Tuesday, April 5th

1) Silent Reading
How much reading did you get done over the holiday?

2) Announcements

• Blog assessment will close on Wednesday - 40 marks !!!
• Did not get tests marked - could not get the alarm system to work at school yesterday and could not get in to pick them up.
• I reports delayed going to AG teachers tomorrow.
• This class is not just about reading, it's about thinking and being critical and aware and open... yes, a teacher lecture.
• Poetry Month at Highland

3) Modernist Poetry - the early 20th century
We're going backwards... time travelling!

Modernist poetry is characterized by two main features: extensive use of free verse and a move away from the Romantic's use of an unproblematic speaker speaking to an equally unproblematic audience. Modernists loved to question and doubt the self and to do so in a typically short, narrative poem.

Imagist poets, like William Carlos Williams, were the first ones to abandon the flowery and excessive style of the Romantics. The Red Wheelbarrow. As their name suggests, they heavily used imagery.

Then the Poet's Club entered the scene, TS Eliot (The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock) and Ezra Pound, in particular. Eliot's The Wasteland (a collaboration between the two) is the poem of the modern generation. We'll look at it tomorrow. Get ready for the most brilliant despair and doubt. We'll also talk about the questions to ask of a poem.

4)Today in Class

As I Walked Out One Evening - identifying the figurative language. Six Groups. Couple of stanzas at a time. Contest!! Greatest number found wins treats! Review terms on board: metaphor, simile, personification, repitition, allusion, imagery, etc...

5) Homework

Reflection Question: Why do younger generations react against or throw out notions from the older generations? What do you reject from older generations today?
Creative Writing Assignment: Write an Imagist Poem (handout)