English 12

Students are to take Cornell Notes on the following. Each unit must have 5+ pages of notes. Students may use Google Docs to take notes, but must show original note taking skills that are approved by Mr. Smith. Students will need to write a plot outline for each work. For poems, students will need to annotate the poem.

Credit 1: Perception Is Everything Unit

The Works:

Use the attached websites and media to assist you in learning about the following stories.

Please draw a plot outline for each of the following works for the unit. Analyze each work and give your opinion on if it is worthy of literary merit or not. Please annotate the ballads in the unit.

• Speaking with Hands (see below)

• Shooting An Elephant (Orwell)

• Lindo Jong: Double Face from The Joy Luck Club (Tan)

• Stranger in the Village (Baldwin)

  • Baldwin’s essay was written almost 60 years ago. Would Baldwin feel the same strangeness today? Explain. Would he have the same reactions? Why or why not?

  • How does Baldwin link his experiences in Switzerland with his reflections about the American experience?

• Between the World and Me (Wright)

• Dead Men's Path (Achebe)

Literary Terms:

Write Literary Terms with examples from the text:

• alliteration

• kenning

• Epic Poem

• symbol

• imagery

• allegory

• setting

• genre

Important Questions:

1. Anglo-Saxon poetry is most commonly unified by-

2. Name two influences of Anglo-Saxon culture:

3. In Joy Luck Club...Who said, "She like a ghost, disappear" ?

4. In Joy Luck Club...Who had a "long-cherished wish"?

5. What is the Dead Men's Path?

6. What is the meaning of the title "Between the World and Me"?

7. When is the setting of "Shooting of an Elephant"?

8. Why is Baldwin a stranger?

9. What is the theme of Speaking with Hands?

10. What did Mama show them in Speaking with Hands?

Assessment:

Embedded Assessment #1:Write a reflective essay that illustrates an event in which you or someone you know felt like a “stranger in the village” or were perceived as a stranger by some group.

----------------------------------OR-------------------------------------------

Embedded Assessment #2: Your assignment is to create a photo essay expressing your perspective (position) about an issue or topic of importance to you. Using at least 10 images to develop a visual argument. Include your intended thesis and a written rationale explaining how your images convey this thesis.

----------------------------------OR-------------------------------------------

Compare and contrast the following two poems:

• “The White Man’s Burden” (Kipling)

• The Poor Man’s Burden

In February 1899, British novelist and poet Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem entitled “The White Man’s Burden: The United States and The Philippine Islands.” In this poem, Kipling urged the U.S. to take up the “burden” of empire, as had Britain and other European nations. Theodore Roosevelt, soon to become vice-president and then president, described it as “rather poor poetry, but good sense from the expansion point of view.” Not everyone was as favorably impressed as Roosevelt. In one of many parodies of “The White Man’s Burden” from the time, labor editor George McNeill penned the satirical “Poor Man’s Burden,” published in March, 1899. Compare these two works and the meanings of both works.

----------------------------------OR-------------------------------------------

Take final on https://testmoz.com/class/16400

Speaking with Hands

by Luis J. Rodriguez

There were no markets in Watts.

There were these small corner stores

we called marketas

who charged more money

5for cheaper goods than what existed in other parts of town.

The owners were often thieves in white coats

who talked to you like animals,

who knew you had no options;

10who knew Watts was the preferred landfill of the city.

One time, Mama started an argument

at the cash register.

In her broken English,

15speaking with her hands,

she had us children stand around her

as she fought with her grocer

on prices & quality & dignity.

Mama became a woman swept

20by a sobering madness;

she must have been what Moses saw

in the burning bush,

a pillar of fire

consuming the still air

25that reeked of overripe fruit

and bad meat from the frozen food

section.

She refused to leave

until the owner called the police.

30The police came and argued too,

but Mama wouldn’t stop.

They pulled her into the parking lot,

called her crazy …

and then Mama showed them crazy!

35They didn’t know what to do

but let her go, and Mama took us children

back toward home, tired of being tired.

Credit 2: The Collective Perspective

Use the attached websites and media to assist you in learning about the following stories.

Write an Act by Act Analysis of Othello. One page of notes for each act.

Here are the works:

• The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, by William Shakespeare

• Lyrics for “The Right to Love” by Gene Lees. Explain how you think these lyrics tie into Othello.

