Choices for Memorized Poems

Memorized Poem Choices

Memorized Poetry Options

In addition to your Hawthorne quote, Emerson quote, and your Thoreau quote, you must memorize and recite a poem by January 3 , 2017.  There will be a sign-up sheet on the door with spots after school, in class, and during SIR.  No poems may be passed off before school.  Please do not ask if you may choose another option.  You may only choose from the following options:

 

#1  On Turning Ten  by Billy Collins

The whole idea of it makes me feel
like I'm coming down with something,
something worse than any stomach ache
or the headaches I get from reading in bad light--
a kind of measles of the spirit,
a mumps of the psyche,
a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul.

You tell me it is too early to be looking back,
but that is because you have forgotten
the perfect simplicity of being one
and the beautiful complexity introduced by two.
But I can lie on my bed and remember every digit.
At four I was an Arabian wizard.
I could make myself invisible
by drinking a glass of milk a certain way.
At seven I was a soldier, at nine a prince.

But now I am mostly at the window
watching the late afternoon light.
Back then it never fell so solemnly
against the side of my tree house,
and my bicycle never leaned against the garage
as it does today,
all the dark blue speed drained out of it.

This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself,
as I walk through the universe in my sneakers.
It is time to say good-bye to my imaginary friends,
time to turn the first big number.

It seems only yesterday I used to believe
there was nothing under my skin but light.
If you cut me I could shine.
But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of life,
I skin my knees. I bleed.

#2  Emily Dickinson

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.

We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.

We passed the school, where children strove
At recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.

Or rather, he passed us;
The dews grew quivering and chill,
For only gossamer my gown,
My tippet only tulle.

We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.

Since then 'tis centuries, and yet each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.

 

#3  Verse 52 from "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman   The spotted hawk swoops by and accuses me—he complains of my gab and my loitering. I too am not a bit tamed—I too am untranslatable; I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world. The last scud of day holds back for me; It flings my likeness after the rest, and true as any, on the shadow’d wilds; It coaxes me to the vapor and the dusk. I depart as air—I shake my white locks at the runaway sun; I effuse my flesh in eddies, and drift it in lacy jags. I bequeathe myself to the dirt, to grow from the grass I love; If you want me again, look for me under your boot-soles. You will hardly know who I am, or what I mean; But I shall be good health to you nevertheless, And filter and fibre your blood. Failing to fetch me at first, keep encouraged; Missing me one place, search another; I stop somewhere, waiting for you. Excerpted from "Song of Myself," in Leaves of Grass.This poem is in the public domain. #4  Annabel Lee  by Edgar Allan Poe (published 1849)    It was many and many a year ago,    In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know    By the name of ANNABEL LEE;-- And this maiden she lived with no other thought    Than to love and be loved by me. She was a child and I was a child,    In this kingdom by the sea, But we loved with a love that was more than love--    I and my Annabel Lee-- With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven    Coveted her and me. And this was the reason that, long ago,    In this kingdom by the sea, A wind blew out of a cloud by night    Chilling my Annabel Lee; So that her high-born kinsman came    And bore her away from me, To shut her up in a sepulchre    In this kingdom by the sea. The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,    Went envying her and me:-- Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,    In this kingdom by the sea) That the wind came out of a cloud, chilling    And killing my Annabel Lee. But our love it was stronger by far than the love    Of those who were older than we--    Of many far wiser than we- And neither the angels in Heaven above,    Nor the demons down under the sea, Can ever dissever my soul from the soul    Of the beautiful Annabel Lee:-- For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams    Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise but I see the bright eyes    Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride,    In her sepulchre there by the sea--    In her tomb by the side of the sea. #5 Asking for Roses Robert Frost A house that lacks, seemingly, mistress and master, With doors that none but the wind ever closes, Its floor all littered with glass and with plaster; It stands in a garden of old-fashioned roses. I pass by that way in the gloaming with Mary; 'I wonder,' I say, 'who the owner of those is.' 'Oh, no one you know,' she answers me airy, 'But one we must ask if we want any roses. 'So we must join hands in the dew coming coldly There in the hush of the wood that reposes, And turn and go up to the open door boldly, And knock to the echoes as beggars for roses. 'Pray, are you within there, Mistress Who-were-you?' 'Tis Mary that speaks and our errand discloses. 'Pray, are you within there? Bestir you, bestir you! 'Tis summer again; there's two come for roses. 'A word with you, that of the singer recalling-- Old Herrick: a saying that every maid knows is A flower unplucked is but left to the falling, And nothing is gained by not gathering roses. 'We do not loosen our hands' intertwining (Not caring so very much what she supposes), There when she comes on us mistily shining And grants us by silence the boon of her roses.

