English 30

  For Piercy, you may want to check Meredith Jones article, "Makeover Culture's Dark Side,"  posted to my Eng 12 course on Blackboard this semester (Sp 2021, section  56, CUNYFirst code 17888, respectively--guest access should be allowed, but let me know if problems): go to "course documents," scroll down to "Articles: Media, Cosmetic Surgery (Meredith Jones)," and select the PDF file titled "cossurgmakeover"; read esp the section headed "What A Lovely Corpse," beginning p 96, and esp the highlighted sections on pp 98 and 100--a very interesting discussion of the Snow White fairy tale as it relates to gender issues and cosmetic surgery.  This is support material, but does not replace a secondary source on Piercy's work. Both Plath's and Piercy's poems explore/explode various stereotypes associated with femininity: Piercy esp body image and gender; Plath conventional notions of motherhood and pregnancy. See the Study Shee...

  Here's something to consider. In the poets we've studied over the last two weeks, it seems that relatively ordinary events produce complex, ambiguous mental and emotional responses, leading to profound insights (these can be critical insights into conflicts in our society or culture, questions about the relation of art to life and the purpose and value of art, etc.). How do you see this in Frost's "Birches" and/or "After Apple Picking" and Komunyakaa's "Facing It"? Don't forget to read my comments on blogs, and review study sheets and exercises (on Blackboard) before writing about the poets. Posted by  tl at  11:17 AM No comments:  Olds, Gallagher, Lee, Ansel If you're writing about Olds, be sure to check the study sheet on Bb, which will set you off in the right direction. Secondary sources for Gallagher and Lee: check the Literature Resource Center in the KBCC databases. There is an interview with Lee at the Poetry Foundation si...

  Bishop and Williams: Be sure to review the  study sheet  for Bishop and Williams, posted to Blackboard, for insights into the themes/concerns of poems for both poets. The quotes on the study sheets are excerpted from articles on MAP and LRC (see course syllabus); search for the complete articles in these databases. Look over the  exercises  on Blackboard, as well, which can provide additional guidance and practice in literary analysis. Katie Ford's essay on Bishop, "Visibility Is Poor..." (Poets.org), is also insightful (esp pars. 4, beginning "According to Bishop..." through 8, beginning "Bishop's challenge...),   esp. regarding the self-questioning tendency of much of her imagery and its "challenge to... fixity" (see par 8, esp. Michael Sells distinction between "apophatic" and kataphatic" imagery); several image modulations in "The Fish" demonstrate a lack of "fixity."  To find the essay, on poest.org [o...

   In addition to this blog, be sure to read the sample of a beginning critical analysis for this story, posted to the Hemingway study sheet (item  "2" on the sheet--scroll to end of the document)    "Hills Like White Elephants": The title clues you in--you can't "get" the central conflict of this story without close consideration of the setting and dialogue--this is really all you have; almost like a poem, every word and detail count here.  Images and image contrasts tell a "story" here that can't be arrived at by simply considering plot--in fact, that nothing "happens", a least externally, is itself thematically significant.  In any case, look closely at elements of set--descriptive passages, but also where it becomes part of the dialogue.  So much to think about here--from descriptions of the landscape, to the beaded curtain and the suitcase, to the number of drinks the man has, and where and in what context--and details of a...

  Welcome to the Eng 40 class blog. As student blogs begin to appear--on the right hand side of the screen--you should select a different one each week, and read and respond to what the writer has to say. You must comment on at least one other student's blog, a different writer each week, to receive full credit for the blogs. Find your blogs posted under "Current Blogs." To access a blog, read and comment on it, simply click on the blogger's name. Review all current blogs about a particular story, including my comments, and others' comments, before writing essays about that story. NOTE: If, after clicking on a blog, you get a lot of code but no blog, check the URL in the top address bar: if it ends with "/feeds/posts/default," delete all of that so that the address ends with ".com"--do not delete the entire address, just the last three parts; then press "enter" and you will see the blog. NOTE: to avoid above, if you are creatin...

  We are now beginning our study of poetry.   You may also add your own voice, by either posting a blog of your own, or choosing a blog from one of your fellow bloggers (list to left; more names will appear as blog URLs are submitted) and adding your two cents (or two bucks--adjusted for inflation--) Remember: if you are writing a blog, post only blog comments on the blogs * * * * Bishop and Williams: Be sure to review the  study sheet  for Bishop and Williams, posted to Blackboard, for insights into the themes/concerns of poems for both poets. The quotes on the study sheets are excerpted from articles on MAP and LRC (see course syllabus); search for the complete articles in these databases. Look over the  exercises  on Blackboard, as well, which can provide additional guidance and practice in literary analysis. Katie Ford's essay on Bishop, "Visibility Is Poor..." (Poets.org), is also insightful (esp pars. 4, beginning "According to...