the readiness is all

The next graded assignment is based on Faulkner’s modernist classic As I Lay Dying. Compose a poem that’s somehow based off that novel. It’ll be due January 19. It must be at least 12 lines long. It may be free verse, although many find a fixed form–such as a

Next, on a separate sheet, write a brief analysis of your poem. Refer to your poem as if you didn’t write it. Describe what it does, how it works. (Don’t evaluate its effectiveness.) Employ literary jargon (e.g., “tone,” “imagery,” “point of view,” “symbol”) when appropriate. You may or may not decide to refer to Faulkner’s novel, depending on how heavily you use that text in your poem. This analysis should be at least 200 words, double-spaced, with a thesis that links an expression of “overall meaning” to one or more of the literary elements in play. This second part is due the next Monday, Jan. 23.

In a dream I meet

my dead friend. He has,

I know, gone long and far,  

and yet he is the same

for the dead are changeless.

They grow no older.

It is I who have changed,

grown strange to what I was.

Yet I, the changed one,

ask: “How you been?”

He grins and looks at me.

“I been eating peaches

off some mighty fine trees.”

Hamlet looks death--in the form of a thoroughly conventional symbol--in the eye.

Write a blog page (as with the Moby-Dick assignment) about death. Employ a relaxed-and-intellectual style, just as you’ve employed on all of your blog posts so far. The occasion for your musings on this grave (pun!) topic: your encounter with the poetry of either Sylvia Plath, Robert Frost, or Emily Dickinson.

 That is, choose one of these three poets, and write about two of her or his poems that deal in some way with death. Include at least one visual image that comments–directly or not–on the theme(s) that you explore. This needn’t be a formalist analysis. In fact, be careful not to come across as stuffy-academic.  First-person pronouns are expected; pop-culture references might work splendidly; be irreverent or earnest or pensive or cheerful. The point is to sound natural. Because your blog makes it plain that you’re an AP Lit student, it’s natural that you’ll be reading some poetry. Here, you’re to share your thoughts while reading some. Play around with sub-headings or internal links or other ways to help readers enjoy what you’re doing. While it’s not an academic essay, do follow the academic conventions for quoting poetry: use slashes to indicate line breaks in short quotations; “block” longer quotations. Cite parenthetically by line number. Unless you use a poem not in the Bedford text (Frost and Dickinson) or the Plath handout, you do not need to document (no ending Works Cited or Bibliography needed). Don’t do research for this. Write at least 850 words.

Be aware that, as with any blog post, I’m not necessarily your only reader.  Any web visitor is a potential audience member. Post on or before Dec. 7. I will email my analysis and assessment of your work sometime during exam week.

Here’s an article from 2005 that addresses some of the difficulties of poetry such as that by Rae Armantrout. In this case, it’s on “How to Read John Ashbery.” As I mentioned in class, this sort of poetry tends not to wind up in anthologies that are marketed to schools. It tends not to win the prestigious prizes either. It won’t appear on the AP Lit exam. But it has a serious following, and there’s a good case to be made that it’s the poetry from the early 2000s most likely to be interesting to earthlings in a hundred years. Here’s one of Ashbery’s:

Last Month

Samantha’s post raises and discusses the issue of Emma’s desire to control others and circumstances. You should know, too, that the subjects of freedom and bondage, seeking control and letting go of the need to control will all be useful for our study of literature this year. They’re generative subjects, by which I mean they can lead to all kinds of insights. They’re broad, of course. But also, because they’re relevant to so many works of literary art, they also seem to suggest something essential about humanity.

Frodo must renounce, or let go of,  the Ring of Power in order to be free. He’s repeatedly tempted to use its power because it promises the kind of freedom that accompanies the ability to control, but he must get rid of it to have a deeper kind of freedom. Likewise,  Anakin Skywalker gradually realizes that letting go of his need to control the galaxy–stemming, it seems, from his inability to prevent the death of Amidala–enables him to die with a desirable kind of freedom.

I recommend that you keep your eyes open for these thematic subjects as we read on.

When Harriet can only contribute to Emma’s analysis of Mr. Robert Martin’s letter by complaining of its brevity, Emma “felt the bad taste of her friend, but let it pass with a ‘very true . . .’” (53; Chapter 1.7). Sometimes, folks struggle with the perceived “lack of action” in Austen’s novels, as if the presence or absence of violence (?) were the only standard for genius in novel-writing. Try to pay attention to the relationships among characters. Notice how conversations affect relationships. Notice the subtleties, how a character’s word choice can lead to tension, whether by design or accident.

Consider, too, that, for most of us, navigating relationships will likely be more than enough adventure for a lifetime.