• Take notes on Brabantio’s speech be sure to include how you feel about how he treats Othello.

• “Le Morte d’Arthur” Introduction (Thomas Malory)

• “Le Morte d’Arthur” (Thomas Malory)

Literary Terms:

• Write Literary Terms with examples from the text:

• Play

• Act

• Scene

• Epilogue

• Dialogue

• Soliloquy

Important Questions:

1. In what way is Othello's race relevant to the events of the play?

2. Compare and contrast Desdemona and Emilia's views on love, sex, marriage, and men. Do either Desdemona or Emilia change their viewpoints as a result of their conversations with each other?

3. Why does Iago want to destroy Othello?

4. Iago is constantly talking about women in derogatory ways, from his joking assessment of women for the amusement of Desdemona in the second act to his put-downs of Emilia to his assumption that Desdemona will probably cheat on Othello eventually. Does the play support Iago's opinion of women, or refute it?

5. Check out Iago and Desdemona's views on love and sex. Are they similar? Different? Does Iago believe in love at all? What relationship might Desdemona draw between love and sex? Does the play ultimately endorse either of their views?

6. In what ways are the marriages of Desdemona/Othello and Emilia/Iago similar? In what ways are they different?

7. Who is a more jealous person, Othello or Iago?

8. Who does Othello ultimately care about more – Desdemona or himself? Some critics have argued that Othello's love of Desdemona is ultimately self-centered. Would you agree? Does this mean that, without Iago, they would have lived happily ever after?

9. "She loved me for the dangers I had passed, / And I loved her that she did pity them" (1.3.166-167). This is how Othello describes how he and Desdemona fell for each other. What does this tell you about their relationship? Check out the lines 1.3.128-170 carefully. How do you envision their interactions? What kind of relationship is portrayed in this passage?

10. In Othello, most of the action takes place between only two characters: Iago and Othello, and this "action" is basically intense conversation and plotting. What effect does this produce on us as a reader? What challenges does this pose for directors and actors? Is Othello a domestic drama? Does it feel claustrophobic? How does the scale and focus of the play reflect the themes of jealousy, hatred and obsession?

11. Summarize Le Morte d'Arthur.

12. What does the title in Le Morte d'Arthur mean?

Assessment:

Embedded Assessment #1: Your assignment is to construct an argumentative essay that defends the critical lens that you feel provides modern society with the most compelling view of literature (choose among Historical, Cultural, or Feminist for this assignment). You will support the claim with valid reasoning and with relevant and sufficient evidence from your reading and observations.

----------------------------------OR-----------------------------------------

Embedded Assessment #2: Your assignment is to interpret a scene from Othello using one of the critical perspectives you have studied. Write about the scene and how it would look in today's society. Is Othello's theme still relevant today?

----------------------------------OR-----------------------------------------

Take final on https://testmoz.com/class/16400

Credit 3: Evolving Perspectives

Use the attached websites and media to assist you in learning about the following poems.

Please annotate each poem. Write what the poem is literally saying and then any symbolic or other meanings. Also, take notes on the authors.

Here are the works:

• “Passionate Shepherd to His Love” (Marlowe)

• “The Nymph’s Reply…” (Raleigh)

• “To The Virgins…” (Herrick)

• “To His Coy Mistress” (Marvell)

• Shakespeare:

  • Shakespeare: Sonnets 18

  • Shakespeare sonnets 29

  • Shakespeare: Sonnets 30

  • Shakespeare: Sonnet 71

  • Sonnet 73

  • Sonnet 116

  • Sonnet 130

  • “Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind”

  • “Fear No More the Heat o’ the Sun”

• Ben Jonson:

  • “On My First Son”

  • "Song: To Celia”

• John Milton:

  • Paradise Lost

• “Pilgrim’s Progress” John Bunyan

• John Donne:

  • “Song”

  • “Meditation 17”

  • “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”

  • “Death be not proud”

Literary Terms:

• Write Literary Terms with examples from the text:

• Onomatopoeia

• Hyperbole

• Personification

• Imagery

• Rhyme

• Mood

• Irony

• Conceit

• Alchemy

Important Questions:

1. Why should Death Be Not Proud?

2. What is the theme of To The Virgins?

3. Literary critics generally agree that sonnets 1-126 are addressed to the same unnamed person—a young man that scholars usually refer to as the "Fair Youth." This makes some sense if you read sonnets 1-126 in order. But! Is there any textual evidence in this single poem to prove that Sonnet 29 is addressed to a young man, specifically? What do we really know about the person being addressed in the poem? In other words, who the heck is "thee" (10)?

