CLOSED PROMPT 2: POETRY 1

Exam: 2008 Free-Response Questions
Question 1: "In the two poems below, Keats and Longfellow reflect on similar concerns. Read the poems carefully. Then write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two poems, analyzing the poetic techniques each writer uses to explore his particular situation."

     Many writers attempt to reflect the inevitability of death in their writing, and Keats and Longfellow are no different. Through the use tone, diction, and imagery, "When I Have Fears" and "Mezzo Cammin" capture each poet's regrets, unfulfilled dream, and the value of life itself. However, their work begins to stray from each other as they progress. Keats's initial sorrow transforms into acceptance of his approaching death while Longfellow's transforms into increasing panic. Keats views death as an opportunity to peacefully contemplate life. Longfellow views death as sudden and tragic.

     The similarities in "When I have Fears" and "Mezzo Cammin" are found in the beginning where Keats and Longfellow express the briefness of life. Keats acknowledges that he has “fears that... [he] may cease to be." However, he is more fearful of dying before his "pen has glean’d...[his] teeming brain/ Before high piled books, in charactery.” Thus revealing that Keats is afraid of leaving his literary goals unfinished. However, his uneasy tone reveals that Keats recognizes life as fleeting and its quick end. Longfellow begins his poem with "Half of my life is gone, and I have let / The years slip from me" which shows that he also painfully aware the short-nature of life despite being only midway through. Like Keats, Longfellow shares a similar tone and his concerns of dying before accomplishing "the aspirations of... [his] youth." Both men are able to grasp the preciousness of life and the lack of time they have to attain their goals.

     In the middle of their poems, Keats and Longfellow reminisce of their pasts and lament on their regrets yet the diction indicates that roots of each poet's regrets is different. Keats uses phrases such as "Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance," "magic hand of chance," and "faery power" which contain words that have a magical and fantasy-like connotation. It illustrates his belief that the wonders and joys of life, like love, happen by chance. Unable to experience these things, Keats looks back on his life, showing remorse for all of things he was not able to do. On the other hand, Longfellow explains that "sorrow.../ Kept...[him] from what... [he] may accomplish." This shows that Longfellow regrets what he has done, letting sorrow and paranoia control his life, rather than what he has not done.

         The imagery at the end of each poem ultimately illustrates where each author differs as they handle their impending deaths in two different natures. Keats describes himself "on the shore / Of the wide world." The seashore serves as symbol of life and death in which he "stand[s] alone and think[s]." Keats views death itself as a slow process where he can reflect in solitude about his past. The image of a shore is gives off a more tranquil feeling when compared the the unease expressed at the beginning.  Longfellow depicts death as a waterfall that is "thundering from the heights." This image paints death as more sudden and loud. The "blast" in "autumnal blast" makes death seem more jarring and powerful. Because "autumnal" is symbolic of aging, death is also portrayed as dreadful and looming. All of this emphasizes his inability to cope and come to terms with his death, most likely because he has more years to live than Keats does.
          
         Although death is a topic that appears frequently through literature, Keats and Longfellow share many different attitudes towards death in their poems "When I Have Fears" and "Mezzo Cammin."  While both poets begin with unease, Keats's tone becomes more accepting while Longfellow's becomes dreadful. How they cope with death is also unique. They are able to successfully employ their similar yet distinct views of death by using tone, diction, and imagery.

CLOSED PROMPT 2: POETRY 1

Exam: 2008 Free-Response Questions
Question 1: "In the two poems below, Keats and Longfellow reflect on similar concerns. Read the poems carefully. Then write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two poems, analyzing the poetic techniques each writer uses to explore his particular situation."

     Many writers attempt to reflect the inevitability of death in their writing, and Keats and Longfellow are no different. Through the use tone, diction, and imagery, "When I Have Fears" and "Mezzo Cammin" capture each poet's regrets, unfulfilled dream, and the value of life itself. However, their work begins to stray from each other as they progress. Keats's initial sorrow transforms into acceptance of his approaching death while Longfellow's transforms into increasing panic. Keats views death as an opportunity to peacefully contemplate life. Longfellow arrives to the same conclusion but does so by viewing death as sudden and tragic.

