III. Body paragraph: Gregor's mental and physical condition
A. Gregor's exhaustion consumes him
B. Gregor's denial of his disease

IV. Body paragraph: Kafka's mental and physical condition
A. Kafka's depression consumes him
B. Kafka's lack of hope

V. Conclusion
A. Restated thesis
B. Insightful closing sentence


I have included below links to help you with your outline for your essay.

Developing An Outline/OWL Purdue Guides:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/544/01/

Creating and Using Outlines/University of Arkansas at Fayetteville-Quality Writing Center
http://www3.uark.edu/qwct/resources/handouts/10%20Creating%20and%20Using%20Outlines.pdf

Joyce Carol Oates Interview

Please read for next week's discussion on "Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?"

http://flavorwire.com/40714/exclusive-qa-joyce-carol-oates

Obituaries

Everyone, please see below two obituaries, one link for Gregor Samsa, the other for Franz Kafka.

http://www.pitt.edu/~kafka/orb_humes.html

and Franz Kafka's obituary, written by his lover, Milena:

Milena's Obituary for Kafka: "An Obituary for Frank Kafka"Dr. Franz Kafka, a German writer who lived in Prague, died the day before yesterday in a sanatorium in Kierling at Klosterneuburg, near Vienna. Few people here knew him, for he was a solitary, wise person terrified by life. He suffered for years from lung disease. Although he did treat his illness medically, he also consciously encouraged it, and supported it with his thinking. Taken from the following website: http://www.kafka-franz.com/Franz-Kafka-Milena-Jesenska1.htm

Guidelines for Effective Response Essays

BE HONEST: In response or reaction essays, you are free to use first person or the "I" voice. This is the space to be open to your thoughts, observations, ideas about the text or the subject to which you are responding. What made you curious? What turned you off? This is the time to "talk" to the reader, your audience, about what worked in the text, what didn't work in the text, and what was missing.

Reflection comes only from an engaged relationship with the text. Be an active and curious reader by taking your time with the text. Read for meaning. Slow down while you read in order to discover your truthful reaction to the reading. Finally, open your mind to new ideas, turns in thinking, and possible epiphanies.

BE SELECTIVE: Zero in on two or three critical reactions to your reading of the text. Your essay will be insightful, yet organized. It will not be chaotic, jumping between possibilities, instead of offering your reader a focused scope of perspectives.

BE FLUID: The ideas you express in your reaction to a text should be organized, which will create a flow of tone or theme. You will use ideas "willy-nilly". All essays should be structured either in chronological, spatial, climatic or topical order.

Chronological order: events or ideas are organized in the time that they occured.

Spatial order: objects or people are described by their physical relationship to others.

Climactic order: Items, events or ideas are organized according to their levelof importance, from least important to most important and vice versa.

Topical order: Objects, ideas, events and people are organized according to theme or subtopics.

For additional reading on logical order, please follow the link below:

href="http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/organization.htm">

See handout, "The Writing Process: A Sample Essay" for further explanation.

Joyce Carol Oates, "Where Have You Been, Where Are You Going?"

Everyone, please view the following website regarding the Joyce Carol Oates story. After we finish writing your first response essay, we will begin our discussion of Oates:

http://jco.usfca.edu/works/wgoing/text.html

The website hosts the story by Oates. If you do not have the textbook, then you can read the story online.

I'd like everyone to also read about her life, linked at:

http://jco.usfca.edu/life/index.html

Weekend Homework: Possible Topic for Response Essay 1

This first essay you will turn in is called a Response Essay and will be worth 100 points. You will turn in a packet/folder which will include a brainstorming exercise, an outline, a draft written in class, and a typed final draft.

Kafka's Metamorphosis Response Essay I:

This weekend, you should think about your essay topic. Topics MUST be specific and focused. I listed below themes you may wish to explore:

The meaning of food and hunger in the story
Pain and suffering (for any character)
Gregor's guilt
Gregor's freedom and exile
The meaning of cleanliness
Abandonment (abandonment for any character)
The meaning of Gregor's transformation into an insect
Transformation (of any character)
A thorough discussion of the meaning of space or setting in the story (the room, the apartment, dining room)
The importance of material possessions
Character studies of the mother, the father, Gregor, the charwoman and Grete.

