Writing Contest Alert!

Write Across Ontario Writing Contest for High School Students: 4 $500 prizes available and publication in Open Book Magazine

• Choose a story-starter and finish the story in 500 words or less (including the story-starter)
• All submissions should be emailed to writeacrossontario@harbourfrontcentre.com
• See the website for specifics on how to enter. http://www.litontour.com/write-across-ontario

Poetry Test - November 23

POETRY ANALYSIS TEST GUIDELINES

Structure: The questions for each section are guidelines only. The nature of the poem and your interpretation will drive exactly what you will write about.  If it makes more sense to structure your essay differently from this outline, feel free to do so, but do plan to write at least three paragraphs rich in detail. It is inconceivable that you should answer each question that follows in this short essay format. These are guidelines only.


Each paragraph should be structured using the "TIQA" format:
Topic Sentence-Where is this paragraph going?
Introduce quotation or example-
Quotation or example-
Analyse the quotation or example-

You can normally repeat TIQA twice per paragraph, as long as you use a transition between the two.
Or
Point, Proof, Comment if that makes more sense to you.


Paragraph 1: Form

• How is the poem put together? Is it a specific type of poem (ballad, free verse, or sonnet)? 
• What do you notice about rhythm ("Charge of the Light Brigade")? Is there a regular metrical pattern (metre)?  Is rhyme important?
• Does the structure of the poem create meaning? Are line lengths used for effect ("Sarajevo Bear")? 
• Does point-of-view create an intimacy and empathy for the speaker's feelings ("The Jeannie C.")?

Paragraph 2: Theme

• What is the message of the poem? Can you infer this from the speaker's tone, from the meaning of the poem, from emphasis on certain images or from repetition of ideas? Support your answer with proof.

Paragraph 3: Relate Form and Content 

• Is there a break or change in the speaker's tone that conveys a change in attitude ("Sonnet 29")? 
• How does figurative language create or relate to meaning (like death imagery in "La Belle Dame Sans Merci", or alliteration in "Dulce et Decorum Est" )? 
• Is repetition used for a certain effect (suspense and the narrator's descent into madness in "The Raven")?
• Does the rhythm create meaning and a change in the atmosphere of the poem ("The Charge of the Light Brigade")? 
• What role does diction play (archaic language and Medieval settings in "La Belle Dame...", "Lochinvar", "Love Me, Love My Dog")? What expectations does this create for the reader?
• Are haunting images used to create setting and mood and allude to the speaker's tone ("Dulce et Decorum Est" or "La Belle Dame Sans Merci")? 

Paragraph 4: Make Connections

• Outline your personal reactions to the poem, and make connections with your experiences, other texts, or the world. How does the poem effect you? Sum up your ideas.

Writing Contest

Theme: The right to speak, the responsibility to listen

Several $1000 prizes available!

See http://www.osstf.on.ca/studentachievementawards

Poetry/Prose Category
1000 words or less: comply with the rules attached in the link above

Submissions due MONDAY, Nov. 21 to me.

Upcoming Blogs and Due Dates

I have been impressed with the effort put forth to date in many of your blogs! Your connections and critiques of poetry have helped me see your voice emerge in your writing.

For clarity, here are upcoming topics that should be addressed by next week:
Blog Posts due Tuesday, Nov. 15

• Post 3 Imagery Response from "Charge of the Light Brigade" or "La Belle Dame Sans Merci"; you may choose one of the ballads we studied today from Language and Writing if you would rather.
• Post 4 "Where I'm From" original poem from a model.  See advice from the poet and a couple of visual examples here.  
• Post 5 Media Portrayal of Soldiers and the Nature of War Response:  Consider familiar media portrayals of soldiers and the nature of war. Write a response detailing how the topic is treated in either The Charge of the Light Brigade" or "Dulce et Decorum Est".

For those of you that have fallen behind, you are missing out on descriptive feedback that can help you improve  your writing! Everything must be caught up by Tuesday; email me at haydengdci@gmail.com when your blog is up to date to ensure I can give you some suggestions before the final assessment for this unit.

Here's a student-created video inspired by "Where I'm From":

Blog Post 3: Imagery Inspired By...

