Blog #15: Final Three-Paragraph Reflection

After completing the first AP English Literature multiple choice test at the beginning of the school year, and receiving the graded scan-tron shortly afterwards, my first realization was that it was covered in little splashes of pink. These magenta slashes mocked me--indicating incorrect answers-- which in turn led to the creation of my goal for the semester: to improve my multiple choice score. Although we did not complete many other multiple choice practice tests through out the semester, I definitely feel as though I still improved these skills. 

          At the beginning of the semester, I had little knowledge of poetry forms as well as identifying tone shifts and effects literary devices had on tone. This is one of the reasons I didn't perform very well on the first multiple choice test of the semester (not to mention the time restriction). However, after reviewing and learning different poetry forms through group poetry presentations as well as practicing identifying tone shifts and writing essays in which we identified effects of literary devices on tone, I feel more comfortable taking multiple choice tests on poetry. Specifically on the last multiple choice test we took, I didn't run out of time so I was able to put an answer for every question, unlike the test from the beginning of the year. 

          As we move into the second semester, a goal I have for myself would be to continue practicing identifying the complexities that lie within pieces of literature, as that is something I sometimes struggle with. For example, on the last practice AP exam we completed, I came up with a thesis statement that touched on the fact a complex attitude existed in the poem at hand, however, I didn't really elaborate on the complexity as I felt it was kind of confusing to identify. Looking back on what we did this semester though, I think the group poetry presentations were very helpful in exposing us to the different poetry forms by allowing us to include creativity in the final product, such as the music video presentation. I also feel as though I did well identifying Mise en Scene elements and comparing/contrasting the novel and film versions of Angela's Ashes and identifying symbolism in my Summer reading novel. I look forward to next semester!

Blog #14: Paired Poems Group Presentation "Helen" and "To Helen"

"To Helen" and "Helen" Paired Poetry Essay In the poems, “To Helen” by Edgar Allen Poe, and “Helen” by Hilda Doolittle, both authors portray their views of Helen – thought to be the most beautiful woman of the ancient world, and cause of the Trojan War after she was abducted by the Trojan Prince Paris -- through use of elements such as speaker, imagery, and tone. Although both poems use these elements, major differences exist in the way they are used. Looking at the speaker of both poems, they both address Helen, but in different ways. For example, in “To Helen” the speaker is someone who adores Helen and directly addresses her when Poe writes, “Helen, thy beauty is to me like those Nicean barks of yore.” This same point of view is not used by Doolittle in “Helen” as it is written in third person point of view. An example of this is when Doolittle writes, “All Greece reviles the wan face when she smiles.” These point of view choices are different, yet purposeful. In “To Helen” the speaker is admiring Helen, so he’s speaking directly to her, whereas in “Helen” the speaker is basically trash talking Helen, which is something one wouldn’t say directly to her face. Also, in “Helen” the speaker is a singular man who is addressing Helen’s beauty, whereas in “Two Helen” the speaker is all of Greece, as they address the entire country’s hatred of her. For example, the line, “Greece sees, unmoved, God’s daughter,” is a perfect of example of “all of Greece” discussing their hatred for Helen. Looking at the imagery of “Helen” and “To Helen” they both use imagery to describe Helen’s beauty; although Poe discusses it in a positive aspect while Doolittle discusses it in a negative aspect. For example, in “To Helen”, Poe writes, “On desperate seas long wont to roam, Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face, Thy Naiad airs have brought me home to the glory that was Greece.” Looking at “Helen”, Doolittle writes, “The still eyes in the white face, the lustre as of olives where she stands and the white hands.” Both of these seem to be positive descriptions of Helen, because a hyacinth is a very important, beautiful flower in Greek Mythology, and the fact that Poe describes her hair as looking like a hyacinth is a compliment to her, and a very specific detail to the reader. The description given by Doolittle of a “white face” and “lustre as of olives” is also describing her beauty because lustre is a soft glow, which gives the audience a detailed image of Helen. Her beauty is portrayed negatively because the people of Greece believed her beauty to be the cause of the Trojan War. Although Doolittle’s poem portrays Helen in a hateful manner, her beauty is still recognized. Although the speaker and imagery used are important aspects of each poem, so are the tones and tone shifts used in each. For example, looking at “To Helen” Poe begins the poem in a content tone with the lines, “Gently o’er a perfumed sea, the weary, way-worn wanderer bore to his own native shore.” This is the speaker’s way of saying that he is happy with Helen and that her beauty is comforting, but also a source of guidance. However, in “Helen”, Doolittle utilizes a harsh tone in the lines, “All Greece hates the still eyes and the white face,” and—still talking about Helen—continues, “could love indeed the maid, only if she were laid, white ash amid funereal cypresses.” This tone is very hateful ad harsh when words such as “hate” and “ash” because this is “all of Greece’s” way of saying that although Helen is beautiful, they hate her nonetheless due to the fact she caused the Trojan War. Although the poems “To Helen” by Edgar Allen Poe and “Helen” by Hilda Doolittle both recognize Helen's beauty and views of her through the elements of speaker, imagery, and tone, they do so in different ways.