You do not have use any of these possible topics. However, please keep in mind that you must be ready to explore and write about an insightful topic in relation to the story. I will not accept generalized topics. If you wish to write about a particular character, you must be able to present an idea about that character which has not been explored or discussed in class.


Please come to class prepared to create. You should spend the weekend thinking about your topic and taking notes on what you believe you would like to say about the topic.

Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis"

Please read the story in your text, 40 Short Stories, pages 118 - 169. Or you can copy and paste this link into your browser. The story is long, however, very interesting; we should find lots to discuss on Monday.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5200/5200-h/5200-h.htm


Questions:

1) Why does Kafka use a cockroach to serve as the main character of the story? What does the cockroach represent or symbolize?

2) What are the particular details which shocked, moved, surprised, angered you? What parts of the description offered a closer view of the main character or the setting?

3) Why do you think the author, Kafka, use third person to tell this story? Would first person have been a better choice? If so, why?


** Please take a look at the following websites which offer additional information about Franz Kafka. Ýou will need to watch the short film (second link) in order to continue discussion in class.

1. The following link provides some background concerning Kafka's other works:

http://www.kafka-online.info/franz-kafka-quotes.htm

2. The following link goes to a short film by Carlos Atanes which is an adaptation of the story "The Metamorphosis". I'd like you to think about the differences between the short film and the story, as it relates to characters, symbolism and themes:

http://www.carlosatanes.com/metamorphosis_franz_kafka_online.html

3. The following link provides a biography and a bibliography of Franz Kafka. I'd you to think about the parallel or parallels between the short film, the story and the biography. Why do you think Kafka created "The Metamorphosis"?

http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/kafka.htm

Anton Chekhov

http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/tsehov.htm

http://www.todayinliterature.com/biography/anton.chekhov.asp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRZTPvWUNYE


Please click on the links above to learn more about Anton Chekov.

Questions:

What is the historical background for "An Enigmatic Nature"?

What can we say about the role of women during the time "An Enigmatic Nature" was written?

What is the relevance, if there is one, of the Youtube video of a contemporary Anton Chekov reading his work at a bookstore in New York City? What do you think Anton Chekhov would say about this video representation of himself? What is the audience reaction to this representation?

Questions for Literary Analysis

Literary analysis allows a reader to interpret a text in order to develop a connection between the text and him/herself and the world. Literary analysis can be categorized into various level of critical thinking: description, evaluation, analysis and interpretation. Analysis or criticism requires a healthy imagination in order to appreciate the deth and complexity of a literary work. In order to reach those depths of critique, readers must ask introspective and reflective questions which spark continued exploration of the text. Outside of the requisite literary elements (plot, setting, point of view and character), readers should also look for the following important factors of a literary work: imagery, tone, symbol, theme, form and appeal.

1) Into which genre of this literature does this text fit?

2) Of what other work(s) does this text remind you?

3) How is the text structured?

4) What is the text's main idea? What is it about?

5) How does its imagery relate to its theme?

6) Who is the narrator? (objective, impersonal) or (omniscient or limited-omniscient)

7) How is persona or point of view used? (first, second or third person POV)

8) How does the text's POV influence what the reader sees or hears?

9) What conflicts arise in the text? If they are resolved, how and to what extent?


The following are substantive questions:

1) How is the reader affected by the text's action, characters, or setting?

2) What is the spirit of this piece?

3) What is it trying to say?

4) What does it make me feel?

Course Guidelines and Goals for the Semester

UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO – ARECIBO
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

INGL 3011, HONORS ENGLISH I, FALL 2009
PROF. JANE ALBERDESTON CORALIN

COURSE GUIDELINES

Office: Department of English, Room 10
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 2:30 – 4:30 pm
Email: jane.alberdeston@upr.edu


The Department's course syllabus is posted on the following website: http://ingles.upra.edu

Please make sure you read both the course syllabus and the course guidelines.

Required Textbooks and Supplies:

40 Short Stories: A Portable Anthology. Bedford St. Martin’s.
Morrison, Toni. Beloved: A Novel. New York: Vintage Books, 2004.
Online reserves, UPRA Library
A college-level English dictionary, such as Merriam-Webster or American Heritage
8 ½ x 11” lined loose-leaf paper


Welcome to Intermediate English 3011!

Important Course Information


Email:

Several times during the semester, I will send email messages to your university email address. Your university email inbox should be checked frequently for important messages from me.