Summary/Citation Journal

The Scarlet Letter – SUMMARY and CITATION JOURNALS

 

 

Requirements:

1. Write a 2-3 sentence summary of each chapter.
   2.  Write one vocabulary word you found in each chapter.  Include the sentence in which you found                        the word (parenthetically referenced), the word’s definition, and what part of speech it is.
   3.  Copy exactly a 1-2 sentence citation for every 2 chapters.  Choose something you think is                                   significant.  It may explicate character, introduce suspense, show symbolism or theme,                                foreshadow, be an example of beautiful language or interesting syntax, etc.                                                  *  You will have six citations when you have finished.                                                                                   *   Use correct punctuation and parenthetical referencing for each citation.
               4.  Write a response to each citation, explaining the context, why you chose it, and essentially                                  offering a careful, close reading of the citation.  Be specific, detailed, thoughtful.
               5.  Type-written or handwritten very neatly in ink.
    
    
   SAMPLE JOURNAL – Chapters 1 and 2
    
   Chapter 1 “The Prison Door.”  This chapter describes the prison and its ugly surroundings.  The only thing of beauty in the setting is a rose bush.  The author says he will pick one of its “sweet moral blossoms” to symbolize something good that may come out of a tale of sorrow.
    
   Vocabulary word:  edifice                                                                                                                               “Before the ugly edifice, and between it and the wheel track of the street, was a grass plot”               (Hawthorne 46).
               Edifice (noun) – a large building.
    
   Chapter 2 – “The Market Place.”  The setting is established, Boston during Puritan times.  Hester Prynne comes out of the prison door carrying her baby, a child born out of wedlock.  Because of her sin, Hester has been sentenced to wear a scarlet letter “A” embroidered on the front of her dress as a symbol of “adultery.”  For the most part the townspeople are very critical of her and don’t think her punishment was severe enough.
    
   Vocabulary word:  venerable                                                                                                                           “…the severest acts of public discipline were alike made venerable and awful” (Hawthorne 48).
               Venerable (adjective) – highly respected.  The word is often associated with religion or used to                                describe a highly regarded, elderly person.  Young people aren’t venerable -- yet J
    
   Citation:
   “Finding [the rosebush] so directly on the threshold of our narrative, which is now about to issue from that inauspicious portal, we could hardly do otherwise than pluck one of its flowers, and present it to the reader.  It may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet moral blossom that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow” (Hawthorne 46).
    
   Response:
   In this passage Hawthorne talked directly to the reader and points out that the rosebush, which was growing by the threshold of the prison, is also on the “threshold of our narrative,” i.e. at the beginning of the story.  Just as the rosebush is a bright, sweet spot in the dismal surrounding of the prison, so there might be a bright “sweet moral” to be found in a dark and dismal story.  He tells us we are going to read a tale of “human frailty and sorrow,” and it is interesting that he says “let us hope” the rosebush will symbolize a sweet moral blossom, as if he is joining the reader in trying to find something “sweet” in the “darkening” story he is about to share.
    
    
    
    
    

