The Rape of the Lock

Hi there!
I'm posting this for two reasons; first, to see if I can/know how to post on the blog, and second to voice my frustration.
"The Rape of the Lock" has reignited my passionate (and somewhat irrational) hatred of poetry.
However, I am trying my hardest to understand it, and wanted to let everyone else who feels the same way that they are not alone.

Happy Punctuation Day!!

In the hub-bub of Homecoming week, I somehow missed a celebration I vowed I would honor this year - NATIONAL PUNCTUATION DAY!! Click on the title of this post for an article from the Chicago Tribune.

I find this fitting since I just discussed the proper use of a semi-colon with my American Lit classes. The semi-colon, the most under-appreciated and incorrectly used of all punctuation marks, deserves a day of honor and respect as joining two complete thoughts together in a happy grammatical marriage :) And not to mention, the use of punctuation marks to indicate the variety of e-motions in email, instant message, and text. And who could forget the Oxford comma, the widely debated comma that comes before the "and" in the series: lions, tigers, and bears. OH MY!!

So celebrate our punctuation friends today -the excited ! the questioning ? the pausing , the definitive . the listing: and last but not least.....the unifying ;

Maybe next year we can rally together and create punctuation mark tee-shirts to wear in remembrance of this most auspicious occasion. HOORAY FOR PUNCTUATION!

Catch-22 Disorder

In class everyone talks about how Catch-22 is so confusing and there seems to be no order, etc. I was thinking that maybe this is to show how the people in the war felt. War is most of the time lacking in order and, as shown by the dead guy in the tent, somethings are never in order. I just think if it was easy to read and in chronological order we would not get the same feelings and reactions to the book.

The Interrelationships of Pride and Prejudice

I was on wikipedia one day trying find the birth order of the Bennet sisters and this map came up. Mrs. Conklin gave it to us today but, if you want it on your computer, here's the link.

No smiley faces, please...

I found this article while browsing the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) website. Interesting reading for the college-bound or anyone who is prone to LOL or say OMG.
I wonder how they feel about Tweeting at the college level?

Great day today - our discussions have been wide ranging from the definition of "rap" (according to the Literary Themes dictionary) to the "blue people" or as I like to think of it, "why cousins don't marry."

Just a reminder to come prepared with some work for your Lit Circle. If you have any questions or issues before Wednesday's class, please let me know. We will be touching base at the beginning of class before you will get down to business with your group.

Until next time...

On with the learning!!

I hope everyone had a great first day today. It was nice to see all your smiling faces this morning and I hope you are ready for a fantastic year.

Just a reminder to bring both books, reading log, vocab list, pen or pencil, and some paper on Thursday. We'll go over the syllabus and begin an informal discussion of the summer reading. Depending on how much time we need to review the reading, expect the test over P&P and Catch-22 to be late next week. I'm shooting for Friday, September 18, but a firm date will be set soon. Pencil that in as a possibility, though.

For those of you who haven't spent much time on the blog this summer, I hope you get the hang of it soon because the blog will be used as a discussion tool and it will be your responsibility to post or comment on the blog on a regular basis. If you have any questions or concerns about this, please let me know.

On with the learning!! See you Thursday :-)

First Day

what do you want us to bring to class on the 8th? just ourselves? our books? I already took out my sticky notes from Catch-22 (now realizing that was probably a mistake). I just want a little idea of what to expect on Tuesday.

Literary Quiz o' the Day

We're getting an early start for today's quiz. Today's answer comes to us from the realm of British literature. We read this poem last year in Brit Lit, so delve into the old memory bank on this Thursday morning to see if you can recall the author.

It was on this day 207 years ago that the sonnet "Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802" was written.

Most of this poet's poems were about nature and the joy of open spaces without people. So this sonnet is surprising, because it is written about a busy city — London had about 1 million inhabitants at the time.

The sonnet reads:
Ships, towers, domes, theatres and temples lie
Open unto the fields and to the sky,
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did the sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendor, valley, rock or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt a calm so deep!

Who is the poet? AND....a BONUS QUESTION....what literary period is this poet known for founding?

Good luck and happy reading!