I grew a lot this semester. AP Literature and Composition has taught me a lot. And that statement only brushes the surface of what I've learned. Specifically, I've learned to write a more complex thesis statement and address the complexity with a stronger analysis than I started out with. I learned to look at things from a different perspective. Instead of just improving the skills I currently have, I expanded my skill set allowing for further growth. For example, Mis en Scene, was a new type of analysis that I was introduced to this semester.
I think I did well in finding the complexity in passages or texts. I thought I did well in keeping up with what was assigned considering it was a college course level. My goal this year was to become a better thinker and writer. Being broad goals, I had to specify something that could be measured to see if I was achieving the goal or not. So I followed the tracking category. Looking at the scoring guidelines, I know by looking at the score pairs 9-8, 7-6, 5-4, etc. I can tell where my level of complexity and writing lies. Grades are not everything, but I do believe they are a great indication of where I stand.
I 'd like to be able to spot complexity everywhere (and quickly too). My goal is to better write thesis statements that hold complexity. I would also like to increase the rate of my thinking. The AP test only allots a few minutes so I have to be able to read a text quickly and write a thesis that addresses complexity within a respectable time frame.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Monday, November 30, 2015
Blog #14 "To Sir John Lade, On Coming of Age" and "When I was One and Twenty"
In “To Sir John Lade, on His Coming of Age” Johnson describes Lade’s twenty-first birthday as the gateway to his inheritance. In “When I was One and Twenty” Housman uses his memory of a heartbreak to describe his maturation through his experiences. While both poems discuss the age of twenty-one, “To Sir John Lade, on His Coming of Age” Johnson purposefully crafts a flawed argument to sarcastically disclose the careless attitude and disregard for financial responsibility while in “When I was one and twenty” Housman alludes to the idea that society sets the age of maturation as twenty-one, however, argues that individuals mature on their own timeline through experience and reflection. “To Sir John Lade, on His Coming of Age” and “When I was One and Twenty” use the specific point of views from each subject and ever-changing tone shifts to achieve the different perspectives the age of one-and-twenty bring about.
"To Sir John Lade, on His Coming of Age" is told by the narrator/speaker, Johnson, about a subject, John Lade, on his, “Long-expected one and twenty”. Johnson congratulates Lade, anticipating his long-awaited coming-of-age, yet alludes to the idea that Lade is not ready for the responsibility that is to come. The diction choice “pomp and pleasure, pride and plenty” gives the first hints that Johnson believes Lade does not understand the consequences of being 21, and that Lade isn’t mature enough for adulthood. In the second stanza, the focus shifts from the initial congratulation to a celebration of the reminders of the powers that Lade now possesses. Johnson uses parallelism within the stanza to sensationalize the liberation from restriction. This is shown by the lines "Loosened from the minor's tether...Bid the slaves of thrift farewell."
Johnson's tone becomes more sarcastic within the third stanza. He begins to tell Lade to live his life like a heir, which connotes a lavish style of life. While this is the advice being written, it is not sincere, supporting the idea of a sarcastic tone. In the fourth stanza, Johnson shifts the focus to Lade's carefree attitude towards money. The tone shifts from a cautionary approach to didactic as Johnson tries to get inside Lade's head to warn him of the dangers of coming to age. Johnson personifies wealth, "Wealth, Sir John, was made to wander... Let it wander as it will”. In the fifth stanza, the tone becomes notable sarcastic again. The diction becomes colloquial to romanticize the joys of a lifestyle without restraint while introducing that the coming of age and introduction to wealth may lead to a financial downfall if not responsibly driven. In the final lines of the poem, Johnson reveals that the poem was a satire of Lade's careless attitude towards wealth. Lade believes that his new wealth will provide him stability but he is mistaken. Not only does Lade's careless attitude put him in a dangerous position financially, it may cause him to dishonor the reputation of the family.
