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 » MIT OpenCourseWare » Literature » Writing About Literature, Fall 2002

Calendar

CLASS # TOPICS JOURNAL ASSIGNMENTS ACTIVITY
1 Introduction
Words in Process
2 Emily Dickinson, "Safe in Their Alabaster Chambers" Journal 1: Choose a word in Dickinson's poem that you see her using in an unusual way. Look it up in the OED and comment on its appearance in this context. Workshop: Writing a Poem
3 Dickinson, "Safe in Their Alabaster Chambers" Journal 2: Choose one difference between the version of 1859 and that of 1861 to discuss, and explain the effect of Dickinson's choice.
4 Walt Whitman: "I Saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing" Journal 3: Select a repetition (of word or sound) or revision and speculate on its function for Whitman's meaning.
5 Robert Frost, "The Silken Tent" Journal 4: Pick some aspect of Frost's image to explicate in greater detail. Note how the image develops throughout the sonnet, and try to limit your discussion to a particular stage in that development. Close Reading--Workshop: Image Study
6 Herman Melville, "Art" Journal 5: Write a paragraph on the relevance of Melville's reference to Genesis 32 in his poem "Art" (see searchable Bible, using King James version). Use the excerpt from John Bryant, ed., Herman Melville: Tales, Poems, and Other Writings to help you think about the development of the image.
7 Marianne Moore, "O to Be a Dragon" Journal 6: Write a paragraph on the relevance of Moore's reference to I Kings 3:9 in her poem "O to be a Dragon"
8 Close Reading/First Draft (5 pages) Workshop: Getting Started
9 William Butler Yeats, "The Wild Swans at Coole"; Robinson Jeffers, "Love the Wild Swan" Journal 7: How does Jeffers's poem read Yeats? Why would Jeffers find Yeats's poem useful for his own?
10  Emily Dickinson, "Heavenly Father"; Louise Glück, "Vespers" Journal 8: Both poets challenge divinity in their poems, using irony in tone and diction. Choose one to examine more closely. What is the effect and meaning of the poet's direct address to God? Close Reading/Developing Questions--Workshop
Telling Stories
11 Margaret Atwood, "Happy Endings," Grace Paley, "A Conversation With My Father" (Charters anthology) Journal 9: Read the opening paragraphs of one of these stories aloud (preferably to an audience!). What do you notice about the character's voice? How would you describe this narrator?
12 Ambrose Bierce, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," Kate Chopin, "The Story of an Hour" Journal 10: Read the closing paragraphs of one of these stories aloud. What techniques does the author use to create drama and surprise?
13 Close Reading Essay (6 pages)--Workshop
14 James Joyce, "Araby" Journal 11: This story shows a series of events leading toward the boy's "epiphany" or realization of his own identity. Choose one event or detail and show how it contributes to the final realization.
15 Charlotte Perkins Gilman, "The Yellow Wallpaper" Journal 12: The development of this story takes place in a briefer time than in Joyce's "Araby," yet the changes are no less significant. Choose a moment in this story which you think prepares the reader for the conclusion in some way, and explain how it works.
16 Eudora Welty, "A Worn Path" Journal 13: Each event in Phoenix's journey seems to have monumental significance. Choose one and explain how Welty gives it its meaning. What makes this moment a turning point? Narrative Stucture--Workshop: Turning Points
17 Leo Tolstoy, "The Death of Ivan Ilych" Journal 14: Free write in response to Tolstoy's sentence beginning section II: "Ivan Illych's life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible" (706). What kind of story does the narrator lead you to expect?
18 Tolstoy, continued Journal 15: What do you make of Ivan Illych's discovery: "There is one bright spot at the back, at the beginning of life, and afterwards all becomes blacker and blacker and proceeds more rapidly-in inverse ratio to the square of the distance from death" (737)? Narrative Structure--Workshop: Graphing the Story
19 Anton Chekhov, "The Lady With the Little Dog" Journal 16: How would you compare Chekhov's story to Tolstoy's in its treatment of lives that are "most simple and most ordinary"? Does the ending of the story change your view of the characters? Explain how, or to what effect.
20 William Faulkner, "A Rose for Emily" Journal 17: This story has a surprise ending that changes the way we view the characters. See if you can explain the mechanism Faulkner used to produce the surprise, or, if that's not possible, to explain its effect on a reader.
21 Narrative Structure/First Draft (5 pages)--Workshop: Looking Back from the Ending
22 William Carlos Williams, "The Use of Force" Journal 18: As in "The Yellow Wallpaper," violence in this story appears in close proximity with kindness and/or love. What do you make of this connection?
23 Zora Neale Hurston, "Sweat" Journal 19: Try applying the question above to Hurston's story. What is Hurston saying about the relationship between violence and love?
24 Richard Wright, "The Man Who was Almost a Man" Journal 20: What is the role of animals in this story (compare, if you like, with "Sweat")? How are they used symbolically? What do you remember about the presence of animals in previous stories you read? Workshop: Thinking Comparatively
25 Flannery O'Connor, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" Journal 21: Like Welty's story, O'Connor's shows characters on a journey, one that brings them in contact with frightening violence (see O'Connor's essays at the back of the Charters anthology for further insight on this point). Compare some common theme in these two stories: perhaps the way these two authors use the motif of the journey, or the theme of violence or the treatment of family.
26 Joyce Carol Oates, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Journal 22: As in O'Connor's story, Oates presents a charismatic and disturbing villain. What do the Misfit and Arnold Friend have in common?
27 Comparison Essay (7 pages)--Workshop: Comparative Structure
A Text, A Test
28 Herman Melville, Billy Budd: History of the Text Journal 23: Read "John Marr" and as much of Billy Budd as you can. Make a character list and plot outline, and begin looking for an allusion or image you'd like to pursue.
29 Billy Budd: Plot Journal 24: Finish Billy Budd and continue with your character list, plot outline, and image study. Note passages that gave you difficulty or that you'd like to discuss. Workshop: Doing Online Research
30 Billy Budd: Character Journal 25: Choose one of the three main characters and write a monologue in that character's voice, drawing on details from the story.
31 Billy Budd and Allusions Journal 26: Find at least one allusion in each of three areas: the classical world, Christian theology, and political history. Look them up, write down what you find out, and be ready to discuss in class.
32 Journal 27: Choose one image or allusion from the story you want to pursue in more depth. Write down the passage in which it occurs and everything you know about the image and bring to class. We will try to generate questions from your research. Workshop: What's in an Image?
Conference Day (by appointment) Bring the allusion you want to write about. Be prepared to discuss its meaning, its place in the text, and the language Melville uses in the passage.
33 Billy Budd and History Journal 28: Prepare a 2-minute in-class report on an historical allusion (not necessarily the one you're writing your essay about). Write a paragraph and distribute to the class.
34 Allusion/Image Study/Essay (7 pages)--Workshop
35 Religious Issues in Billy Budd Journal 29: Write about one of the story's religious or mythological sources. In class we'll examine the framing plots for the story in Greek and Christian theology.
36 Political and Ethical Issues Journal 30: Looking closely at the trial scene and Melville's use of language there, speculate on the role of Vere at this pont in the story. What does this scene do to highlight the signficance of law, ethics, and society?
37 Theme: Gender and Sexuality Journal 31: This story about men at sea contains no women but there are nevertheless many references to women and femininity. Locate one or more of these and comment on their significance. Workshop: Reading into Argument
38 Billy Budd: Parts or Whole? Journal 32: What have you learned from reading this text? What kind of reader do you think Melville was hoping for?
39 Conclusion Literary Argument/Revision (7 pages)
 
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