English 104 Lecture 7

English 104 Online Lecture Notes - Week 7

Overview and Course Adjustments

  • Lecture focus: Poetry, prose, and stage plays, with an emphasis on short fiction and poetry.

  • Course outline adjustments: Updated due dates posted on Brightspace.

Important Due Dates

  • Short Story 1 (Second Draft): Due October 20.

  • Short Story 2 (First Draft): Moved to November 3.

  • Short Story 2 (Second Draft): Due week of December 1 (inclusive of portfolio and artist statement, details to follow).

  • Reason for adjustments: Need for more time due to student submissions and upcoming reading break in early November.

Today's Focus: Poetry Workshop

  • Discussion of student poetry responses, particularly to structured forms like the villanelle and ode.

  • Emphasis on providing constructive feedback and specific responses without singling out individual work.

Example Responses to Student Poetry

  1. Ode to Moles

    • Content: Reflects on the peacefulness of being a mole, contrasting human burdens with a desire for simplicity in nature.

    • Imagery: Specific and concrete, e.g., "crowded public space," "baby clinging to its mother," "claws of blood and worth."

    • Interpretation: Successfully situates the poem in a unique perspective as metaphor for a longing to escape life's burdens. Encourages specificity over generality.

  2. Response to Villanelle Experience

    • Initial feelings of defeat due to structural constraints but later satisfaction from the process.

    • Insight: Captures the duality of fixed forms feeling both confining and liberating.

  3. Free Verse Poem on Maternal Relationship

    • Explores themes of love, disappointment, and communication difficulties between mother and daughter.

    • Dialogue within the poem enhances the emotional depth and complexity of relationships.

  4. Response on the Villanelle

    • Contrasts initial feelings of restriction with the rewarding aspect of being forced to refine ideas, expressing that
      discipline can yield clarity and resonance in emotions.

    • Compares structured poetry to sculpting, where limitations shape creative output beautifully.

  5. Acrostic Poem:

    • Theme: Conveying a feeling of silence and suppression through vivid imagery.

    • Examples: "Spectral stares sear my skin," "lips now sewed together."

    • Emotional Effect: Evocative language creates a connection to human experience, balancing ambiguity and engagement.

Discussion on Form and Structure in Poetry

  • Importance of structure in poetry (e.g., villanelle) versus free verse.

  • Shared experience on the challenges and joys of writing in fixed forms, leading to personal growth.

Ode to My Father

  • Themes: Explores complexity in parental relationships, merging memories of warmth and conflict.

  • Imagery: Concrete and relatable (e.g., door slams, internal emotional storms), evoking nostalgia and mixed emotions.

  • Sentimentality: Discusses the line between sentimentality and genuine emotional expression, emphasizing honesty in narration.

Reflections on Creative Writing Process

  • Revision vs. Editing:

    • Revision involves a deeper process of assessing and reworking content; editing focuses on polish and correcting errors.

    • Expectation for students to engage critically with their own work for growth and improvement.

    • Assignments: Highlighting the importance of identifying themes and ensuring focus within their narratives.

Importance of Theme in Storytelling

  • Theme: Key question to consider when rewriting: What is the story really about?

    • Crucial for informing decisions on what to include or exclude from narrative content.

    • Insight into personal feelings left by the story: Ensure alignment with intended emotional impact on the reader.

Reading Assignment: Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu

  • Structure: Emphasizes developing scenes where moments connect causally, leading to deeper themes.

  • Themes: Interpersonal conflict and cultural identity, bridging past and present emotional states.

  • Techniques: Magic realism weaves through stories, creating metaphorical depth while retaining emotional truth.

Introducing Meter: Iambic Pentameter

  • Definition: Five feet of weak-strong rhythm (i.e., iambic), characteristic of traditional forms, notably Shakespearean sonnets.

  • Importance: Encourages students to explore rhythmic patterns in their poetry and understand the musicality in language.

  • Example: Highlighted scansion through familiar lines from Shakespeare's sonnets, illustrating rhythm and emphasis.

Upcoming Topics for Discussion

  • Aesthetic Criteria: How poets and poetry resonate with individual readers. Consider early modern vs. contemporary works.

  • Political and Religious Ideologies: Exploration of how these themes impact poetry and personal writing philosophy in relation to artistic expression.

Final Thoughts and Recap

  • Students are encouraged to embrace challenges in writing, utilizing specific assignments to deepen their understanding of poetic forms and emotional conveyance through text.

  • Continued support and communication regarding assignments are vital for student development and feedback.

  • Next week: Further exploration of iambic pentameter and preparation for sonnet writing.