Blog #13: Paired Poems Revision (Chimney Sweeper)

In William Blake’s 1789 and 1794 versions of his poem, “The Chimney Sweep”, he contrasts the life of a young chimney sweep. Blake associates the 1789 version with innocence in the means that children didn’t need to fear harm as Angels watch over them and the 1794 version in that through experience, the sweep’s mistrust of adults. Through his use of imagery, rhyme schemes, and metaphors, Blake is able to portray this to the audience.

Looking first at the 1789 version, Blake uses imagery to portray the visions of a dream. In lines 11-16 Blake writes, "Thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack, were all of them lock'd up in coffins of black; And by came an Angel who had a bright key, And he open'd the coffins & set them all free. Then down a green plain, leaping laughing they run, And wash in a river and shine in the Sun." Then, looking at lines 5-7 of the 1794 version, Blake writes, "Because I was happy upon the heath, And smil'd among the winter's snow; They clothed me in the clothes of death." In the first version, Blake uses imagery to depict a morbid scene, of small children in black coffins. However, this morbidity vanishes as he describes the Angel setting them free by using words such as "green plain" and "leaping" and "shine" as these words are vastly different than what the boys were experiencing as chimney sweeps. With this use of imagery, the author portrays the hope and innocence the young sweeps possessed. The vivid dream brought them hope that they didn't need to fear harm because if they did end up in black coffins, they believed an angel would set them free, which also portrays their innocence as they trusted in the idea of "the angel".  This is different in the second version of the poem however, because the imagery used doesn't create a joyful image in the reader's mind. Looking back at the line "clothed me in the clothes of death," this kind of represents the young sweep's loss of innocence and gain of experience, because he no longer trusts the adults because they believe the children are happy as they can’t see past their misery.

Another technique Blake uses in both poems is purposeful rhyming pattern. In the 1789 version, Blake uses an AA BB rhyme pattern consistently throughout the entire poem. Then looking at the 1794 version, Blake uses the same AA BB rhyme pattern in the first stanza, but uses an AB AB pattern throughout the rest of the poem. In the 1789 version --which is also the version that represents the innocence of the young sweeps-- it shows the sweeps consistently trusting adults and authority, and the consistent rhyming pattern reflects this. Looking at the 1794 version, when the rhyming switches to AB AB, this represents the gain of experience of the young sweeps, as they have learned that the adults don't understand their misery and learned through experience, that they shouldn't always trust them. This is reflected by the rhyme scheme as every other line rhymes. 

Blake's use of metaphors is also prevalent in both of his poems. Looking at the 1789 version, Blake addresses the fact that the young sweeps crawling into the chimneys is seen as a metaphor for their death. In the poem, Blake discusses a dream of the sweepers locked up in black coffins, due to the dirt, soot, and dangers of cleaning the chimneys. In the 1794 version of the poem, Blake describes the sweepers as, "little black things among the snow" which although isn't exactly a metaphor, still alludes to their death. So, both poems still allude to their death. 

Blog #12: Paired Poems Benchmark Essay & Reflection (Chimney Sweeper)

          Published in 1789 and 1794, William Blake wrote two poems both titled "The Chimney Sweeper". The first poem, published in 1789 reveals innocence of the young chimney sweep and in the second poem, published in 1794, he reflects on the experience aspect of the chimney sweep. Blake uses multiple poetic techniques including tone shifts, imagery, and rhyme schemes, using them differently in each poem.

