Jane Austen: The Third Part of the Trinity

Just like the trinity of the Justice League, Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Austen make up the "Big Three" of British Literature. Although Pride and Prejudice has an excellent plot, Austen really demonstrates her mastery of the English language and her keen observations of British society through the easily forgotten conversations and moments that occur in her characters' lives. It is this attention to her characters' mannerisms, peculiarities, and their subtle interactions with one another that give her novels so much depth as readers often find the characters and the situations they find themselves in very relatable.

For this unit, we will focus on three main topics:
1) Gender and Marriage
2) Social Status
3) The Use of Pairings and Foils

The first reading quiz will take place on Friday 11/21. You will want to read through chapter 23rd.

17th and 18th Century Poet Project

For this project your team will become experts on your poet and will perform a close reading of one of their poems. You will create a PowerPoint presentation which will include one brief, interactive activity with the class. The PowerPoint must have at least 15 slides and must do its best to cover the following categories:

o   Background of the poet’s early years and their entry into writing.

o   The poet’s public life and societal views (views on society, religion, and politics).

o   The poet’s personal life and how this may have impacted their writing.

o   The poet’s style and approach to writing (what themes were they interested in? What messages did they use their poems to express?)

o   A breakdown and analysis of the selected poem (s) (minimum of 5 slides).

o   The poet’s later years and a possible evolution of his or her poetry.

o   An explanation for why this poet is remembered today. Impact on Poetry.

o   A Works Cited Page in MLA format.

For the poetry analysis portion of the project, you will want to do a close reading of specific sections of the poems. Make sure to analyze not only the topics and themes of the poem as well as the diction, but also the poetic devices present (figurative language, alliteration, rhyme scheme, meter, imagery, repetition, etc.). Speak to how these poetic devices are used to enhance the meaning of the work. Your group will be graded based on the depth of your analysis and the overall knowledge your members have on the poet’s life and works. Your delivery of the presentation will also be part of the grade.

You will want to take notes during these presentations.

Poets:

·         John Donne (The Flea and Holy Sonnet 10).

·         Ben Jonson (To Celia and Still to Be Neat)

·         George Herbert (Man)

·         Robert Herrick (The Night-Piece, to Julia and His Return to London)

·         John Milton (When I Consider… and On His Having Arrived…)

·         John Dryden (A Song for St. Celia’s Day)

·         Alexander Pope (The Dying Christian to his Soul and The Riddle of the World)

·         Jonathan Swift (A Description of a City Shower)

·         William Collins (Ode to Evening)

·         Charlotte Smith (To the Moon and To Melancholy)

·         Joanna Baillie (London)

Julius Caesar: Final Essay

Remember that the final draft of your Julius Caesar essay is due on turnitin.com at 11:59pm on Thursday, November 6th.

A hard copy of the essay must be turned in on Friday, November 7th.