Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Rita Dove

Reminder:
Nancy Thorpe Poetry deadline November 15

www.hollins.edu/undergrad/english/thorp/thorp.htm


Check out Rita Dove videos:
www.youtube.com/profile?user=forsicht#g/u



Discuss Mandolin:
 
www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=6719 

Literary term:

motif [moh‐teef], a situation, incident, idea, image, or character‐type that is found in many different literary works, folktales, or myths; or any element of a work that is elaborated into a more general theme. The fever that purges away a character's false identity is a recurrent motif in Victorian fiction; and in European lyric poetry the ubi sunt motif and the carpe diem motif are commonly found. Where an image, incident, or other element is repeated significantly within a single work, it is more commonly referred to as a leitmotif. See also archetype, stock character, topos.

What are some of the motifs in "Mandolin"?

Image in Poetry

Summary: This section covers images as they appear in poetry and covers related terminology, definitions and origins of images, uses of images, and several exercises.
Contributors:Purdue OWL
Last Edited: 2010-04-21 08:28:17

Introduction

What is an image? This is a question that philosophers and poets have asked themselves for thousands of years and have yet to definitively answer. The most widely used definition of an image these days is:"...an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time." (Ezra Pound)
But this definition from Pound has a history to it. Before Pound outlined his definition, the image was seen very differently by most people. Therefore, the question "what is an image?" immediately breaks down into three fundamental parts:
1) Where do images come from?
2) Once an image is created, what is it?
3) How can an image function in a poem?
Before we answer these questions, we'll want to discuss some terms related to image so that we can use them in our answers.

Related Terms

Imagery
The category of which all images, as varied and lively as they are, fall into. "Imagery is best defined as the total sensory suggestion of poetry" (John Ciardi, World Book Dictionary def. of "Imagery.")
Imagination
1) The mental laboratory used for the creation of images and new ideas.
2) "n. A warehouse of facts, with poet and liar in joint ownership." (Ambrose Bierce, 60)
3) "Imagination is not, as its etymology would suggest, the faculty of forming images of reality; it is rather the faculty of forming images which go beyond reality, which sing reality." (Gaston Bachelard ,"On Poetic Imagination and Revery," 15)
Imagism
A school of poetry and poetics made popular by Ezra Pound, Amy Lowell and H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) in the early 20th century that focused on "direct treatment of the thing, whether subjective or objective." H.D.'s "Sea Garden" is often seen as a good example of this style.
Concrete detail
A detail in a poem that has a basis in something "real" or tangible, not abstract or intellectual, based more in things than in thought.
Sensory detail
A detail that draws on any of the five senses. This is very often also a concrete detail.

Where do images come from?

The first question is one best left to psychologists and philosophers of language. Perhaps one of the most complete philosophical inquiries (and the one that seemed to create a dramatic break from classical philosophy), was that of Gaston Bachelard. Bachelard believed that the image originated straight out of human consciousness, from the very heart of being. Whereas before the image was seen merely as a representation of an object in the world, Bachelard believed that the image was its own object and that it could be experienced by a reader who allowed him or herself the opportunity to "dream" the image (the "revery" of reading poetry). The image then could not be intellectualized so much as experienced.
He even went so far as to claim that "Intellectual criticism of poetry will never lead to the center of where poetic images are formed." ("Poetic Imagination" 7) He believed that the image erupts from the mind of the poet, that the poet is not entirely in control of the image and therefore is not seen as "causing" the image to come into being. Since the image has no "cause," the image has no past, and, subsequently, is an object in and of itself, separate from its maker and separate from the object it describes. He claims "[The image] becomes a new being in our language, expressing us by making us what it expresses; in other words, it is at once a becoming of expression, and a becoming of our being."
Bachelard is, of course, just one person's opinion on the matter, but his philosphy does hold true to the somewhat enigmatic and difficult-to-pin-down nature of the image. Where the image comes from is an issue that will probably never be solved, but suffice to say that if you approach its making as a mystery (and allow it to simply happen without too much intellectualizing) you will at least keep in line with one major aspect of its origin, that of the unknown.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Rita Dove/Queen of the Mist

Reader Response to a Poem:
Select one of the poems in "Thomas and Beulah". How does the poem make you feel? In what ways can you relate to the poem? What has Rita Dove done with imagery, form, theme, rhythm, language, etc. to make this poem work? Any lines that particularly strike you as interesting or powerful? Think about poetic technique: enjambment, caesura, metaphor, simile, alliteration, assonance, consonance, linebreaking, stanzaic form, apostrophe, onomatopeaia, etc.


