Department of English/Foreign Languages/Journalism

Spring 2001 Syllabus

Time: 10:00 - 10:50 a.m. MWF

Place: MC211

Office: JGM 207-O. After the first week in February: SSC 215 A

Office Hours: 12:00 – 4:00 p.m. MW or by appointment.

Phone: 271-4274 [Give name, date of call, and telephone number s-l-o-w-l-y on the answering machine]

E-mail: sawin@griffon.mwsc.edu

This course is about the ways in which we construct meaning when we read texts. Its major goal is for you to become aware of your own interpretive processes and to expand the repertoire of strategies you bring to the reading of poetry, fiction, and drama. Proficient readers use appropriate schema, visualize and create mental images while reading, ask questions, determine what is important in texts, monitor their comprehension, draw inferences, and synthesize. Your increased skill in using these metacognitive strategies will be as important to us as your knowledge of the formal features of poetry, fiction, and drama.

Nims, John Frederick and David Mason. Western Wind: An Introduction to Poetry, 4^th edition.

Boston: McGraw Hill, 2000.

Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia. An Introduction to Fiction, 7^th edition. New York: Longman, 1999.

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Harmon, William, Clarence Hugh Holman, and William Flint Thrall. A Handbook to Literature, 8^th edition.

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999.

Keene, Ellin Oliver and Susan Zimmerman. Mosaic of Thought: Teaching Comprehension in a Reader’s Workshop.

Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1997.

COURSE OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: English 220 fulfills Category IV General Studies requirements.

Upon completion of English 220 a student should be able to:

1. Recognize the major characteristics of literary genres.

2. Discuss literature, orally and in writing, with assurance.

3. Appreciate literary works that are encountered and provide a context for those works.

4. Understand the different ways in which literary theme may be treated in literature.

5. Think critically and present that thinking by written and oral responses to the literature.

6. Analyze literary genres and works.

To reach these goals, the student is expected to:

1. Read poetry, fiction, and drama

2. Investigate various methods of approaching and understanding literature

3. Write papers, including themes and essay examinations

4. Read a variety of literary works in which a chosen theme is dominant.

1. One ½ inch three-ring binder for end-of-semester portfolio.
2. Access to the Internet and the World Wide Web.
3. Access to a word-processing program that has spell checking.
4. One 60 minute audiotape, clean, encased and identified with name.
5. MLA Guidelines in a reliable form.
6. One three-ring binder, containing notebook paper (no spiral bound systems) for class notes and class handouts.
7. Two high-density 3.5-inch computer discs with carrying case.
8. Blue or black pens for in-class writing.

Reading Journal /Silent Discussions/In-class writing & discussion 30% 120 points

Short Papers 50% 200 points

Tests / Final Reflective Letter for Portfolio 20% 80 points

400 points

GRADES will be assigned with the following percentages based on total points awarded in the course:

You are expected to do your own reading and writing in this course. Any student who submits someone else's work as his or her own will receive no credit (0 points) for that assignment. A second infraction will earn an "F" in the course.

Regular and punctual attendance is expected. All (or part) of up to three classes can be missed without penalty. With the fourth absence (more than 15 minutes of any class session), you will receive a 5% reduction in grade from your semester total. All absences beyond your fourth will also result in an additional 5% reduction. I reserve the right to waive the penalty for highly unusual (and fully documented) extenuating circumstances, though I accept no obligation to do so. You are responsible for obtaining assignments, notes, and handouts from a responsible classmate if you do miss class.

If you have a recognized disability that requires special consideration, please make an appointment to see me during the first week of classes so that we can discuss course requirements and what accommodations are necessary.

There will be no make-up opportunities for points awarded for reading journal entries, in-class writing, or unannounced quizzes.

When a final draft of a paper is DUE, you MUST hand it in on the due date at the beginning of the hour. Late papers receive a reduction of one letter grade for every day beyond the deadline. For example, a 100 point paper turned in one day late is then worth a maximum of 90 points. Two days late: 80 points. Three days late: 70 points. I will not accept a paper more than 3 days after it is due.

REQUIRED FORMATTING for out-of-class copy:

Use regular white paper in a printer that provides a clear, dark black copy.

Use Times New Roman or a comparable font.

Type size: 10 or 12 pt.

Leave one-inch margins on all sides.

Paragraph indent: ½ inch.

Center the title.

Number each page (bottom right).

Double space working drafts BUT for final copies:

Single-space within paragraphs.

Double-space between paragraphs.

Identify yourself in the upper, right-hand corner:

Elizabeth Sawin

Metaphor in Poetry

February 9, 2001

Welcome to English 220.

We are going to have a good semester.

SCHEDULE OF READINGS (Part 1) Additions will be made when our other text comes in:

17 Introduction

19 Where Experience Starts: The Image Western Wind 3-15

22 Workshop

24 What’s It Like?: Simile, Metaphor Western Wind 18-31

26 Workshop

29 Workshop

31 First Draft of Paper on Metaphor Due.

2 The Broken Coin: The Use of Symbol Western Wind 47-63

5 Workshop

7 Binocular Vision: Antipoetry, Paradox, Irony Western Wind 68-86

12. OPEN READING: Browse through the Anthology at the back of Western Wind.

Find 5 poems you like.

Find 5 that interest you but that you don’t understand.

Find 5 that share some similarity in theme or situation.

14 The Color of Thought: Emotions Western Wind 93-114

16 Machine for Magic: Words Western Wind 121-142

19 The Shape of Thought: Sentences Western Wind 269-286

21 First Draft of Paper of your second paper on poetry due.

23 Workshop Sounds: Western Wind 151-198

26 Workshop Rhythms: Western Wind 203-260

28 Workshop