Office Hours:

You are encouraged to meet with me throughout the semester. I realize class, work or life schedules might not allow for multiple meetings, however, I hope you will make an effort to talk with me about your work AT LEAST twice during the semester.


Student Responsibilities

Attendance:

At the beginning of every class, I will leave an attendance sign-in sheet at my desk. Every student in attendance should sign the sheet on entering and then return to their desks. The sign in sheet will remain on the desk for ten minutes after the start of class.

Missed Work (this includes missed assignments, exams):

It will be solely your responsibility to turn in missed work after an absence. All missed work and exams must be turned in one class week after the absence to receive credit. Work cannot be accepted via email. Work not turned in will receive a “0". Exams will need to be re-scheduled, at the request of the student.

Quizzes cannot be made up.

You should remember that the course involves a hefty amount of in-class assignments, group exercises and peer-instructor discussion. This work is valuable to your experience and cannot be made up.

Assignments:
All work written outside of class must be typed and submitted in hard copy, Times New Roman, 12 font, with one inch margins all around. I will not accept any electronic submissions.
All typed essays must have your name, date, class number and section, and assignment title. Essays without this information will not be accepted and will receive a “0.” Please follow the format below:
Paulina Rubio, Intermediate English, 3103-ME5
November 24, 2007
Assignment: Essay 3: Classification

Handwritten work will be limited to in-class writing assignments. In-class essays must be neatly handwritten, double-spaced on lined paper, with one inch margins all around. Your name should appear in the upper-right hand corner of each page. If the paper does not meet this format, the paper will be returned with a reduced grade.

Significant Revision:

Because revision is a vital part of becoming a strong writer, all essays will revised.
‘Significant revision’ will be the only revision accepted. All significant revisions must be turned in with the original graded essay. We will discuss significant revision early in the semester.

Electronic devices: Cell phones, PDAs and pagers MUST be turned off during class. If an electronic device rings during class, I will ask you to leave for the remainder of the class time. Additionally, please leave your laptop computers closed.

Classroom Behavior:
Your classmates and I expect you to conduct yourself in ways that create a safe learning and teaching environment, free from violence, intimidation, and harassment. This space is created by mutual respect.
I expect you to take full responsibility for your own learning, As an active (rather than passive) learner, you should ask relevant questions, share your insights, participate in small and large group discussions, take notes, and complete assignments. You should do your best to accomplish these goals without interrupting others or being physically or verbally abusive. I expect you to work collaboratively with other students to support their learning; when you do this, your own learning will benefit as well.

Academic Honesty:
If you use words or ideas from another source (a book, friend, relative, website, etc.) without crediting that source in your paper, you are committing plagiarism, which is a form of academic dishonesty. Typical penalties range from being asked to redo an assignment to failing the course. Further discussion of plagiarism and the proper ways to cite sources will come during the semester, but if you have doubts or questions, please ask me at any time during the semester.


3011, Honors English I / Requirements and Goals

Students will be asked:


To build on critical thinking, reading and writing skills through discussion in provocative and engaging topics.

To learn how to define, evaluate and critique the relationship between literary themes, and character and “real world” perspectives.

To understand the exercise and role of narrative or point-of-view in literature, fictive or otherwise, along with other elements, such as symbol, plot, theme, character, setting, and tone.

To learn about the various forms of poetry, such as the villanelle, sestina, sonnet and pantoum.

To understand the blurred lines between what is truth and what is fiction.

To build on the college-level English vocabulary through active reading.

To learn how to write a documented research paper, in which they provide critique of a particular work of poetry or fiction (genre will be announced at a later time). Students will learn how to cite their source material, using MLA or APA formats.

Essays (4 – 100 pts. each), (a minimum of 3 pages each), two of which must be documented. Essays will involve literary analysis.

Discussion questions – weekly, based on assigned readings, due in writing at end of class.

Participation – in-class discussion (inspired by peers and instructor) and participation at extra-curricular cultural events and lectures on campus.

Exam – Mid-term exam and final exam (in essay form).

Students will also:


v write an annotated bibliography of 15 sources

v write a documented research paper (minimum of 8 pages)

v present a brief conference paper, (10 minute oral presentation on a theme at an Honors' Colloquium (date, literary work and place to be announced at a later time).