General
These papers are not perfect; an A paper doesn't need to be. But their use of evidence, their organization, their thesis, and the grace and power of their sentences are good models to follow in writing a paper interpreting a poem.
PLEASE READ before doing your first post & presentation. Thx.
Please download and print this document. You are responsible for knowing and adhering to its contents. You'll need to consult it ahead of time each week to do the class assignments. Questions? Please talk to Prof. Schmidt.
Slight revisions or corrections may need to be made to our syllabus, but as posted here it is substantially complete.
another word for this is focusing on a poem's prosody, its music
...based on the sign-up sheet that circulated in class. Correct as of Sept. 11.
Presenters must use the guidelines below, and also post their reflections on the 71B Blog (see link above) by 8pm TUESDAY (the night before our class). Thanks. Prof. Schmidt will be happy to consult with you ahead of time regarding your presentation, either in person or via email.
Regarding the in-class presentations: each student will do 3 in-class presentations during the semester, on an author and poem of your choice from the syllabus of that day’s assignment. I’ll post below guidelines for blog posts & in-class presentations, but basically students will post a brief summary of their topic and approach to a poem from that week’s syllabus assignment. Post on the blog by 8pm Tuesday before class—and the rest of us will read the posts either Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning as part of our preparation for class.
Student presentations in class will last 15 minutes or so. You will give us your ideas about what are important questions to ask about interpreting your chosen poem, plus how you would approach answering those questions. Be sure to focus on a poem’s form (including its music) as well as its content. Remember too that your presentation should not be a monologue but should engage the rest of the class members while you guide us and give us focus questions and topics. You may use the Internet or other resources to accompany your oral presentation (but this is optional). I’ll give you further guidelines for presentations once our class begins. Students will get feedback on their presentations from everyone in the class.
Note: one of your 3 presentations may be a creative response to that week’s reading—a poem, a work of art, or an oral reading/performance of it followed by a discussion of why you were drawn to that poem. You should discuss your plans for a creative project ahead of time with Prof. Schmidt.I recommend composing your blog post in your favorite word processor, then saving it. Then copy and paste the post to the blog.