tone and mood

The tone and mood work hand in hand, and create an environment for the reader. The reader often has a strong connection to the poem, and the mood makes that connection even stronger. A reader wants to know how to feel when reading. Poems like "Out Out," by Robert Frost show offer the reader this connection through its strong language like "Buzz saw snarled and rattled." The reader is thrust into a mood of heightened awareness and a feeling of something not being right. As the poem continues, the mood will waver slightly with softer words, but eventually hits a hard, and somewhat terrifying mood when the boy dies, and everything is back to normal. The mood of the poem is strikingly off-setting that the reader will feel deeply throughout. The tone and mood are the central feeling of a poem or literary work. This feeling is what the reader will attach themselves with as they read.

diction

As we have discussed in class, diction drives everything. The power triangle that we saw in class is the perfect example. The language that the authors use is all that they have. The images that they conjure up are based upon words, not pictures. Their diction must be precise and powerful to be most affective. Like in PandP, the first line of the whole novel immediately sets the tone for the rest of the it. In poems is where we se this most prevalent. The poets have only a few words to tell an enormous story. Their diction must be the best in can possibly be, thus the importance of diction.

imagery or figurative language

Many poets use powerful and vivid imagery and figurative language to display a deeper meaning than just the printed word. Images like rose-buds from To his Virgins and hoisted on their shoulders from To an Athlete Dying young. The authors don't literally mean rose-buds or an athlete on shoulders. They are expressing the images and feelings associated with these metaphors. Figurative language can range in meaning like these two do from virginity and youth to power and immortality. Poetic authors will use figurative language and imagery to portray a meaning far deeper than what is simply presented on paper.

sounds of poetry

In poetry, the sounds the reader hears are not only dominant, they are essential. Poetry is very different from novelistic writing, and thus employs a different kind of emotional attachment for the reader. It is based upon powerful emotion that is triggered by the sounds and flow of the poem. Out Out by Robert Frost displayed this perfectly with lines like "The buzz-saw snarled."The reader is almost bombarded with different sounds that evoke an almost heightened awareness in the reader of their surroundings, and what is happening in the poem. This is the fundamental purpose of the sounds, to set a certain feel for the reader.

symbol

The symbols in literature play a very key role. Aside from just acting as an image of a characteristic in a work, they also offer a look into the feeling and mood of the work. The vividness of the images can allow the reader to almost feel the emotion of a work, not just see it.

Setting

Setting plays an enormous role in literature; no doubt about it. It sometimes won't matter what the lines are, but rather where they are said. The setting gives the reader a picture of the world around the characters. This visuality is evident in works like Hamlet and Pride and Prejudice. Whether in a massive royal estate or in just a massive estate, these strong settings create a vivid image in the reader's head of the world around their characters.

Character

Characters obviously are the center pieces in any story. They provide the backbone to the story. Depending upon what kind of story you are reading, the role they play can differ. For example, in Hamlet by William Shakespeare, The characters play roles of extreme opposition of each other, whereas in pride and prejudice, the characters tend to, despite their differences, eventually find ways to coexist. Such characters include Darcy and Elizabeth, who started out hating each other, but eventually got married. In Hamlet. Hamlet and Claudius hate each other in the beginning, and end up hating each other to the point of killing each other at the end

fiction v. drama plot

The main difference in plot between fiction and drama is the climax. In Hamlet, we see the classic pyramid design, whereas in a fiction novel like Pride and prejudice, we don't quite see that. In PandP, we see rather a continuous flow of similar conflicts until the very end when all tides turn entirely, whereas Hamlet has the classic pyramid.

improvements for essays

I have to continue to work on developing ideas earlier. I still tend to be to general at the beginning and eventually get to the heart of the essay. Probably starting drafts earlier will get that aspect a little more solid.

Intro paragraph

How we view our heroes can change from case to case, and as time wears on. Athlete dying young and Ulysses incorporate this idea into the poems. The way we have always viewed our heroes is as people who can't die, and are never tarnished; yet, in these two poems we see exactly that. Our young athlete was at the top of his game, and at the height of his life when he was struck down dead in his prime. In Ulysses, Odysseus is left to live to long, and is a mere shell of the heroic character he was in the Odyssey. While it may be uncomfortable to examine, both poems do look at tarnished heroes, giving the reader an alternate view to what we normally see in our heroes.

Two poems

The two poems we read today in class offered an interesting contrast between heroes and time. One provides the thought that one hero died too young, while the second poem states that odysseus has survived too long. Both basically ask which is better, to die while on top, or live long past your prime. Both seem to show the negative in both. It pretty much left me with the thought that fate is fate, and where your life goes and ends takes its course, and we are along for the ride.

Ozymandias V. ponder

The two poems obviously are using time as a reference to life. They each have a different message about time though. Ozymandias uses the idea that time eventually turns all memories to dust. It tells the reader that with time comes loss of what happened in the past. Ponder has much cruder interpretation. It simply points out that time is running out for those who have it, so it is time to get to "sideways business." It doesn't really go into the deeper meanings of time like Ozymandias does, instead just points out that time is running out.

