Week 3 Example

 The week’s assignment has simple directions: choose a book you read this summer and write 3 poems on topics related to the book. You can write poems dealing with one or more topics concerning the book’s historical setting, author, characters, symbols, theme, personal meaning, relations to current events, ideas, or whatever -- as long as it relates to the book in some way.

One of the three poems must be a sonnet. The sonnet can be in the Shakespearean (also called English or Elizabethan) style or the Italian style. If you don’t know the poetic elements necessary in a sonnet or the difference between the two styles, do some research. You should definitely already be familiar with the Shakespearean sonnet.   Pay particular attention to the required meter, namely iambic pentameter.  Iambic pentameter requires 10 syllables per line. Every even numbered syllable is stressed.  Try to break each of the 14 lines up like this (where numbers represent syllables): 1-2 | 3-4 | 5-6 | 7-8 | 9-10.  So, syllables 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 are stressed (said with emphasis) and the others are not (they're said more softly).  Neglecting to fulfill all the requirements of a sonnet will earn you a poor evaluation as this is the most important poem you'll write for this post.

The other two poems can have any form or lack thereof, but must contain at least twelve lines a piece. No haikus. You can use quote material (you don’t have to cite it properly). You may use rhyme. Or not. It’s up to you. Please title each poem. The title does NOT count as a line of text.

After each poem, please give a brief paragraph explaining how the poem connects to your book, or why you wrote the poem, or anything of note regarding each poem.  Each poem should be different from the others in structure and theme (as related to the corresponding book).

The poems should be about a reading book you have not posted on this summer.

When you write for this assignment (and most of the others) keep the following general guidelines and possibilities in mind: 1). DO NOT SUMMARIZE. I don’t care if I haven’t read your book; I’m not asking for the plot.  2). Pay attention to your content, ideas, and organization as you structure your post. 3). The title of the post should contain the title of the book and your last name, like last week’s posts. 4). Because this is your own personal reflection, you can use first-person POV.

Try to have a good time. Remember internet safety protocols: don’t use your entire name or give away identifying information. You should probably change your display name if you’re using your real name. Be tactful and don’t disparage anyone. For this post, you are graded on the quality of thought and expression, and its length. I suggest writing the post in a word processing program and then pasting it into the post window. Contact me if you have any questions and I’ll answer ASAP.

My humble verse follows: