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• Ms. Park • Advanced Placement Literature and Composition / University of Connecticut ECE English Summer Assignment bpark@ledyard.net Students are required to complete the following assignments over the summer. The two assignments will comprise 10% of the first quarter’s grade. Failure to complete the assignment will impact grades for both summer work and in-class writing assignments throughout the semester. The work is due on the first day of class and will not be accepted late. The assignments must be handed in to Ms. Park in Room 112. 1) Compile a glossary of terms for explicating poetry (attached) 2) Create a poetry anthology (see below). Poetry Anthology – students will compile a poetry anthology by collecting canonical poems based upon the following subjects: family, nature, love, death, and war. A total of twenty poems need to be neatly collected in a folder or binder (they do need to be typed, not simply downloaded from websites). This will be brought to the first class. For this anthology, students will: Give their anthology a title Compose an introduction (foreword) that provides an overview of the collection (one page) Group the poems according to their respective subjects Write a full explication (two to three pages, using the attached handout as a guide) of one poem in the collection. This must be an original interpretation, not something found in an outside source. All student work must be word processed using Times New Roman 12 pt. font, double-spaced. Students must familiarize themselves with the MLA format guide found on this site: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/ It is required for all writing assignments. The explication must be submitted to turnitin.com by ________________using the following class identification number:_____________ (This information will be given on the first day of class) Rubric AP/UConn ECE English Summer Assignment Accuracy/completeness of definitions/examples/of terms list: 20 Thoroughness/plausibility/organization/grammar, usage, and mechanics (GUM)/ of explication: 40 Aptness/creativity/GUM/ of foreword: 20 Presentation of anthology: 20 aesthetic considerations such as physical organization, font consistency, layout ****************************************************************************************** Terms Crucial for Explication Make all necessary notes below each term; you must be able to recognize their use in poems. It would be good to find some examples in poems to help you understand and remember the technique. If you’re planning to take the AP Literature and Composition examination in May, these terms are a must in writing the inevitable poetry essay. You will find this website very helpful: http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/display_rpo/poetterm.cfm allegory alliteration allusion anaphora apostrophe assonance asyndeton ballad caesura conceit consonance couplet diction Elizabethan sonnet enjambment envoi euphemism feminine rhyme free verse hyperbole internal rhyme juxtaposition line litotes lyric poem masculine rhyme metaphor metonymy octave ode onomatopoeia oxymoron paradox parody Petrarchan sonnet personification quatrain rhyme scheme sestet sestina simile slant rhyme speaker stanza symbolism synecdoche tercet tone trope Read the attached pages from Lawrence Perrine's Sound and Sense, 5th edition, New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1977 to help your understanding of rhythm and meter. Writing Poetry Explications (From The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) Explication: a relatively short analysis, which describes the possible meanings and relationships of the words, images, and other small units that make up a poem. An explication is an effective way for a reader to connect a poem’s plot and conflicts with its structural features. Read the poem silently then read it aloud. Main Issues: Consider the poem as a dramatic situation in which a speaker addresses an audience. Begin your analysis by identifying/describing the speaker. Identify the situation being dramatized. How do you know? What is the speaker’s attitude toward the situation? Can you assign a “fitting” emotion? Is the setting in any way significant? Why is the speaker compelled to speak? Form: Is the form recognizable? If so, is it significant to the poem’s meaning? Why does the poet choose the words that he does? Do any of the words have multiple or archaic meanings? Consulting a dictionary is a must. Techniques: Are there patterns of repetition of words or syntaxes? Is there a recognizable rhyme scheme? What does it add? Are there other sound effects? Assonance? Consonance? Alliteration? Euphony? What does the rhythm/meter sound like? Does it suggest anything about the speaker or the subject? 13) What other techniques do you notice? How do they help to create or enhance the poem’s meaning? How to begin: The first paragraph should present the “large issues,” and then inform the reader which conflicts are dramatized and describe the situation of the speaker. Next… Focus your commentary on details of form and word choices. Continue with sentences about the techniques employed. How to conclude: It is not necessary that you end with a formal concluding paragraph, especially one that restates the introduction. The end of the explication could, for example, focus on sound effects as the final statement of explanation. Do not be afraid to stop writing when you reach the end of the poem. Tips:** Refer to the speaker as “the speaker.” You cannot be sure the poet intended to be identified with the speaker. Use the present tense Here are some helpful verbs to employ in your explication: dramatizes presents illustrates characterizes underlines asserts posits stresses connects portrays contrasts juxtaposes suggests implies addresses emphasizes