Discussions

D I S C U S S I O N S
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CALENDAR

Discussions are discussed in the syllabus. But here are a few reminders:

Discussions account for 42% of your grade. If you miss two, you could be withdrawn. Late posts: no credit.
Though participation in each discussion is worth up to 15 points, it is possible to earn less. I assess points based on how well you address discussion prompts, how specific and clear you are, how well edited your writing is, your level of interaction with peers, and how well you engage (show you understand) the readings.
For each discussion, be sure to post in the appropriate forum in the Canvas webboard (linked here).
Make your initial post by the due date (usually Wednesday), with an appropriate title, as a new thread. Then respond to at least one other post (and more would be nice) by the due date (usually Thursday), as part of a thread.
Before you post, read what you have written, read it again; then walk away for a while, come back, and read it again. Always be respectful and considerate of others. That includes proofreading your writing so that nobody has to stumble over your words.
I likely won't respond to every single post. If you have questions about a specific post, you may email me.

And now, without further ado, the prompts:

Discussion 1:	WHAT IS POETRY? This one's a three-parter: 1. What is poetry? How do you define it and why? 2. How do the poets define it? (Based on the reading.) Do you agree or disagree and why? 3. Finally, what are your favorite poems? Give us at least three and explain what you like about them. Don't forget to respond to others.
Discussion 2:	METER *Do both parts as one* post: Part 1:** Choose three terms from the following list and find one example of each in different poems (and you may choose from this week’s readings if you wish, but don’t duplicate your peers' or Fry’s examples). State the poem and poet for each choice. The List: enjambment, caesura, feminine ending, anapest, dactyl, molossus, blank verse, pyrrhic substitution, trochaic substitution, alexandrine. Part 2: Follow the instructions for either exercise 4, 5, or 6 in Fry and post your wonderful results. Be sure to identify what kind of lines you are writing, and be specific. Check your peers’ work and be politely critical of any discrepancies you find: do it in a spirit of helping each other to get better at grasping meter. If someone points out a problem with your verse, try posting a correction. I realize much of Fry is devoted to writing poetry and not just studying it, but one way to learn is by doing. Have fun!
Discussion 3:	RHYME *Do both parts as one* post: Part 1:** Find examples of three of the following in different poems (and you may choose from this week’s poems, but don’t duplicate Fry or your peers). As before, give the example and name the poem and author. IMPORTANT: Indicate which words demonstrate the concept (so if you state “consonance,” be sure to identify the words in the lines that demonstrate consonance, or you’ll lose points). The List: internal rhyme, pure rhyme, slant rhyme, split rhyme, eye rhyme, chain rhyme, feminine rhyme, alliteration, assonance, consonance. Part 2: Complete exercise 10 from Fry. Have fun!
Discussion 4:	FORM *Do both parts as one* post: Part 1:** Identify the forms of all of the poems in this week's reading; explain each answer and point out any variations from the rules of a form. Part 2: Choose three of the forms and identify one additional example of each. It can be any poem, but you need to paste or transcribe enough of it to establish that it definitely follows the form in question. So, for each of the three, give the form, the poem's title and author, enough lines to make your case, and be sure to explain how this poem exemplifies this form. Do not duplicate choices others have made in previous posts (or you won't get credit).
Discussion 5:	FORM PART TWO Find two sonnets by different poets and post them. For each, identify which type it is (Petrarchan, Shakespearian, or Spenserian). Also, point out if the rhyme scheme differs in any way from the rules for that type (or not) and how (be specific). Don't duplicate each other. THEN ... Discuss how each poet uses the structure of the sonnet (whether two quatrains and a couplet, or an octave and sestet) to organize what they have to say; that is, don’t just explain what they say, but analyze how they divide it up and why. How does each poet use each stanza for a different purpose yet join them all for one purpose? Give this some thought. Be detailed, and also revise and edit before you post. After you post, respond to others. Don't just agree or disagree with them, but read the sonnets they posted and expand on their ideas as far as form and meaning.
Discussion 6:	DICTION *Do both parts as one* post: Part 1:** Connotation exercise(s): Complete either exercise 1, 2, or 3 at this link and share your answers. (Please try to mix it up; if someone else has done 1, then do 2 or 3; if someone has done 1 and 2, do 3, etc.) Briefly restate each question first. By the way, you might check out the following links, too: http://www.uhv.edu/ac/student/writing/grammartip2005.06.28.htm http://www.dowlingcentral.com/MrsD/area/literature/Terms/Connotation.html Part 2: Choose a poem from the reading this week or a previous reading and discuss the diction. How would you define it? Use what you have learned from the first readings this week to categorize and evaluate the poet’s style, tone, syntax, vocabulary, and use of connotation. Notice any changes in diction for different stanzas. Why? Don’t duplicate a peer’s choice.
Discussion 7:	TROPES AND SCHEMES Choose five from the list below; identify whether each is a trope or a scheme (and why, if necessary); give an example of each from a poem. The poems should all be different and may be from the readings. Explain your examples. Don’t just post snatches of poem and expect us to find the trope/scheme or know what it is. Don’t duplicate your peers’ examples. Finally, respond to others by evaluating their choices and discussing how hard or easy it was to find these and/or how well the poets employ their devices. The list: allusion, anaphora, apostrophe, asyndeton, chiasmus, hyperbaton, hyperbole, litotes, metaphor, metonymy, onomatopoeia, paradox, personification, polysyndeton, simile, synecdoche, zeugma.
