Class Notes: Week 6-Drama (10/25/10/29/10)

Drama

Perrine’s Chapter 1:

*unique to drama: written primarily to be performed, not read

presents action:

· 1) through actors

· 2) on stage

· 3) before audience

· these three attributes influence nature of dramaàauthor has much POWER

· these three attributes also expose limitations of drama

1) through actors: creates more direct and immediate effect

· facial expressions are very important

· gives playwrights lots of power

· limitations:

o viewpoint can only be objective (or dramatic)

o can’t enter minds of characters

§ solution: soliloquy: characters give speech meant to be heard only by audience

§ aside: character turns to audience while speaking to a different character

§ in both: characters are presumed to be telling the truth

§ interrupt action, so should be used sparingly

§ inappropriate if in strict realistic mode

2) on stage: forcefully command attentionàgives playwright more power

· limitations:

o can’t incorporate complex aspects of the physical world

o must present events appropriate for the magnitude of the stage

o difficult to rapidly shift scenes

3) before audience: communal experienceàcreates greater effect

· individual is affected by actions of others-e.g. others laughing causes you to laugh

· depends on size and density of audience; effect = greater if audience = packed together

· limitations:

o must hold attention of audience

§ solution: intermissions/acts-each with own climax

o can’t go back to clarify

some vocabulary:

· realistic convention: drama that attempts (in content + presentation) to preserve illusion of actual, everyday life

· nonrealistic convention: departs markedly from fidelity to outward appearances of life

· tragedy: causally related events lead to downfall and suffering of protagonist-usually of unusual moral or intellectual stature or outstanding abilities

· comedy: usually happy ending, emphasizes human limitation rather than greatness

· farce: related to comedy; emphasizes improbable situations, violent conflicts, physical action, coarse wit over characterization or articulated plot

· melodrama: related to tragedy; sensational incidents, plots at expense of

characterization, relies on cruder conflicts (e.g.-good vs. evil)-usually ends happily, with

good winning

· romantic: type of comedy; likeable and sensible main characters = placed in difficulties from which they are rescued at end of play-either attain ends or have good fortunes restored

· satiric: type of comedy; main purpose =expose + ridicule human folly, vanity, or hypocrisy

· protagonist: central character in story or play

· antagonist: force in story or play that = in conflict with protagonist; may be person, aspect of physical or social environment, destructive element in protagonist’s own nature

· foil character: minor character whose situation or actions parallel those of a major characteràcontrast sets off or illuminates latter-most often contrast = complimentary

· plot: sequence of incidents or events of which a story or play is composed

· suspense: quality in a story or play that makes reader eager to discover what happens next and how it will end

· theme: central idea or unifying generalizations implied or stated by a literary work

· didactic: primary purpose =to teach or preach

· dramatic exposition: presentation through dialogue of information about events that occurred before action of play or offstage/between staged actions; or about individual characters’ backgrounds or general situation (political, historical) in which action takes place

Perrine’s Chapter 2:

*all stage production, no matter how realistic, involves certain necessary artificiality

choice of realistic or nonrealistic stage sets, costuming, makeup lie with producer, not playwright

· former may choice to disregard directions of latter for novelty or emphasis

language and management of dialogue = playwright’s area

· all degrees of realism + nonrealism = possible in this area

dramatic conventions: certain departures from reality

· all dramas require audience to accept some

· examples of necessary conventions: room represented with three and not four walls; actors speak in language of audience regardless of nationality of characters they play, actors must face audience most of the time

· examples of optional conventions: soliloquies/asides, actors speak in heightened language of poetry

o playwrights working in strictly realistic mode will avoid optional conventions

· other nonrealistic devices:

o chorus (Greek-like in Oedipus Rex!): group of actors speaking in unison, often in a chant, while going through steps of an elaborate formalized dance-useful for conveying communal or group emotion

o narrator: vehicle for dramatic truth

*realistic must be regarded as descriptive, not evaluative

· playwrights may choose to be more realistic or less realistic depending on what effect they’re trying to achieve

*human truth, rather than fidelity to fact = highest achievement of literary art

Overall Connections for Weeks 4-6:

· Perrine’s advice on judging both “good” poetry and drama are basically the same: true accomplishment lies in human truth.

· The vocabulary we learned reminds me of the drama we studied in British Literature last year; I especially remember the comedic ladder, which includes satire, slapstick, farce, etc.

· Perrine consistently cites Shakespeare as the master of poetry as well as drama. The epiphany of excellence for each character always seems Shakespeare-related. This is probably why Shakespeare allusions are so important to know.