Begin working on Poetry Cycle assignment:
Similar to Thomas and Beulah, consider some characters in your own life, imagined characters, or actual historical characters. Imagine the significant chronological dates in their lilves--high points and low points. consider how to construct a series of 8-10 (preferably more) poems that tell a story (narrative poetry) and explore these key moments and occasions.

  • a. Your poetry cycle should consist of 8-10 poems
  • b. Your poetry cycle should be accompanied by a chronology to support the key dates and occasions you chose to write about.
  • c. At least two of the poems should explore the same event from two different perspectives or viewpoints (like "Courtship" in Thomas and Beulah). These poems can have the same title.
  • d. Place one poem per page, single-spaced, 12 point type in a clean font and be sure to title each poem. you may want to title the entire cycle as well. Use italics for dialogue, songs, memories, etc as you observe in Rita Dove's work. Experiment with different stanzaic forms and poetic styles.
  • e. Poems can, of course, be narrative or lyric, but remember that the overall cycle is a narrative and must tell a story of a life or lives although we only see "fragments" or moments/snapshots of those lives.
  •  
Interesting critical article link:

Moving Through Color
personal.georgiasouthern.edu/~jpellegr/articles/dovearticle.html
 

    Thursday, October 21, 2010

    Thursday, 10/21 Agenda

    Postmodernism discussion---Fugitive Pieces, Bloodsucking Fiends, The Things They Carried, etc.

    http://www.kristisiegel.com/theory.htm#postmodern

    Get Rita Dove books


    http://people.virginia.edu/~rfd4b/
     www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/rita-dove
    Begin reading "Thomas and Beulah"

    Go to Rita Dove websites.  Post a comment about Rita dove's poetry.

    Tuesday, October 19, 2010

    Workshop Stories and Discuss Bloodsucking Fiends

    ENTER BENNINGTON CONTEST, HOLLINS, AND BLUE PENCIL ONLINE:
    www.bennington.edu/go/news/young-writers-competition
    www.hollins.edu/undergrad/english/thorp/thorp.htm
    www.thebluepencil.net/the-bishop-prizes/path-to-the-prize/

    CREATIVE WRITING MAJORS WRITING RETREAT--Sunday, Nov. 14, Ellison Park
    For you and your parents.  Guest workshop leader, Wendy Low, Writers and Books
    Get registration form.  It's free!

    Break into groups to read and discuss your Bloodsucking fiends stories and the discussion questions posted on the blog.

    Friday, October 8, 2010

    Finish Reading Bloodsucking Fiends and story

    Today work on your Bloodsucking Fiends story and finish reading the novel.

    Why?  Next Wednesday, you will be taking the PSAT and next Friday is the end of the marking period!
    So, get to work today and you can enjoy the long weekend.  See you in a week!

    Wednesday, October 6, 2010

    Encounter with an "Imaginary Being"

    Fugitive Pieces short stories are due by the end of the period in FINISHED form.  Be sure to spell check and revise.

    NEW ASSIGNMENT a/la Bloodsucking Fiends (it's that time of year!)
    Write a short piece that involves an encounter with an "imaginary being" --a little touch of magic realism, here.  Your short fiction piece can be funny, sarcastic, spooky, or "deadly serious."  What would it be like
    to talk to or perform an action  with a ghost, a werewolf, an angel, a zombie, or yes, a vampire?

    Give it a try.  Consider it a writing prompt for you to experiment with.

    Other things:  Writing contests--Check out Bennington's writing contest and The Blue Pencil online.