While the first poem talks of a coming of age represents maturation, the second poem contrasts this idea by implicitly alluding that twenty-one is society's standard of maturity and not actually what happens.
The first stanza of the second poem starts off by saying, " When I was one-and-twenty, I heard a wise man say,“Give crowns and pounds and guineas, But not your heart away;" This is significant, because we can assume that the speaker failed to take in this advice. Within the first two stanza of the second poem, the writer implies that he is too young to listen by saying, “But I was one-and-twenty, no use to talk to me”. The age of twenty one represents an age of maturation. But it's ironic because for the speaker, at age twenty one, he was too foolish to listen to advice. We see that as the poem goes on, the speaker agrees with the wise man's advice. Just as the poem goes on, the speaker matures. The speaker went through a heartbreak, one he was not prepared for. The ending of the poem intends to make clear that the speaker has now matured at the age of twenty-two, different from society's idea of a coming of age. The tone is reflective as he realizes what experiences it took for him to become an "adult".
Both poems have the same subject about the age of twenty-one being the coming of age, but the second poem combats the idea of the first. "To Sir John Lade, A coming of Age" was written first. "When I was one and twenty" came second as a response to the first poem. The first poem represents a maturation at the age of twenty-one, where you are allowed your rights and inheritance, however, emotionally and mentally, you may not be mature enough to handle responsibility. The second alludes to the age of maturation being whenever the person naturally occurs through his or her own experiences. While both took contrasting routes to get to the final point, both support the idea that twenty-one does not mean complete maturation.
"To Sir John Lade, on His Coming of Age" is told by the narrator/speaker, Johnson, about a subject, John Lade, on his, “Long-expected one and twenty”. Johnson congratulates Lade, anticipating his long-awaited coming-of-age, yet alludes to the idea that Lade is not ready for the responsibility that is to come. The diction choice “pomp and pleasure, pride and plenty” gives the first hints that Johnson believes Lade does not understand the consequences of being 21, and that Lade isn’t mature enough for adulthood. In the second stanza, the focus shifts from the initial congratulation to a celebration of the reminders of the powers that Lade now possesses. Johnson uses parallelism within the stanza to sensationalize the liberation from restriction. This is shown by the lines "Loosened from the minor's tether...Bid the slaves of thrift farewell."
Johnson's tone becomes more sarcastic within the third stanza. He begins to tell Lade to live his life like a heir, which connotes a lavish style of life. While this is the advice being written, it is not sincere, supporting the idea of a sarcastic tone. In the fourth stanza, Johnson shifts the focus to Lade's carefree attitude towards money. The tone shifts from a cautionary approach to didactic as Johnson tries to get inside Lade's head to warn him of the dangers of coming to age. Johnson personifies wealth, "Wealth, Sir John, was made to wander... Let it wander as it will”. In the fifth stanza, the tone becomes notable sarcastic again. The diction becomes colloquial to romanticize the joys of a lifestyle without restraint while introducing that the coming of age and introduction to wealth may lead to a financial downfall if not responsibly driven. In the final lines of the poem, Johnson reveals that the poem was a satire of Lade's careless attitude towards wealth. Lade believes that his new wealth will provide him stability but he is mistaken. Not only does Lade's careless attitude put him in a dangerous position financially, it may cause him to dishonor the reputation of the family.
While the first poem talks of a coming of age represents maturation, the second poem contrasts this idea by implicitly alluding that twenty-one is society's standard of maturity and not actually what happens.
The first stanza of the second poem starts off by saying, " When I was one-and-twenty, I heard a wise man say,“Give crowns and pounds and guineas, But not your heart away;" This is significant, because we can assume that the speaker failed to take in this advice. Within the first two stanza of the second poem, the writer implies that he is too young to listen by saying, “But I was one-and-twenty, no use to talk to me”. The age of twenty one represents an age of maturation. But it's ironic because for the speaker, at age twenty one, he was too foolish to listen to advice. We see that as the poem goes on, the speaker agrees with the wise man's advice. Just as the poem goes on, the speaker matures. The speaker went through a heartbreak, one he was not prepared for. The ending of the poem intends to make clear that the speaker has now matured at the age of twenty-two, different from society's idea of a coming of age. The tone is reflective as he realizes what experiences it took for him to become an "adult".
