Samuel Johnson - The Vanity of Human Wishes

Hi everyone,


How'd you like to be able to look at a dictionary and use the old Star Wars line, "I am your father!"??

I know that's a bit weird, but it's quite a cool thought to me anyway.

Wiki to the rescue again, have a look at the sources for this poem.  Add to your notes.  Samuel Johnson himself is also an interesting read, though Mr. Sir has the most comprehensive one-stop-shop on this poem.

A general Google of the poet and the title brings up many options to explore, including Shmoop and eNotes, which I suggest you look up.

Enjoy.


- T. Marcus

John Keats - Ode on Melancholy

Hi everyone,


I know I'll have mentioned the Greek mythology element, and you certainly should find a way to mention it in your essays due to Keats' consistent focus on the legendary / mythological.  Consider the atmospheres that are evoked by this technique, and how these references establish a foundation from which to view and compare the other two stanzas.

For the whole story of Psyche, this is quite informative.

You could look up the Catholic rosary if you want to firm up your understanding of that image.

The search to more clearly understand Negative Capability is a deep dark hole that I don't know if I really want to go down, in fear I might not emerge alive.  After you.  :)

All that said, there are various great places to look into Keats' life and this particular work.  Mr. Sir recommends the Shmoop and Sparknotes pages.  I thoroughly agree.  Remember to look at the bit on Sparknotes regarding the original 1st stanza.

(No, I didn't conveniently link those sites for you here.  Hah.)

Mr. Sir himself has some good observations, and you may find that we tend to agree.  Overall.  You should definitely check out the final paragraph of his Language & Techniques section.

Meanwhile, I'm still chewing on that 'shade to shade' line.  Lots of possible interpretations, and I'm not sure I'm happy with any of them.  Which brings me back to negative capability.  (argh)


- T. Marcus

Alexander Pope - extract from An Essay on Criticism

Hi everyone,


This one had SCREEDS of information available.  Apparently Pope gets re-evaluated reasonably regularly, so there are lots of opinions about his work in general.  But I think mine's right.
(GET IT??!?)
(...aw, nevermind)

Wikipedia and Mr. Sir are your "go-to" sites for this one.  This one was interesting, too.

That said, I think you'll really want to make sure you've got your heads around the main points of the Augustan age.  Of course there are the links off to the side, yet also check out this page.

Have fun!


- T. Marcus

Latest essays

Hi everyone,


Getting better and better!  Here's some thoughts for helping hone our essay technique.

Primarily, there are two issues that seem to be emerging:

1. General essay structure
2. Ability to integrate knowledge of context

First things first:

Structure.

When comparing / contrasting two poems, if you're looking at how the poets do things separately, make sure you emphasise that.  Example- when beginning analysis of the second poem, you might start by saying something like,
"While Scott has put more weight on personification, a 1st person narrator, and concrete structure, Stevenson has chosen to employ epitaphic form, and to alternate between use of a 1st person narrator in the first stanza and 3rd person narrator in the second."

Then you could discuss the effects of these choices.  Alternatively, you could save this discussion for the conclusion section.

And for the love of all that is good and makes cookies in this world, learn the difference between 'apart' and 'a part'.


Integrating context:

When you've explained the effects of a particular language feature, or combination of language features, extend the idea in your paragraph by adding another sentence or two, explaining how the context makes your observation more meaningful.

Example.

"This pain of loss in love is particularly touching in that the author was experiencing marriage difficulties at this time.  The sense of betrayal is keenly felt in the semantic field, with words such as..."

That sort of thing.

In the conclusion, you could also further your observations by discussing how the author's contexts balance against the key concerns of the question.

'Context' should now include English Literature eras.  Find out what era each of these poems was from, and try to discern which eras most influenced the authors.  Occasionally you will discover a conflict, which may be meaningful.


Hope that helps.


- T. Marcus

Elinor Morton Wylie - Now Let No Charitable Hope

Hi everyone,


Interesting lady!  And very interesting life choices.  Poor thing.

