AP Lit & Comp 11/30 – 12/1 ‘16

1. Allusions 11 & 12

2. Finish analysis questions for Frankenstein

3. Let’s look at body paragraphs

4. Dylan Thomas poem

Allusion #11: Medusa

The Gorgons are three sisters in Greek

mythology who had snakes for hair and

who turned anyone who looked at them

into stone. Medusa is the most famous of

the three. She was a vain and beautiful

woman initially, but was turned into a

Gorgon by the goddess Athena (because of

her {Medusa’s} vanity).

“Medusa” now refers to a repulsive or

terrifying woman.

LOL: the term can also be applied to

describe extraordinarily wild, unruly hair.

Allusion #12: Over a Barrel

In the past, when someone was rescued from drowning, he or

she would be held over a barrel so that the water could drain

from the lungs. The person rescued was totally dependent on

the rescuers.

Someone is said to be “over a barrel” when he or she is unable to

act independently and must do the bidding of someone else.

Example: Jasmine was over a barrel in psychology class: she’d

ditched the final exam, and now it was up to her professor

whether she’d be able to make it up.

.

Work with your partner on the Frankenstein analysis

questions (in Classroom).

1. Work diligently.

2. First discuss and delve back into your book, then

write your responses.

3. What you don’t finish in the next 45 minutes,

you’ll have to finish outside of class.

Answer questions 1-6, 8, 11, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20,

21, 22

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens There should only be one version of this book – just DON’T buy/order an

abridged version (which means part of the original has been cut out.)

▪ON AMAZON:

▪ISBN-13: 978-0486406510

▪ISBN-10: 0486406512

▪The above ISBN #’s should run

between $3.95 - $4.95

▪Here’s the annotated version on

Amazon.

▪This version is $9.95

▪IN THE STORE

▪Look for the Dover Thrift edition or

The Signet Classic edition.

▪ISBN 978-0-451-53057-8

▪These should be inexpensive (well

under $10)

▪If you’d like it to be annotated,

just ask for an annotated version.

(Annotated will cost a bit more.)

TREX HERE’S THE MODEL YOU SHOULD COMMIT TO MEMORY FOR WRITING

STELLAR BODY PARAGRAPHS:

T = Topic sentence: (your topic sentence should connect back to your overall thesis

statement)

R = Reason: Here’s where you make a general statement about the point or element

you’re going to address in this paragraph.

E = Example: This is where you provide a specific, quoted example of that element.

X = EXplain: This is where you EXPLAIN why the example is important and HOW

the author or poet is using that example to construct his/her overall meaning (which

should connect back to your thesis.)

It’s best to repeat step E and X once and then conclude the paragraph.

Stellar body paragraphs

incoming…

In the poem “The Life of Trees,” Dorianne Laux describes what

she imagines as the experiences of trees, ultimately relaying the

complexity of human life and how humans have allowed themselves

to become almost miserable because of trivial items. Laux uses

personification, imagery, and tone to describe how humans should

learn from nature and live less complicated lives.

Laux employs personification within the poem when describing

the life of a tree in order to explore how peaceful and almost idyllic a

tree’s life is. She adds human elements to a tree in order to

demonstrate how it is possible for humans to become more simplistic

and less materialistic. Within the phrase, “I want to sleep/and dream

the life of trees/ beings from the muted world; who care nothing/ for

Money, Politics, or Power / Will or Right,” the speaker describes how

trees, if they had human characteristics, would be easy going and

would not worry about everyday problems the way humans do. “If

they could speak/ they wouldn’t, only hum some low green note,”

demonstrating how carefree a tree’s life is and further showing the

simplicity of nature in contrast with humanity.

SAMPLE

ONE

SAMPLE

TWO

In Dorianne Laux’s poem “The Life of Trees,” she portrays the

interaction of humans with nature to reveal humanity’s destructive and

careless powers--driven by society--which have no place in peaceful

and pure nature. She develops this concept through the use of

personification, juxtaposition, and imagery.