Discussion 8:	LYRIC Choose two poems (by different poets) from this week’s reading or a previous week’s reading (they’re mostly all lyric) and discuss the dominant emotion in the poem, using evidence (specific diction, for example) to support your analysis; you should also do a bit of research on each poet and his or her era and discuss how each poet’s experience and historical circumstances might influence their sentiments. Do not duplicate your peers’ choices.
Discussion 9:	EPIC AND MOCK-HEROIC Now that you have read Milton, you have a sense of what makes up epic; this should help you in analyzing how mock-heroic verse uses those same elements but to comical effect—on small and trivial things rather than large and, well, epic things. Considering the three examples of mock-heroic from the reading, and using your knowledge of epic conventions, find three examples (from any three of the poems) of where you think a poet is turning epic convention on its head. My advice is to keep it simple: look for lines or bits in the poem that make you laugh, and then try to figure out why; chances are it’s because they are using certain epic techniques to depict less-than-epic happenings, and it’s the contrast between great and small that seems so funny. Consult the readings dealing with the elements of epic (epic simile, apotheosis, invocation, etc.) and the characteristics of epic heroes; then examine the mock-heroic for subversions of these formulae. In addition, mock-heroic has its own conventions, additional ways of poking fun at its heroes and subject matter: scatology (poop and fart jokes), body humor, anticlimax, plain diction, awkward rhymes, awkward accentuation, unflattering comparisons, hyperbole, and personification. Such approaches undermine the typical elements of epic: focus on the spiritual, elevated language, apotheosis, etc. Don’t duplicate your peers’ choices.
Discussion 10:	DRAMA *Do both parts as one* post: Part A:** Choose a Browning poem from the reading, other than “My Last Duchess,” and discuss its elements. Note that not all his poems are dramatic monologues, so you may choose a lyrical specimen. Point out what you like about the poem and why; analyze what works well and how it works. Please, do not duplicate your peers. Part B: “My Last Duchess” is one of the most famous poems in literature. First, make sure you understand what it’s about. (Fry discusses it, the Wikipedia entry should help, and you can probably find lots of commentary online.) Then take a side on the big debate: Is the Duke very stupid or very clever? In other words, does he reveal too much accidentally, or is it all part of a design? Find at least three pieces of evidence to support your position, and be specific; but also be sure to read previous posts so that you can engage in a debate and not merely repeat what others have already said.
Discussion 11:	METAPHYSICAL Choose a metaphysical conceit from one of this week’s poems (or from another metaphysical poem not featured in the reading)—that is, an extended metaphor—and discuss in detail how it works in the poem. Get specific, focusing on specific lines, phrases, and words. This should take you at least a few in-depth paragraphs to do. Begin by reviewing what a metaphysical conceit is. As usual, do not duplicate peers.
Discussion 12:	ROMANTIC Pick a poem by one of the Big Six, whether part of one of the readings or not. Identify it and discuss how the poet deconstructs a binary opposition. What do I mean? Well, a binary opposition is a pair of generally accepted opposites: day and night, good and evil, spirit and matter, man and nature, imagination and reality, etc.—or it might be more appropriate to say: day versus night, good versus evil, spirit versus matter, man versus nature, imagination versus reality, etc. The Romantics believed strongly in the power of the imagination to unite things that previously seemed, well, opposites. Their works call into question traditional ideas about existence and the world. Discuss how one of their poems does this; be specific; use examples from the poem and explain your ideas clearly; respond to your peers—and obviously don’t choose the same poem as someone else.
Discussion 13:	MODERN *Do both parts as one* post: Part A:** What are the thirteen ways of looking at a blackbird? Why thirteen? Why in that order? Try to explain what Stevens is doing. Think about it first, and read what your peers have to say so that you don’t just say the same thing. (I don't have an answer key for this one, so the answer is whatever you can persuade us it is, with your examples for support.) Part B: Choose a poem by H. D., Eliot, Pound, or Frost, from this week’s reading, a previous week’s reading, or somewhere else. Identify it and discuss what makes it Modern (big M) poetry. (Be sure to read about Modernism.) Don’t duplicate your peers, but do comment on their posts.
Discussion 14:	BESTIARY *Do both parts as one* post: Part A:** Rank this week’s poems in order of which you like the most to least. But be sure to explain each ranking. Then discuss with your peers. This week’s topic is partly meant to illustrate that there are numerous ways to categorize poems: not just by type of meter, type of rhyme, form, genre, or historical period, but by beast-content too—and there are still other ways. So what you will be doing is ordering them by your own critical standards of evaluation, for while there are objective elements of poetry we can agree about (for example, identifying meter, rhyme, form, genre, historical period, and so on), there will always be an element of poetry appraisal that is subjective. So let’s explore that. Part B: Find another animal poem, one that has not appeared in the readings. Tell us the title and author; then either type it up for us or give us a link. Make sure you haven’t duplicated someone else—and don’t forget to reveal where it fits into your ranking.