Both poems have the same subject about the age of twenty-one being the coming of age, but the second poem combats the idea of the first. "To Sir John Lade, A coming of Age" was written first. "When I was one and twenty" came second as a response to the first poem. The first poem represents a maturation at the age of twenty-one, where you are allowed your rights and inheritance, however, emotionally and mentally, you may not be mature enough to handle responsibility. The second alludes to the age of maturation being whenever the person naturally occurs through his or her own experiences. While both took contrasting routes to get to the final point, both support the idea that twenty-one does not mean complete maturation.
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Blog #13 "The Chimney Sweepers" Revision
In William Blake's two poems, both named The Chimney Sweeper, Blake exemplifies the woeful lives of chimney sweepers by masking the cruel realities the children experience. Both the earlier poem and the later poem remain constant in shedding false hope for the sweepers, however, the time between when the two poems were written alludes to shift from the glorification of a Savior and God, to a rejection of the faith that once provided assurance. In both the first and the second poem, Blake's use of a purposeful diction to create a strict rhyme scheme and lucid imagery written in the ballad form, is all in effort to implicitly depict the Chimney Sweepers changes in ideology over time while still under the same fabricated sense of hope as a survival mechanism.
The ballad form requires a strict rhyme scheme. Blake conscientiously chooses the words he rhymes as emphasis naturally occurs at the end of a line due to the rhyming. The rhymes naturally help the poem flow but also hold importance as most of them hold a connotative meaning. In lines 13-15 of the first poem, Tom, the Chimney Sweeper, envisioned a dream where an "Angel had a bright key and [he] open'd the coffins & set them all free." Freedom is a word that holds much meaning especially when put into context. A key is meant to unlock something, in essence, set something free. It doesn't have to be physical but implies a release or freedom of a subject. The boys were confined in the cramped, sleeping in soot-filled chimneys. And the dream of an Angel, a heavenly figure, letting the boys out of the Chimney which was juxtaposed with a coffin, unveils Tom's where he find safety or comfort– religious figures. The first poem represents The Chimney Sweepers finding hope in a deity which is starkly contradicted in the second poem.
This faith or trust in a religious figure as a safety line is non-existent in the second poem and the Chimney Sweepers have found a new way of coping. In lines 5-8 in second poem, The Chimney Sweepers was "happy upon the heath" while also being clothed in "clothes of death". This happens in a simple a-b-a-b rhyme scheme but holds a negative connotation written in a contrasting conversational mood. The Chimney Sweeper described himself as being "happy" for losing the religion he had once put so much trust in. Heath is matched with the word death. Death is a word that holds much power. It can represent a better option or a honor in terms of battle. In this context, it is shone in a negative light. The Chimney Sweeper was "clothed in death" along with the dark soot of the chimney. He is described as having his fate, death, being decided by not only his parents, but by God who had abandoned him.
However, the meaning of the second poem is hidden behind the conversational tone and the repetition of the the phrase, "I am happy". Saying "I'm happy" is in essence, the same thing as saying "I'm fine" when in reality, nothing is actually fine. While the first poem starts out dark ask the Children are sold into, what could be called, slavery. The second poem starts out in a conversational, relatively positive mood. By the end of the first poem, however, hope is gained with each stanza. Tom wakes with a new hope to survive the darkness of the coffin as he does not need to "fear harm" anymore. While the second poem ends as Blake asserts that the root of the children's misery stemmed from "God & his Priest & King".