          Looking first at the 1789 version, Blake uses imagery to portray the visions of a dream. In lines 11-16 Blake writes, "Thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack, were all of them lock'd up in coffins of black; And by came an Angel who had a bright key, And he open'd the coffins & set them all free. Then down a green plain, leaping laughing they run, And wash in a river and shine in the Sun." Then, looking at lines 5-7 of the 1794 version, Blake writes, "Because I was happy upon the heath, And smil'd among the winter's snow; They clothed me in the clothes of death." In the first version, Blake uses imagery to depict first a morbid scene, of small children in black coffins. However, this morbidity goes away as he describes the Angel setting them free by using words such as "green plain" and "leaping" and "shine" as these words are vastly different than what the boys experienced in real life. With this use of imagery, the author portrays the hope and innocence the young sweeps possessed, as the vivid dream brought them hope that they didn't need to fear harm because if they did end up in black coffins, they believed an angel would come set them free. This also portrays their innocence as they trusted in the idea of "the angel".  This is different in the second version of the poem however, because the imagery used doesn't create a joyful image in the reader's mind. Looking back at the line "clothed me in the clothes of death," this kind of represents the young sweep's loss of innocence and gain of experience, as he no longer trusts the adults because they believe the children are happy.

          Another technique Blake uses in both poems is the rhyme scheme. In the 1789 version, Blake uses an AA BB rhyme pattern consistently throughout the entire poem. Then looking at the 1794 version, Blake uses the same AA BB rhyme pattern in the first stanza, but uses an AB AB pattern throughout the rest of the poem. In the 1789 version, which is also the version that represents the innocence of the young sweeps, it shows the sweeps consistently trusting adults and authority, and the consistent rhyming pattern also reflects this. Looking at the 1794 version, when the rhyming switches to AB AB, this kind of represents the gain of experience of the young sweep, as they have learned that the adults don't understand their misery and learned through experience, that they shouldn't always trust them.

Reflection:

After writing the comparison and contrast essay and reading the benchmark essays, I definitely believe I could improve my response to receive a higher score. Although I understood what the prompt was asking and I used evidence from the poem, my analysis was kind of vague and I could've added another paragraph with more textual evidence. After reviewing the benchmark essays, I would say the most important thing that should be included in my essay is explicitly stating the differences between the poems, by saying the second one is telling the truth about chimney sweeps. Also after reading the benchmark essays, I think it would be a good idea to address metaphors, because they're used in both poems. I also didn't have time to address the tone shifts and I didn't have a three sentence thesis statement. Despite what I was lacking, I was able to discuss imagery and rhyming patterns used by Blake as well as use lines from the poem to support what I wrote. Overall though, since there were parts of analysis I was missing, I would give myself a 4-5.

Blog #11: Mythological Allusion Poetry PowerPoint: Icarus and Daedalus

Blog #10: Little Red Riding Hood Fairy Tale Allusion

Blog #9: Taking Hits With Style Lord Randall Music Video

Blog #8: Group Poetry Coat of Arms

Blog #7: Symbolism in The Reluctant Fundamentalist Creative Project

Blog #6: Angela's Ashes Comparison and Contrast Essay

Blog #5: Pan's Labyrinth Archetypal Hero's Journey Chart

Blog #4: Open Response Essay

Many literary works that we read today possess a key component. In fact, many of these works are treasures to American literature and are continuously taught in schools across the country. The Crucible. Frankenstein. The Odyssey. Lord of the Flies. To Kill a Mockingbird. What do all of these works have in common? Themes centered around cruelty. Specifically looking at To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, cruelty is the major theme of the story, and this idea of cruelty allows the book to function as a whole as well as portray what the cruelty reveals about the perpetrator and the victims.

To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the town of Maycomb, Alabama in a time of segregation. The focus of cruelty in the book really sets in when the main character, Scout Finch's, father Atticus makes a gutsy decision. Being one of Maycomb's best lawyers, Atticus Finch, a white man, decides to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, after he is accused of rape. During this time period, Jim Crowe Laws were still in place, as well as segregation and what Atticus was doing was unheard of. News spread like wildfire in Maycomb, and soon everyone knew of Atticus and Tom. The thing is though, Atticus didn't receive positive feedback. People didn't like his decision to represent Tom and treated him and those associated with him cruelly.This cruelty began with Atticus' children, Jem and Scout, being ridiculed and made fun of at school. The kids used derogatory terms towards them and their father. This cruelty reveals that the perpetrators didn't like the change Atticus was bringing to the town and that they didn't agree with his decision.

Of course, the cruel children at school were not the only instigators. In fact, the cruelty towards the Finch's escalated to the extreme that one man, Mr. Euell, had attacked Jem and Scout one night, breaking Jem's arm and attempting to stab Scout when Atticus refused to drop the case. This act of cruelty really portrays the extremity of the change Atticus attempted to make to society, and the negative reactions from members of society. The fact that a citizen of Maycomb tried to harm two innocent children, simply because he didn't like the idea of a white man representing a black man, is so disappointing and shows how times have changed.