Term 2 Calendar

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
10-30  Teacher Prep Day	10-31 B Have read SL ch 1-2 Crucible book card due Monday 100points	11-1 A Have read thru ch4 Journal 2-4/1 Citation due MUST HAVE BIOGRAPHY BY TODAY Lay/Lie Quiz	11-2 B Have read thru ch4 Journal 2-4/1 Citation due MUST HAVE BIOGRAPHY BY TODAY Lay/Lie Quiz	11-3 A Have read thru ch7 Journal 5-7 due Dark Romantics, Poe video Crucible Book Card due today 100 points
11-6  B Have read thru ch7 Journal 5-7 due Dark Romantics, Poe video Crucible Book Card due today 100 points	11-7  A Grammar:   Commonly Confused Words Have read thru ch 10 Journal 8-10/one citation due Emerson	11-8 B Grammar:   Commonly Confused Words Have read thru ch 10 Journal 8-10/one citation due Emerson	11-9 A DERJ accounting Have read thru ch13 Journal 11-13 due Thoreau Discuss analysis	11-10 B DERJ accounting Have read thru ch13 Journal 11-13 due Thoreau Discuss analysis
11-13 A Have read thru ch17 Journals 14-17 / one citation due Thoreau Discuss analysis Vocabulary Quiz	11-14 B Have read thru ch17 Journals 14-17 / one citation due Thoreau Discuss analysis Vocabulary Quiz	11-15 A  New Vocab Have read thru ch21 Journals 18-21due Thoreau experience due 50 points  group analysis	11-16 B New Vocab Have read thru ch21 Journals 18-21due Thoreau experience due 50 points  group analysis	11-17 A A Grammar Quiz Finish Scarlet Letter Journals 22-24 due and one citation due In-class passage analysis 100 points
11-20  B Grammar Quiz Finish Scarlet Letter Journals 22-24 due and one citation due  In-class passage analysis 100 points	11-21 A Grammar:  Quotation Marks Whitman	11-22 Thanksgiving Break	11-23  Thanksgiving Break	11-24 Thanksgiving Break
11-27  B Grammar:  Quotation Marks Scarlet Letter Project 100 points Whitman	11-28 A  Scarlet Letter Presentations  Due 100 points Whitman	11-29 B  Scarlet Letter Presentations  Due 100 points Whitman	11-30  A  DERJ  acct’ng The Scarlet Letter Final Exam Book Card Due:  100 points, Begin Dickinson	12-1 B DERJ  acct’ng The Scarlet Letter Final Exam Book Card Due:  100 points, Begin Dickinson
12-4 A  Vocab Quiz Dickinson	12-5 B Vocab Quiz Dickinson	12-6 A  New vocab Scarlet Letter Final  200 points Dickinson	12-7 B New vocab Scarlet Letter Final  200 points Dickinson	12-8 A Grammar quiz A Doll’s House
12-11 B Grammar quiz A Doll’s House	12-12 A  Grammar:  Unnecessary Words (215) Poetry A Doll’s House	12-13 B  Grammar:  Unnecessary Words (215) Poetry A Doll’s House	12-14 A  DERJ  accounting Poetry A Doll’s House	12-15 B DERJ  accounting Poetry A Doll’s House
12-18 A Vocab Quiz Poetry A Doll’s House Essay Due  Turn in Quotes and Notes	12-19 B  Vocab Quiz Poetry A Doll’s House Essay Due Turn in Quotes and Notes	12-20 A Poetry Grammar Quiz	12-21 Christmas Vacation	12-22 Christmas Vacation
12-25 Christmas Vacation	12-26	12-27 Wahoo! No School!	12-28    Christmas Vacation	12-29
1-1 Happy New Year!	1-2 B  New Vocab Poetry  Grammar Quiz	1-3 A DERJ acct’ng Poetry Memorized Poetry and Quotes Due: 130 points LAST DAY!	1-4 B  DERJ acct’ng Poetry Memorized Poetry and Quotes Due: 130 points LAST DAY!	1-5  A Vocab Quiz Collection Due 100 points/ Original Poetry due 100 points DERJ acct’ng NO LATE WORK AFTER TODAY!!!!
1-8 B  A Vocab Quiz Collection Due 100 points/Original Poetry due 100 points DERJ acct’ng NO LATE WORK AFTER TODAY!!!!	1-9 A New AP Vocab Pup Biography (Outside Reading) Assessment	1-10  B  New AP Vocab Pup Biography (Outside Reading) Assessment	1-11  A Poetry Slam I will provide hot chocolate, a small extra credit opportunity, and a microphone.  Wear black.  Bring a treat to share, if you want.	1-12 B End of term Poetry Slam I will provide hot chocolate, a small extra credit opportunity, and a microphone.  Wear black.  Bring a treat to share, if you want.

Loveless                                                                                                                                                                            Hey, you’re welcome.

Main Assignments for 2^nd Term

1.  Crucible Book Card:  100 points (at home)
2. Citation Journal for Scarlet Letter: 240 points (at home)
3. Grammar Quizzes: 150 points (in class)
4. Vocabulary Quizzes: 150 points (in class)
5. Scarlet Letter Project or Presentation: 100 points (prepare at home, present in class)
6. Scarlet Letter Reading Check Quizzes: 400 points (in class)
7. Close Reading Passage Analysis: 100 points (in class)
8. Scarlet Letter Final: 200 points (both in class and at home)
9. Scarlet Letter Book Card: 100 points (at home)
10. NDERJ Accounting: points will vary (in class)
11. Thoreau Experience: 50 points (at home)
12. Doll’s House Quotes and Notes: about 100 points (mostly in class)
13. Doll’s House Essay: 100 points (I haven’t decided yet)
14. Memorized Poem and Quotes: 130 points (memorize at home, then sign up for a time to pass them off at my desk)
15. Poetry Collection and Explication Booklet:  100 points (at home)
16. Original Poetry: 100 points (some in class, mostly at home)
17. Outside Reading Assessment: 100 points (some in class, mostly at home)
    Total:  Around 2220 points