English 11 Literature #13

Mr. Rinka

Henru David ThoreauEmily Dickinson

Henry David Thoreauhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden

Henry David Thoreauhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist. He is best known for his book Walden, a reflection

upon simple living within nature, and his essay “Civil Disobedience,” an argument for individual resistance to civil government in moral opposition to an unjust state. He was also deeply interested in the idea of survival in the face of hostile elements, historical change, and

natural decay; at the same time he advocated abandoning waste and illusion in order to discover life's true essential needs. He was a lifelong abolitionist, delivering lectures that attacked the Fugitive Slave Law while praising the writings of Wendell Phillips and

defending abolitionist John Brown. Thoreau's philosophy of civil disobedience later influenced the political thoughts and actions of such notable figures as Leo Tolstoy, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Waldenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden

Waldenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden

Walden is an American book written by noted Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and manual for self reliance.

Published in 1854, it details Thoreau's experiences over the course of two years in a cabin he built near Walden Pond, amidst woodland owned by his friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson, near Concord, Massachusetts. By immersing himself in nature, Thoreau hoped to gain a more

Waldenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden

objective understanding of society through personal introspection. Simple living and self-sufficiency were Thoreau's other goals, and the whole project was inspired by transcendentalist philosophy. Thoreau's intention during his time at Walden Pond was "to conduct an experiment: Could he survive,

possibly even thrive, by stripping away all superfluous luxuries, living a plain, simple life in radically reduced conditions. Although Thoreau went to Walden to escape what he considered, "over-civilization", and in search of the "raw" and "savage delight" of the wilderness, he also spent

considerable amounts of his time reading and writing. Walden emphasizes the value of solitude, contemplation, and closeness to nature in transcending the "desperate" existence that, he argues, is the lot of most people.

Waldenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden

From Walden

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden

Discussion of Walden

What is the main theme in Walden?

Walden is a plea to all men to live a more simple life in which distractions are limited and men can come in contact with bare reality and not manufactured reality.

Discussion of Walden

What are some of these distractions that keep men from reality?Men waste time eating too much, working beyond need, following events that happen else where, and constantly seeking more of everything.

Discussion of WaldenWhy did Thoreau go to the woods to live?I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

Discussion of WaldenWhat happens to a man who lives simply?If men would steadily observe realities only, and not allow themselves to be deluded, life, to compare it with such things as we know, would be like a fairy tale and the Arabian Nights' Entertainments.

If we respected only what is inevitable and has a right to be, music and poetry would resound along the streets. When we are unhurried and wise, we perceive that only great and worthy things have any permanent and absolute existence, that petty fears and petty pleasures are but the shadow of the reality.

Discussion of WaldenWhat appears in Thoreau’s ideas that make him a Transcendentalists?Thoreau’s desire to live simply and clear the distractions from his life, indicate he seeks to pluck that “iron string” Emerson refers to. That “iron sting” is what unifies all life and can be found in exposure to nature.

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson

Because I could not stop for Death

Emily Dickinsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Because_I_could_not_stop_for_Death

"Because I could not stop for Death“

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Because_I_could_not_stop_for_Death

A lyric poem by Emily Dickinson first published posthumously in Poems: Series 1 in 1890, this poem is about death. Dickinson personifies him as a gentleman caller who takes a leisurely carriage ride with the poet to her grave.

It is composed in six quatrains with the meter alternating between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter.

Because I could not stop for Death—He kindly stopped for me—The Carriage held but just Ourselves—And Immortality.

Stanza 1 (me/immortality), Stanza 2 (away/civility), Stanza 3 (done/sun),Stanza 4 (chill/tulle) Stanza 5 (Ground/Ground), and Stanza 6 (Day/Eternity) employ end rhyme in their second and fourth lines, but some of these are only close rhyme or eye rhyme.

Figures of speech include alliteration, anaphora, paradox, and personification.

Alliteration:My labor and my leisure too,We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain-We passed the Setting Sun—For only Gossamer, my Gown

Anaphora: We passed the School, where

Children playedTheir lessons scarcely; doneWe passed the Fields of Gazing Grain-We passed the Setting Sun—

Paradox & Personification:

Because I could not stop for Death—He kindly stopped for me—

We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain- We passed the Setting Sun—

Or rather—He passed Us—

Success is counted sweetest

Emily Dickinsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Success_is_Counted_Sweetest

“Success is counted sweetest”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Success_is_Counted_Sweetest

"Success is Counted Sweetest" is a lyric poem by Emily Dickinson written in 1859 and published anonymously in 1864. Using images of a victorious army and one dying warrior, it suggests that only he who suffers defeat can understand success.

Its three unemotional quatrains are written in iambic trimeter with only line 5 in iambic tetrameter. Lines 1 and 3 (and others) end with extra syllables. The rhyme scheme is abcb.The poem's "success" theme is treated paradoxically: only those who know defeat can truly appreciate success. Alliteration

enhances the poem's lyricism. The first stanza is a complete observation and can stand alone. Stanzas two and three introduce military images (a captured flag, a victorious army, a dying warrior) and are dependent upon one another for complete understanding.

I'm nobody

Emily Dickinsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Nobody!

_Who_are_you%3F

“I’m nobody! Who are you?”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Nobody!_Who_are_you%3F"I'm Nobody!" is one of Dickinson’s most popular poems, critic Harold Bloom writes, because it addresses “a universal feeling of being on the outside”. It is a poem about "us against them", it challenges authority (the somebodies), and "seduces the reader into complicity with its writer."

The poem is composed of two quatrains, and, with the exception of the first line, the rhythm alternates between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. The poem employs alliteration, anaphora, simile, satire, and internal rhyme but no regular end rhyme scheme. However, lines 1 and 2 and lines 5 and 7 end with

masculine rhymes. The poet incorporates the pronouns you, we, us, your into the poem, and in doing so, draws the reader into the piece. The poem suggests anonymity is preferable to fame.

Discussion

In a Socratic Seminar explore this topic:What would happen to you if you lived alone for a month?

Additional Assignment #1

Read about Walt Whitman and his book of poetry Leaves of Grass

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitmanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman

Additional Assignment #1

Read two poems from Leaves of Grass.

Leaves of Grass

Additional Assignment #2

Eng 11 Literature Unit 3 Test

Take the Unit Test. You must get at least 12 correct answers to be proficient in this portion of the course.

English 11 Literature #13

Mr. Rinka

Emily Dickinson