Laux utilizes personification to showcase the peace and simplicity

of nature as qualities human should strive for. While humans are

obsessed with capitalism, trees “care nothing/ for Money, Politics,

Power,/ Will or Right.” By giving the trees human-like qualities, the

poet emphasizes the vast differences in values and highlights the

diversion from the tranquility that nature displays. Furthermore,

humans may speak out in all situations unlike nature’s ability to “only

hum some low/green note.” When the tree reserves its speech, the

silence relieves stress and corruption. It lives an uncomplicated

lifestyle and sets an example for society to follow. By strongly

personifying nature, Laux outlines modern society and what it should

aspire to be.

SAMPLE

THREE

In the poem “The Life of Trees,” Dorianne Laux confronts man’s

interference with nature, specifically trees, which ultimately reveals that

nature’s simplicity is something humanity strives for, but it is also something

that is intentionally intruded upon. Laux utilizes personification, imagery,

and sentence structure along with strategic capitalization to emphasize that

even though society will “cut those suckers down” it still has a “want to sleep

and dream the life of trees.”

Throughout the poem, personification is incorporated to illustrate the

humanistic abilities of nature and to demonstrate the contrast between the

two worlds of mankind and nature. Personification is used to animate the

trees, which allows the audience to understand that the life of trees is

attainable by humans if society were to focus its energy into being simplistic

rather than complex, as it has become. As Laux introduces the contrasting

concerns between the two worlds, she states that, “...beings/ from the muted

world who care/ nothing for Money, Politics, Power,/ Will or Right, who want

little from the night/ but a few dead stars going dim…” which helps support

that, while humans are focused on materialistic items, the trees are more

concentrated on the purity of life itself.

Needs one more specific example and explanation.

SAMPLE

FOUR

In the poem “The Life of Trees,” Dorianne Laux compares

the simplistic lifestyle of trees to the complex lifestyle of humans

and ultimately reveals humans should live a more simplistic life.

Laux uses personification to allow the reader to connect with

and imagine the simplistic life that nature leads. Personification

juxtaposes the hectic, stressful, and worrisome life led by humans

and the peaceful, carefree, and quiet life lived by trees. The trees

are described as “beings from the muted world” who “shrug”

when things go wrong. They are transformed into people who do

not “pray” and simply “breathe, and breath again.” The poet

outlines how simple a tree would live life if it were a human. This

juxtaposition allows us to see how human’s “long exhaustive” life

full of the “drudgery of ownership” can be simplified into

something similar to that the life of trees.

This paragraph has an AMAZING blend of snippets from the poem for

evidence. Very nice!

SAMPLE

FIVE

In the poem, “The Life of Trees,” Dorianne Laux portrays a teachable

moment as her speaker shows the success of a tree’s life and its

superiority versus our own. Laux uses personification, imagery, and

metaphors to show that trees focus their energy and knowledge in other

places than humans and are better for it.

Trees, in poems and literature, have shared human-like traits many

times; Laux’s poem magnifies this connection as she uses trees specifically

to talk about human nature. She uses a large amount of her

personification to juxtapose what a tree would do with human emotions,

actions, and vocalizations, and why their way is superior. The trees “care

nothing” for human whims in “Money, Politics, Power,” and “fear

nothing” but life threatening events whereas humans fear all. All of these

examples show that trees do not want for material things like, “Money,

Politics,”or “Power,” and live perfectly fine without them. This is a way

that Laux shows how trees have a more simplistic life and are better for it.

This paragraph has a nice blend of textual snippets for evidence.

SAMPLE

SIX

In her poem “The Life of Trees,” Dorianne Laux portrays human life

as fast paced and ultimately reveals the need to take a step backward and

relax. Laux uses personification, juxtaposition, and imagery to show that

rather than focusing on “Money, Politics, Power,” humankind should

allow itself “to sleep and dream.”

Laux personifies common human emotions and actions to trees in

order to juxtapose the two. By connecting daily feelings that mankind

experiences with the powers of the natural world, Laux provides a

common ground between the two bodies while also suggesting that

humans should live a more simplistic lifestyle. Laux gives the trees human

emotions, “Hurricane, and Fire, that whipped bully who rises up and

becomes his own dead father,” which allows for the trees to have fear

while also being courageous to a more powerful being, much like a child

standing up to her parent. Laux continues her use of personification to

shape trees’ lives to seem relaxed, simplistic, and take life “with a shrug.”

