Mr. Liconti's ENG4U1 class blog Mr. Liconti's ENG4U Resources

Monday, February 26, 2007

Bonus Discussion 2 - Photographs are worth one thousand words

Go to firstworldwar.com's picture archive at http://www.firstworldwar.com/photos/index.htm

There are over 3000 pictures for you to look at. I would like you to find one photo and describe it as if you were writing a letter home from World War 1.

Please note that the menu for the vintage photographs is located on the right hand side. When you have selected an theme, for example Battlegrounds, notice that there are nine pages of images to explore. The menu for page flipping is locate either at the top of the images or the bottom of the images.

Discussion 2 - World War I Poetry

World War 1 poetry is a genre of poetry which flourished in the horror of the First World War. Written predominantly by soldiers in the field, World War 1 poetry struck a chord with readers at home because it portrayed the reality of, The Great War.

As you read Findley's The Wars, I would like you to read World War 1 poetry and write a blog entry.

Your blog posting must include in this order:
  • The poem (including title, poet's name, date)
  • Your response
Notes:
  1. Everyone must have a unique poem.
  2. You can reserve your poem by posting the title of the poem you would like to use as soon as you want. Post it here, in this thread.
  3. When your assignment is ready, just delete your 'reservation' post, and submit your real one.

In your response, I would like you to use the following guide to structure your posting.

A Framework for Responding to Poetry

Introduction:

  • Briefly introduce the title of the poem and name of the poet.
  • Try to classify the type of poem it is e.g. sonnet, ballad, haiku, acrostic, shape, lyric, ode, limerick, elegy, dramatic monologue etc.
  • Briefly explain the subject of the poem.

Point One: Explore the Themes of the Poem

  • Try to group the ideas in the poem is there a story that the poem tells?
  • What do you think the poem is about?

Point Two: Imagery used to express themes

  • What are the pictures in the poem?
  • Are metaphors/similes used to explain ideas?
  • Are the five senses used to evoke certain reactions in the reader?

Point Three: Form and Structure

  • How is the poem organised e.g. lines, verses, layout and shape.
  • Why has the poet decided to structure the ideas in this way e.g. the sequence of ideas, length of lines, patterns etc.

Point Four: Rhyme and Rhythm

  • How does the poem rhyme? E.g. abab or aabb etc.
  • What is the rhythm of the poem when read aloud?
  • Why has the poet chosen this rhyme and rhythm to express these ideas?

Point Five: Language Patterns

  • Think about the sound of the poem and choice of words
  • The poet uses specific words because they have a certain association in the reader's mind.
  • Look out for alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, personification, symbolism. How has the poet grouped words to achieve a desired effect?

Conclusion: Poet's message

  • What is the poet trying to communicate to the reader?
  • How effective are the devices/language that he uses?
  • What is your response to the poem?
(www.englishresources.co.uk)

I suggest trying the school library or the public library before you try the searching the Internet for poems.

Please note, if you use a search engine to look for poetry, please note that "one", "1", and "I" all give different results.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Bonus Discussion 1 - Career of a Salesman

Read Kerrane's "Arthur Miller vs. Columbia Pictures: The Strange Case of Career of a Salesman" and discuss the implications of Career of a Salesman. Use examples from the screenplay that Kerrane found to help you support your ideas. The essay can be found on our course web site.

Wikipedia and sources

A quick note regarding Wikipedia, and other sources:

  • Primary sources include the actual text.
  • Secondary sources deal with criticisms or analysis of primary sources.
  • Any encyclopedic source is considered a tertiary source.

Tertiary sources are not to be used in this course as a replacement for either primary or secondary sources. I have given you these Wikipedia links because they are quick and effective starting points.

That's all that a tertiary source can ever be.

Wikipidia, a dictionary, an encyclopedia or a textbook are to be considered as reference points only. The validity of an open contribution encyclopedia like Wikipedia cannot be easily dismissed. That is not my intention, neither is it my intention to champion it. Wikipedia is a tool like the internet itself. Part of developing your literacy is your ability to collect information from a wide variety of sources.

Discussion 1 - Considering Miller

We have spent the first two weeks of ENG4U1 reading and thinking about Miller's Death of a Salesman. We have also talked about Modernism, Ancient Greek drama, the American Dream, and we have begun to deal with the elements of tragedy.

Before you transition from this landmark play to the next text, you should give Death of a Salesman a little more consideration before you write your first paper for this class.

There are three options for this first blog assignment. The essays can be found on our course web site.

It would be beneficial to you to read each question, then it's accompanying essay. This will help you to decide which topic you would like to approach.

1. Read Zoglin's "American Tragedy" and discuss Zoglin's thesis. I have included these starting points to help you formulate your response.
  • Identify Zoglin's thesis, and trace his attempt to support it
  • Elia Kazan's response to Miller
  • Modernism - the wikipedia article for modernism can be found here
  • Ibsen - the wikipedia article for Ibsen can be found here

2. Read Miller's "The 'Salesman' Has a Birthday" and discuss Miller's thesis. I have included these starting points to help you formulate your response.
  • Note the date of the essay
  • "And an old insistence - sometimes difficult to summon, but there none the less - that we will find a way beyond fear of each other, beyond bellicosity, a way into our humanity"
  • Miller coming to terms with what he had written
  • The realization of the script, from idea to production
  • Miller's thoughts on the play's theme

3. Read Ferris' "A Conversation With Arthur Miller" and discuss Miller's response to Ferris' questions. I have included these starting points to help you formulate your response.
  • Note the date of the interview
  • The role of the artist in society
  • How "one person's story can transcend itself"
  • The effect of Death of a Salesman on drama
  • The dramatic works mentioned in the essay / the nature of drama
  • Saul Burry
  • The theme of Fathers and Sons
  • "There is an old rule of psychology that if something doesn't meet resistance, it is probably not true." How does this response link with "the public role of the artist"
Note, there are three choices for Assignment 1. Once 10 people have submitted responses to a specific topic, that topic will be closed.