A Day of Keatsy

While the classes continue to be at different points in our diction study, we all managed to connect with Keats at some point during the hour.

1: After vocabulary time, we spent the rest of our block period with the Keats letters. First, I presented an over-analysis of diction used throughout the first letter and clarified a specific purpose to tie all the ideas together. Then, groups followed in my footsteps by tackling one letter and teaching the class. At the end of all the letters, and my poor Keats' life, you were assigned the writing prompt for a take-home essay. The prompt will not be written here as the other classes have yet to reach that juncture. As mentioned in class, you may use page numbers for citations.

The deadline for this take-home essay is 3:30 p.m. on Friday. You may type or hand-write this essay. If absent all day, you are required to either e-mail/share the essay with me or photograph a handwritten essay to indicate your completion of this assignment. If you are in school at any point during the day, the assignment is expected in hard copy for this deadline.

Friday's class will include vocabulary, an in-class assignment, and possible time for working on your take-home prompt. You will not have the whole hour to work on this assignment, so do keep that in mind for your time management.

3: After vocabulary time, we spent the rest of our block period with my Keatsy - in poetry and in letter. First, we looked at "Ode on a Grecian Urn," analyzing its diction and composing another strong thesis statement. Shucks, I did not write that one down, so this will be a paraphrase: JK illustrates ethereal, idealistic, and sorrowful diction to depict life's complexities. After getting to know some themes from Keats, we moved onto his letters to Fanny Brawne. After I modeled how to thoroughly analyze a letter and conclude with an overall purpose, your groups did the same - dissecting each letter for its diction choices. We managed to complete 2 letters in this fashion; the other 4 will occur during Friday's class.

I would recommend looking over your letter before classes commences on Friday. We will need to expedite these analyses in order to complete diction work on this text. If time permits, which I am hoping will be the case, we will have vocabulary and another assignment to work on during that time.

7: Did we ever use our time today! Every minute of class was packed with diction analysis from the team quote analysis on the board to the comparative analysis of Thomas Gray's "Death of a Favourite Cat" and Percy Shelley's "Ozymandias" to the world of Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn." In all cases, it returns back to the formula of author plus active verb plus specific adjectives for diction plus purpose. Samples of our work today include these lovelies: TG's elegant, moralistic diction and PS's bitter, desolate diction reflect the ramifications of greed. JK articulates passionate, bittersweet diction to understand the concept of beauty and truth.

For homework, close read Keats' first letter to Fanny Brawne. I will present diction analysis of it on Friday, and then the remaining letters will be all yours!