due Friday 12/18

Read "How" pp. 132-138 if you haven't done so.

due Thursday 12/17

Read "How," 132-138

due Wed. 12/16

Hand in your essay, electronically or physically, by 8 am.

due Tuesday December 15

Read "Gorilla, My Love," pp. 418-422, in a wide-awake state.

Don't forget: your poetry essay is due Wednesday. Please email it to me, but if you have any doubt about the transmission, bring in a physical copy. If I don't get it, I'll have to mark it late, and this is a pretty important grade.

due Monday 12/14

Your introduction, summary, and body paragraphs, edited, proof-read, beautiful: email them to me. ALSO bring a physical copy to class.

due Thursday 12/10

Write a summary of your poem that includes references to five of our literary terms.

Revise your summary so that it is subtly biased in favor of the claim you're making.

Bring all your essay-related materials to class.

due Wed. 12/9

In honor of The Nutcracker, no homework.

due Tuesday 12/8

Please write body paragraphs one and two of your essay about your poem. Bring in a hard copy or email me your paragraphs.

due Friday 12/4

1. Go to a second example (quotation) from poem that might support your simile idea. Choose a rich word from that example (quotation).

2. Look up the word in the American Heritage Dictionary or the OED. Find a definition that applies helpfully to your example. Discuss why it is helpful. Dig deep. Connect what you're saying to your simile idea.

3. Think of the connotations of the same word under discussion. Discuss how these connotations might apply to the example, the poem, and your simile idea.

Do the same activities regarding a third example.

due Thursday 12/3

1. Having decided on your poem(s) and simile(s), and having sent it (them) to me, choose five or so examples that might possibly support your simile.

2. For ONE of your examples, choose an important word.

3. In the American Heritage Dictionary (can be found on dictionary.com; keep scrolling down) or the Oxford English Dictionary, find a definition that is particularly apt. Explain why that definition is helpful.

4. Discuss how this helpful definition bears on your simile/claim.

5. Spend a few sentences writing about connotations of this same word and how they bear on your simile/claim.