I've covered most of the context which I freely admit came from the world's best source of possibly unreliable material, Wikipedia.  Here's a great quote from there on the anthology this poem came from:

In Black Armor (1923), "the intellect has grown more fiery, the mood has grown warmer, and the craftsmanship is more dazzling than ever.... she varies the perfect modulation with rhymes that are delightfully acrid and unique departures which never fail of success ... from the nimble dexterity of a rondo like 'Peregrine' to the introspective poignance of 'Self Portrait,' from the fanciful 'Escape' to the grave mockery of 'Let No Charitable Hope.'"

What you SHOULD be doing right this second is looking through that paragraph to determine the key growths of the poet's style in this particular anthology.  It will make you sound smart in essays.  :)

SO.  Check that link out if you want to see more.  Good stuff.

You're going to want to check out the Romanticism link over on the right, because as I said in class, Wylie was heavily influenced by this.  You don't have to know it all, but I would read the following sections of that link:

• The intro bit,
• The Basics characteristics section of Defining Romanticism,
• The intro bit for Romantic Literature, 
• and the sub-section there called Influence of European Romanticism on American writers

Though by no means exhaustive, this analysis occasioned some good thoughts on some of the imagery present in the poem.

And what era of English literature would this poet actually be from?  How does that match up with her Romantic Era interests?

Have fun.


- T. Marcus

Alun Lewis - Song

Hi everyone,


So, I hope you brought your tissues.  Sad story on this guy, huh?

If you'd like to read more about Lewis and his life, this is a pretty interesting read, and short; Wikipedia has much more information.

I stumbled across this site, which unfortunately requires a paid account to see the rest (much like enotes).  Still, what's there is FANTASTIC for context.

Consider that long quote we wrote down re: Lewis' poetry in general and his quest for meaning in the hopelessness.  Measure that thought up against other things that don't seem to fit a given pattern.  Rhyming pattern?  Enjambments and open-ended lines?

You'll find your own thoughts, but I thought I'd get you started.  Do some google searches and challenge my conclusions with your own!


- T. Marcus

Charlotte Mew - Rooms

Hi everyone,


This one was actually quite a lot of fun to take apart on my own.  And this time I will require a little more of exactly that from you.  :)

Rather than link to further research, I'll give you thoughts for expanding your notes.  That said, Mr. Sir has a link for this one (I think it's this one) to an essay that does a pretty good analysis.

Remember she seems to like sounds and the absence of sounds.  Look for how sound and rhythm mirrors mood and/or content.

Consider the connotations of the words that are contrasted so frequently.

Look at structure.  What is the tone of the open-ended and enjambed lines?  What is the purpose of the indents?

As we may have said in class (but I probably got carried away and forgot to mention), the paradoxical semantic field suggests a sense of balance.  Does this always apply?  Why does she seek this balance so persistently?

Happy researching.


- T. Marcus

John Goodby - The Uncles

Hi everyone-


So John Goodby is another modern poet, as we discussed.  By now we know that this means we may instantly abandon any efforts at looking for a rhyming scheme, though obviously if we find rhymes then we should look at them all the more closely.

Professor Goodby teaches at the University of Swansea.  I include this link because it lets us know a bit about his general interests, which particularly includes Dylan Thomas (1914-1953), a Welsh poet and writer from the early 20th century.  Of particular interest to me in that first link on Goodby was the following quote:

"His research focuses on late/modernist writing; he has pioneered critical recognition of its importance in Irish poetry, and argues that Dylan Thomas is a hybrid figure whose fusing of modernism and mainstream modes problematises the fault-line in post-Waste Land British poetry."

Mr. Sir's link is by far the most useful single site for research on this poem.  That said, use your class notes to develop best conclusions.

On the 'Red Square' aspect of the poem, Mr. Sir believes this is little more than a reference to members of the working class.  I think it may show the uncles actually in Moscow.  When they swap 'telephone numbers' and participate in 'deals', their presence in Moscow seems to indicate that they went there for business purposes, whether they were invited or went of their own initiative.  It is the one moment throughout the poem when the narrator voice seems disapproving of the uncles, as he disdainfully notices their dabbling in (or simply being surrounded by) 'rank communism'.

