Recommended Reading List

Hello everyone! Holidays are here and what better way then to spend them reading useful books to widen your knowledge on Literature and hone your linguistic skills? Do consider reading any of the following below. If you would like to try something more advance (they are interesting, really), try the last segment. You will be bound to love these books!

Specifically for my sec 2s, I hope your play is progressing smoothly. We will try to keep Shakespeare simplified and easy to digest. Just perhaps 2 intensive sessions!

Here's the list:

Contemporary Children’s Literature:

Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Philip Pullman's The Amber Spyglass
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry
Lemony Snicket (real name Daniel Handler): A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Other suggested readings/ Modern reading:

SIMON BLOOM, THE GRAVITY KEEPER by Michael Reisman
ELVIS & OLIVE by Stephanie Watson
The Calder Game by Blue Balliet
The Stolen Child by Colin Cheong
The Monkey’s Paw by W.W Jacobs
Sing to the Dawn by Ho Ming Fo

Further recommended reading:

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee
1984 by George Orwell
CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller
ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell
ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac
TO THE LIGHTHOUSE by Virginia Woolf
AS I LAY DYING by William Faulkner
The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Lit Projects

hong yu and andrew's:
http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/29/437126/Literature%20Project%20-%20Hong%20Yu%20and%20Andrew.wmv

Apology:
http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/29/437126/Apology.wmv


http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/29/437126/lit_0001.wmv

War, June's grp:
http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/29/437126/junes%20grp.wmv


http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/29/437126/Lit%20Project.wmv

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/29/437126/lit%20project_completed.wmv

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/29/437126/LITPROJ%2001%203004_000135.wmv

JJ's:
http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/29/437126/litterature.wmv

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/29/437126/Love%20.wmv

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/29/437126/Very%20Final%20Lit%20Video.wmv

enjoy!

Country Lovers + Shakespeare

hellooooos!

ive printed exact no. of copies for notes on Country Lovers. if you havent gotten one, download from here:

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/29/437126/Country%20Lovers.doc



As we will be doing Shakespeare, i hope you have started on your respective plays.



it's Hamlet, Othello, MacBeth and Romeo and Juliet.

FILES!

hey all. please prepare files and complete your text.
i would like to correct and collect them by next lesson.
dont forget to do your group reflection!

Poem Assignment!!!

ok.listen up. it's ok not to always do well in Lit. What really matters is improvement. if you constantly improve someday you're gonna get that A. It just depends on how long but YES you will get there.

im sorry if you didnt do well for the last common test. i know i tried my best, but did you? and i HOPE the answer is YES, you have.

ok. so now's time to get that A you guys. In creating your poem, you MUST:

• write sufficiently on the topic and have ample length
• use Literary Techniques (L.Ts) e.g similies, metaphors, personification, alliteration, repetition, caesura, run-on lines, onomatopoeia...
• in your explanation, explain the EFFECT of the L.T (e.g the use of run-on lines "..." seeks to mimic the fast/ swift motion of the killing of soldiers in the fields... or things like in the similie "like a devil's face sick of sin", the dying soldier's face is compared to something worse than monster as his face is so contorted by war and injury, to say he is a devil has become undermined for he is worse than it. It thus overall creates the effect that war has committed a lot of atrocities and that men have become dehumanized.
• from the above, you can see that sufficient EXPLANATION and its EFFECTS, will give you greater credit.i. e higher marks.
• use KEY WORDS: emphasize, highlight, enforce, stress, suggest, implies, amplifies..
• dont forget to explain why the L.T used is effective. Dont just say "it's good." say why and how it contributes to the overall theme and atmopshere you want to create.
• Point
• Evidence
• Explanation

the above points are just some helpful tips. the onus is on you to be creative! i look forward to marking your wonderful work =)

so Go get that A! This is due tmr as it will be my first lesson.

just a heads up, your next CA will be on PROSE. so you BETTER be paying attention and be diligent from now onwards if you havent. Feel free to clarify. CONSULTATION IS FREE.

All the fun's in how you say a thing---Frost

TONE

There are numerous and sometimes conflicting text book definitions of tone:
"The poet's or persona's attitude in style or expression toward the subject, e.g., loving, ironic, bitter, pitying, fanciful, solemn, etc. Tone can also refer to the overall mood of the poem itself, in the sense of a pervading atmosphere intended to influence the readers' emotional response and foster expectations of the conclusion." (Glossary of Poetic Terms from BOB'S BYWAY)

"The writer's or speaker's attitude toward his subject, his audience, or himself; the emotional coloring, or emotional meaning, of a work." (Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry by Laurence Perrine)


"The word tone in literary discussion is borrowed from the expression tone of voice. Tone is the manner in which a poet makes his statement; it reflects his attitude toward his subject. Since printed poems lack the intonations of spoken words, the reader must learn to "hear" their tones with his mind's ear. Tone cannot be heard in one particular place since it reflects a general attitude, it pervades the whole poem." (Poems: Wadsworth Handbook and Anthology by C. F. Main & Peter J. Seng)


"Tone expresses the poet's attitude toward his audience. We all experience tone in everyday life. A speaker's placing of emphasis, his tone of voice, his facial expression, even his gestures all help the hearer to determine the speaker's meaning and attitude." (The Order of Poetry, An Introduction Bloom, Philbrick and Blistein)

Mary Had a little Lamb

i chanced upon an impressive analysis when i was researching for materials for my class.
it's an in depth analysis worth pondering over.
do check it out:
http://www.cannells.com/colin/archives/mary_had_a_little_la.php
hope lit test was ok=)

Content Page

Class, remember to update your content page and file in your worksheets.
this is a more updated version.
files will be checked and collected after your CTs.
http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/1/24/1717600/lit%20CP.doc

with regards to your test tmr, dont forget the structure:
Point
Evidence
Explanation.

similes are like metaphors, just that metaphors do not use 'as' or 'like'.
identify the characterisitc you need.
rmb the topics tested:
alliteration
assonance
rhyme scheme
personification
metaphors*
similes*
subject matter
theme

i have given you ample ws. however, if you feel the need do consult me. consultation is free.