Class Notes: Weeks 4-5 (10/11/10-10/22/10)

Tone, Voice, and Style:

tone: speaker’s tone

· includes emotion

· described in emotional terms

· attitude

· revealed through: author’s techniques-e.g. diction, figurative language, syntax, etc.

· vocabulary = very important in order to recognize shades of meaning/emotional responses

voice: speaker’s voice

· includes personality

· described in character terms

· revealed through: author’s techniques-e.g. diction, figurative language, syntax, etc.

style: author’s way of expressing him/herself

· includes characteristics/personality of author

· similar to a person’s style of dress

· dwell more on literary techniques: e.g. syntax, regionalisms

· more careful descriptions, because we’re talking about a real human being

Perrine’s Chapters 15 and 16:

*attempt to evaluate poem should never be made before understanding it

3 basic questions for judging poem:

· 1) What is its central purpose?

· 2) How fully has this purpose been accomplished? perfection

· 3) How important is this purpose? significance

2) How fully has this purpose been accomplished?

· can only judge poem as it contributes or fails to contribute to central purpose

· a few generalizations:

o wholly successful poem contains no excess words-don’t bear full weight in contributing to total experience or just used to fill out meter

o each word = best word for expressing total meaning; no inexact words forced by rhyme scheme or metrical pattern

o word order = best for total meaning; distortions or departures from normal order = for emphasis or some other meaningful purpose

o diction, images, figures of speech = fresh, not trite (except if trite to achieve irony)

o sound doesn’t clash with form; both contribute to total meaning

o organization = best possible; images + ideas = so effectively arranged that any rearrangement would be harmful to poem

*Remember: good poem also has flaws!

3 ways poem can fail to achieve excellence:

· 1 ) sentimentality: indulgence in emotion for its own sake; expression of more emotion than occasion warrants

o gushy; exaggerate sadness and joy

o aims primarily at stimulating emotions rather than directly communicating

experience truly + freshly

· 2) rhetorical: uses language more glittering + high-flown than substance warrants

o superficial because it is too oratorical, overelegant, or articially eloquent

· 3) didactic: primary purpose = teach or preach

o appeals primarily to people who read poetry primarily for noble thoughts or inspiring lessons + like them prettily expressed

some general advice:

· go with your gut instinct, THEN compare your opinion to others

· categories are somewhat arbitrary; in reality, most poems probably fall into a blend of several categories

3) How important is its purpose?

· great poetry:

o engages the whole person: senses, imagination, emotion, intellect

o seeks not merely to entertain but to bring pure pleasure and fresh insights, renewed insights, important insights into nature of human experience

o gives broader + deeper understanding of life, other people, ourselves

o this kind of insight isn’t necessarily summed up in simple “lesson” or “moral”

o it = knowledge of complexities of human nature + tragedies and sufferings, excitements and joys

o no formula for this; sometimes, depends largely on personal preference

Outside Reading Set #1

Book Review

10/10/10

"Read This Book If: The Idea of Having Kids Makes You Nervous" by Eileen Reynolds

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2010/10/read-this-book-if-the-idea-of-having-kids-makes-you-nervous.html

In her book review of The Monster Within: The Hidden Side of Motherhood by Barbara Almond, Eileen Reynolds takes a mainly formalist approach to analyze a psychoanalytical work. She points out the specific structure of the book, such as Almond’s presentation of evidence and warrant in the form of case studies of different women. Reynolds also makes note of the allusions Almond makes to other famous literary pieces, such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In addition, Reynolds picks out the theme of Almond’s novel: “Almond’s central point is that mixed-up thoughts about motherhood are in fact very common; by discussing them openly and exploring their causes, she argues, we can keep ambivalent feelings from paralyzing us with guilt and shame.” Finally, Reynolds points out some specific stylistic choices of the author, such as “There’s a lot of Freudian jargon to wade through here—particularly in the chapter about the Oedipal origins of fear of monstrous births—and Almond has an unfortunate tendency to overuse italics for emphasis.”

Reynolds enjoys the book and communicates this to the readers in a variety of ways, such as deliberate use of punctuation in her syntax. In the very first line, “Vampires, incest babies, and infanticides, oh my!”she emphasizes her surprise by ending her statement with an exclamation point. She uses rhetorical questions, such as “Haven’t we all known mothers like these?” to assert that the book holds a universal appeal for all mothers and thus should be read. Sometimes, Reynolds disagrees with part of the book and she uses parenthetical asides such as “(Ambivalence, yes, but sheer horror? I'm not sure.)” to indicate her point. In general, Reynolds maintains a casual tone, creating more of a conversation than a piece which lectures at readers.