Laux encourages mankind to “breath, and breath again,” like trees, in

order to enjoy the objects and privileges we take for granted.

“ Vivid, powerful verbs are essential to

writing a strong AP essay.”

-Check out the sheets I’m giving you

now. Here’s the verb link.

-Save these Quizlet cards and start

committing 10-15 vivid verbs to your

LONG TERM memory.

Frankenstein Socratic Seminar Prep ▪1. You can find the prep work at the top of our Classroom page. I have also

posted a copy on our class website.

▪2. Respond to the 10 questions of your choice in a separate Google Doc, and

then turn it in through Classroom by the start of class on Fri 12/2 (M) / Mon

12/5 (G).

▪3. Please also write four good questions you can ask that relate either to the

appearance vs. reality essential questions OR that connect Frankenstein to How

to Read Literature Like a Professor. Think about this: how does appearance

dictate happiness, both individually and in our society? Please type these

questions on your Google Doc, after you’ve responded to the ten questions.

▪4. Bring a printed copy of your prep work for your reference during the

Socratic circle.

▪5. PLEASE plan to be in class for the seminar (exception school activities).

There will be a make up discussion or alternate assignment for those gone.

“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light. (3)

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night. (6)

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light. (9)

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night. (12)

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light. (15)

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light. (19)

“Do Not Go Gentle…” ▪Villanelle: a specific structure of poem

▪5 tercets (stanza or grouping of three lines) and a concluding quatrain (which is a

group of four lines)

▪There are two sounds/rhymes throughout the poem, a specific pattern for how

rhyme is applied.

▪Note that lines one and three in the first tercet rhyme with each other. These rhymes

are repeated in each of the following tercets (aba), and in the final two lines of the

quatrain (abaa)

▪Also: line 1 is repeated in its entirety as lines 6, 12, and 18

▪Line 3 appears AGAIN as lines 9, 15, and 19

▪Although there is a lot of repetition, a skilled poet can use the repetition to create

haunting echoes.

Also worth noting…

▪The villanelle is a French poem, not commonly done in English.

▪Thomas was able to take what he had to say and twist it into this STRICT form

and meter. Somehow, the poem still ends up powerful and meaningful.

Impressive!

▪This is a lyrical poem, which is a poem that expresses personal emotion.

▪Who seems to be the speaker? (How’s that different from the poet?)

▪What seems to be the occasion for the poem or the situation it’s describing?

▪Let’s break this baby down by stanza.

Lines 1-3

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Because he’s writing to fit the form of a villanelle, you’ve got to untangle his syntax to make

sense of this.

What is this stanza saying? What metaphors does he have going on? You should see three

that represent the same concept.

Death is: “that good night,” “close of day,” and “the dying of the light.”

What kind of behavior is the speaker describing with “burn and rank”?

Lines 4-6

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

What kind of men are in this stanza?

What’s with the “forked no lightning” image? IF men’s words HAVE “forked

lightning,” what would that be?

So, WHY won’t the men in this stanza “go gentle into that good night?”

Lines 7-9

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage, against the dying of the light.

What’s distinct about the men in this stanza?

What’s “the last wave by” mean?

What are frail deeds?

Lines 10-12

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

What’s distinct about the men in this stanza?

What might “sang the sun in flight” mean?

How about “they grieved it on its way?”

Lines 13-15

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

What’s distinct about the men in this stanza?

“Blinding sight,” “blind eyes”, “blaze like meteors”

What is “blinding sight”?

How could blind eyes blaze like meteors and be gay?

Lines 16-19

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Note the comma between “curse” and “bless.” Why would

Thomas put a comma there?

Oxymoron = curse, bless – fierce tears are doing both because his

father crying is something negative, but it’s also a blessing because

he’s fighting against death.

DISCUSS

▪Is death an inevitability in this poem? Is there any way

to effectively resist death?

▪In the speaker’s opinion, is it useful to struggle against

certain death? Why or why not?

FOR NEXT CLASS…

▪Prep for our Frankenstein Socratic seminar. The

assignment’s on Classroom Follow the instructions.

▪You should submit your prep work through Classroom,

but also bring a hard copy with you to class so you can refer

to it.

▪Think about appearance and how it dictates our self-worth,

society, American culture…this topic would definitely create

some interesting material for discussion.