The author's purpose is not to show how God abandoned the children, but rather to condemn and criticize the church system of the time. A church that hides it's true intention by acting as a righteous establish but instead, takes money and returns none of it to the working class, or chimney sweepers. The first poem describes what the church supposedly stands for– hope, safety, etc. While the second inveighs against the church. Having both essays allows for the reader to see the shift from the glorification of the church, to the rejection of the church.
As the first poem builds up hope and looks towards a religious figure, the second poem rejects the religion that was supposedly their salvation. The rhymed pairs held connotations that supplied meaning to the stanzas while the stanzas worked to piece together to meaning of the two poems whose purpose was to describe a shift over time in belief.
The ballad form requires a strict rhyme scheme. Blake conscientiously chooses the words he rhymes as emphasis naturally occurs at the end of a line due to the rhyming. The rhymes naturally help the poem flow but also hold importance as most of them hold a connotative meaning. In lines 13-15 of the first poem, Tom, the Chimney Sweeper, envisioned a dream where an "Angel had a bright key and [he] open'd the coffins & set them all free." Freedom is a word that holds much meaning especially when put into context. A key is meant to unlock something, in essence, set something free. It doesn't have to be physical but implies a release or freedom of a subject. The boys were confined in the cramped, sleeping in soot-filled chimneys. And the dream of an Angel, a heavenly figure, letting the boys out of the Chimney which was juxtaposed with a coffin, unveils Tom's where he find safety or comfort– religious figures. The first poem represents The Chimney Sweepers finding hope in a deity which is starkly contradicted in the second poem.
This faith or trust in a religious figure as a safety line is non-existent in the second poem and the Chimney Sweepers have found a new way of coping. In lines 5-8 in second poem, The Chimney Sweepers was "happy upon the heath" while also being clothed in "clothes of death". This happens in a simple a-b-a-b rhyme scheme but holds a negative connotation written in a contrasting conversational mood. The Chimney Sweeper described himself as being "happy" for losing the religion he had once put so much trust in. Heath is matched with the word death. Death is a word that holds much power. It can represent a better option or a honor in terms of battle. In this context, it is shone in a negative light. The Chimney Sweeper was "clothed in death" along with the dark soot of the chimney. He is described as having his fate, death, being decided by not only his parents, but by God who had abandoned him.
However, the meaning of the second poem is hidden behind the conversational tone and the repetition of the the phrase, "I am happy". Saying "I'm happy" is in essence, the same thing as saying "I'm fine" when in reality, nothing is actually fine. While the first poem starts out dark ask the Children are sold into, what could be called, slavery. The second poem starts out in a conversational, relatively positive mood. By the end of the first poem, however, hope is gained with each stanza. Tom wakes with a new hope to survive the darkness of the coffin as he does not need to "fear harm" anymore. While the second poem ends as Blake asserts that the root of the children's misery stemmed from "God & his Priest & King".
The author's purpose is not to show how God abandoned the children, but rather to condemn and criticize the church system of the time. A church that hides it's true intention by acting as a righteous establish but instead, takes money and returns none of it to the working class, or chimney sweepers. The first poem describes what the church supposedly stands for– hope, safety, etc. While the second inveighs against the church. Having both essays allows for the reader to see the shift from the glorification of the church, to the rejection of the church.
As the first poem builds up hope and looks towards a religious figure, the second poem rejects the religion that was supposedly their salvation. The rhymed pairs held connotations that supplied meaning to the stanzas while the stanzas worked to piece together to meaning of the two poems whose purpose was to describe a shift over time in belief.
Friday, November 20, 2015
Blog #12 "The Chimney Sweepers"
In William Blake's two poems, both named The Chimney Sweeper, Blake exemplifies the woeful lives of chimney sweepers by masking the cruel realities the children experience. Both the earlier poem and the later poem remain constant in shedding false hope for the sweepers, however, the time between when the two poems were written alludes to shift from the glorification of a Savior and God, to a rejection of the faith that once provided assurance. In both the first and the second poem, Blake's use of a purposeful diction to create a strict rhyme scheme and lucid imagery written in the ballad form, is all in effort to implicitly depict the Chimney Sweepers changes in ideology over time while still under the same fabricated sense of hope as a survival mechanism.
