TODAY IN CLASS
Reason/path/effects of nature on VF as he undertakes the journey that will take him to the Orkneys and the creation/destruction of the Creature's prospective mate.  We did not trace through the details of the rest in class; it has been assumed all along that you've read, you've used the guiding questions as support, and you gave serious attention to the closing letters.

We turned to some in-class time to start on the homework, which is outlined below if you were absent.

Utilize the review you should be doing to come up with rich, insightful theme statements to review the kinds of detail the book contains that should be held in mind as much as possible in preparation for the in-class timed write on Monday.

Beyond that, as you prepare for the timed write on Monday, be sure to consider both VF and the Creature as potential "monsters"--who most deserves that term?  and of course why?? Conversely, consider each one as "victims"; again, for what reasons, and who most richly deserves that term?

FOR MONDAY
Continue work on the theme statements.  You will turn them in on Monday.
Basics:

• a complete sentence that makes a claim 
• "universal" (no explicit reference to a given work, characters, or plot)
• sufficiently insightful to capture a significant idea that IS in fact relevant to the work at hand (though again, not illustrated by explicit reference to a particular text).

Thin, superficial statements will not be valued highly, and though you won't be providing the development or "proof," someone who has read the work thoughtfully should be able to grasp what would have prompted your claim.  Certainly the theme statements you propose must reflect meanings and ideas found within the work, not something contradicted by the text itself.  (I saw/heard a couple of theme statements today that simply could not be supported by what Shelley wrote.)

If you were absent, you need to do the following on your own paper.  The categories are as follows: 

Nature, Knowledge, Education, Destiny, Justice, Friendship/Companionship (or its absence), Parents/Children (or surrogates), Science/Technology, plus an optional category labeled "Other."

Number/Distribution of Theme Statements

You must write at  least one well-developed and thoughtful thesis statement for every category; 2 theme statements for 4 categories; and 3 theme statements for one category.

You choose which categories get multiple theme statements. 

TODAY IN CLASS
Ballad structure; what was "throwback" about Coleridge's "new" style in Lyrical Ballads? We looked at "Sir Patrick Spens," examined some ballad features, and looked at just a few sample stanzas of Rime.

But I pointed out that formative feedback had revealed some significant gaps/vague understanding/a few downright wrong ideas in the understanding of the later part of Frankenstein. Please understand that this comment does not apply to everyone--yet there seems to be a tipping point that needs to be addressed.

The blog post for Feb. 12, the Wednesday before break, had urged students to look at the guiding questions for the last part of Frankenstein. Here is the link again:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxigzimXmDnvZDl0Z2NNZ0IxTUk/edit

SO FOR TOMORROW
Please print these out, or if you'd really rather to keep the link open, that's okay.  Pick up with Chapter 17=---after the Creature stops talking. If you read through these and feel--as some of you might--that you're absolutely on top of this and know the material well, that's wonderful.  You're golden.  But if you don't, well, this is part of studying novels for AP.  You need to know the details.  So use the guide as what it is:  find and jot down what is being asked along the way.  I never intended for AP students to write out study question answers for Frankenstein, but that's because it's essentially easy enough that I didn't think it was necessary. I am still not going to require written answers, but I DO expect you to have fairly certain knowledge about the way this ends tomorrow.

A few people thought the next poetry terms quiz was tomorrow; it isn't.  I had originally said "Monday or Tuesday," and yesterday (at least in one class) I said I'd decided on Tuesday.

There will be an in-class timed write on Frankenstein on Monday, however.

TWO REMINDERS
1. Quiz over the first half of the AP Poetry Terms on Wednesday (through the M's, #36)

2.  AP exam registration ends on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 3:00 p.m. Consider whenever you leave the house Wednesday morning as your actual deadline.  If you haven't registered already, start the process here:
https://user.totalregistration.net/AP/480500

TODAY IN CLASS
Class agendas for 1st and 5th were switched between Friday before break and today.

