Sonnet Analysis

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; (her eyes are plain)
Coral is far more red than her lips' red; (nobody's lips are as red as coral)
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight (she doesn't smell amazing, there are more pleasant smells)Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare  (shift)As any she belied with false compare.

 

This is a Shakespearean Sonnet.

 

Petrarchan:

- flawless beauty

-lovers are seen as larger than life

 

Shakespearean

-nobody is flawless

-as humans we all have flaws, she is not a perfect, larger-than-life figure

-lover has flaws

-narrator loves her because of her flaws

 

Discussion points:

-Love is knowing someone down to their core, loving them not only at their best but also at their worst

-example) at prom every look amazing, they spend time and money to look their best yet there are people who are just as beautiful in their "sunday best" (#iwokeuplikethis) when they have just woken up

-you can love someone yet you may not feel the same way after spending time with them

Lit Terms VI

Simile:  a figure of speech comparing two essentially unlike things through the use of a specific word of comparison.

Soliloquy: an extended speech, usually in a drama, delivered by a character alone on stage.

Spiritual: a folk song, usually on a religious theme.

Speaker: a narrator, the one speaking.

Stereotype: cliché; a simplified, standardized conception with a special meaning and appeal for members of a group; a formula story.

Stream of Consciousness: the style of writing that attempts to imitate the natural flow of a character’s thoughts, feelings, reflections, memories, and mental images, as the character experiences them.

Structure: the planned framework of a literary selection; its apparent organization.

Style:  the manner of putting thoughts into words; a characteristic way of writing or speaking.

Subordination: the couching of less important ideas in less important  structures of language.

Surrealism: a style in literature and painting that stresses the subconscious or the nonrational aspects of man’s existence characterized by the juxtaposition of the bizarre and the banal.

Suspension of Disbelief: suspend not believing in order to enjoy it.

Symbol: something which stands for something else, yet has a meaning of its own.

Synesthesia: the use of one sense to convey the experience of another sense.

Synecdoche: another form of name changing, in which a part stands for the whole.

Syntax: the arrangement and grammatical relations of words in a sentence.

Theme:  main idea of the story; its message(s).

Thesis: a proposition for consideration, especially one to be discussed and proved
or disproved; the main idea.

Tone: the devices used to create the mood and atmosphere of a literary work; the         
author’s perceived point of view.

Tongue in Cheek: a type of humor in which the speaker feigns seriousness; a.k.a. “dry” or “dead pan”

Tragedy: in literature: any composition with a somber theme carried to a disastrous conclusion; a fatal event; protagonist usually is heroic but tragically (fatally) flawed

Understatement: opposite of hyperbole; saying less than you mean for emphasis

Vernacular: everyday speech

Voice:  The textual features, such as diction and sentence structures, that convey a writer’s or speaker’s pesona.

Zeitgeist: the feeling of a particular era in history

Lit Terms IV

interior monologue - exhibits the thoughts passing through the minds of the protagonists
inversion -  the normal order of words is reversed in order to achieve a particular effect of emphasis or meter
juxtaposition - the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect
lyric - expressing the writer’s emotions, usually briefly and in stanzas or recognized forms.
magic(al) realism - incorporates fantastic or mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction
metaphor (extended, controlling, & mixed)
Extended -  comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem
Controlling - metaphor that dominates or organizes an entire poem
Mixed - the use in the same expression of two or more metaphors that are incongruous or illogical when combined,
metonymy - a figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated
modernism - literary movement prominent after WWI
monologue - a long speech given by a character
mood - what an audience perceives in emotion from a literary work
motif - idea that is constantly presented throughout a work
myth - a traditional story that includes supernatural beings or events
narrative - a report of related events presented to the listeners or readers in words arranged in a logical sequence
narrator - the subject who narrates the story
naturalism - literary movement of extreme realism, it sought to depict everyday reality
novelette/novella - A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative normally longer than a short story but shorter than a novel
omniscient point of view - A narrator who knows everything about all the characters
onomatopoeia - the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named
oxymoron - a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction
pacing - the rhythm and speed in which the story is told by the author
parable - a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson
paradox - a statement that apparently contradicts itself but is often true

Tale of Two Cities Lecture Notes

WHAT'S THE STORY?

