Welcome Spring!

If you would like extra credit in English for your 3rd 9 weeks grade, please write out the following poems in GREEN ink and turn them in by 10:00 am, Friday, March 9, 2012.

**Simonson, Thomas. "cherry-blossoms-walkway.jpg." National Geographic Society. 2012. 5 Mar 2012. http://images.nationalgeographic.com.

A Light exists in Spring
Not present on the Year
At any other period —
When March is scarcely here

A Color stands abroad
On Solitary Fields
That Science cannot overtake
But Human Nature feels.

It waits upon the Lawn,
It shows the furthest Tree
Upon the furthest Slope you know
It almost speaks to you.

Then as Horizons step
Or Noons report away
Without the Formula of sound
It passes and we stay —

A quality of loss
Affecting our Content
As Trade had suddenly encroached
Upon a Sacrament.

--Emily Dickinson

A Prayer in Spring

Robert Frost (1915)

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day; And give us not to think so far away As the uncertain harvest; keep us here All simply in the springing of the year. Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white, Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night; And make us happy in the happy bees, The swarm dilating round the perfect trees. And make us happy in the darting bird That suddenly above the bees is heard, The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill, And off a blossom in mid air stands still. For this is love and nothing else is love, The which it is reserved for God above To sanctify to what far ends He will, But which it only needs that we fulfill.

The Greatest

So, why is William Shakespeare always touted as the greatest writer in the English language? Well, there are many reasons. Here are just a few:

1. His understanding of human nature is so keen. His plays are full of universal themes and recognizable characters who still speak to us today, 400 years after he wrote them! In A Midsummer Night's Dream: the supernatural world vs. the natural, and of course the tragedy and comedy of being in love with someone who does not love you back. In Hamlet: questioning existence and one's place in the world, and dysfunctional families. In Macbeth: revenge and ambition. In Julius Caesar: manipulation and leadership. In Romeo and Juliet: infatuation vs. love, and teenagers who are misunderstood by their parents.

2. His masterful use of language still challenges us with its meanings. Word play and wit abound on every page; his double and triple meanings still today keep us shaking our heads at Shakespeare's seemingly effortless understanding of the power of words. Even without any stage directions, we understand so much about what happens in each play and about his characterization through the words his characters speak. Dogberry is a bumbling idiot who messes up nearly half of the words he chooses. Romeo speaks in high poetic verse when he is speaking to Juliet. The country bumpkin actors in A Midsummer Night's Dream are clearly uneducated and slow-witted; and the juxtaposition of Bottom and Titania is a classic match-up of a fool and a lady, all illustrated only through the words they speak. Some of the most commonly quoted lines are from Shakespeare's plays or poems: "To be or not to be, that is the question." "Beware the ides of March." "What fools these mortals be." "What's in a name?" All of these and more are recognizable to most English speakers.

3. His invention of words and phrases outshines any single other human being. According to Robert McCrum in The Story of English, fully 1700 words were coined by Shakespeare, but in addition to these, he changed words and used them in new ways as well. He used nouns as verbs and verbs as nouns. And let's not forget the many phrases that he invented as well. "Into thin air," "green-eyed jealousy," and "suspect foul play," all come directly from Shakespeare. He loved to play with language, and because his words were immediately performed on stage, they entered the English lexicon more quickly and forcefully than other writers' words.

4. His plots, although not all entirely original, have become the standard and recognizable plots for modern stories and films. Particularly the romantic comedy genre owes much to Shakespeare's standard plot sequence of: guy and girl meet; guy and girl have a misunderstanding; all is fixed through a series of arguments and obstacles; guy and girl get married and live happily ever after. His ability to tell stories is magical, and writers are still today copying his style and plots.

Read a play or a poem by Shakespeare. Better yet: attend a play. After your experience you too will likely agree that Shakespeare deserves the title of greatest writer in the English language!

Jane Eyre: A Film Review

If you would like MAJOR extra credit in English class, please complete the following assignment, due at 7:43 a.m. on Monday, October 31, 2011:

1) Watch one of the following 2-hour films:

Emma (1996), starring Gwyneth Paltrow
Sense & Sensibility (1995), starring Emma Thompson
Mansfield Park (1999), starring Francis O'Connor
Persuasion (1995), starring Amanda Root

2) Read the review below.

3) Write your own, similar review. (Typed, double spaced)

Jane Eyre: A Film Review


An orphaned governess. An aloof and mysterious employer. A lonely, rambling estate. The wild and alluring moors of England. These are the ingredients for a thrilling tale, set in the Romantic-era English countryside. One of my favorite books of all time, Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, has been made into countless films, mostly shown on PBS or the BBC as a mini-series. But most recently it was made into a feature film by Focus Films in 2011 starring the effervescent Mia Wasikowska.

Because I have basically endured several of the film adaptations of this fabulous book, I was not particularly expecting to enjoy this latest version. But I was pleasantly surprised by this superbly cast and brilliantly edited movie. Mia Wasikowska was born to play the lead, and now that I have seen her truly inhabit Jane Eyre, it is difficult to imagine any other actress in the role. She matches wits with the appropriately gruff and by turns distant and magnetic Michael Fassbender as Lord Edward Fairfax Rochester. The two spar as intended, and Wasikowska masterfully portrays Jane's growing attachment to Rochester even as she believes they can never be together. Fassbender, for his part, blusters his way into her heart and finds himself unable to do without her. This, of course, leads to the fateful chapel scene where all falls apart, and although it is played rather hastily, I found the action to be quite true to the book.