     The similarities in "When I have Fears" and "Mezzo Cammin" are found in the beginning where Keats and Longfellow express the briefness of life. Keats acknowledges that he has “fears that... [he] may cease to be." However, he is more fearful of dying before his "pen has glean’d...[his] teeming brain/ Before high piled books, in charactery.” Thus revealing that Keats afraid of leaving his literary goals unfinished. He is afraid of dying without having the chance to write all he wants. He is afraid of dying without writing many books. However, his uneasy tone reveals that Keats recognizes life as fleeting and its quick end. Longfellow begins his poem with "Half of my life is gone, and I have let / The years slip from me" which shows that he also painfully aware the short-nature of life despite being only midway through. Like Keats, Longfellow shares a similar tone and his concerns of dying before accomplishing "the aspirations of... [his] youth." Both men are able to grasp the preciousness of life and the lack of time they have to attain their goals.

     In the middle of their poems, Keats and Longfellow reminisce of their pasts and lament on their regrets yet the diction indicates that roots of each poet's regrets is different. Keats uses phrases such as "Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance," "magic hand of chance," and "faery power" which have a magical and fantasy-like connotation. It illustrates his belief that the wonders and joys of life, like love, happen by chance. Unable to experience these things, Keats looks back on his life, showing remorse for all of things he was not able to do. On the other hand, Longfellow explains that "sorrow.../ Kept...[him] from what... [he] may accomplish." This shows that Longfellow regrets what he has done, letting sorrow and paranoia control his life, rather than what he has not done.

         The imagery at the end of each poem ultimately illustrates where each author differs as they handle their impending deaths in two different natures. Keats describes himself "on the shore / Of the wide world." The seashore serves as symbol of life and death in which he "stand[s] alone and think[s]." Keats views death itself as a slow process where he can reflect in solitude about his past. The image of a shore is gives off a more tranquil feeling when compared the the unease expressed at the beginning.  Longfellow depicts death as a waterfall that is "thundering from the heights." This image paints death as more sudden and loud. The "blast" in "autumnal blast" makes death seem more jarring and powerful. Because "autumnal" is symbolic of aging, death is also portrayed as dreadful and looming. All of this emphasizes his inability to cope and come to terms with his death, most likely because he has more years to live than Keats does.
          
          Although death is a topic that appears frequently through literature, Keats and Longfellow share many different attitudes towards death in their poems "When I Have Fears" and "Mezzo Cammin."  While both poets begin with unease, Keats's tone becomes more accepting while Longfellow's becomes dreadful. How they cope with death is also unique. They are able to successfully employ their similar yet distinct views of death by using tone, diction, and imagery.

    

  

RESPONSE TO COURSE MATERIAL 2

     When looking back at all of the things we did this month, I was extremely surprised by the fact that we have been reading and analyzing The American Dream for a whole month. Before we could read, we learned the basics of play in the articles, “Theories of Humor and Comedy,” “Theater of the Absurd,” and “Existentialism 101.” After annotating and discussing them, I had a much stronger grasp of Existentialism and Theatre of the Absurd. I thought it was intriguing how Existentialist believed that those to who try to ignore the responsibility they carry from their actions cannot live an authentic life while those who accept the burden of responsibility can. It makes you wonder if you're accepting it or constantly trying to escape from that responsibility. However, my favorite part of the articles was looking at Absurdist philosophy. There is a lot of elements that contribute to an Absurdist work that give it meaning while also confusing the readers heavily. These elements and themes such as repetition, lack of values in the modern world, and breakdown of communication were things I could clearly see in The American Dream.

     After the first read through of The American Dream, I was extremely confused. We discussed as a class what we thought the significance of the title and the play was. Our discussions mostly were directed at the immigration and the idea of the "American Dream" that many immigrants carried. I didn't feel as if that was right, especially after reading the "A Supermarket in California" by Allen Ginsberg. I drew similar parallels to each work as a criticism of American conformity, consumerism, and artificialness. Our class finally came to this conclusion with the help of Grandma. By using the poem "I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman, we could see Grandma as a stand in of American values.

     Finishing the first read and discussion, we were given more articles that provided insight into the play's symbols and Edward Albee's personal life. I was amazed by all of the themes and archetypes that Albee used subtly and that I had completely missed. It was quite incredible to see how thought out the play was in its meaning and techniques amidst the nonsense and repetition. I was also shocked at how much of Albee's personal life was seen in the play as an adopted child. I could clearly see it in Grandma's preference to Daddy rather than Mommy as well as the emptiness of the Young Man. This articles led us into our second read of The American Dream and a nearly a week of discussion. I was able to experience and see everyone's unique interpretation of the themes and characters. I really liked discussing the power and status dynamics of the play as that was seen in the articles. While Grandma had the most power, her status was certainly the lowest. It was amazing to see how clever Edward Albee was in illustrating this idea, and the futility of gender roles by switching them with Mommy and Daddy as well.