4. How does Shakespeare use the "lark" as a symbol in this sonnet?

5. The speaker of the sonnets is a "dramatic creation," sort of like a fictional character in one of Shakespeare's plays. At least that's what literary scholar Harold Bloom is always telling us. Do you agree? Why or why not? If you do think the speaker is like a dramatic character from a Shakespeare play, does he remind you of anyone in particular?

6. Sonnet 29 has a rhyme scheme that's slightly different than most of Shakespeare's other sonnets. Instead of the usual ABABCDCDEFEFGG pattern, Sonnet 29 looks like this: ABABCDCDEBEBFF. (Shakespeare repeats the B rhyme at lines 10 and 12 instead of using an F rhyme.) Why do you think that is? How does it impact the way we experience the poem?

7. The speaker of this sonnet says that the "sweet love" of some unnamed person ("thee") makes him feel like the luckiest guy in the world. What kind of "love" do you think he's talking about? Is it sexual? Platonic? Something else? In other words, do you think this poem is addressed to a lover? A friend? A family member?

8. The speaker spends a lot of time boo-hooing about how God doesn't pay attention to him or love him. The funny thing is that the speaker never actually uses God's name. Instead he refers to "heav'n" or "heaven." What's up with that?

9. Compare Sonnet 29 to Sonnet 30. What kinds of themes and imagery do these sonnets share in common? Does your reading of Sonnet 30 give you any insight into Sonnet 29?

10. What is the role of the hypothetical statements (stanza 1 and stanza 6) that frame the body of the poem for THE NYMPH'S REPLY TO THE SHEPHERD?

11. What answer does the speaker truly want to give to the shepherd? Do we know for sure? Does she give him that answer? What parts of the poem lead you to your answer?

12. What is the role of love in THE NYMPH'S REPLY TO THE SHEPHERD poem? Does it have one?

13. Compare and contrast "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" and "The Nymph's Reply." What differences do you see between these two poems? What similarities? What is the overall effect of looking at these two poems together as opposed to viewing each separately?

14. If you were the shepherd, what might you say back to the nymph? Has her argument left you any defense or possibility of persuasion?

15. What is the tone of Song by Donne?

Assessment:

Embedded Assessment #1: Your assignment is to construct an argumentative essay that defends the critical lens that you feel provides modern society with the most compelling view of literature (choose among Historical, Cultural, or Feminist for this assignment). You will support the claim with valid reasoning and with relevant and sufficient evidence from your reading and observations.

----------------------------------OR-----------------------------------------

Take final on https://testmoz.com/class/16400

Credit 4: The Romantic Period Unit

Use the attached websites and media to assist you in learning about the following poems.

Please annotate each poem. Write what the poem is literally saying and then any symbolic or other meanings. Also, take notes on the authors.

Here are the works:

• William Blake:

  • “Tyger”

  • Lamb

  • “A Poison Tree”

• William Wordsworth:

  • “The World Is Too Much with Us”

• Percy Shelley:

  • “Ozymandias”

  • “Ode to the West Wind”

• Samuel Taylor Coleridge:

  • “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

  • “Kubla Khan”

• “She Walks in Beauty” (Byron)

• John Keats:

  • “Ode to a Nightingale”

  • “Ode on a Grecian Urn”

  • “When I have Fears”

Literary Terms:

Write Literary Terms with examples from the text:

• Repetition

• Alliteration

• Metaphor

• Assonance

• Similes

Important Questions:

In THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER ...

1. Who or what is responsible for the curse against the Mariner?

2. Why does the Mariner get to survive to voyage when all the sailors die? After all, he was the one who shot the albatross?

3. What does "Life-in-Death" represent, and what is the result of her winning the dice match with Death?

4. Drum roll, please (Dadadada…). What does the albatross symbolize, and why does the Mariner decide to kill it?

5. Does this seem like a religious or specifically Christian poem? Does it change your perspective at all to learn that Coleridge was considered by many to have radical, free-thinking tendencies?

