Thursday, December 21, 2006

Essay Topic "Ode"

This post is for my English II students who want to discuss the essay assignment for the 2nd Marking Period. Feel free to ask questions, share ideas, and discuss the poem.

44 comments:

Mr. Farley said...

Ode begins with the author reflecting upon the many generations of poets who have lived and died throughout history. He wonders where they are now, where are their souls. They have left "pieces" of their souls on earth in the form of poetry; but he asks the question whether their sould exist somewhere else, like a heaven. He answers his own question with a "Yes" and then imagines what their heaven would be like. THe next stanza continues with the poet imagining the heaven in which these poets' souls now exist.

Mr. Farley said...

The first aspect of Romanticism we should identify in this poem is "the Past." It is the poet's reflecting upon the past and the many poets who have lived and died that inspires the poem. How can we use this to begin creating a 3 point thesis? To what other poems can we compare this?

Mr. Farley said...

There is a lot of images of Nature in this poem; however, the poet does not evoke these images just to create a pretty picture. How does Nature inspire the many generations of poets? What do they learn from Nature?

Anonymous said...

Does anyone have examples of a three point thesis they can share witht he rest of us?

Mr. Farley said...

Remember: When building your 3 point thesis, you may want to begin with, "The poem 'Ode' is Romantic because..." then enumerate your 3 points. Be specific but not redundant.

J. Biggs said...

CT, here's a suggestion: If you wanted to use Mr. Farley's model of "The poem 'Ode' is Romantic because..." you could easily build a thesis by simply adding on three points. Mr. Farley mentioned the past and nature as two Romantic themes that come up in this poem, and that could be a good starting point. What's his view of the past - is it realistic and serious, like a Classicist, or imaginative and idealized, like a Romantic? What's his view of nature - is it an object of rational study, or something promote emotion and inspiration in poets?

Anonymous said...

question poem?

Anonymous said...

Is the example of inner nature in Ode mortality?

Mr. Farley said...

By referring to humans as "mortals" and mentioning our "little week" the poet directly addresses our mortality; this certainly leads one to internalize the idea of mortality and meditate on death. Keep in mind the poet's imagination leads him to meditate on life and death; this entire poem takes place in the poet's mind.

Anonymous said...

the example for inner nature is innerself mortality, emotion, passion and sorrow. does any one got the past?

Anonymous said...

In the poem Ode I was wondering how these lines were examples of innerworld if they even are:

"Of their sorrows and delights;
Of their passions and their spites;
Of their glory and their shame;"

Mr. Farley said...

you can certainly make an argument for "inner world" because we are learning about our inner nature from these poets. All of our emotions, delights, shames, glory, and sorrow are emotions that we all feel and are individual to us. My sorrow is different from your sorrow, and my delight from your delight. These are subjective emotions that can definitely be catagorized as "inner world".

Mr. Farley said...

cristian,
look up to the first two comments about the "past." they should answer your question.

Anonymous said...

you should make the essay due january 19

Anonymous said...

i need an example for past for "ode", i alrerady have imagination and nature.

Anonymous said...

is the use of greek mythology and example or the past, or idealized nature and imagination?

Mr. Farley said...

dillon,
that doesn't count as a post comment. get to work! :)

Mr. Farley said...

megan, check out the first two comments on the top of this page; they should answer your question.

Lauren,
you can make an argument for "idealized past" or "imagination" depending upon the quotation and your interpretation.

Anonymous said...

I need help on an example for beauty of nature???

Mr. Farley said...

You're not looking for "beauty of nature"; you're looking for "inspiration from nature." In the poem, the nature that surrounds the poets speak wisdom, truth, and beauty. They speak of history and mystery. In this way, the nature is inspiration for poets.

Anonymous said...

in class u mensioned somthing about explaining why that certain thing is in the poen...i dont understand why i have to do that

Mr. Farley said...

What i mean is: don't just say a poem has nature because it has a flower. This does not sufficiently express Romanticism. You need to explain how a flower is important to the poem, i.e. what the poet learns from the flower. Is there a lesson learned?

Anonymous said...

I will have the essay do on ode

Anonymous said...

okay, so for the examples that we use that arn't in ode, where do we put them? are they supposed to be in the intro or in the body paragraphs.

Mr. Farley said...

in the body paragraphs. two outside poems for each body paragraph that support each point.

Anonymous said...

what is ode about

Mr. Farley said...

read the above 25 comments first, they should sufficiently explain what Ode is about. If you still have questions, ask me tomorrow in class.

Anonymous said...

im still having this big mental block about the intro...i got the body paragraphs fine its just the first paragraph im stuck on...after i say "the poem "ode" is romantic because it contains the three elements of a romantic poem; imagination, nature and past." i dont know what to say anymore...

Mr. Farley said...

that's good because your 3 point thesis concludes your introduction. In other words, you don't say anything after your thesis statement. At this point you need to think about what to say before...that is, you need to discuss Romanticism and prove to me you have sufficient knowledge of Romanticism before you discuss the Ode.

Anonymous said...

how do we use other poems in the paragraphs? like how do i set it up?

Anonymous said...

i need an example for nature in the poem ode

Anonymous said...

for the thesis, are you supposed to explain your examples of past innerworld and nature in the poem "Ode" or are the three points just past innerworld and nature in general?

Mr. Farley said...

kate, briefly explain your points in your thesis statement. You do not have to be specific.

sam, read the aabove comments, you will find the answer to your question there.

Anonymous said...

ok im having some trouble, should i refer to inner world as inner world or as imagination?

Anonymous said...

ummm...how do u do the other quote things??

Anonymous said...

Mr. Farley, i do agree with Dillion but do you think that i could "borrow" some of the ideas you have writen on the blog?

Anonymous said...

what is the heading format supposed to be for the essay?

Anonymous said...

how are we supposed to write our points and thesis statement for the conclusion?? the heading is
name
English 2 CP
Mr. Farley
date
dur da durr

Derek said...

Yo JF where is there imagination (innerworld) in The Tables Turned or Annabel Lee

Mr. Farley said...

john, the heading is:
your name
my name
class
date

durr da durr

Derek, you've got to figure that out.

Dr. Robert,
of course you can borrow ideas from the blog; that is the reason for which i created the blog.

Anonymous said...

r we allowed to use the masque of the red death as a outside knowledge source???

Anonymous said...

M Farley do u have to first identify the past because i feel in mine i wud like to represent nature as my first point, not the past?

Anonymous said...

yooo mr. Farley are we supposed to use alot of quotes in the essay and does it have to be like 700 words

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