Performance choices

In the lines from Hamlet that Alec and I did, I only had a few lines. My characters speech was mainly of shock and dismay of finding out that they had been caught, then of begging, trying to please the lord Hamlet. I chose to act it out this way to really show the tonal shifts that take place in that scene. One alternative could have been to act suspicious of Hamlets words the whole time, then be obedient once they knew they were caught, but I got the sense they were very surprised when Hamlet questioned why they had come to Elsinore.

questions 7 and 14

7. Hamlets reaction to the trauma of his father's death and the circumstances involved is understandable. On the other hand, most people don't go insane after such events. He is clearly not insane, rather, he is trying to setup disallusions with in the minds of those around him so that he can go about his private buisness in peace.

14. Hamlet lets us know that he is mearly acting his insanity. Insane people can't turn on and off their madness. It is absolutley true that someone can create their own good or bad, but overall, Hamlet clearly has a plan to take down his foes in obscure ways that may or may not work in the end.

number 4

Laertes objects to the love between Ophelia and Hamlet because he is worried that Hamlet's stature as prince of Denmark would get in the way of the love they share, whereas Polonius' rejection is solely political. P feels that a prince for treaty purposes must marry a princess from another country. Laertes seems to be more persuasive because it is based upon actual marital issues that could come up, not simply political. The two are very similar however in how they view women. To them, women are almost just trophies. That scene clearly showed Ophelia as an object to them that they didn't want Hamlet to have. Class functions as a block to Ophelia's goal of marrying Hamlet.

Bad Dad mini essay

Jane Austen’s use of Mr. Bennet offers two interesting perspectives on parenting style. At first, we see that to understand people and their actions, we have to know and understand them for much longer than just the first few encounters. But below the surface, she also provides a message outlining the harms of parenting through satire. Jane Austen purposely allows the reader to enjoy and appreciate Mr. Bennet and his wit at first to plant a seed in the reader’s mind of how enjoyable Mr. Bennet is. She eventually turns the reader against Mr. Bennet and displays the faults of relying on first impressions.  At first, Mr. Bennet criticizes flat characters such as Mrs. Bennet and Lydia.  Then, he starts to criticize in the same way whole characters such as Elizabeth. Because of this new understanding of his personality, the reader is turned against him. 

Mr. Bennet’s parenting style is also most peculiar. Instead of normal fatherly love and compassion for his family, he ridicules them and often makes a mockery of them. While it seems to be in good humor, it doesn’t stop. Eventually, it makes its way to the most beloved character of the book, Elizabeth. Once the satire reaches her, the reader is no longer amused by him, rather they are repulsed. The ultimate downfall of using satire as a parenting tool is that the family will not longer want to be around the parent who acts in such a negative way. Jane Austen understood that, and portrays those risks to her readers in Pride and Prejudice.

What I learned from my essay

In my essay, I presented the argument that the first impressions of P&P were crucial as they were used to define the character of a person, whether accurately or inaccurately. One major flaw I made was not clearly stating it in the thesis. I stated it similarly there, but really did well in the conclusion. I also made some minor mistakes in grammar throughout the essay. Overall, I was pleased in my ability to stay on track for the most part and look forward to writing even better essays as the year goes on.

Most important aspect of a strong essay

In reading multiple essays and having written one this year, I believe that the most important aspect of a strong essay is specificity. Often, and I do this far to much, an essay can be too general, attempting to use to many ideas and thoughts that ultimately prove detrimental to the success of the essay. Sometimes, such as in the essay D2, focusing all the attention on minor details and a small list of ideas can create spectacular essays that very clearly state a thesis and explain it. The examples fit directly with the thesis, and the essay is very easy to follow and read, as well as presenting a very feasible argument that is interesting to the reader. Being specific and avoiding generality in an essay is key to writing a strong and direct essay that will be awarded a high grade.

More essays

This time, I read N, O, and P. I found O to be the better of the three. While non of the three started off with interesting titles or opening sentences, O began to draw me in with the thesis that proclaimed the idea of Austen allowing us as readers to make our own bias, then be forced to abandon them as the truth came out about certain characters. Orlando very clearly laid out the structure he was going to write with and followed it. I feel orlando very accurately pointed out a concept Jane Austen uses in Pride and Prejudice, and backed it up with a very solid essay.

three more essays

I read H, J, and I. I enjoyed J the most of the three. I presented a very clear, and intriguing point. Imelda's point was that Austen intentionally makes us believe Elizabeth so that we would have bias in our heads that what she says is right. The idea is very solid and true. Throughout the novel, Elizabeth is always a voice of reason for the reader. The structure of the essay is very easy to follow, and is organized very well. Overall, this essay resonated with me because of that strong thesis claim.

Analysis of three essays

I chose to read b, c, and g. B and c offered simple ideas, but never really jumped into a specific topic, rather stayed general. G on the other hand offered a complex, yet understandable thesis, and wrote it very well. There was no chopiness in the sentences, and the overall organization of the paper is excellent. It followed the opening paragraph beautifully. Overall, this essay just offered a stronger thesis and laid it on the paper much more affectively than the other two.

title and thesis

A picture is worth a thousand words, not all of them the right words

            Austen argues that while first impressions offer a metaphorical picture of the person, people possess layers far deeper than just the two dimensions of a picture, and must be examined much further than a first impression can provide.