6. Why do you think this poem has become so famous and influential? Does the poem seem ahead of its time, or does it seem quaint and old-fashioned?

7. What is Byron saying in She Walks in Beauty?

8. What is the most famous simile in the poem She Walks in Beauty?

9. What is the Tyger or what does it represent? Is it the artist’s creation? Is it inspiration? Is it God? Creation in general? A poem? Or really just a tiger?

10. Who or what created the Tyger? Whose "hands," "feet," and "eyes" are we talking about here? Is it the artist? Is it God? A god? You?!

11. Here's a challenging question: was the Tyger created at all?

12. What is the significance of the one-word change from the first to last stanza of the poem?

13. How does this poem relate to Blake’s other poem, "The Lamb"?

14. What’s with all the questions posed in the poem? There are thirteen question marks, and only one complete sentence that doesn’t end with one. Why?

Assessment:

Embedded Assessment #1: Your assignment is to write a compare and contrast essay in regards to two poems above. You must include a thesis on which poem is more significant in literature and why. Support your thesis with details from the poems. Make sure there is a conclusion that explains why you feel the poems have literary merit.

----------------------------------OR-----------------------------------------

Take final on https://testmoz.com/class/16400

Credit 5 ~ Changing Perception In the Old World Unit

Use the attached websites and media to assist you in learning about the following stories.

Please draw a plot outline for each of the following works for the unit. Please annotate the two poems in the unit. Analyze each work and give your opinion on if it is worthy of literary merit or not. Here are the works:

• Beowulf

• Grendel (Gardner)

• “from Gilgamesh” (Mesopotamia)

• “The Iliad” Book 22: The Death of Hector (Homer)*

• “The Seafarer” (Raffel)

• “Break, Break, Break “ (Tennyson)

• “Lord Randall”

• Get Up and Bar the Door” (Ballad)

• Federico’s Falcon” (Boccaccio)

• Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer)

• "The Prologue”

• "The Pardoner’s Tale”

• “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”

• Help with the Canterbury Tales

Literary Terms:

Write Literary Terms with examples from the text:

• Epic Poem

• symbol

• imagery

• allegory

• setting

• Frame Story

• Pilgrim's Journey

Important Questions:

1. What is it that makes Beowulf a true hero? How do Beowulf's deeds, words, and beliefs come together to create the "perfect" medieval warrior?

2. Why are boasting and storytelling so important in the medieval warrior culture of Beowulf? What function do they serve in the epic?

3. How much control do the characters in Beowulf have over their fates? Are skilled warriors any more likely to succeed than cowards? Who does the narrator remind us is calling all the shots?

4. What role do women play in Beowulf? Consider Queen Wealhtheow, Queen Hygd, and the various unnamed daughters of kings. How do women function in medieval Scandinavian society to reinforce alliances and solve blood-feuds?

5. Why does Beowulf have to die at the end of the epic? How would the epic be different if it ended with Beowulf alive, triumphant, and still king of the Geats?

6. One important poetic device in Old English is the "kenning," a compound word in which one thing is described by a fanciful two-word metaphor. For example, the sea is described as a "whale-road" (10), a king is described as a "ring-giver" (36), and a murderer is described as a "corpse-maker" (276). What effect do these kennings have on you as a reader? How do they add to the poetic atmosphere of the epic? Try finding some.

7. Do the pilgrims seem like real people, or more like symbols / caricatures of real people in The Canterbury Tales ?

8. Why is the frame story important in The Canterbury Tales ? What does it add to the individual tales?

9. Is there any rhyme or reason to the order in which the pilgrims tell their tales in The Canterbury Tales?

10. Why do The Canterbury Tales end with a sermon and a retraction?

11. Why does Chaucer make himself the character who (supposedly) is the worst at speaking in verse?

Assessment:

Embedded Assessment #1: Your assignment is to write a compare and contrast essay in regards to two works above. You must include a thesis on which work is more significant in literature and why. Support your thesis with details from the work. Make sure there is a conclusion that explains why you feel the work has literary merit.

----------------------------------OR-----------------------------------------

Take final on https://testmoz.com/class/16400