Another factor to consider that heightens the severity of Mr. Euell's cruelty is the fact that his daughter was the "alleged" rape victim, when in actuality, Tom was innocent. However, they accused him anyway, because as awful as it is to think about, she thought she could get by blaming Tom Robinson just because of his skin color.  Unfortunately in the time period the book was set in, people of colored skin almost had no chance of winning a case, even if they were in fact innocent. What these factors show about the perpatraor and victims is that the perpatrators, such as Mr. Euell, could go to such cruel and extreme measures against an innocent man. The fact that Atticus Finch was trying to make a change for the better, and recieved the hate he did, really portrays the evil in him.

A famous quote said by Atticus in the novel is, "You never really know someone until you've climbed into their skin and walked around in it." It's very unfortunate that when members of society treated Atticus and his family with this cruelty, they only saw that he was helping a black man, not the good that he was bringing into the world.


Reflection:
After writing the Open Response Essay, norming student sample essays, and then rereading my essay again, I came to the realization that there's definitely more I could've done to receive a higher score. I did recognize however, that I used examples from the text to support how cruelty is portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird. I feel as though I focused on the acts of cruelty committed by the perpetrators, but not necessarily how it was a theme throughout the entire book/how it affected the victims. Although I did explain how cruelty exists in the novel, I feel as though I gave more of a summary of the book in the beginning of the essay, which could've been much more brief. My essay did lack these qualities, however, I believe my intro paragraph and conclusion paragraph were strong. My introductory paragraph gave an intro to what my essay was going to be about and stated what novel I was analyzing without diving right into the analysis. I would say my conclusion paragraph was also strong because I included a quote from the novel and kind of tied the idea of the whole essay together, however, this could've been a little more detailed. Based on these aspects, I would score my essay in the 5-6 range.

Peer Reflection: Alex Grant (http://grantalexanderapenglish2015.blogspot.com/)
I would score your essay in the 5-6 range. You did a nice job recognizing the cruelty present in the novel as well as recognizing cruelty being used by the protagonist to achieve an objective. I disagree however with you needing to expand on how cruelty affected the protagonist because I think you already did that. Although you had these components, I agree that you could've expanded on how cruelty was related specifically to the perpatrators. I also think that you could talk a little bit more about how cruelty plays a role in the entire novel, although you did touch on this subject. One other thing I believe you could do is to add a short introduction and conclusion and a direct quote or two from the novel. Overall, I think you had a general idea of the prompt because you did more than just summarize the book, you still analyzed cruelty in the novel.


Open Response Essay Revision:
3X3 Hero's Journey:
Line 1: Atticus takes case
(This is significant to the "call to adventure" aspect of the Hero's Journey because when Atticus decides to represent Tom Robinson. This represents his call into the "special world" because a white man representing a black man in court during the time period of the book was frowned upon and opened up a gateway into new territory for Atticus.

Line 2: Atticus receives hate
(This is significant to the "consequences" aspect of the Hero's Journey because after Atticus makes the decision to represent Tom, he is treated differently and ridiculed for his decision, and him and his family receives threats from Mr. Euell.

Line 3: Atticus represents Tom
(This is significant to the "final attempt" aspect of the Hero's Journey because despite all the cruelty Atticus received, he still tries to win the case in his last attempt to prove Tom's innocence.

Essay Revision: 
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, cruelty is the major theme of the story, and this idea of cruelty allows the book to function as a whole as well as portray what the cruelty reveals about the perpetrator and the victims.

To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the town of Maycomb, Alabama in a time of segregation. The focus of cruelty in the book really sets in when the main character, Scout Finch's, father Atticus makes a gutsy decision. Being one of Maycomb's best lawyers, Atticus Finch, a white man, decides to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, after he is accused of rape. During this time period, Jim Crowe Laws were still in place, as well as segregation and what Atticus was doing was unheard of.  Atticus didn't receive positive feedback from people in Maycomb. They didn't like his decision to represent Tom and treated him and those associated with him cruelly. This reveals that the people of Maycomb were set in their ways and didn't like the idea of change, and would turn to ridiculing Atticus to keep it the same. This cruelty began with Atticus' children, Jem and Scout, being ridiculed and made fun of at school. The kids used derogatory terms towards them and their father. This cruelty reveals that the perpetrators didn't like the change Atticus was bringing to the town and that they didn't agree with his decision. It also reflects the values of their parents, because the children most likely formulated their opinions from their parent's beliefs and values.