For this course, you’ll need to develop the skill of expressing theme in a way that is compelling. As we’ve discussed in class, works of art–particularly substantial ones such as novels and plays–have a way of making claims about what is true. Such claims are sometimes voiced explicitly by a narrator or protagonist. Often, they’re implied throughout. As you read, be on the lookout for what the work has to say about humanity, reality, God, nature, love, language, death, and other subjects. “What the work has to say about x subject” is its theme.

When it’s time for you then to articulate the work’s theme, it’s not enough to leave it at one word: “The theme is love.” Here’s what the Bedford Introduction to Literature (9th ed., 2011) has to say:

“When you formulate the theme of a [work] in your own words, write it down in one or two complete sentences that make some point about the subject matter. Revenge may be the subject of a story, but its theme should make a statement about revenge: ‘Instead of providing satisfaction, revenge defeats the best in one’s self’ is one possibility” (297).

A satisfactory articulation of theme must be more than one word. It doesn’t have to be a complete sentence. It can be a phrase: “humanity’s desire to master nature”; “the fluidity of gender roles, despite the impression of stability.” Often, works have multiple themes.

Students sometimes struggle with articulating theme because of a sense that such claims about ultimate truths aren’t typically expected of adolescents, as if such nuggets of wisdom will sound phony. If this is your view, relax, remembering that it’s not your “wisdom”: you’re only telling us what the literary work claims to be true. Your own belief is not necessarily relevant.

The kind of literary criticism that we’ll be doing all year is known as formalism. Although it has a bit of a bad name in university English departments, it’s what the College Board’s AP Exam requires, and it’s the most pragmatic approach to making sense of literature. Essentially, it involves making claims about the relation between theme and one or more “literary elements” (symbol, imagery, style, and so on). It makes several assumptions: complexity is superior to simplicity; every element of a literary work is under the control of the author; and every literary work is a unified whole. Given these three tenets, formalism then makes arguments about how a text works.

The assumptions can certainly be attacked. Anyone who’s ever created art knows that not everything is under the author’s control; sometimes, a work produces certain effects that the author didn’t deliberately design. But we will assume, following formalist convention, authorial control.

Formalism has a “bad name” in university English departments due to its assumptions, of course, but also for political reasons, having to do with the question of the scope of any thematic statement’s truth claim. In order to get the most of this course (and on the AP Exam), you’ll need to adopt the assumptions of formalism.

I’ll be posting periodically, and I’d like you to read. But I also want you to comment on any or all of my posts. Sometimes, I’ll specify which one to address. Always, be sure to write with care. Remember that your potential audience is vast–anyone might find your blog via Google, for instance. Don’t work up a sweat trying to sound like a genius. Be clear, as precise as you know how, and straightforward. Pose questions. Take intellectual risks.

You might start by commenting, here, on your Moby-Dick blog page or analysis essay as you develop it. You might be able to help each other.

For your first major assignment, you have a choice:

1. Develop a Moby-Dick page within your course blog. (Note: a “page” is not simply a post on your blog. A page is separate from your main blog. It is, in effect, a linked second blog.) Write an appreciative commentary on the novel, focusing on its redeeming features, even its hipness. With an audience of educated, culturally-attuned web-surfers in mind, knowing that few humans are out there who have read this book, make the case that the novel not only isn’t that bad but that it’s actually pretty cool in some ways. Employ a style that’s suitable for this audience. What about this novel makes it (ironically?) timely, despite its age? Use images or video (or both) to complement writing on the following subdivisions: thematic weight (what is it about, ultimately?), narrative structure (how is the story told, from beginning to middle to end?), and style (a broad category, which can include symbolism, tone, diction, figurative language, syntax, imagery). Use a quotation as your main title; use Reflections on Moby-Dick as your subtitle. I expect all of your conclusions to be your own. If you borrow someone else’s idea, give credit in MLA format. You ought to write no fewer than 800 words total. Any post dated later than Sept 8, 2011 will not be accepted.

OR

2. Write a traditional, analytical argument on Moby-Dick which you’ll print and hand in. Look for a complex pattern that’s thematically significant. Devise a thesis statement, and then support it with textual references and commentary/interpretation that proceeds logically. Write as if you’re in a college English class, employing an “academic” style. Avoid research. See me if you are worried about plagiarism. Cite and document sources (including the novel) in MLA format. Write at least 900 words. Give me a hardcopy in class Sept 9, and upload to turnitin.com.

This Monday, Aug 29, class time will be devoted to getting each of your blogs set up. You’ll start gathering materials for this assignment at least by Friday, Aug 26.