A little bit of fun. Practice reading the following:
(why stress is a good thing!)
Coming up: last week's vocabulary quiz will take place tomorrow Friday, March 17. Copy below of the handout.
For those of you who were on the field trip on Monday, you will need to complete the writing component of "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" independently. You will need to use your completed graphic organizer. Both the graphic organizer and the writing component will be collected at the beginning of class on Monday, March 20, after which they are worth only 50 points each. Please note that the marking quarter ends on Friday, March 31. No material will be accepted after that time.
In class: collecting graphic organizer and written response from those students who were in class on Monday.
Introduction to Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters
Reading of The Hill
Essential question: How much truth does a grave stone tell?
Spoon River Anthology is a series of poems in free verse (poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter). In most of the poems, a deceased native of the fictional town of Spoon River delivers a monologue about his or her life or a specific incident in his or her life. These monologues are, in effect, epitaphs.
Background
.......Dead men tell no tales. So says an ancient proverb. But
in Spoon River Anthology dead men—and women—do tell
tales. Speaking from the grave, more than two hundred forty
deceased residents of a fictional Midwestern town, Spoon
River, each present short monologues about their lives. They
reveal their heartaches, disappointments, failures, and
unfulfilled dreams. Sometimes they tell of the moral
trespasses of themselves or of others. Occasionally, they tell
of an incident that reveals the good or bad qualities of
another person.
The Introductory Poem
The Hill
Where are Elmer, Herman, Bert, Tom and Charley,
The weak of will, the strong of arm, the clown, the boozer, the fighter?
All, all are sleeping on the hill.
One passed in a fever,
One was burned in a mine,
One was killed in a brawl,
One died in a jail,
One fell from a bridge toiling for children and wife-
All, all are sleeping, sleeping, sleeping on the hill.
Where are Ella, Kate, Mag, Lizzie and Edith,
The tender heart, the simple soul, the loud, the proud, the happy one?--
All, all are sleeping on the hill.
One died in shameful child-birth,
One of a thwarted love,
One at the hands of a brute in a brothel,
One of a broken pride, in the search for heart's desire;
One after life in far-away London and Paris
Was brought to her little space by Ella and Kate and Mag--
All, all are sleeping, sleeping, sleeping on the hill.
Where are Uncle Isaac and Aunt Emily,
And old Towny Kincaid and Sevigne Houghton,
And Major Walker who had talked With venerable men of the revolution?--
All, all are sleeping on the hill.
They brought them dead sons from the war,
And daughters whom life had crushed,
And their children fatherless, crying--
All, all are sleeping, sleeping, sleeping on the hill.
Where is Old Fiddler Jones
Who played with life all his ninety years,
Braving the sleet with bared breast,
Drinking, rioting, thinking neither of wife nor kin,
Nor gold, nor love, nor heaven?
Lo! he babbles of the fish-frys of long ago,
Of the horse-races of long ago at Clary's Grove,
Of what Abe Lincoln said
One time at Springfield.
Format: Free Verse.......Besides introducing characters in Spoon River Anthology, "The Hill" introduces the format, free verse. Free verse is poetry that ignores standard rules of meter in favor of the rhythms of ordinary conversation. In effect, free verse liberates poetry from conformity to rigid metrical rules that dictate stress patterns and the number of syllables per line.
Conversational Language
.......Except for a poem entitled "The Spooniad," the language in Spoon River Anthology is simple, conversational, and realistic, with plenty of local color and regional references—like the reference in "The Hill" to "the horse races long ago at Clary's Hill" (line 32). Many of the poems contain a figure of speech called anaphora. Anaphora is the repetition of a word or group of words at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses or sentences.
Vocabulary for the week of March 6-10 Quiz on Friday, March 10
1.. vigilant-adjective- keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulties; watchful, observant, attentive, alert, eagle-eyed, hawk-eyed
2. adroit-adjective- clever or skillful in using the hands or mind; adept, dexterous, deft, nimble, able, capable
3. to fabricate-verb- to invent or concoct (something), typically with deceitful intent; to falsify, to fake, to counterfeit
4. pretext-noun- a reason given in justification of a course of action that is not the real reason.
5. to gesticulate-verb- use gestures, especially dramatic ones, instead of speaking or to emphasize one's words.
6. to badger- verb- to bother persistently
7. to implore-verb- beg someone earnestly or desperately to do something.
8. drudgery-noun- hard, menial, or dull work.
9. interminable-adjective-endless (often used hyperbolically); never-ending, unending, nonstop, everlasting, ceaseless,
10. to perceive-verb- to become aware or conscious of (something); come to realize or understand.
Idioms
11. a wet blanket-a person who spoils other people's fun by failing to join in with or by disapproving of their activities.
12. to pour oil on troubled waters- try to settle a disagreement or dispute with words intended to placate or pacify those involved.
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