Of course, the cruel children at school were not the only instigators. In fact, the cruelty towards the Finch's escalated to the extreme that one man, Mr. Euell, had attacked Jem and Scout one night, breaking Jem's arm and attempting to stab Scout when Atticus refused to drop the case. This act of cruelty really portrays the extremity of the change Atticus attempted to make to society, and the negative reactions from members of society. The fact that a citizen of Maycomb tried to harm two innocent children, simply because he didn't like the idea of a white man representing a black man, is so disappointing and shows how times have changed. What this reveals about Atticus is that he was willing to face the consequences of his radical choice in order to prove Tom's innocence, and essentially save him which shows Atticus' "consequence" stage of the Hero's Journey, and that he was a kindhearted man with good values.

Another factor to consider that heightens the severity of Mr. Euell's cruelty is the fact that his daughter was the "alleged" rape victim, when in actuality, Tom was innocent. However, they accused him anyway, because as awful as it is to think about, she thought she could get by blaming Tom Robinson just because of his skin color.  Unfortunately in the time period the book was set in, people of colored skin almost had no chance of winning a case, even if they were in fact innocent. What these factors show about the perpetrators, such as Mr. Euell, is that he could go to such cruel and extreme measures against an innocent man. The fact that Atticus Finch was trying to make a change for the better, and received the hate he did, really portrays the hero in him as well as his step towards the "final attempt" in the Hero's Journey, to continue and take the case and represent Tom to the best of his ability the day of the case, in an attempt to save Tom.

A famous quote said by Atticus in the novel is, "You never really know someone until you've climbed into their skin and walked around in it." It's very unfortunate that when members of society treated Atticus and his family with this cruelty, they only saw that he was helping a black man, not the good that he was bringing into the world. Atticus however does understand the importance of this quote, as it brings out the hero in him. When Atticus can put himself into Tom Robinson's shoes, it allows him to take the necessary steps to help him.

Revised Open Response Essay Reflection:  
After revising my Open Response Essay and completing a 3X3 analysis of the Hero's Journey in To Kill a Mockingbird, as well as reviewing the comments and suggestions for revision provided by Ms. Wilson, I believe I better answered the prompt as well as made my original essay better. In my original essay, I had an unnecessary introduction which I cut most of and just gave an introduction to the prompt. I also cut out a little bit of the first paragraph which contained more of a summary of the novel rather than an analysis. I also added an analysis of what cruelty revealed about the perpetrators specifically, including, that the children ridiculing Jem and Scout as well as using derogatory terms towards them, which reflects their parent's values on them. This better answered the prompt. I also added an analysis of what cruelty revealed about the victim including, the fact that Atticus was willing to face the consequences of his radical choice in order to prove Tom's innocence, and essentially save him which shows Atticus' "consequence" stage of the Hero's Journey. In regards to the Hero's Journey itself, I do believe that my knowledge of the Hero's Journey helped with my revision because I was able to include specifics from my 3X3 analysis which helped me evaluate the heroic characteristics in Atticus to better answer the prompt.

Blog #3: Beet Queen Essay

In an excerpt from the opening of The Beet Queen, a 1986 novel by Louise Erdrich, she depicts the impact the environment has on a fourteen year old boy and an eleven year old girl from Kansas. Much different from their environment in their hometown, they experienced the frigid air of North Dakota upon their arrival by boxcar. In order to depict the impact the new environment has on the children, Erdrich uses literary devices such as tone, imagery, selection of detail, and point of view.

From the beginning of the excerpt, Erdrich describes the children when arriving in North Dakota as, "their lips were violet and their feet were so numb that when they jumped out of the box car, they stumbled." This selection of detail shows how cold and miserable the kids were in the new environment. Then, looking ahead in the passage, the kids pass by a tree, and Erdrich describes the girl, Mary, as "trudging solidly forward, hardly glancing at it" while Karl stopped because the tree drew him in with its delicate perfume" and "his cheeks went pink." At the beginning of the passage, Mary and Karl were both described as having purple lips and being numbed by the cold. Then, once the kids pass the tree, it's implied that Mary is not impacted by the tree because she walks past it without a second glance. However, the fact that the tree brought some pink to Karl's face shows that he was impacted by the tree. Erdrich continues to describe Karl's interaction with the tree when she writes, "he stretched out his arms like a sleepwalker and in one long transfixed motion, he floated to the tree and burried his face in the white petals." This use of imagery really helps the reader see how the environment changed Karl, but didn't really have an effect on Mary, because it shows how Karl can appreciate the new envirnonment despite its differences from their home.