The informal nature of this piece is its greatest strength: it draws readers in. Furthermore, Reynolds’ quick-witted, fast-paced review urges the audience to read Almond’s book and form opinions for themselves. Her emphasis on the universal nature of the book also promotes the idea that it appeals to a wide range of readers. From a literary point of view, one weakness of the review is its lack of depth in analyzing the text. Reynolds points out basic stylistic elements and overarching themes, but focuses more on the general novelty of the book more than anything else. This type of book review is exactly how we usually analyze texts in school, except we usually delve deeper than Reynolds does. The analysis of a psychoanalytical text reminds me of the psychoanalysis we did last year of Macbeth. This review is engaging and persuasive, but the syntax is not suitable for the AP exam because the author’s style is a bit spontaneous. Her rhetorical questions and exclamation points are appropriate for this context, but they make her writing somewhat disorganized to be appropriate in an AP essay.

Editorial Column

10/10/10

"Call Me! But please, not by videophone." by Joel Stein (from "The Awesome Column" in Time Magazine)

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1952314,00.html

Straight from the start, Joel Stein establishes his voice in the title of his editorial: “Call Me! But please, not by videophone.” He directly addresses readers, establishing immediately that they should pay attention to his voice. Throughout the column, he repeatedly switches from first person to second person, as shown by “As soon as you begin to talk, I feel trapped and desperately scan the room for tasks I can do to justify the enormous waste of time that is your talking.” Normally, this would be a distracting element, but in this context he actually manages to bring the audience in, almost as if he were confiding in all of the readers. This then causes readers to become more engaged in Stein’s writing.

Stein’s syntax is very distinct throughout his piece: he specializes in the deliberate usage of short, choppy sentences, which help define his blunt style. Furthermore, using such sentence structures sometimes adds humor, especially when the sentences are shaped more like punch lines. For example, in the second paragraph, he says “Both involved a lot of help from tech people and drool. Yes, I find Meredith Vieira that attractive.” Stein’s anticipatory response in the latter part of that quotation adds to the humor that is prevalent throughout the piece. The sentence fragments serve another function: they make Stein’s voice more casual and nonchalant. He sounds very relaxed; the audience feels as if it is reading something that is streaming real time, as opposed to something which has been edited and revised to perfection. The last few lines wrap up the whole article in a cavalier way: “The truth is, my editor will never even call me. She’ll just email. Which is actually fine with me. There’s plenty of video online of women in silver bodysuits.”

The strong, witty voice prevalent throughout is this editorial’s strongest suit. As a reader, it captivated me from beginning to end simply because I felt like I was meeting someone in person, not simply reading a boring piece written by someone very distant from me. However, one criticism or weakness I have of this piece is its trivial treatment of people’s tendency to shy away from face-to-face communication. I know that Stein’s position is largely one of ambivalence, but his lack of concern towards the matter brings down the overall message of his piece. Of course, that goes along with his voice, but to me personally, it brings down the value of the piece. Although Stein’s voice is very strong and engaging, this editorial column is not fitting for an AP essay because it is far too casual. The sentence fragments and asides which shape his voice actually distract from an overall thesis. Therefore, this style would not be appropriate for an AP exam.

Reflective Essay

10/10/10

"Consent" by Carol Fletcher

http://www.pifmagazine.com/2009/02/consent/

In her reflective essay “Consent,” Carol Fletcher hair as a motif to set a deeply tragic and desolate tone. From the very first line, Fletcher establishes the theme through the line “The kids to feel sorry for are the ones with hair.” The power of this statement lies in its irony; readers usually associate lack of hair with cancer, and therefore the “kids to feel sorry for” should be the ones without hair. However, Fletcher focuses on the presence of hair because all of the Stage Four neuroblastoma kids are there hoping to receive an “experimental new” treatment involving chemotherapy and radiation. Therefore, they need to receive the treatment and lose hair, because not having hair is a sign that they are getting treatment, that they have a chance of survival. In particular, she employs the “power of three” with “The parents to feel sorry for are the ones whose kids have hair” halfway through the essay and then once more at the end of her essay with “The ones to feel sorry for are the ones with hair.” Furthermore, Fletcher isolates these three statements from the rest of the piece by allowing each one to stand alone in its own paragraph. This simple manipulation of structure adds enormous weight to the statements. When Fletcher describes the different children, she focuses on their hair, such as “black bangs falling over his eyes” and “tousle of red curls.” The imagery of healthy hair juxtaposed with the bleak situation of the kids’ diseases creates a sentimental and regretful mood.

