Schedule of Poetry Presentations

Image: Ryan Gallagher, "Persephone Eating Pomegranates" Oil on canvas. 16 x 20.

You are responsible for:

• Bringing in a copy of the poem for everyone. Make at least 20 copies. Including me, we are 19.


• Reading the poem aloud to begin. Read the poem how you think it should sound (tone, speed, etc.) Practice please. You need to read this poem many times anyway to come up with an insightful thesis; it will probably help your understanding of the poem if you read aloud: (melopoeia).


• Orally Explicating the poem for us. In other words, you need to have a thesis. Then you need to show us HOW the poet accomplishes his or her purpose. Please refer to handouts. It would be entirely helpful if you photocopied your notes on the poem (maybe on the other side of the copy you provide us.)

You only have ten minutes, so prepare your remarks; this is not something you can "wing" successfully. You will be scored on the MHS Open Response Rubric. Even though this is an oral grade, you are essentially explaining how you would write an explication--we are just hearing your mind work.

Nov. 17th:
“The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by W.B. Yeats: Carla
“My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning: Kayla
“The Author to her Book” by Anne Bradstreet: Mary
“The Unknown Citizen” by W.H. Auden: Jenny
“Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen: Stephen


Nov. 18th:
“This Is Just To Say” by William Carlos Williams: Andy
“Anyone Lived In A Pretty How Town” by e.e. cummings: Matt
“Root Cellar” by Theodore Roethke: Ashley


Nov. 19th:
“Metaphors” by Sylvia Plath: Sodaba
“You Fit Into Me” by Margaret Atwood: Tzivia
“Resume” by Dorothy Parker: Emily


Nov. 21th:
“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas: Mario
“Sonnet” by Billy Collins: Cynthia
“Sestina” by Elizabeth Bishop: Vanessa
“Because Poem” Lisa Jarnot: Kristen


Nov. 24th:
“The Second Coming” W.B. Yeats: Alinne
“I Know a Man” by Robert Creeley: Melissa
“Spring and Fall” Gerard Manley Hopkins: Michaela

Agenda for week of 11.10.08

Focus: Characterization & Historical Context (Ibsen's A Doll's House)

11.10.08: Class did not meet because of rotation.

11.11.08: Veterans Day, no school.

11.12.08: SLD on Act 1 of Ibsen's A Doll's House. Focus on characterization.

11.13.08: SLD on rest of play. Focus on "The Dr. Rank scene", "The tarantella scenes", and "the most wonderful thing (end of play) scene".

11.14.08: In-class Open Response on A Doll's House. For hints on how to prepare, look at Focus for the Week (above) and read introductory material in book.

11.15.08: Don't forget our Saturday class at Northeastern! Bus leaves MHS @ 7:30.

Start looking for a poet to research. Poet due by Dec. 1st! Please see me for suggestions if you are interested.

Finally, feel free to use this space as a "study guide" conversation with your peers as a place to work your ideas out.

Reading Lolita in Tehran

Group members:

Sodaba D.
Jenny L.
Vanessa G
Ashley A.


Image: "Two Orientalist paintings: Sir Frank Dicksee's Leila and William Clarke Wontner's Safie, One of the Three Ladies of Baghdad; Three colonial picture postcards of young Algerian women--staged, produced and bought by French colonial officers; The original picture from which the cover of Reading Lolita in Tehran was cropped." (Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM) Click link for image in context of an interesting article.

Reading / Posing schedule TBA

Monsters in Literature

Group members:

Kristen W.
Mario P.
Kayla P.
Emily C
Tzivia H.

Looks like we can go with David Foster Wallace's Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. Here's a link to the online book, so you can read while you wait for the hard copy of your book.

Posting schedule TBA.

Comparative Theme Group, will change name when you pick...

Group members:

Michaela I.
Alinne D.
Mary N.

Book choice: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

Paulo Coelho has a blog. I think it might be nice if you referenced it and maybe even framed some conversations around his topics--but make sure you also write about the book. This is a pretty quick and easy book to read, so you should also force yourself to search a bit for outside material to read and discuss--that way you can also build your theme.

Spirituality and / or Philosophy in Lit Group

Group members:

Mels R.
Matty Z.
Cynthia R

I think a good place to start, to get some "philosphy" from Camus before you being, is his essay "The Myth of Sisyphus." You can wiki it to read about the essay as well.

Schedule TBA.

Japanese Literature (possible author study of Kawabata?)

Group members:

Andy V.
Stephen C.
Carla C.

Looks like we are going to start with Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata. I think you'll enjoy it. There's some interesting background info here and you can also check out the wiki site.