Why did Charles Dickens write the novel you're reading/reviewing? What in your analysis of literary techniques led you to this conclusion? (Make sure to include textual support illustrating Dickens' use of at least three techniques we've studied/discussed this year.)

St. Crispin Notes

Lit Terms III

exposition
expressionism
fable
fallacy
falling action
farce
figurative language
flashback
foil
folk tale
foreshadowing
free verse
genre
gothic tale
hyperbole
imagery
implication
incongruity
inference
irony

Dickens & Great Expectations Notes

ALL THAT DAVID COPPERFIELD KIND OF CRAP

Like anybody else I always thought that David Copperfield was the one and only, famous magician or illusionist or whatever else he did.. Apparently it is also the title of a novel by Charles Dickens.

The first line of J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye is this:

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." 

"Now that you've read some Dickens, what do you think Salinger means by "all that David Copperfield kind of crap"?  (If it helps, look up David Copperfield and compare with what you already know about Great Expectations.)  What distinguishes Dickens' style, and what statement is Salinger trying to make by distancing his protagonist from Dickens?

Lit Terms II

circumlocution: a roundabout, indirect or lengthy way of expressing something; periphrases

classicism: the aesthetic principles or qualities regarded as characteristic of ancient Greece and Rome; objectivity, formality, balance, simplicity, restraint, etc .., generally contrasted with

romanticism. Knowledge of the art and literature of ancient Greece and Rome, classical scholarship

cliche: an expression or idea that has been trite, overused by society

climax: the final, culminating element or event in a series; highest point, as of interest, excitement, etc ..

colloquialism: colloquial style, quality or usage (informal speech)

comedy: a drama or narrative with a happy ending or non tragic theme

conflict: to be antagonistic, incompatible, or contradictory; be in opposition, clash

connotation: the act or process of connoting (to suggest or convey in addition to the explicit or denoted meaning

contrast: a striking difference between things being compared

denotation: the direct, explicit meaning or reference of a word or term

denouement: the outcome, solution, unraveling or clarification of a plot in a drama, story, etc ..

dialect: any form of speech considered as deviating from a real or imagery standard speech

dialectics: art or practice of examining opinions or ideas logically, often by the method of question and answer as to determine the validity; logical argumentation

dichotomy: division into two parts, groups or classes especially when these are sharply distinguished or opposed. The phase of the moon or planet in which just half of its surface facing earth seems illuminated

diction: manner or expression in words; choice of words; wording

didactic: morally instructive or intending to be so; too much inclined to teach other; boringly pedantic or moralistic

dogmatic: like dogma; doctrinal; stating opinion in a positive or arrogant manner

elegy: a poem or song of lament and praise for the dead, as Shelly's "Adonais"; any poem, song, etc .. in a mournfully contemplative tone

epic: a long narrative poem in a dignified style about the deeds of a traditional or historical hero or heroes (Ex: Odyssey, Iliad)

epigram: a short poem with a witty or satirical point

SMART Goals

S: Graduate from a 4-year university with all requirements met to transfer to a medical school.

M: 

A:

R:

T: It takes between 4 to 6 years (hopefully I only take 4 years) to finish all courses necessary to graduate.

Help writing smart goals:
http://www.hr.virginia.edu/uploads/documents/media/Writing_SMART_Goals.pdf

AP PREP POST I: SIDDHARTHA

1. Siddhartha features substantial activity and narrative action. At the same time, it is about one man’s largely internal spiritual quest. What is the relationship between the internal and exterior worlds of Siddhartha? How does Siddhartha negotiate these worlds?

2. Herman Hesse’s novels before Siddharthafocused on alienated young men who rejected the cultures of their upbringings. However, these other novels did not feature the spiritual elements of Siddhartha. How do the spiritual elements ofSiddhartha make it different from any other story of an alienated youth?