The author's point of view also helps to depict the impact the environment has on the children. From the beginning, Karl is described as "hunched with his sudden growth and very pale. His mouth was sweetly curved and his skin fine and girlish," while Mary is described as, "only eleven years old, but already she was so short and ordinary that it was obvious she would be this way her entire life." Again, this selection of detail really helps differentiate between the two kids, as well as the point of view. Since the story is being told from the author's point of view, they can describe the children without any bias descriptions. Because of this, the reader can better understand why the tree has different impacts on the children later in the story. The fact that the author uses more specific details to describe Karl, and describes Mary as extremely ordinary, helps the reader understand why Karl embraced the tree while Mary was too ordinary to appreciate the tree's beauty.

In order for the reader to pick up on this, the point of view being told from the author as well as imagery and selection to detail must work together to paint these imges in the reader's mind how the environment impacts the two children differently.

 
Reflection:
 After writing The Beet Queen essay, I acknowledge that although I understood what the prompt was asking me and used textual references throughout the essay, I failed to analyze the tonal shifts used by Erdrich as well as had a less convinving analysis of how Erdrich depicts the effect of the envirnonment on the children. After discussing the components of high, medium, and low scoring essays and having the opportunity to read an example essay of each score, what I can take away, especially from the 9 essay example, is what I noticed as a reader of the prompt but didn't necessarily argue it persuasively. Something I could do to help myself with this in the future would be to potentially use skills from AP Comp for persuasive writing to get my score up to the 8-9 range. I also realized that I never addressed the tonal shift Erdrich used, so next time I need to be sure to address all parts of the prompt. Although my essay lacked these components, I belive I had a fairly convincing analysis of the literary devices used by the author, as my analysis of the imagery used was similar to that of the "I" essay whcih recieved a score of 9. Based on these factors, I would score myself a 5-6.

Peer Reflection: Alex Grant (http://grantalexanderapenglish2015.blogspot.com/)

I think you may be scoring yourself a little harder than you need to be! I do agree that your analysis was not very persuasive. I don't think it's that you did not understand the prompt, but rather that the analysis was not as detailed and complex as it could've been. Your essay definitley has potential! Altough you didn't address the selection to detail and tonal shifts, you did a nice job recognizing why the author used third person point of view. The fact that you recognized the author's choice of point of view allowed for a "very descriptive and implement parts of the story that would otherwise be ignored" shows that you did understand what the prompt was asking. Also, although you could've gone into depth a little more, your analysis on the imagery was still good! You still used textual evidence to support it. Based on these aspects, I would probably score your essay as a 5.

Blog #2: Poetry Analysis

In "For That He Looked Not upon Her," a poem by sixteenth-century poet George Gascoigne, he develops a complex attitude through his use of diction, imagery, and form. Throughout the entire poem, Gascoigne really sets the attitude of the piece through his use of diction. He creates a gloomy and almost dark/depressing mood. For example, right off the bat in lines 1-2, he says, " You must not wonder, though you think it strange, to see me hold my louring (gloomy) head so low." Also, looking at the last line of the poem, he says, "Because your blazing eyes my bale have bread," (line 14).  The use of the word louring, which means gloomy, and bale, which means misery, strongly portrays that he is depressed.
Gascoigne continues to create the complex attitude of the poem through his use of imagery. In lines 5-8, Gascoigne describes a mouse when he writes, "The mouse which once hath broken out of trap is seldom ticed with the trustless bait, but lies aloof for fear of more mishap, and feedeth still in doubt of deep deceit." The imagery the author uses to describe the mouse is very vivid. The reader is easily able to visualize a mouse that broke out of a trap, and still proceeded to go back for the food again despite the fact that it had previously been tricked. This use of imagery also helps to create the complex attitude because it is sad that the mouse is so easily deceived. Another use of imagery in the poem can be found in lines 3-4 when Gascoigne says, "And that mine eyes take no delight to range about the gleams which on your face do grow." The reader can picture him looking at the woman's gleaming face, however experiencing no delight or joy out of seeing her. This also contributes to the complex attitude of the poem because the fact that he is unable to appreciate her presence, contributing to the depressed mood of the poem.
Gascoigne also uses form to develop the complex attitude of the poem. As previously stated, lines 1-2 state, “You must not wonder, though you think it strange, to see me hold my louring (gloomy) head so low.” Then, looking at the end of the poem, in lines13-14, he says, “So that I wink or else hold down my head, because your blazing eyes my bale (misery) have bred.” By beginning the poem with him holding his head down, but the woman not knowing why, and ending the poem with him still holding his head down and revealing his misery is due to her, it ties in the whole attitude of the poem, looping the ending back to the initial idea. By using this form, as well as specific diction and imagery, he can help to develop the attitude of the entire poem.