The supporting characters, although they are clearly only subordinate to the two central characters, were all chosen perfectly for their roles. Dame Judi Dench as Mrs. Fairfax, the wise and helpful housekeeper, was a particularly great choice (although really, what role can Judi Dench not play perfectly?), and Jamie Bell as St. John Rivers also seemed a sublime selection. Every character, from Blanche Ingram, to Mrs. Reed, to Adele, to Helen Burns, was exactly as I had visualized for so many years of rereading this favorite classic.

In conjunction with the casting selections, the editing and directing choices support the original storyline, even in its abridged, two-hour format. In any feature film adaptation of a book, the loyal reader must lose something of value in the story, but in this case, there are no gaping holes in the plot or even seemingly insignificant details overlooked. Although the pace of the story is sped up, there are no significant moments or characters from Brontë's original plot that are left out. Even the intense symbolism of the tree under which Rochester proclaims his love and proposes, which is hewn in half by a bolt of lightning later, is not neglected, although it is reduced to a background shot with classy subtlety.

The tone of the book could be described as bleak, lonely, dark, mysterious, and emotional. Of course these adjectives are appropriate for a Romantic period novel, and they all translate directly to the screen in this film version. Eerie mist in the woods when Jane and Rochester first meet; wide shots of lonely moors as Jane runs away; Rochester's voice calling to Jane; the moment in the red bedroom when Jane, as a child, is terrified by the wind in the chimney: all are in perfect accordance with the effect of Bronte's prose.

Lest this review seem too glowing, I did notice that Pilot, Rochester's dog, is not nearly as critical to him as he seems in the novel. And the fact that the Rivers siblings are actually related to Jane doesn't make it into the film at all. However, this is not crucial to the story, and in fact is a plot point that has been criticized for years by those who feel that it wraps up all the loose endings rather too neatly.

This is a must-see film for Brontë aficianados, but will be enjoyed by a wider audience as well. Anyone who appreciates a good suspense story and a classic love story will embrace Fukunaga's brilliant version of Jane Eyre.

Tips for Your Essay Test

Here are some ideas for ways to prepare for your essay test.

1. Write out sample versions of your essays in advance. Have a friend (or your teacher) read through them and give you pointers.

2. Make sure you include an introduction and conclusion for each answer, even if the answer is relatively short.

3. Include as many specific details as you can to support your thesis. Authors, titles, character names, relevant dates, plot points, etc. can all be helpful in making your point.

4. HAVE A THESIS. In an essay exam, you can often reword part of the question into your thesis statement. But, always make sure you have specific details to support your opinion.

5. Go back through your textbook to make sure that you have covered all of the important information in your answer.

Reading

Making reading choices can be challenging but fun. The words that we read and the images those words create can stay with us forever. So, selecting books that are going to help us become better people in some way should be important when we are thinking about the time we will spend on a book. Here are some relevant quotes about reading. For extra credit in English class, write out each quote in purple and find who said it. Turn it in by Friday, August 26, at 7:43 a.m.

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.

The more you read, the more things you'll know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.

Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting.

Once you learn to read, you'll be forever free.

A book is the most effective weapon against intolerance and ignorance.

A man is known by the books he reads.

You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to school! We are going to be learning a lot this year, and hopefully by the end of the year you will all be better communicators in our beautiful language of English. This week we are looking over the syllabus and requirements for this course. One of the important things we talk about is how to be successful in school. What is the responsibility of the student? I find that students often forget that it is their own responsibility to be successful, particularly in making up work after an absence.

Remember, even when you aren't in class, learning is still taking place, and it is your job to make sure that you have made up your missing work from those absences, even when they are excused! I've used this poem as an illustration before, but I think that it is the perfect way to start off the school year. Tom Wayman wrote this poem as a mock dialogue between a teacher and student after a student's absence. I guess you could say that the point of the poem is that we should not ask "Did I Miss Anything?" because of course the answer is yes!!! Instead, a student who misses a day of school could ask, "What did I miss?"

To receive extra credit in English class, please write out in your own handwriting the following poem in PINK (either ink, or colored pencil, or crayon) AND write out the paragraph regarding excused absences from your syllabus in PINK. This is due by 7:43 a.m. on Friday, August 19, 2011.

Did I miss anything?

Nothing. When we realized you weren't here
we sat with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the full two hours

Everything. I gave an exam worth
40 percent of the grade for this term
and assigned some reading due today
on which I'm about to hand out a quiz
worth 50 percent

Nothing. None of the content of this course
has value or meaning
Take as many days off as you like:
any activities we undertake as a class
I assure you will not matter either to you or me
and are without purpose

Everything. A few minutes after we began last time
a shaft of light suddenly descended and an angel
or other heavenly being appeared
and revealed to us what each woman or man must do
to attain divine wisdom in this life and
the hereafter
This is the last time the class will meet
before we disperse to bring the good news to all people
on earth

Nothing. When you are not present
how could something significant occur?

Everything. Contained in this classroom
is a microcosm of human experience
assembled for you to query and examine and ponder
This is not the only place such an opportunity has been
gathered

but it was one place

And you weren't here.

by Tom Wayman

What is your favorite book?

I have so many favorite books. It is hard to choose from among them! However, spring always makes me long for my favorite literary character, Anne of Green Gables. Springtime on Prince Edward Island (although it arrives later there than here) is such a beautiful time, and Lucy Maud Montgomery does an amazing job of capturing the essence of the season throughout the eight Anne books. It is an annual tradition for me to re-read these books to celebrate the coming of spring. (After all, C.S. Lewis said: "It is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.")

If you would like extra credit in English class, make a poster for your favorite book. Make sure you include some pictures, the bibliographical information, a quote from the book, and an explanation for why you love this book. Why do you read it over and over? You may use my sample below as an example. This will be due on April 1, 2011 at 7:50 a.m.