Preparation for Final Exam and Wildcard Project

Whew...what a week!
As a class, we had a quick exposure to Drama and some of the major elements that contribute to a dramatic performance. Much of the information seems so familiar probably because there are many similarities between Drama and Fiction, yet the five parts of the Plot are new to me.
The Final Exam is a two-part test, and Professor Hueners has supplied a study guide to assist in our studying preparations:
210 Final Exam Review SheetThe test is not so much a comprehensive final as it is a 2nd term test. The following information is designed to help you prepare, but it is in no way a contract for information that will or will not be covered on the exam.

Format - Similar to midterm
 Objective and short answer portion in Respondus
 Essay portion completed via hard copy. (Essay portion will not be complete “open” book, but the full text of some poems will be provided and you may use one 3 x 5 note card.
 Entire test will be worth 100 points. (Probably more of a 50/50 split this time.)Content - Objective Questions (Matching/Multiple Choice/Short Answer)
1. Terms – poetry and drama terms that are the same as short fiction. Here are some possibilities although the list is not exhaustive.

 Metaphor
 Simile
 Speaker
 Symbol(ism)
 Alliteration
 Assonance  Onomatopoeia
 connotation Denotation
 Rhythm
 Theme
 Stanza  Tenor
 Vehicle
 Character
 Protagonist
 Antagonist
 Plot
 Conflict
 Exposition
 Rising Action
 Climax
 Falling Action2.
Poets and Poems – We had read many poems. Here is a list of poems that were assigned and discussed during class. Be familiar with these poems and poets.

 Seamus Heaney “Mid-Term Break”
 W. H. Auden “Musee’ des Beaux Arts” and “Stop All the Clocks”
 Theodore Roethke “My Papa’s Waltz”
 William Carlos Williams “The Red Wheelbarrow” and “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus”
Unknown “The 23rd Psalm”
 e.e. cummings “in Just”



Content – Subjective Questions (Essay and Explication and Evaluation)
Here is a forecast of the ideas stewing in the back of my mind.

Big Questions – There will be a number to choose from. They may range from the truly broad to more specific questions about particular ideas discussed in class.

 What is literature and why does it matter?
 What is the difference between Poetry and poetry? How can we distinguish one from the other?
 Discuss the differences in theme and tone that Auden and Williams produce in response to Brueghel’s “Landscape of the Fall of Icarus”?


Explicating Poems – This may sound scary, but you’ve been doing this all along. Explicating simply means explaining the meaning of a poem—think of the guidelines for reading and writing about poetry found in “Poetry: Reading, Responding, Writing” section (pages 409 – 410 in the portable). If you’ve been writing good journal entries, think about how you’ve been responding to poems there.

You’ll have two shots to demonstrate your ability to read and understand a poem.
1. I will provide the text of a poem and ask questions to help you get started. (Think of the “Catching the Mole” quiz only you’ll write a longer explanation.)
2. You will provide the text of a poem. Bring to class on Thursday, a hard copy of a poem that means something to you. Do not use one of the poems listed above. (Make sure it is a capital P poem, and bring a hard copy—either printed or handwritten.) I will ask questions to help you get started.


Evaluation – Some of you may have noticed that we still had one more writing project that we just ran out of time for. The final paper was to be an evaluation essay, asking you to reflect upon changes that may have taken place this semester in response to the course. Possibilities might include: your reading abilities, your approach to literature (or a specific kind of literature), your understanding of the purpose of literature (or a specific kind of literature), your understanding of creative approaches, your ability to appreciate or connect with literature, etc.

We don’t have time for another complete essay, but I’d still like you to consider the question, so there will be an essay asking you to evaluate your growth in these areas.

What You Need to Bring on Thursday:
Your Tablet with Respondus loaded and ready to go
 A pen or pencil—we’ll be going low-tech for the second portion of the exam. (I’ll provide the paper.)
 A hard copy of a poem of your choice. You will be turning this in with your test.
 A 3 x 5 index card to use during the second portion of the test (optional). If you use an index card, you will be asked to turn it in with the test.

In addition to these preparations, I have begun my Wildcard Project for the class:

Ms. Figurative Literature
The project I chose to create is a woman mannequin covered with quotations about the human body, life, health, and statements concerning specific parts of the body that draw upon “figurative” language to make a certain statement. At first, I felt maybe the time constraint to complete the project as well as some fear that I may not create a “nice” piece kept my commitment to this idea at bay. Yet, the more I thought about the design; I just had to say to myself, “what the heck, go for it.” I found so many timeless quotations from authors and philosophers that it seemed I would have to pick and choose exactly what would make it into the final project. Many casual sayings are also drawn from body parts, so I intend to throw those in where there may be some small spaces on the body while also paying attention to place these statements where they may be ironically relevant.
I had so much fun finding the quotations. I learned about individuals whom I had not previously known of and I saw that literature brings us together humankind, much like music. While we may all express ourselves differently and hold separate views on what may be beautiful, I think we can gain better understanding of ourselves by learning about others.
To decide upon the color scheme to use for the project, I created a page of color swatches and drew on top of each color with silver, gold, and black. Ultimately, the colors that worked together nicely were red, gold, and black. So, red is the background on the body and the black and gold pens will be used to hand write the messages on the body. I was fortunate to have many suggestions from classmates concerning the color scheme and feel appreciative for the input and the ultimate outcome.
Listed below is a list of the contributing authors for the quotations used upon the mannequin titled, “Ms. Figurative Literature.”
Marilyn Ferguson E. M. Forster
Theodor Hertzl Lao-tzu
Edith Wharton Juvenal
George Santayana Henry Miller
Henry David Thoreau Bob Dylan
Helen Keller Gracie Allen
Martha Graham Isodore Duncan
Oprah Winfrey Carol Burnett
Pythagoras Wilson Mizner
Shakti Gawain Elayne Boosler
Gloria Steinem Robin Morgan
Cleobulus Timothy Leary
Allegra Kent Virginia Woolf

I still have 2/3 of the mannequin body to design, so I am happy to have about a week to complete her!