To add to the hopeless tone of the piece, Fletcher contrasts the world inside the hospital to the world outside of it. She belongs to both worlds, yet she only feels happiness in the one outside of the hospital because she feels that any hope is stifled by the impending doom of death in a place where kids aren’t even “on the news when they die.” To illustrate the desolation, Fletcher incorporates two brief anecdotes: the doctor’s phone call to the outside world and the relapse of Rhonda’s child. The latter especially adds to the tragedy of the entire piece, simply becauseRhonda is so sure that her child has been cured.

I was deeply moved and saddened by this essay, which means that its strength lies in its ability to emotionally affect readers. However, intellectually, the essay is too specific about the type of disease the children have. The greatest appeal of the tragedy described in this essay is that the sadness and regret so prevalent in the hospital can be applied to any disease, to any suffering child, to any heartbroken parent. Therefore, the piece may be more powerful if Fletcher does not specifically name the disease. The tone of this piece would not be appropriate for the AP exam because it is more like a stream of conscious than a structured piece of writing. There is little analysis because the author doesn’t seek to persuade as much as to reflect.

Class Notes: Week 4 (10/3/10-10/7/10)

AP Exam:

Part I: Multiple Choice (45%)

• 55 questions; 60 minutes
• no penalty for guessing
• different levels of questions: ranges from simple “1 level” comprehension questions to “5 level” interpretation questions
• practice questions/more information: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-english-course-description.pdf(note that this is also a link to general information about the AP test—see bottom)

Part II: Free Response (55%)

• 3 essays; 120 minutes
• 2 closed essays; 1 open essay
• *MOST IMPORTANT THING = FOLLOW DIRECTIONS
• Answer the sometimes hidden “So what?” question; to analyze = to show how the parts contribute to the functioning of the whole
• must NAME the literary technique (in other words, must become very familiar with all literary terms)
• a good way to get organized is to draw out an outline PRIOR to writing; sample outline of Compare/Contrast prompt:

A+B share similarities…

support claim with evidence

BUT, A really focuses on…

support claim with evidence

WHILE, B really focuses on…

support claim with evidence

• sample Free Response questions: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/english_lit/samp.html?englit

thorough outline of the AP test: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-english-course-description.pdf

Perrine Chapters 8 and 9:

allusion: reference to something in history or previous literature

• richly connotative word or symbol
• in order to use allusions, authors must assume the universality of some ideas
• example: Robert Frost alludes to Macbeth’s famous speech in his poem “Out, out—”
• common fund of literary experience includes: classical mythology (Edith Hamilton!), Shakespeare, Bible (King James version)

example of Shakespearean allusions in “Wise Children”: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A-level_English/Wise_Children/Allusions_to_Shakespeare

mythological allusions: http://www.scribd.com/doc/7156365/Mythological-Allusions-Ppt

Biblical allusions: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/biblical-allusions.html

total meaning: experience a poem communicates (can be communicated in no other way)

• value and worth of a poem are determined by total meaning, not by the truth or nobility of any one idea
• “suspension of disbelief”-in order to enjoy the poem for what it is, readers may sometimes have to temporarily discard the “reality” they’re used to
• a poem becomes more persuasive when the author can communicate that he/she truly believes in the idea he/she is trying to convince the reader of
• it is the reader’s obligation to at least make an effort to try to understand the ideas being presented

prose meaning: ingredient that can be separated out in the form of a prose paraphrase

more detailed information on “prose paraphrase:” http://pioneer.chula.ac.th/~tpuckpan/paraphrase.htm

• there may not be a meaning or grand, philosophical idea to figure out
• only part of the total meaning
• not necessarily an idea
• can be story, description, statement of emotion, presentation of human character, or a combination

example of description: “The Eagle”

example of statement of emotion: “The Widow’s Lament in Springtime”

example of presentation of human character: “My Last Duchess”

application of these two ideas to Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner:” http://www.freewebs.com/english-brain/poetry3.htm

Overall Connections:

This week, in particular while I was reading Chapter 8 in Perrine, I started realizing the importance of our summer assignments, especially Edith Hamilton’s Mythology and the Bible. In addition, I can see more clearly now that the AP test is simply an application of all the techniques we’ve learned/will be learning this year.

*critical approaches: review wikis from time to time