Tenth Set of Questions for EN 190/190HM

 I hope that everyone is enjoying our new classroom!  I certainly am.  :)

Today we went over quite a bit of terminology as well as the assignment sheet for the final paper.  Just a reminder that you will need to bring in two additional sources from our library (stacks or databases) or (if appropriate) Google or our textbook.  These additional sources will help you with your comparison/contrast.  

Thursdsay I will talk about the templates that Juan mentioned, so here they are:

http://www.bgsu.edu/downloads/enrollment/file108404.pdf

I would also like you to read chapter 15 on figurative language as well as the following poems:

Here is the text of the Rumi poem that we listened to:

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16372

Do you know this poem by Robert Burns?
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16116

Let's come back to this poem by Emily Dickinson:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/237186

We'll also look at some poems in translation.  The first poem from the Chinese Book of Songs is quite ancient:
http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/chinese_poetry_dead_doe.html

Michael Farman's translation is more recent:
http://www.cipherjournal.com/html/shijing.html

Here is Arthur Waley's translation of "Drinking Alone By Moonlight," Li Bai's famous poem:
http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/world_civ/worldcivreader/world_civ_reader_1/drink.html

Scroll down to find Sam Hamill's more recent translation:
http://www.marcopolopoet.nl/PoemOP/Li_Po.htm

Finally, here are some of Anne Sexton's poems:
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15297

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15300

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/171280

Finally, these are the questions!

-- Which poems would you like to compare/contrast?  Why?  What appears to be their theme?  Which devices are used in these poems?

-- Choose one of the poems in translation.  Which poem (originally written in English) would you pair it with?  Why?

-- Choose a striking metaphor or simile in one of today's poems.  What does it add to the poet's poem?  How does it put the author's topic in a new light?  How is it strained?

-- Do any of these poems seem to be in code?  Choose one, and crack its code.

-- Choose one poem, its poet, and its theme.  Look one or more up at Literature Resource Center.  What do you find?  Look the same things up at Google.  What do you find?

-- What are some of the themes that we have encountered so far this semester?  Which poems fit into these themes?

-- What is the difference between melancholy and regret?

-- What does it mean for Li Bai to drink alone with the moon?

-- What does it mean for one's life to be like a loaded gun?

-- Which topics should be taboo for poets?  Why?

Enjoy!

Dr. Szlyk