Weekly vocabulary Week of 9/28

Yes, I know there are more than ten words...makes a nice change from the rather pedestrian decimal system, don't you think?

Impetus
Moribund
Reticent
Insipid
Nefarious
Ennui
Torrid
Blasé
Cajole
Specificity
Infused
Suppliant
Magnum opus
Synecdoche
Metonymy

Hamlet

Describe some of the conflicts we have seen in Act I of Hamlet, giving details (characters, situations etc.). Be sure to clarify if the conflicts are internal or external.

Week of 9/21/09 Vocabulary

The following are this week's words. Please prepare literary analysis sample sentences for the first five words. Ask to see Marcela's test sentences; they were excellent!
1. disparity
2. inexorable
3. ineffable
4. vacillate
5. akin to
6. pique
7. whet
8. mellifluous
9. misogyny
10. sycophantic

Homework Assignment 9/16/09

As we read Beowulf, we can "hear" the Christian poet's very clear message in the epic. This was not necessarily part of the original oral tradition. Consider the recent movie version we have discussed in class. How do you see our modern minds/directors/societal values being "layered" onto the epic in the same way as the Christian poet may have done? Do not post your response; I would like you to write about the following: How might the original story have differed from the text we have now? What were the possible messages/themes/reflections of that society? Similarly, how does the movie reflect our societal mores? This work is due tomorrow, Thursday 17th.

Homework Post - Mon 9/14/09

Read the sample essays by students #1, 2 and 3. According to the scoring rubric, what grade would you give each one, and why? The why part is crucial. What is your rationale for assigning each grade?

Vocabulary for week of 9/14/09

1. inherently
2. insidious
3. inextricably
4. obsequious
5. multifarious
6. ambiguous
7. imminent
8. eminent
9. conflated
10.diametrically opposed ideas

Plus any school Words of the Day

For Friday's test you will not only need to write a sentence for (possibly) each word, but you will be required to use words 1, 5, 6, 9, and 10 in a literary analysis sentence. I will go over this in class--fear not!

The Ramayana Guest Lecturer

Would be interested in your feedback on today's guest lecturer and The Ramayana. This post is not mandatory. :)

Required Post Homework

When discussing Literature, what do we mean when we talk about the human condition and universal truths? Write a definition for each, in your own words please! Then give an example of each from any work of literary merit. This post is due by Saturday 3:00.

Week of 9/7/09

Mon 9/7:   No School

Tues 9/8:  Multiple Choice "orange" sheet test. Work due at start of class. Beowulf.

Wed 9/9:   SSR - either finishing Slaughterhouse Five and all dialectical notes, or reading The Ramayana (text p.240-249) and writing three interpretive questions in preparation for our guest speaker on Fri 9/11, then AP essay prompt practice.

Thur 9/10: cont. Beowulf

Fri 9/11: Vocabulary test (from last three weeks' words), then guest speaker - The Ramayana. Three interpretive questions due.

Class Reading & Assignment 9/2

If we had Billy's time elasticity we could have talked for longer. Pesky linear chronology!
:-)

Please read to at least the end of chapter 6, adding to your dialectical notes. In addition, please answer the following and keep with your notes (I will collect and grade ALL your dialectical notes at the end of the book):

1. What is the narrator's attitude toward Billy Pilgrim?
2. Who is "trapped" in this book? By what? (hint--not only characters...)

By all means "discuss" this with your classmates. That's what the blog is for.

Have this finished by Friday 9/4