• On Feb. 14, 1st period worked with the British Lit textbook to get a handle on romanticism as a literary historical period, and with a few examples; 5th period did much less of that and spent time getting a start on reading Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner."
• Today 1st period got started on Coleridge, and 5th did the overview material.  
• (note mostly to me--1st needs to explicitly compare Blake's "Chimney Sweep" poems, both sections need to do a Burns poem or two, and 5th needs to look at a couple of Wordsworth poems and the journal excerpt from Dorothy Wordsworth)

FOR TOMORROW

"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"-- First poem in Wordsworth and Coleridge, Lyrical Ballads (1798)

Required:  Finish reading the poem for tomorrow. The first version below is probably best, but you might want to take a look at the other version as well.  Consider the responsibility of editors, editions, and "versions" in shaping our impression of a text.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173253

This one lacks the "Argument," but is in an older font with a different lay-out: Penn State version


Goals as you read/reflect on the poem:

• Know essentially what happens in the poem--it is a narrative, after all, so know the plot.
• Consider Coleridge's main themes for the poem
• How does Mary Shelley incorporate the poem into Frankenstein?
• What explicit reference(s) does she make to this work?
• Do you see any more implicit use of the poem?

Two further items for class work:

• We will look briefly at the poetic form and some key features (have your poetry terms handy)
• Assess the degree to which it represents key features of romanticism (list provided tomorrow)

Also, take a look at the history and range of illustrations Gustave Dore provided for this text:

Some background on the Dore illustrations and the general popularity of "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner":
http://www.baumanrarebooks.com/blog/gustave-dore-the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner/

Gustave Dore prints:
http://www.artsycraftsy.com/dore_mariner.html

This is one good way to review both what happens and what an important 19th century artist/engraver/illustrator deemed significant.

TODAY IN CLASS
1.  5th period received AP Poetry Terms; 1st did not.  (If for any reason you miss 1st period tomorrow but are here later, come by and get one, please.)
2.  Short quick assessment re: last part of Frankenstein (17-end, including the final letters)
3.  Discussion of Frankenstein's initial reaction to the Creature's coming to life (Ch. 5) and picking up with the Creature's story (Ch. 11)

FOR TOMORROW
Of course the book should have been finished for today.  But be sure to review/solidify using the study guide on yesterday's blog. And look over the additional links on that post and (if you still haven't) the earlier links.

TODAY IN CLASS
Beethoven, Overture to Creatures of Prometheus (ballet), 1801

NATURE as it affects Frankenstein; role of nature as a major aspect of English Romanticism vs. Enlightenment/Age of Reason

Lyrical Ballads (1798) --poetry by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Launched the Romantic period of English literature

There had been some late 18th-century "pre-Romantics":  William Blake, Robert Burns, Thomas Gray

But Wordsworth and Coleridge led the way into full-fledged Romanticism.
Other prominent names:  Percy Bysshe Shelley; George Gordon, Lord Byron; John Keats

BY TOMORROW

• You should have finished the book.  
• Check out the links below (Monday's as well) --but for the study questions, don't go beyond the indicated heading until you finish.  There are plot-spoilers.

Some study questions/close review; originally devised for British and Western, but still worthy of your attention:
Frankenstein (last half) Study Suggestions

Also, check this out for two ideas of  the Prometheus connection; you'll see that one seems more likely than the other . . .
Prometheus/Frankenstein

and just skim the Wikipedia article, paying special attention to the Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley connections:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus#Percy_Bysshe_Shelley_and_Prometheus_Unbound

And though we will look specifically at some relevant passages from Milton's Paradise Lost, this is the simplest best way to get a handle on Sorrows of Werter:
Sorrows of Werter

Quickly posted before the faculty meeting:

FOR TOMORROW
You should have read 11-16 for today.  You were not required to keep exhaustive separate lists of thematic ideas, but rather to keep in mind--and note briefly major ways in which these ideas permeate the Creature's story.

You should also get a start on 17 to the end, because you need to be finished with the whole book by Thursday.

TODAY IN CLASS
Credited those with thematic springboard statements.  Keep hanging on to those.  We discussed some of the topics (not all) for Chapters 1-4; we'll continue that with part of tomorrow.  Some of the work for Monday was really outstanding. I had asked for these to be as thorough as possible and some of you more than met that expectation.  Some wrote quite a bit, but spent too much time copying out a few quotations completely rather than coming up with more complete lists of topic references.  And others just wrote a few page numbers and brief faces and called it good.  Not what was meant--part of the goal was to realize how absolutely thoroughly Mary Shelley built these ideas into her novel.  (And, ultimately, WHY.)

FOR TOMORROW
As stated earlier, read Chapters 11-16 (the Creature's story).