Poetry Essay Reflection:

After completing my first AP Literature and Composition poetry essay, let’s just say  I came to the realization that I definitely did not receive a 9 on my first attempt. I would probably give myself a 4-5. The most relevant aspect from this experience was learning what types of mistakes I made when analyzing poetry, in order to receive a decent score on the future AP test. Although there were aspects of analyzing the prompt I succeeded in, other parts of my analysis were lacking. After discussing the student samples of the essays with my classmates of a well scoring, medium scoring, and low scoring essay, I have learned qualities that my essay should have as well. For example, I understood the meaning of the poem, however, I didn’t do a very good job of connecting the form, imagery, and diction back together, and I also didn’t recognize the form of the poem. By reviewing different styles of poems and practicing more essays in the near future, I believe I will be able to improve my poetry analysis essays. 

 Peer Reflections:

Alex Grant (http://grantalexanderapenglish2015.blogspot.com/) 
Alex, looking at your essay and reflection, I do agree that you did not have a "persuasive analysis" of an essay which would've received a 9, however, I disagree with the score you gave yourself. I think you may be grading yourself a little too hard. According the characteristics of a 3 essay on the rubric, your essay would have to be "partial or irrelevant" with "misconstrued evidence" and contain "an unclear focus or inadequate development of ideas." Looking at your essay, I saw much more potential than you gave yourself credit for. For example, you had a very clear understanding of the speaker's emotions as well as the metaphors he used about the mouse trap and the fly in the fire to describe his relationship with her. The fact that you recognized this and provided textual evidence to support this already earns you more than a 3.
Something that I believe you could've done to improve your score even more would be to have an introduction to your essay versus jumping right into it, to give the reader an idea of the topic of your essay. I would also recommend having a conclusion to tie all of the aspects of your analysis back together to show your understanding of how the from, diction, and imagery work together to convey the complex attitude of the poem. One more thing I believe you could do to improve your score would be to add some more specific textual evidence on form and diction in order to get your essay to the persuasive level. Overall though, I think you did a nice job and I would score your essay in the 5-6 range.

Gina Deaton (http://deatonginaapenglishlit2016.blogspot.com/)
Gina, I completely agree with the score you gave yourself. I believe you are definitely deserving of a 7. Your entire essay is very well written, and you did a nice job of answering all parts of the prompt. To start off, you had a strong introduction that did a nice job of not diving straight into analysis, but rather introducing the reader to what your essay was going to be about. You also did a nice job of using purposeful evidence from the text, and recognizing/understanding all components of the prompt, as you addressed Gascoigne's use of form, diction, and imagery. 
I also agree that something you could continue to work on would be making your analysis more persuasive. You could also specify a an attitude besides being "complex" and explain why that attitude is complex. Overall though, your essay was very well written, especially for being the first poetry analysis essay. The conclusion that you wrote was also very effective in tying everything together. You definitely earned a 7!


Revised Draft: 
In "For That He Looked Not upon Her" a poem by sixteenth-century English poet George Gascoigne, he confronts the reader with his misery due to love. Gascoigne addresses that he does not look at his lover and show her affection, although he recognizes her beauty, because of the heartbreak she has caused him. Through use of tonal shifts, diction, and imagery, Gascoigne portrays how he feels diminutive and trapped due to love, which creates the complex attitude of the poem. 

Looking at the first few lines of the poem, the speaker describes his actions when he says, "You must not wonder, though you think it strange, to see me hold my louring head so low," (lines 1-2). The tone at the beginning of the poem is somber and resigned, as the speaker indicates he is facing a hardship and he will not look at his lover and show her affection. Gascoigne uses specific choices in diction including "strange" and "louring" to help create the somber feeling. The word strange allows the reader to wonder right off the bat why the speaker will not look at the woman. The word "louring" really helps to create the somber feeling because it means gloomy, and the image of a man holding his gloomy head low depicts to the reader his hardship. 

In the next couple lines of the poem, the speaker includes the first tonal shift of the poem, which helps to set up the complex attitude. In lines 3-4, Gascoigne writes,"And that mine eyes take no delight to range about the gleams which on your face do grow." This tonal shift is very important because the speaker diverts attention from himself to the woman. Gascoigne choice in diction when he said, "no delight" and "gleams which on your face do grow" shows a binary opposition that the speaker finds the woman attractive and recognizes her beauty, however, he is not delighted at the sight of her and is no longer attracted to her. The complex attitude is the speaker recognizing the woman's attractiveness, but paying her no attention because of the misery she's caused him. 

