All About Mirrors

Today we had examined two poems centered symbolically on mirrors. Final poem presentations tomorrow.

• "Grace to be said at the Supermarket" ~Nemerov (the link is here, but it's a bit buried)
• "Ode to the Maggot" ~Komunyakaa

More Poetry

Today we had two more excellent poetry presentations. In between we talked about keeping the Mrs D forum appropriate (watch the sarcasm; it doesn't translate well) and the 2nd chance at posting topics for the ten of you who didn't manage (please see GC for details).

HW Respond to others' topics by 11:55 p.m.

Tonight's Poems

• "Poverty of Mirrors" ~Alexie
• "Mirror"~Plath

Thursday & Friday

Thursday we had a couple more poetry presentations--Cisneros' "After Everything" and Snyder's "Avocado"--and then talked a bit about the next paper.
Friday we started the day looking at cummings' "In Just," and then spent the rest of the time talking about the next essay and Woolf.

Poetry HW

• "I heard a fly buzz when I died" ~Dickinson
• "Innocence" ~Kavanagh

Paper #4 Due Dates

• Topics Posted 3/28
• Topic Responses 3/30
• Typed Roughs in Class 4/3
• Final Draft TBA

Poem Presentations Begin

Today I checked last night's poetry HW and we had the first of two poem presentations. There was a bit of chaos there at the end regarding tomorrow's poems. I have decided that we will forge ahead as scheduled with "After Everything" by Sandra Cisneros and "Avocado" by Gary Snyder.

New Due Dates:

• Your first Mrs D post is due today.
• Essay #4 Topics are due this weekend (posted 3/28).

A Slacker Repents

OK, I know, it's been days. Today we worked on the poetry project and I assigned the poetry HW which you should do every night on the next day's poems.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Poetry HW

1. Paraphrase the plot of this poem. Briefly, what is it about?
2. What is the overall tone of the poem?
3. Note a few literary techniques which stand out in this poem.

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Tonight's poems:

• "To an Athlete Dying Young" ~Housman
• "Leda and the Swan" ~Yeats

Forty People in One Room! Craziness!

Today we continued our look at "Richard Cory," by examining and color-coding a CRA paragraph. We spent the rest of the period rather noisily working. More was planned, but, sadly, we did not get there. Perhaps next week.

The Final Poem Project: Modern Poetry

Today we revisited the poem "Richard Cory" and then I assigned the latest (and last) poetry project. Groups formed and poems were chosen. Absentees will form groups tomorrow.

Mrs. Dalloway

We spend much of the period introducing Mrs. Dalloway and talking about modernism.

Due Dates (revised since class):

• Finish Mrs. Dalloway 4/6
• GC Posts 3/25 & 4/5
• Dialectical Journal (roughly 40 entries) 4/6 (but will be checked randomly)

Godot Arrives... in PC form

Today we had the PC for Waiting for Godot. Mrs. Dalloway and contemporary poetry tomorrow.

Finishing Up Godot

Today we finished up what were a very entertaining and enlightening series of presentations from Waiting for Godot. Well done all!

Pressure comp Monday.

Presenting Godot

After some preliminary activity involving voting, new ed. code, and some thoughts on Godot symbolism, we began the Godot presentations, which were excellent. Act 2 continues tomorrow.

Working on Godot

Today was spent working on the Godot presentations. These will begin tomorrow; however, I have decided to alter my overly ambitious due dates. Thus, the PC and study guide will now be Monday, 3/16. Other dues dates remain the same.

Into Godot

We started with some new due dates (see below), and then moved on to a discussion of a few central points about Waiting for Godot. We spent the second half of the period on the Waiting for Godot presentation assignment.

New Due Dates:

• "Hollow Men" Assignment @ GC (Questions 3/12 & Posts 3/13)
• Godot Presentations 3/12
• Godot PC & SG 3/13

Godot 2

We began the day by turning in essay final drafts and reading the titles (which were fantastic this time). We then had the quiz on the second act of Godot and discussed it.

Waiting...

After an extensive recap of the senior class night festivities, we had a short quiz on act 1 of Waiting for Godot, followed by some discussion.

Read act 2 for Monday, and don't forget that essays are due!

Godot Arrives

Well, at least the play has arrived. We introduced it today. Read act 1 for tomorrow.

"No Exit" PC

Today I collected the "No Exit" quick writes, the study guide, and we had the PC.

HW Bring Waiting for Godot

Our New Home, A116

Today we chatted about technical issues and revision with regards to the current paper assignment. After that, we spoke a bit more about "No Exit," specifically the importance of the Earth visions.

New Due Dates:

• GC Paper Assessments Extended-- Due 3/2 evening
• "No Exit" PC & SG-- Due 3/4
• Bring Waiting for Godot--3/5
• Essay final draft with cover--Due 3/9