I am not asking for absolutely thorough lists, as I'd expected earlier. The reason is simply that I want everyone to consider the entire set of seven thematic springboards, and it would be too tedious to track them all.  However, as the Creature tells his story, you should fairly easily see how his "upbringing" differs from Frankenstein's, and start seeing his own view of family, parent/child ("parent"/"child") interaction from his perspective, and find ready examples of other categories.  Be reasonable in finding solid evidence, but not so exhaustive as some of you were today.

Random things to look up:

British exam system (A-levels, O-levels)

University of Ingolstadt:  http://knarf.english.upenn.edu/V1notes/univers.html

Natural Philosophy
Origin:  http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/4202
Overview: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_philosophy
18th Century:  http://etherwave.wordpress.com/2010/04/12/the-bounds-of-natural-philosophy-temporal-and-practical-frontiers-pt-2/

TODAY IN CLASS
1. Finished the Frankenstein letters.
2. Examined and evaluated the metaphorical levels/theme statements for "The Sick Rose"
3. "Stopping by Woods"--light coverage (rhyme/"boxes").  Made the point in 5th that possibly not in 1st that the last stanza probably demands interpretive levels.  Think that through.  What meaning could there be beyond the need to get home for, say, supper and the evening chores?

Because of the way the week went (depleted ranks on Monday and wipe-out on Wednesday), we are behind my plan.  Wednesday was to have been for the Blake and Frost work, and today's poetry component was meant to be the Donne poem.  That's why I asked 1st period to get started on that poem. In 5th, I didn't even have a chance to hand it out; we will have to catch up.  But 1st--read it, do your best to mark of units of thought via "boxes", and look up such allusions as you notice.  (JUST the allusions, not "the poem").

FOR MONDAY
You were told yesterday to read Chapters 1-10 for Monday.

Keep a list of half of the thematic springboard topics.  Make four columns to match the categories assigned to your half of the alphabet.  Then record the  page number and a brief excerpt for each reference.  Don't waste time copying out lengthy quotes; well-chosen snippets (whatever makes them easier for you to locate almost instantly) will suffice.

What to Track 

1st period Anderson-Kan and 5th period Ball-Jung:  
Nature, Education, Destiny, Friendship/Companionship (1-5 only for this last category)

1st period Kane-Zhou and 5th period Kim-Wu:
Knowledge, Parents/Children, Justice, Friendship/Companionship (6-10 only for this last category_

TODAY IN CLASS
1. "The Sick Rose" metaphorical levels and theme statement

2. Significant close attention to the letters that set up the frame story for Frankenstein.  We got partway through Letter 4 in 1st; barely there in 5th.  Review Letter 4 as needed, especially with an eye to the thematic springboard list.  Be especially aware of the rescued stranger's reaction to Walton's beliefs and goals.  

FOR TOMORROW
There will be a quick wrap-up of Letter 4, then poetry focus.  New hand-out.  Still not Perrine, at least not in class.

Frankenstein Reading Schedule
For Monday--Chapters 1-10
For Tuesday--Chapters 11-16
For Thursday--Chapters 17 to the end (slight change from what 1st period was told)

The bottom line:  there were too few people to do anything.  I know, you called it.  But I just wasn't sure . . .

So FOR TOMORROW--
As it was:

•  Make sure you have read the Letters portion of Frankenstein.  Find/take note of ways in which they reveal the thematic springboards I gave you yesterday.  (1st--sorry about the duplicate list; I'd intended to cut the paper again into "bookmark"-sized pieces).  The list:  Nature, Education, Parents/Children, Destiny, Justice, Knowledge, Friendship/Companionship (or its absence)
• 
  
• "The Sick Rose" --Reread and ponder.  Find an appropriate set of metaphorical meanings beyond the apparent literal meaning of the text.  Make sure that your ideas are "cohesive"--that is, the parts fit together into some coherent metaphorical level of interpretation. If you were absent on Tuesday, there are six words or phrases that require some meaning beyond the literal:  Rose =, worm = , howling storm =, bed =, secret love =, thy life = 

Finally, if your Pygmalion work isn't on turnitin.com, it's quite overdue.  The folder is still open.

GOING STRAIGHT TO WHAT IS DUE TONIGHT/TOMORROW

You received a hand-out in class on Friday. If you were absent that day, you can access it here:

Pygmalion Study Questions

The Act I-III questions were to be done via discussion and note-taking during class on Friday.  

It is the second page of this link (the back of the actual hand-out) that is your written homework for tomorrow.  Complete the fairly direct Act IV-V questions as well as the more substantial "play as a whole" questions and  follow the specific directions at the top of the page re: procedure.

The folder is open.