Figurative Language

Your task this week is to choose a poem (or song) of your choice to illustrate the use of the figurative language we discussed in class.  Keep in mind that the simile and metaphor are common enough that students are more familiar with their usage.  Therefore, the challenge is to detect the use of metonymy or synecdoche in a poem or song.  Be selective.  Your discussion should highlight the use of figurative language and also you should indicate how this brings more depth or meaning to your selection.  Please also post a copy of the poem or song you are discussing.

Choose a SONG and have FUN

In the blog this week, choose a song that has some interesting lyrics - then work on the imagery and musical devices that it uses -  It is your decision on how to write this blog but that is the subject matter - now motivate and impress the rest of us!

Sensory imagery and Allusion

Your task this week is to choose either one or two poems to illustrate and discuss the imagery and allusion in the poem.  You may do imagery on one poem and allusion on another; or, you may find a poem that illustrates both.  Please choose poems that are not going to be covered in class.  Be sure to identify the genre of poetry in your discussion.  Also, in your explanation, explain what the poem/s evoke emotionally in you, if at all. Be sure to copy the poem/s here in your blog too for us to see.

Ripples

Read the following poem.    First, explain your response to the poem.  Are there any emotions evoked in you from the reading of this?  What is the occasion, in your opinion?  Does the poem remind you have a situation or an event in your life? Explain. Finally, attempt a short analysis (using words or phrases in quotations) of the poem.


                              Ripples

Shyly, I watch you in Life's
Treasured moment there,in nature's
Welcome waters, tossing line in eloquent
Fashion - in a sport of Solitude
Causing me to reflect on the paths we've taken
Each, separate in itself
Yet, in search for the same Peace.
Just like the river's rock
That stubbornly expects dancing
Ripples to move around it,
We, too, go through life
Moving around hearts of stone,
Cheating us from the steady
Flow in the stream of happiness.
A tugging on your line now
Makes me ponder how the hurts have
Pulled my heart strings and kept the
Ripples moving in a most unpredictable
Journey into Life's unknown wilderness.

A real-life character from Twelfth Night?

Choose a character from Twelfth Night and then choose a character from real life that is quite similar in in some way.  Make sure it is a person who most of us know: a famous sports person, movie start, TV personality, politician, etc.  When making the comparison, be sure to support your points with actions from the play and actions of the real life character.  Good Luck

Female Roles in Shakespeare's Hamlet

In an actual performance of Hamlet during the Elizabethan period, female roles like Ophelia and Gertrude would have been played by a male.  Imagine that.  By today's standards, it seems impossible that a male would be able to assume the role of a female and yet be able to capture the female's emotional nature.  As we reflect on the roles of Gertrude and Ophelia in the play, Hamlet, what emotions and other characteristics (such as a nurturing mother, a jilted lover, etc) are evident?  Provide examples by citing certain lines from the play that support your point.  In addition, do you believe that a male could perform the role of one of these females very effectively  today?  Explain.

The Many Faces of Hamlet

As we read Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, we discover that Hamlet has many faces to his personality.  He seems to be very passionate about his goals.  It is obvious that the deep love he had for his father is what motivates him to seek the truth about the Ghost's revelation that Claudius had killed his father.  Hamlet's disgust at his mother's eagerness to marry his uncle Cluudius so soon after his father's death is an area of contention with him.  Besides, Claudius was now King of Denmark, his father's role!  Hamlet was also indecisive.  He took a lengthy time in taking revenge against Claudius.  Hamlet was also ruthless by taking the lives of a number of characters before the end of the play.  So, who is the real Hamlet?  Your task is to compare this character to anyone you know in the sports world, in film or TV, or in politics.  It must be a famous person.  Write a blog explaining how Hamlet's characteristics resemble the person you have chosen.  Be sure you given examples to help support your choice.  Good Luck.