Revision: death the Leveller

class, we did Death the Leveller and here are model questions.
please rmb to work hard for your upcoming test. if you have any queries, pls arrange a consultation. i would also like to have a supplementary lesson on tues, 12/2.
shd only be an hour long. we'll be covering more on metaphors and similies in preparation for the cts and a quick recap on other topics.
pls do your meteor of words. make sure everything is complete! and file your ws.

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/29/437126/Copy%20of%20Sec%202%20Lit%20CT1.doc

oh yes! for the last supplementary lesson, we went through Mirror and Child by Sylvia Plath. it's really interesting. so please check with your friends. we also did Thomas Hardy's 'Ah, are you digging on my grave?' ive got some spare copies. approach me if you need or dont be lazy and look for the poem online. the web is such a useful thing isnt it?

More Poems!

hello all. for those who turned up last tues, i hope the lesson was useful to you and that you've understood everything ive said.
if you have any queries, pass a list around to make an appointment with me.
THUS is strictly out as i will not be around. anything else should be pretty ok. and try not to have weekends for consultation ok?

i was surfing online for poems and i think The Tyger by William Blake is pretty good. try to understand this. it is for extra reading.

THE TYGER (from Songs Of Experience)
By William Blake

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare sieze the fire?
And what shoulder, & what art.
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

1794

after which, you can visit this site for more:
http://virtual.park.uga.edu/~wblake/SIE/42/42bib.html

happy reading! i hope you have been studying diligently for your test.

Supplementary lesson

hey all, lesson tmr 3 to 4pm 203 classroom. those who cannot make it, pls ask your friends, continue to work hard and seek me for consultation is needed.
all days are available except for this thurs (31st) and fri.

pls bring all relevant material for lesson tmr. we will go through your main text and a poem or too if we have time.

reminder test on mon. it's a half an hr test. so dont be late!

Poem analysis

this is I Cannot Live With you by Emily Dickinson.
it's a thorough analysis and i would strongly recommend you read this:

http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/1/24/1717600/I%20Cannot%20Live%20With%20You.doc

for the extra lesson, a poem that we will be going through is:

Fame is a fickle food (1659)
by Emily Dickinson

Fame is a fickle food
Upon a shifting plate
Whose table once a
Guest but not
The second time is set.
Whose crumbs the crows inspect
And with ironic caw
Flap past it to the
Farmer's Corn –
Men eat of it and die.

________________________________________________

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1830. She attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, but severe homesickness led her to return home after one year. Throughout her life, she seldom left her house and visitors were scarce. The people with whom she did come in contact, however, had an enormous impact on her thoughts and poetry. She was particularly stirred by the Reverend Charles Wadsworth, whom she met on a trip to Philadelphia. He left for the West Coast shortly after a visit to her home in 1860, and some critics believe his departure gave rise to the heartsick flow of verse from Dickinson in the years that followed. While it is certain that he was an important figure in her life, it is not certain that this was in the capacity of romantic love—she called him "my closest earthly friend." Other possibilities for the unrequited love in Dickinson’s poems include Otis P. Lord, a Massachusetts Supreme Court Judge, and Samuel Bowles, editor of the Springfield Republican.
By the 1860s, Dickinson lived in almost total physical isolation from the outside world, but actively maintained many correspondences and read widely. She spent a great deal of this time with her family. Her father, Edward Dickinson, was actively involved in state and national politics, serving in Congress for one term. Her brother Austin attended law school and became an attorney, but lived next door once he married Susan Gilbert (one of the speculated—albeit less persuasively—unrequited loves of Emily). Dickinson’s younger sister Lavinia also lived at home for her entire life in similar isolation. Lavinia and Austin were not only family, but intellectual companions during Dickinson’s lifetime.
Dickinson's poetry reflects her loneliness and the speakers of her poems generally live in a state of want, but her poems are also marked by the intimate recollection of inspirational moments which are decidedly life-giving and suggest the possibility of happiness. Her work was heavily influenced by the Metaphysical poets of seventeenth-century England, as well as her reading of the Book of Revelation and her upbringing in a Puritan New England town which encouraged a Calvinist, orthodox, and conservative approach to Christianity.

24th jan lesson

i hope lesson today was great. we went through literary techniques. i have printed out a list for you guys and i can ensure you it is super useful. given the lack of time today, we will be holding another lesson next week, preferably tues. im fine with all days but fri's out. pls check with classchair. (classchair pls get back to me by sunday) yupp. we will go through a poem or 2. lesson will be after school and will not exceed an hour. after which you can consult me or anything you need clarification on.

i intend to set up links and upload files in this blog. for now, it will be info on poets, their style and how to analyze poems. my apologies that the blog has been pretty vacant for a while cuz i was busy marking a lot of work. yupp.

things to do:

1. read The Garden and its analysis
2. analyze The Cloud by Percy B Shelley (http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-cloud/)
3. Do homework- finish up your simile, death the leveller
4. read literary techniques handout

Under construction!

For my lit classes, i have compiled a short summary/ analysis on The Garden by Andrew Marvell. For a more comprehensive understanding, do visit the site below:

http://www.dijf.dk/exam-marvell.pdf

For more about James Shirley and his work (i.e. Death the Leveller), visit the below:
http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/shirley/

Basically, i will not be printing a lot of resources for you. the onus will be on you to be hardworking enough =) Good luck in getting the elusive A!
Feel free to approach me if you have any queries.