Key areas to consider for this poem:

• Semantic field
• Imagery
• Concrete structure

Point of View could be used as a supporting point for this poem, or coupled with Shape & Pattern to make a fuller observation.  This discrepancy in itself could be meaningful, as point of view is devalued while shape and pattern are employed much more heavily.  The narrator observes yet does not necessarily comprehend the complexity of what they're seeing.

Let me know if you have any further questions.


- T. Marcus

Ben Jonson - On My First Daughter

Hi everyone,


I've already let you know about Jonson's other poem 'On My First Son'.  Here is a fantastic comparison / contrast of the two poems.  Very insightful.  Also, directly addresses certain aspects of the semantic field that you will want to use to develop your notes.

There's a great deal of material you could sift through on this one, but I think between the class notes, the above link and Mr. Sir, you'll have enough.


- T. Marcus

Essay approaches

Hi everyone,


Soooooo we need to breathe.  Breathing is good for you.

You're all in a hurry to say everything you know.  This is truly ironic, because in the process of rushing, we sometimes say things that are incorrect and therefore cannot be credited.

We can never say ALL that we know.  We can't even adequately cover ALL of the Analysis Categories in the space allowed - at least, not if we're comparing; two poems means 1.5 - 2 sides per poem, which means Pick The Best Evidence.

Examine the question for key words.  Decide what Analysis Categories from this poem best address the concerns of the question.  Consider possible purposes of the poets in using whatever approach they did.  Add your opinion into it.

Here's a step-by-step approach:

• Make your point, targeting some aspect of an Analysis Category
• Choose the quote that best demonstrates your point
• Explain the effect of the technique in that quote
• Extend the observation- talk about the technique as it appears throughout the poem
• Explain how the poet employs this technique throughout the poem; i.e., does this technique develop an idea?  Repeat an idea?  Create a contrast / hyperbole / other effect?
• Link these observations back to the question.  Do this as "I think" or "To me this shows", etc.  Cambridge is currently really big on our personal response to texts.

The above should be every paragraph except for the Intro and Conclusion.

Intro - always mention the intent of your essay; what will you be demonstrating?
Conclusion - try to link together all or at least several of the points you've brought up throughout the essay to show how they go to an even deeper observation / conclusion.

In the case of 'compare two poems' essays:
If you take 2/3 of a side addressing form and structure, fine.  If that means you got to do one other point on imagery that also took 2/3 of a side before moving on the next poem, also fine.  As long as both of those sections addressed the entire poem rather than one isolated moment, and journeys the readers to how / why the poet chose to write as they did, then that is perfect.

For single poem essays:
You should have more than enough time to address all the Analysis Categories.  Use it.  Motions isn't necessarily progress; slow down and think about the best sequence of your points in order to journey readers to your conclusion.

Example-

1. If I told you: Johnny almost got hit because he didn't look both ways before running across the street as he chased a ball, it makes sense.
2. If I told you: because Johnny almost got hit, he chased a ball as he ran across the street and didn't look both ways... it DOESN'T make sense.

How will you order your points to make a logical conclusion that the reader can easily follow?

Think about it.


- T. Marcus

John Cassidy - Sons, Departing

Hi everyone,


John Cassidy wrote that his poetry often begins "with an attempt to register an observation or experience which seems worth preserving for its own sake."  He believes that subsequent examination of the description (ie. reading it carefully a few times in a row) should uncover the initially implicit meaning.  Still, the entire poem "remains a process of discovery."
(These quotes are from a response to an overview critique on his works.  The link to the article is here.)

I found a blog post analysis of this poem that has some pretty strong observations.  Use it to get ideas and flesh out your existing notes.  We'll have covered a lot of this in class.

Another live one, and thus a poet with lesser quantity of available research content, in terms of Number of Interwebs Posts to Wade Through.  Definitely check out Mr. Sir.

Remember to check our course book on Free Verse and regularity.  This one is big on imagery.  If I were you, I'd continually come back to one of the last thoughts I shared with you (at least, I hope I remembered to... writing this post in advance!): There are two MAIN characters - the father and the son(s) - the symbolism of the imagery may be interpreted differently depending on which character's perspective we are considering.

Have fun!


- T. Marcus