The ballad form requires a strict rhyme scheme. Blake conscientiously chooses the words he rhymes as emphasis naturally occurs at the end of a line due to the rhyming. The rhymes naturally help the poem flow but also hold importance as most of them hold a connotative meaning. In lines 13-15 of the first poem, Tom, the Chimney Sweeper, envisioned a dream where an "Angel had a bright key and [he] open'd the coffins & set them all free." Freedom is a word that holds much meaning especially when put into context. A key is meant to unlock something, in essence, set something free. It doesn't have to be physical but implies a release or freedom of a subject. The boys were confined in the cramped, sleeping in soot-filled chimneys. And the dream of an Angel, a heavenly figure, letting the boys out of the Chimney which was juxtaposed with a coffin, unveils Tom's where he find safety or comfort– religious figures. The first poem represents The Chimney Sweepers finding hope in a deity which is starkly contradicted in the second poem.
This faith or trust in a religious figure as a safety line is non-existent in the second poem and the Chimney Sweepers have found a new way of coping. In lines 5-8 in second poem, The Chimney Sweepers was "happy upon the heath" while also being clothed in "clothes of death". This happens in a simple a-b-a-b rhyme scheme but holds a negative connotation written in a contrasting conversational mood. The Chimney Sweeper described himself as being "happy" for losing the religion he had once put so much trust in. Heath is matched with the word death. Death is a word that holds much power. It can represent a better option or a honor in terms of battle. In this context, it is shone in a negative light. The Chimney Sweeper was "clothed in death" along with the dark soot of the chimney. He is described as having his fate, death, being decided by not only his parents, but by God who had abandoned him.
However, the meaning of the second poem is hidden behind the conversational tone and the repetition of the the phrase, "I am happy". Saying "I'm happy" is in essence, the same thing as saying "I'm fine" when in reality, nothing is actually fine. While the first poem starts out dark ask the Children are sold into, what could be called, slavery. The second poem starts out in a conversational, relatively positive mood. By the end of the first poem, however, hope is gained with each stanza. Tom wakes with a new hope to survive the darkness of the coffin as he does not need to "fear harm" anymore. While the second poem ends as Blake asserts that the root of the children's misery stemmed from "God & his Priest & King"
As the first poem builds up hope and looks towards a religious figure, the second poem rejects the religion that was supposedly their salvation. The rhymed pairs held connotations that supplied meaning to the stanzas while the stanzas worked to piece together to meaning of the two poems whose purpose was to describe a shift over time in belief.
Reflection:
In class, we were given 40 minutes to read, analyze and write an essay, comparing and contrasting William Blake's two poems both named, The Chimney Sweeper, while also touching base on poetic techniques.
Initially, I was overwhelmed because I didn't know how I was going to answer the prompt correctly. After analyzing and planning, I was able to get going. For me, the most prevalent issue was trying to put my thoughts into understandable sentence. A lot of times I know what I want to say but I don't know how to express it. A lot of times I struggle with finding the perfect vocabulary word that would best get what I'm trying to express across. At the time, I find anxious under the time constraint. I went over 40 minutes and ended up finishing at home. This worries me because I'm afraid I will not be able to write fast enough come the AP test.
Having written an essay regarding poetry once before, I felt like this one went better since I did know more about poetry, how to analyze poetry, and answer the prompts. I would give myself a 4 on this essay. Last time I gave myself a 3. With more practice, I feel like I could further improve my score. I have significantly improved my thinking skills, however, there is more to improve on. The AP exam doesn't just focus on how well you analyze, but how well you write. To get to the 5/6/7 range I must increase the level of my analysis and start writing better. Learning to write comes with practice and I know that I can improve. As a next step, I need to work on decreasing the time it takes for me to write a thesis and analyze. While writing a good thesis is important, writing a good thesis in a shorter amount of time is even more important.
