With the exception of the final paragraph, his post applies to both 3rd and 5th hour. All should have a solid journal section over Donne’s “Meditation #17” by Monday. Third hour: I’ll be checking your journals then as well, so learn from those who went before you.

In an effort to make the gradebook mean something to you, I’ve broken down the “Journal” assignment into five skills, each worth five points. The following is a list of the five with explanations and examples from our readings.

Record Personal Connections—reactions to the text, parts you think are interesting, etc. It’s always a good thing to remember cool stuff you read, and gives you plenty to discuss in class.

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim (Kipling 9-10)

A warning against losing sight of the things in front of you, of thinking without discovering ideas, perhaps?

Record Literary Connections—thematic connections to other works, allusions to characters or themes in other works, etc. These connections are the bread-and-butter of literary analysis. As you begin writing, you can use the theme in another work to help you understand the work you’re reading, or vice versa. Plus, looking for thematic connections will help you write papers over a topic (like Isolation) amongst several works.

“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!” (Shelley 10-11)

Ramesses II? Watchmen? Seems like Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida”

Record Questions and Answers—parts you are confused about, possible answers. Ever get stuck or frustrated with a complicated reading only to drop it and realize in class the next day that you still don’t know what is going on? Recording questions as they pop up allows you to set them aside for later (either in class or after you’ve read further). Once you’ve found the answer (after discussion or insight through further reading), record it and you’re good to go.

I see the boys of summer in their ruin (Thomas 1)

Who are the boys of summer?

Record Vocabulary—words you aren’t familiar with and definitions. Because learning words is good.

Record Synopses—recount the story, line, or passage in your own words. This will help you work out difficult passages and remember what you are reading. I do this for all the characters, too, ‘cause I have a hard time keeping them straight at times. It is also helpful to record the tone or theme presented, as you might come across a shift, or be able to make connections to other works with similar ideas.

WE wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties. (Dunbar 1-5)

We hide ourselves (our personalities? our beliefs? our fears and shortcomings? our pain?) in a deceitful world while our speech is distorted and circumlocutionary.

You’ll notice that most of the responses here are questions or tentative answers. The reading journal is a place for experimenting, for making guesses about a work and finding counter-evidence, revising the hypothesis and finding more support. It is for prewriting. Once you have a solid grasp on a work, you are ready to organize your ideas and share them in an essay ((Why checking the etymology of a word is the best thing ever: essay.)). I emphasize the journals so heavily not only because they will make you better writers and readers, but also because they will make you better students; this reading strategy applies to all types of study, regardless of field.

So. If you feel that your grade isn’t what it should be, take the advice I gave you in class today go back over the poems more closely and record your thoughts. Bring your brilliant new insights to me before or after school (or during lunch) Monday and I’ll give you some feedback and make your grade reflect your awesomeness.

We’ve been looking at the theme of isolation and identity in poetry. Thought you might want to review the poems we’ve been reading in class, so here they are (and a few we will get to), in no particular order:

• “We Wear the Mask” by Paul Lawrence Dunbar (1913) ((Yep, he’s American, but these are important poems.))
• “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
• “Not Waving But Drowning” by Stevie Smith (1957)
• “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1875)
• “If” by Rudyard Kipling
• “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay (2009)
• “I am a Rock” by Simon & Garfunkel (1965) ((Can’t find a clean link—search if you’d like.))
• “Eleanor Rigby” by The Beatles (1966)
• “Self-Dependence” by Matthew Arnold (1852)
• “Warning to Children” by Robert Graves
• “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas (1952) (With audio!)

I asked you to read and journal over “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot, which you can find here. It is a complicated poem, so don’t worry if you have more questions than answers at this point ((And here I use an emdash to set off a parenthetical elaboration…))—I don’t expect a dissertation, just a record of your initial reaction and questions, lots of questions.

If you come across (or know of) any other poems we should read, post a link in the comments or bring a copy to class.