ENGL 1005 Literature: A Global Perspective - Week 2 (Day 1)

Housekeeping

• Office hours start this week for teaching team members.
• Tutorials commence this week; no lecture on Wednesday.
• Gavin’s Virtual Office Hour link available on Brightspace.

Participation Overview

• Instructions and guidelines are provided in the assignment sheet on Brightspace.

Diction

• Definition: Diction refers to the vocabulary used by a writer, consisting of word choice and syntax (the order of words).
• Example: Comparing the words "Light" and "Chandelier" to discuss mental imagery.

Key Terms: Connotation and Denotation

• Denotation: The literal dictionary definition of a word.
• Connotation: Additional meanings or feelings that a word invokes based on experience and culture.
• Examples:
  • "Officeholder" (neutral), "Political Servant" (positive), "Political Hack" (negative).

Close Reading Poetry Steps

1. Articulate your expectations before reading.
2. Listen to the poem.
3. Read the poem literally.
4. Consult reference materials.
5. Determine the basic narrative: who, where, when, what.
6. Explore the significance: "Why does it matter?" and "What does it all mean?"
7. Analyze the poem's form and its contribution to meaning.
8. Investigate how the poem adheres to or deviates from poetic conventions.

Theodore Roethke: "My Papa's Waltz"

• Biographical Info:
  • Born in 1908, Saginaw, Michigan.
  • Pulitzer Prize winner in 1954.
  • Died in 1963.
• Key Themes: Ambiguity in the relationship between the father and son, with conflicting interpretations regarding domestic violence vs. playful bonding.
• Close Reading Elements:
  • Irony and unusual phrasing prompt readers to interpret the poem’s tone and intent.

Close Reading of "My Papa's Waltz"

1. Notice the imagery and sound—"My right ear scraped a buckle" and "We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf."
2. Ambiguity arises from the phrasing, leaving the interpretation of the father-son relationship up to the reader.

Key Term: Imagery

• Definition: Imagery uses language that evokes sensory experience (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell).
• Example: Roethke's imagery in "We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf" invokes visual and aural imagery.

Souvankham Thammavongsa: "How to Pronounce Knife"

• Biographical Info: Born in 1978, raised in a refugee camp in Thailand, now lives in Canada. Recognized for both prose and poetry.
• Key Themes: Cultural alienation and the struggle of fitting into a new cultural landscape.

Key Elements in Thammavongsa's Work

• Inciting Incident: The discovery of a note pinned to the child’s chest which is discarded by the mother, illustrating social marginalization.
• Imagery: Rich descriptions of environment; for example, contrasting familial and cultural background with social settings of peers.
• Language and Identity: The character's father's advice to not reveal their Lao heritage.

Themes in Thammavongsa's Work

• Cultural Differences: The protagonist feels out of place among peers.
• Family Dynamics: Exploring relationships, particularly the disconnect between Joy and her father.
• Imagery and Diction: These literary elements depict the family’s experiences and challenges with cultural integration.

Discussion Prompts

1. Interpret the relationship dynamics presented in each text, particularly focusing on fathers.
2. Compare and contrast familial representations across selected texts.
3. Discuss the importance of these representations of family.

Next Steps

• Tutorials begin Wednesday.
• Read Lydia Davis's "Head, Heart" and Robert Hass's "A Story About the Body" before tutorials.
• Read Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" and Jhumpa Lahiri's "Hell-Heaven" before the next lecture.