     This last week has served as a conclusion for many things. Our understanding of the literary terms were nailed in with a literary terms test. We had spent the week before practicing and practicing them. By understanding the definitions of the terms, I had a greater awareness for these techniques when seeing them in literature. This often helped me analyze the work as a whole and aided me when I wrote the first closed prompt on poetry. This terms, when used correctly, helped me on my American Dream open prompt and will help me in future essays including the ones on the AP exam. The Summary and Analysis also prepared me for the open prompt test by closing the gaps in my comprehension and tying loose ends. The open prompt test concluding The American Dream, and tested my knowledge and understanding of the book. For me, it served more as a test of time because I really struggled with putting everything I wanted to say about the novel in the allotted time span. Using this experience, I can improve on my time management so that I can be prepared for the AP exam.

     However, some things were introduced to us in the last week. Though I am awful at it, we have looked into the multiple choice portion of the example. I thought the distractor portion of the reading really helped. By becoming familiar to the question types and potential answers, I can prepare for a vital part of the AP exam. We also were given a terms application pre-test and it was strange to see how knowing the definitions is definitely different than applying them. I hope to improve my applications skills as it is quite crucial to using the terms to my advantage when analyzing literature and writing essays, especially for the AP exam.

CLOSED PROMPT 1: POETRY

Exam: 2003 Free-Response Questions
Question 1: "The following poems are both concerned with Eros, the god of love in Greek mythology. Read the poems carefully. Then write an essay in which you compare and contrast the two concepts of Eros and analyze the techniques used to
create them."

Student Response: E
     Student E's eloquently leads into their argument. They use techniques like tone, diction, syntax, imagery, and other devices to show Bridge's curious view and Stevenson's pessimistic view of Eros. The writer uses quotes directly from poems to support their arguments and their warrants refrains from unneeded summarization. However, their thesis (if it's the last sentence in the introduction) is pretty weak as the writer doesn't really explain what each poet's underlying assumptions are. I was left searching for them throughout the essay. The writer doesn't make clear connections to their main argument (curiosity v. pessimism). For example, the writer talks a lot about the awe and conflicting feelings Bridges feels toward Eros but doesn't make it clear how any of that relates to curiosity. As a result, it seems like there are just quotes and devices thrown out there with no cohesive focus, especially when their paragraphs are quite long. Although their essay show very strong comprehension, I felt as if the analysis could've been more insightful since it is quite surface level. I would give them a 7 for those reasons.

Student Response: A
     Student A's introduction was impressively done and concise. I thought this student took their analysis further than Student E's did. They not only recognize the pessimistic view of the second poem but argues that it is because of the way humans have abused love. The writer uses multiple quotes and their techniques are clearly stated. Their overall focus is obvious with topic sentences. Each point that they make links to their overarching purpose. However, I found a lot of unnecessary repetition within each of the paragraphs. They use the word "praise" five total times in the first paragraph and phrases like "his praise with praiseworthy... diction" depicts the lack of maturity in their writing. Although they have a strong sense of direction, this repetition could've been done in a more sophisticated way. I thought this student's essay was very interesting and thoughtful. They illustrated their keen analytical and comprehension skills. Yet when it came to their execution, I would give Student A a 7 due to their repetition which led to a lack of unique insight at times.

Student Response: Y
     Student's Y's introduction was extremely vague as their core argument is that Bridge's depiction of Eros is more "perfect" and Stevenson's depiction shows that Eros is "overused." With a weak argument, their supporting points are even weaker, one being "writing style." They argue that Bridge's writing is "more formal" without describing how or using examples to back this up. When they do use quotes, they are unnecessarily long. Their quotes basically make up their entire paragraphs and their warrants just summaries of quotes that are unneeded to begin with. Sometimes the student doesn't even bother setting up the quotes and they are just thrown in there. For example, they briefly mention the word "innocence" and add a quote that already states the innocence. In fact, the entire argument about innocence doesn't really fit into the paragraph where the main point is perfection. While innocence can sometimes be associated with perfection, that isn't always the case and the writer makes no effort to connect these two ideas. With although their ideas aren’t necessarily wrong, they are severely underdeveloped. As a result, I would give Student Y a 4.