I hope you have started reading and are enjoying The Poisonwood Bible. I am not as far into my rereading as I would like, but I tend to get bogged down in the "literary merit" aspects and forget to read it for pleasure. Each time I read it, I struggle deciding which character I enjoy and/or relate to the most, but we'll talk more about that in groups once the school year starts.

My main purpose for today's post is to clarify a discrepancy pointed out to me by one of you (thank you!).  Chapter 7  in my edition of How to Read Literature Like a Professor is "Or the Bible," but in the newest edition, it is chapter 6.  Regardless of the chapter number, I need you to read "Or the Bible" and apply its concepts to The Poisonwood Bible.

Any questions?  Just comment or email me.

Ms. Franklin

Summer Reading Assignment

Summer Reading Assignment 2014-15

All incoming English IV AP Literature students need to take the quiz at the link below:

AP Lit. Reading Survey

Have you unsubscribed???????

If you want to unsubscribe, click the link below at the bottom of the email.  :)   (^-^)  

I'm excited to see your "Crossing the Swamp" essays shared with me in Google.docs....oh, wait...how about that game last night!

On Tuesday, you will start revising your essay.  You may find that difficult to do if it's not typed.  Take care of this, please.

Frank

As I reread Othello to determine how I will engage you in the text, I find myself questioning why I find this particular story line intriguing, and I am reminded that Shakespeare's work transcends the ages. 

Why?

Is it so difficult to believe that you could fall in love with someone who others find inappropriate for you? Or that you might find yourself questioning whether you are "good enough" for that person? Or maybe, that others, jealous of your good fortune in love and life, seek to do you harm? 

Shakespeare oversimplified? Sure, but it works, and here's why: 

1. If you can first connect with the text on a personal level, it will help you begin to make sense of the language, its intricacies and nuances. 

2. If you can identify with the thematic concepts in the play, you will find analyzing the meaning much easier, which means you can analyze at a much deeper level. 

3. If you can analyze the meaning at a deep level, you can understand how the devices Shakespeare uses add to the complexity of the play, which will help you understand why "it" works - even 400ish years later. 

4. If you can learn to appreciate Shakespeare's ideas on why people act as they do...more on that later. 

Final thoughts -- Shakespeare did not deal much in symbols, but he was politically savvy. Ask yourself what was happening in England in 1604? Why make Othello black? What purpose did that serve for Shakespeare in both a political and commercial sense?

Voicethread Group

Click the following link to join my group on Voicethread. This will (hopefully) allow you to more easily access my topics and see the responses of your fellow classmates.

Subscribe to My Voicethread

I think this is exceptionally cool.   Literary Elements

Voicethread #2

New Voicethread - remember - appropriateness is important.  Develop your idea and give others something to say back to you.  This should be interactive.

Who Is Responsible?

Franky - Are You Reading?

Have you been reading Frankenstein?  I hope so.  It's a great story - the creature, or monster, whose name is Victor, is really scary and mean.  Keep reading.