Question 3...What will it be???

Review the prompts from past APE exams. The complete list of prompts can be viewed HERE; you might also want to review the list of key topics for most of them HERE.  Then, try to predict what the 2016 question 3 will be, and explain which text you would use to answer that prompt.

Creating Multiple Choice Questions (3 posts in 1)!!

Review the prose passage (Question 2) HERE.   Then, create one multiple choice question and post it on the blog.  Once a few are posted, answer ONE ...and give a rationale for the answer.  When your question is answered, comment on the accuracy of the answer.  Try to move throughout the passage. If there are a few questions about the beginning, ask about the middle, end, or passage as a whole.  Use the sentence stems in the packet for help.  

"For that He Looked Not Upon Her" -2014 Poem

Read the prompt and poem (Question 1) HERE.   Discuss how you would approach writing the essay and what key lines/phrases/words along with devices and purpose you would include. Then construct a thesis statement that addresses the purpose of the poem as well as how the poet achieves that purpose through the devices you have noted.
NOTE: Be sure to use a modifier preceding each device in the thesis statement --Avoid simply listing devices in the thesis. For example,  something like "Through tone, imagery, and sound devices" would be stronger if you wrote "With a sardonic tone, bellicose imagery, and cacophonous diction..."  Then of course state the purpose (theme or intended effect) to complete the sentence.

"The Century Quilt" Sample Essays

Review the sample essays on "The Century Quilt" HERE.   The top essay only earned a 7.  Discuss what the author needed to do in order to earn a 9. Consider today's class discussion about organization, deconstruction, and purpose when analyzing and writing about poetry.

King Lear Act III: "I am a man / More sinned against than sinning."

Reflect on the events of Act III and the question posted in class: What/who are we when we are nothing?
 Specifically comment on the quote in the heading as well as the revelation Lear exclaims to Edgar and the Fool in Act III.iv: "Is man no more than this?...Thou art the thing itself: unaccommodated man is no more but such a poor, bare, forked animal as though art" (64).

Comparative Poetry Papers

Using the rubric attached to your essay on "Hawk Roosting" and "Golden Retrievals,"  explain the way you would score the sample essays distributed in class.  Please provide a thorough rationale and score for at least TWO of the sample essays (A, B, and/or C).

King Lear Act II ~ Insults Galore!

Compare and contrast the two productions of King Lear linked below. If we have watched the Ian McKellen version in class before you post, you can compare one of the two below to that version. Please post by Thursday, March 24th.

“Trinity Theatre Company's production of "King Lear", directed by Francesca Gilpin and starring Michael Elliot in the title role”.

Act II.i-iii https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdTxneyRHsU

Act II.iv  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t955xQVU9AY

Act 2 Scenes 1 to 4 of Shakespeare at Traquair's performance of King Lear, in the grounds of Traquair House, near Innerleithen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFhEmXcLG9A

King Lear Act I.i- "Come not between the dragon and his wrath."

Compare and contrast at least two versions of King Lear I.i linked below.  Each clip varies in terms of length; however, pay particular attention to the portrayal of Lear and his reaction to both Cordelia and to Kent.  Two versions also include Regan and Goneril’s conversation at the end of the scene.  Comment on the staging and editing of the scene as well. 

Trinity Theater https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy7e6O4bbkM

Olivier Production https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aprnQoOqWwY

Ian McKellen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrTUW8iz7Gc (picks up after Cordelia speaks…watch for Lear’s reaction).

Post is due Friday 3/11.

Poet Laureate Videos

Watch one of the videos posted on our blog.  Then, explore some of that poet's published work.   Comment on your impressions of the poet's video as well as the poetry you read.  Due by 2/26.

Hard Times, Book the Second

As you finish reading Book the Second, explore the site Fact and Fancy from The British Library. Consider how the elements of fancy or wonder (circus, fairy tales, allusions, satire) have contributed to the idea of "Reaping" as the second book is titled.

Hard Times -Book the Second, Ch. I-VII

Based upon your reading of Book the Second, Chapters I-VII, examine two key events: the arrival and development of James Harthouse & the factory unionizing meeting with Mr. Slackbridge.  Discuss why Dickens has included Harthouse and Slackbridge in the Book the Second.  What impact do you think they will have on the rest of the novel?