The Official Adam Pascal Love Thread, part eleven- Page 35

[Ariella]

Posted: 9/16/06 at 8:31pm

The poetry unit from my lit class is better forgotten. We had to read an awful poetry novel based on the Odyssey. I spent about 2 hours staring at the wall trying to think of a thesis for my paper. The paper was so dreadful that it rivaled my friend's confirmation paper from a few years ago. She tried to use a poem to make an analogy, but the pastor read too much into it and thought she was implying Jesus was a junkie. Quite entertaining

Posted: 9/16/06 at 8:32pm

Hah, I had to write a confirmation paper, too! It had to be four pages or so (awfully long for a poor little eighth grader), so I think I increased the margins to 1.5 inches all around and used size 14 font. I think the priest ended up liking it anyway. He was... not the brightest man.

[Chloe]

Posted: 9/16/06 at 8:40pm

Is your paper supposed to be about poetry in general or a particular poem, Lexi?

[Ariella]

Posted: 9/16/06 at 8:40pm

My confirmation paper was... oof. My grandpa on my dad's side is a Lutheran pastor, so he was all into it, and then the other side of the family's Jewish, so they were less into it. I used everything I knew to extend that paper out so it would fit the requirements. It was definitely my worst paper, and that includes the poetry thing. At least I didn't get assigned nursery duty for a month like my friend did.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 9/16/06 at 8:42pm

Sadly, my poetry essay theses almost undoubtedly follow the format, "The poet uses ___, ___, and ___ [literary devices] to convey ___ [overall point of poem]." Obviously not that simple, but... vaiations on that.

Posted: 9/16/06 at 8:43pm

A particular poem. I don't like poetry in general (weird, I know, because I really enjoy well-written lyrics), but I do like Plath. I'm supposed to analyze one of her poems. I have a very good idea as to what the poem is about and was able to express my thoughts in class, but putting my thoughts into a 3-5 page paper is going to be hard.

Sadly, my poetry essay theses almost undoubtedly follow the format, "The poet uses ___, ___, and ___ [literary devices] to convey ___ [overall point of poem]." Obviously not that simple, but... vaiations on that.

I would so do that (and was actually going to), but the professor gave specific instructions that we shouldn't have theses that "simplistic." Oookay. Hopefully he just pities me as the lone freshman in the class. Updated On: 9/16/06 at 08:43 PM

[Chloe]

Posted: 9/16/06 at 8:51pm

That's a lot to write about one poem. Would it help to pretend it was set to music?

The one line of Plath's that has stayed with me through the years is "Daddy, daddy, you b*stard, I'm through." My relationship with my dad is not the best.

[CanadianSnowbird]

Posted: 9/16/06 at 8:54pm

That's probably one of the reason's I didn't do so well in English. I can't understand poetry at all, so trying to compare poems is just asking for problems.

Posted: 9/16/06 at 8:56pm

Maybe. I guess I'll figure it out tomorrow. I'm working on two other papers for a different class right now. I really do like the poem, though - "Lady Lazarus."

I generally don't understand the supposed meaning of a poem until someone points it out to me.
Updated On: 9/16/06 at 08:56 PM

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 9/16/06 at 8:58pm

That's too bad about him objecting to the straightforward thesis. I've always felt that that was sort of a cop-out (although I always do it), but otherwise it's kind of difficult to form a "thesis" outlining what you'll be discussing. Maybe the thesis can just be your interpretation of the poem, and everything else can be supporting.

[Mandi Moo]

Posted: 9/16/06 at 9:03pm

I'm really bad at interpreting poetry.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 9/16/06 at 9:13pm

Our first assignment for the psycho AP English Lit teacher I had in high school was to write a 3-5-page paper on Richard Eberhart's "The Groundhog" with no prior discussion of the poem. I think I might've cried.

[Dancinqueen123]

Posted: 9/16/06 at 9:13pm

Me too Mandi, but I'm really good at writing it. Wierd, I know.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 9/16/06 at 9:19pm

That's cool, Dancin. I'd much rather analyze poetry or fiction than attempt to write it.

[CanadianSnowbird]

Posted: 9/16/06 at 9:22pm

I can't analyze poetry, novels, lyrics to save my life. I just tend to take things literally, or if it sounds pretty I like it.

[Mandi Moo]

Posted: 9/16/06 at 9:34pm

I have to write the most boring essay ever tomorrow. I could do it now, but this is the first time I'll be able to be on the computer for more than 20 minutes in like 3 weeks...and I don't want to write and essay.

[Chloe]

Posted: 9/16/06 at 9:39pm

How come you've had such limited computer time? That would kill me.

[Mandi Moo]

Posted: 9/16/06 at 9:41pm

I've been grounded. I'm still grounded, but my mom's at work and I told my dad that I had homework to do...so I got to go on.

[picturetaker9211]

Posted: 9/16/06 at 11:37pm

I'm reading the Odyseey in school. It's a little boring, but we just started it.

Good luck & have fun to everybody who has work to do

[To The Stage!]

Posted: 9/17/06 at 12:20am

Ohh I read that a few years ago. I hated it. *shrug*

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 9/17/06 at 8:42am

I'm good at analyzing literature, poems, plays, lyrics, etc...I just don't particularly like doing it. I had too many bad English teachers f*ck it up for me.

I read The Illiad over the summer before 9th grade and The Odyssey in 10th grade English (one of the good teachers). It's actually more exciting that people give it credit for, but the action doesn't really come across well if you don't understand the text.

Posted: 9/17/06 at 11:35am

I read The Odyssey in ninth grade and The Iliad in tenth grade. I'd agree that The Odyssey is better than people give it credit for (although still definitely a book I'd never read twice), but The Iliad made me want to rip my hair out. I'm actually supposed to be reading it for one of my classes right now, but that's so not going to happen.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 9/17/06 at 12:01pm

I actually liked The Aeneid better than The Odyssey, although it's basically the Roman rip-off of the same tale. We had to translate a good chunk of it from Latin, though, so maybe I enjoyed it more because of that.

[Ariella]

Posted: 9/17/06 at 12:33pm

I read the Odyssey back in ninth grade I think. Our translation was really bad though, and it was almost complete prose without any of the lyricism.

I'm on crutches! Seriously. From crashing into a wall. I've rarely felt like this much of an idiot.

Posted: 9/17/06 at 12:49pm

I didn't know that you knew Latin, Ashley.

And I'm really sorry to hear that, Ariella! Feel better!

Okay. I must start my work.