The next few lines of the poem are also very important in creating the complex attitude of the poem because this is where he addresses the fact that he feels trapped by the woman and is afraid of entering another relationship for fear of more misery. In the next tonal shifts, Gascoigne moves his focus to a mouse and then a fly, which serve as a metaphor for his feelings. In lines 5-8, the speaker uses a mouse in a metaphor when he says, "The mouse which once hath broken out of trap is seldom ticed with the trustless bait, but lies aloof for fear of more mishap, and feedeth still in doubt of deep deceit." He then follows this metaphor with another, this time about a fly when he writes, "The scorched fly which once hat 'scaped the flame will hardly come to play again with fire," (lines 9-10). By including these metaphors, Gascoigne shifts the focus from the woman back to himself, through comparison. The comparison to the mouse is important in the complex attitude because he s basically saying, that a mouse who gets trapped will not make the same mistake again and will experience fear and mistrust when eating food, whereas the speaker is afraid to enter another relationship, or even remain with the woman he speaks of due to the mistrust and heartbreak she has caused him to feel. Similarly to the fly that will not be fooled by the fire's attractive light and be burned again just like the speaker doesn't won't look at the woman despite her beauty because he doesn't want to experience misery again. Gascoigne's use of diction also helps with this complex attitude because by using words such as "in doubt of deep deceit" and "ticed with trustless bait" it shows the mistrust the mouse has, just like he has mistrust in love. Imagery also helps create this complex attitude because the reader can easily picture the fly that was scorched in the fire and the mouse that is weary and mistrusting of food after being stuck in a trap.

The final lines of the poem contain one last tonal shift from the focus on the mouse/fly to the speaker himself. This really emphasizes why he is in misery as this is how he started and ended the poem. The speaker's choices in diction also help with this tone shift when he says, "Whereby I learn that grievous the game," (line 11) and, "Because your blazing eyes my bale have bred," (line 14). By using the words "grievous is the game" he is saying he understands that love can be a dangerous game which has caused him grief. The words "blazing eyes my bale have bred" means when he looks into her eyes, it causes him misery, which is why he does not look at the woman.

Through the speaker's use of various tonal shifts in the poem from himself, to the woman, to metaphorically comparing himself to a trapped mouse and fly, back to himself, Gascoigne creates the complex attitude of the poem, that he feels diminutive and trapped due to love. His use of diction and imagery also helps to create this complex attitude. 

Revision Reflection: 
Looking at my original essay, I didn't necessarily understand the meaning of the poem completely, which is why my original essay lacked recognition of the complex attitude in the poem and what devices Gascoigne used to create it. Having knowledge of the Three Sentence Thesis and tonal shift charts really helped my understanding of the poem and how to create my thesis and body paragraphs. For example, learning how to write an effective three sentence thesis helped me create a strong introduction that the speaker does not look at his lover and show her affection, although he recognizes her beauty, because of the heartbreak she has caused him. The tonal shift chart also helped me to improve my essay because I could recognize when the speaker diverted attention away from himself, as well as the importance when he focused on himself/comparing himself to the mouse and fly. The tonal shift sheet helped me develop my body paragraphs effectively and support how he achieved these shifts with support in diction and imagery, which is what the prompt originally asked you to analyze. It also helped me better understand the meaning of the poem. So, overall knowledge of tone shifts and how to write a three sentence thesis helped form my revised essay.  

Blog #1: Multiple Choice Reflection

I completed my first AP Literature and Composition multiple choice test. After recieving my score, I examined the scantron, which was covered in little splashes of pink, indicating incorrect answers. The most relevant aspect from this experience was the realizaton that I need to improve my multiple choice skills, in order to recieve better scores in the future. Although there were questions I did  answer correctly through use of skills learned in previous classes, the questions marked with mocking magenta were mostly as a result of running out of time or being unfamiliar with the vocabulary. After discussing answers to these questons with my groupmates, I noticed that they also missed questions because they ran out of time or didn't know the vocabulary used. Having discussed this with my classmates, and seeing that it was my biggest obstacle, that's definitley something that I can work to improve for future multiple choice tests. Also, after reviewing information from 5 Steps to a Five, in chapter 4, I have learned that it is beneficial to look for the shortest questoins or the questions that direct you to a specific line in the passage. All multiple choice questions are worth the same amount of points, so by answering the short and specific questions first, I can knock out as many questions as I can, and return to the lenghtier questions if time permits. I believe this skill will be useful for me to use during future multiple choice tests to improve my score, and hopefully see less pink stripes littering my scantron.