Narrative Reponse:

Choose one image from the two poems studied. Create Entry 3: Imagery Inspired by "La Belle Dame sans Merci" or Imagery Inspired by "The Charge of the Light Brigade". Generate your own art that shows a connection to the image you have chosen. You may choose to use the image to inspire your own poem, a video (iMovie), a slideshow/collage (Keynote), visual art (Sketchpad), a music score or soundscape (Garage Band), or something so fantastic I cannot even imagine it!  Due next week once I get the Apps running properly!

Choose a novel for your ISU.

Please choose a novel by November 9th for approval; bring that novel to class. It should be a novel appropriate to both grade 10 Academic English level meaning it should be reasonably challenging and thought-provoking. You will ultimately need to choose a theme to analyse and make connections with other works.

To help in your choice, I ask that students post their top three favourite books as a comment to this post.

Entry 2: Response to "The Raven"

1. Background:

    Intrigue surrounding American author Edgar Allan Poe persists to this day. Did he die a mentally deranged madman, a drug abuser, or a man simply infected with rabies? His life and prose continue to emerge in countless pop-culture references in this century, often through parody; a movie detailing his possible demise is to be released in 2012.  Poe was known primarily for his mastery of the Gothic genre and his fondness for the macabre in his writing as you know well from "The Tell-Tale Heart". "The Raven" (1845) is considered by many to be the most famous poem in the Western Hemisphere.

2.  Poetry Study: Listen to a reading of "The Raven" by James Earl Jones and discuss what meaning you can take from it.

3. Vocabulary and Devices:  Refer to "The Raven" Interactive Lesson. Use the annotations to define unknown terms  on your handout of "The Raven"; note the terms in your glossary and practice identifying examples of alliteration, assonance, and internal rhyme on the handout.

4.  Blog Assignment:  Response to "The Raven"

Why do you suppose Poe's narrative poem, "The Raven", has stood the test of time? What do people find so frighting about this poem 166 years after it was first published?

Develop a response arguing your opinion in a blog post of at least 250 words. Relate your arguments back to the poem. Due: Nov. 3.  Call it Entry 2: Response to "The Raven"

"The Raven's" final stanza portrayed by Gustave Doré, 1884

Create a Blog and Entry 1

     Welcome to my poetry blog for Grade 10 Academic English class.  You will be responsible for devising several blog entries where you create, critique, or comment upon literature.  Here's my first entry:

Entry 1: The Meaning Behind "Dancing With Daffodils"

     The name of my blog, "Dancing With Daffodils", refers to William Wordsworth's Romantic poem, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud", written in 1804.  It is a reminder to me of the power of escape that the beauty of nature offers in troubling times. When my son was in the hospital fighting for his life little more than a year ago, this is one of the poems I retreated to as I tried to stay sane. To me, it is both grounding and humbling to consider the power of escape that the beautiful image of a simple field of golden daffodils "fluttering and dancing in the breeze" (6) can offer an anxious soul. The picture this poem paints, in my mind, is one of solace and grace that is a safe place to which to escape.

"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"


I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.


Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.


The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed---and gazed---but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:


For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils. 

 - William Wordsworth

Your first task is to create a blog like I have just done. 

Step 1: Go to blogger.com and log in with your gmail account. Share your blog with me, please.  Do so by joining my blog. You can click on the link in my blog where it says to join. Email me: haydengdci@gmail.com if you are having problems. Be sure to allow "Reader comments".

Step 2: Choose a blog name with poetic connotations. You may choose a title, line, or image from a favourite poem or song lyric. Also choose a basic template for your blog to start.

Step 3: Create your first blog post. Call it -- Entry 1: The Meaning Behind _______ (blog name) or something creative where I get what you're saying. In it, explain why you chose the name you did for your blog. Paste the poem in here and write a paragraph describing the impact the poem has on you, or how it reflects a side of your personality or experiences.  If you are feeling quite put on the spot, there is a mind-boggling array of poetry posted online: look to the links on the side of my page for Poetry Sources.

Step 4: Edit carefully. e e cummings chose not to capitalize, and that is acceptable for poetic writing. When you are writing in your own voice, use "I" not "i", and use formal language choices for the most part. There is a spellcheck option here too!

Step 5: Include a picture that relates to your chosen poem. You can choose where it goes. Label your poem "Entry 1". I look forward to reading about your favourite poetry!