3. Most literary scholars agree that Siddharthawas prompted by Herman Hesse’s fixation on Eastern spirituality. Is there a case to be made that Siddhartha is designed to celebrate Eastern religion? Is Hesse’s treatment of spirituality as relevant today as it was when he wrote the novel?

4. Siddhartha concerns the quest for spiritual enlightenment, and by the end of it four characters have achieved this goal: Govinda, Gotama, Vasudeva, and Siddhartha. Is the enlightenment achieved by each of these characters the same? Why or why not? What distinctions and similarities exist between the paths these characters use to reach their final goal?

5. Consider Siddhartha’s relationship with Govinda. How are they similar, and how are they different? What are the narrative functions of Govinda’s reappearance throughout the novel? How does their relationship impact the novel’s ending?

These questions tell me that the test is in depth and covers a wide range of topics and concepts.  

Lit Terms I

Allegory- a story in which people, things, and happenings have a hidden or symbolic meaning; allegories are used for teaching or explaining ideas, moral principles, etc ..

the presenting of ideas by means of such stories; symbolical narration or description

Alliteration- repetition of an initial sound, usually of a consonant or cluster in two or more words of a phrase, line of poetry, etc ..

Allusion- an indirect reference; casual mention 

Ambiguity- state of being ambiguous - having two or more possible meanings; not clear; indefinite; uncertain; vague 

Anachronism- the representation of something as existing or occurring at other than its proper time especially earlier; anything that is or seems to be out of its proper time in history

Analogy- similarity in some respects between things otherwise unlike; partial resemblance

the process by which new or less familiar words, constructions, or pronunciations conform to the pattern of older or more familiar (and often unrelated) ones

Analysis- a separating or breaking up of any whole into parts especially with an examination of these parts to find out their nature, proportion, function, interrelationship, etc ..

the use of word order and uninflected function words rather than inflection to express syntactic relationships

Anaphora- the rhetorical device of repeating a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences

Anecdote- a short, entertaining account of some happening, usually personal or biographical

Antagonist- a person who opposes or competes with another; adversary. opponent

Antithesis- a contrast or opposition of thoughts, usually in two phrases, clauses, or sentences

the exact opposite

Aphorism- a short concise statement of a principle

a short, pointed sentence expressing a wise or clever observation or a general truth; maxim; adage

Apologia- an apology especially a formal defense of an idea, religion, etc ..

Apostrophe- words addressed to a person or thing, whether absent or, generally in an exclamatory  digression in a speech or literary writing

to show the omission of a letter or letters from a word

Argument- a reason or reasons offered for or against something

a short statement of subject matter, or a brief synopsis of a plot; summary

Assumption- the act of assuming, a taking upon oneself, taking over, or taking for granted

supposition 

Audience- a group of persons assembled to hear or see a speaker, a play, a concert, etc ..

Characterization- the act of characterizing, description of characterics

the delineation of character or creation of characters in a play, story, etc ..

Chiasmus- rhetoric inversion of the second of two parallel clauses, phrases, etc ..

Masterpiece in progress...

Just talking out loud during our final got some of my creative juices flowing...

I recently got a piano that was built in the 1930s. The brand (Gulbransen) was the first company

to make upright pianos and player pianos starting at the turn of the 19th century.

Not only does this piano come with dust and wear but it also comes with character.

Having this piano that was so old made me realize that music has been around for such a long time.

Its something that brings people together. It is shared among families, friends, and classrooms.

It got me wondering how to more powerfully integrate music in peoples lives. Not only is music used to help young children learn basic things like numbers, letters, or words but it is also used to pass the time and dance. 

I have have always been involved in working with children. I have two younger brothers and about a million cousins (that might be a slight exaggeration), and my dad is an elementary school teacher. That being said, I grew up being taught and also teaching music. 

Now that my youngest brother is in kindergarden I really want to find a way to not only help him but hopefully many other students how valuable music can be, whether it be playing an instrument or singing along. It becomes so much harder for people to dedicate time and energy to learn music when they are older. That's why I see the value and importance in teaching children, they are young and full of energy. Their minds are eager to learn new things. 

As I am late starting to plan my masterpiece, I figured it would at least start to put some of my ideas down and then start to branch out from there.