The ballad form requires a strict rhyme scheme. Blake conscientiously chooses the words he rhymes as emphasis naturally occurs at the end of a line due to the rhyming. The rhymes naturally help the poem flow but also hold importance as most of them hold a connotative meaning. In lines 13-15 of the first poem, Tom, the Chimney Sweeper, envisioned a dream where an "Angel had a bright key and [he] open'd the coffins & set them all free." Freedom is a word that holds much meaning especially when put into context. A key is meant to unlock something, in essence, set something free. It doesn't have to be physical but implies a release or freedom of a subject. The boys were confined in the cramped, sleeping in soot-filled chimneys. And the dream of an Angel, a heavenly figure, letting the boys out of the Chimney which was juxtaposed with a coffin, unveils Tom's where he find safety or comfort– religious figures. The first poem represents The Chimney Sweepers finding hope in a deity which is starkly contradicted in the second poem.
This faith or trust in a religious figure as a safety line is non-existent in the second poem and the Chimney Sweepers have found a new way of coping. In lines 5-8 in second poem, The Chimney Sweepers was "happy upon the heath" while also being clothed in "clothes of death". This happens in a simple a-b-a-b rhyme scheme but holds a negative connotation written in a contrasting conversational mood. The Chimney Sweeper described himself as being "happy" for losing the religion he had once put so much trust in. Heath is matched with the word death. Death is a word that holds much power. It can represent a better option or a honor in terms of battle. In this context, it is shone in a negative light. The Chimney Sweeper was "clothed in death" along with the dark soot of the chimney. He is described as having his fate, death, being decided by not only his parents, but by God who had abandoned him.
However, the meaning of the second poem is hidden behind the conversational tone and the repetition of the the phrase, "I am happy". Saying "I'm happy" is in essence, the same thing as saying "I'm fine" when in reality, nothing is actually fine. While the first poem starts out dark ask the Children are sold into, what could be called, slavery. The second poem starts out in a conversational, relatively positive mood. By the end of the first poem, however, hope is gained with each stanza. Tom wakes with a new hope to survive the darkness of the coffin as he does not need to "fear harm" anymore. While the second poem ends as Blake asserts that the root of the children's misery stemmed from "God & his Priest & King"
As the first poem builds up hope and looks towards a religious figure, the second poem rejects the religion that was supposedly their salvation. The rhymed pairs held connotations that supplied meaning to the stanzas while the stanzas worked to piece together to meaning of the two poems whose purpose was to describe a shift over time in belief.
Reflection:
In class, we were given 40 minutes to read, analyze and write an essay, comparing and contrasting William Blake's two poems both named, The Chimney Sweeper, while also touching base on poetic techniques.
Initially, I was overwhelmed because I didn't know how I was going to answer the prompt correctly. After analyzing and planning, I was able to get going. For me, the most prevalent issue was trying to put my thoughts into understandable sentence. A lot of times I know what I want to say but I don't know how to express it. A lot of times I struggle with finding the perfect vocabulary word that would best get what I'm trying to express across. At the time, I find anxious under the time constraint. I went over 40 minutes and ended up finishing at home. This worries me because I'm afraid I will not be able to write fast enough come the AP test.
Having written an essay regarding poetry once before, I felt like this one went better since I did know more about poetry, how to analyze poetry, and answer the prompts. I would give myself a 4 on this essay. Last time I gave myself a 3. With more practice, I feel like I could further improve my score. I have significantly improved my thinking skills, however, there is more to improve on. The AP exam doesn't just focus on how well you analyze, but how well you write. To get to the 5/6/7 range I must increase the level of my analysis and start writing better. Learning to write comes with practice and I know that I can improve. As a next step, I need to work on decreasing the time it takes for me to write a thesis and analyze. While writing a good thesis is important, writing a good thesis in a shorter amount of time is even more important.
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)