The Mary Ellen CarterSeptember 20, 2011.

Today Using “The Mary Ellen Carter” to

understand the first part of the first part of your poetry project

[There are three parts to your Poetry Anthology]

The first part of the first part Writing a synopsis of a poem you

choose You will need three poems Therefore, we may infer that we will

write three synopses (not synopsises) They may be songs They should be songs or poems that you

particularly like

The second part of the first part… You will explain, in detail, how and why

the poem or song is of significance to you; i.e. you will explain why you like it.

But first… Let’s go back to review the vocabulary

we looked up last night…

Vocabulary review Why?

To add to our useable vocabulary To see how the use of jargon helps create

an atmosphere and convincing reality or picture

To better understand the song

Vocab Skipper Mate Mortal blow Settled low Awash Heedless Wrote her off Sorry end Paid the loss With every jar that hit the bar

Vocab (cont’d) That her name not be lost

Poetry strategy for unfamiliar usage or language– add in or substitute words that seem to be missing; e.g. so that her name will not be lost to (forgotten by people) the knowledge of men – check to see if it adds sense

Barge Hard-hat suit Bends currents

Vocab – cont’d Patched her rents Stopped her vents Dogged hatch and porthole down Put cables to her Fore and aft Girded her around Hit the air Take up the strain Crumble into scale Gale

The Point of jargon or specific vocabulary Create setting and realism

This helps the reader use his or her “willing suspension of disbelief” – a metacognitive concept.

To be convincing that we know what we’re talking about

But a caveat…

[…as in “caveat emptor” – “Let the buyer beware”]

What happens If we overdo it? If we don’t have a solid grasp of the

language we choose?

Back to the synopses The first part of your poetry project,

hereafter referred to as your Poetry Anthology, will be personal responses to three different poems

Each of the three personal responses will be made up of two paragraphs (as well as a creative presentation of your chosen poem)

Synopses The first paragraph will be a synopsis of

the poem The second paragraph will be a detailed

explanation of what the poem means to you. N.b. – a paragraph…Not a doctoral thesis

In your synopses Include;

Title Author Speaker Theme Supporting details that show you properly

understand the theme of the poem A concluding sentence – why the reader

should care (aka KAPOW!)

Synopsis – e.g. Stan Rogers wrote a song. The song is called “The Mary Ellen

Carter” In it, a person survives the sinking of a

ship and then his friends refloat the ship The speaker suggests we should never

give up Here is the evidence to support the idea Here is why we should care

Now let’s put the first four parts into one sentence By using sentence combining,

summarizing and paraphrasing In “The Mary Ellen Carter”, Stan Rogers

writes the story of a person who salvages a sunken ship to convey the idea that, even when evidence suggests that all is lost, there is still hope and that we may yet succeed if we do not relent in total commitment to our cause.

Please notice… The use of the third person PRESENT TENSE:

“… Stan Rogers writes…” Why?

Makes the writing seem alive and relevent – it’s happening now

Conceptually, the writing continues to exist in the present…

So please do this in your own writing. Think of it as a literary convention – something

we habitually do when writing about literature.

Also - notice the theme is included in the introductory sentence “… even when evidence suggests that

all is lost, there is still hope and that we may yet succeed if we do not relent in total commitment to our cause.”

Also - notice the theme is included in the introductory sentence “… even when evidence suggests that

all is lost, there is still hope and that we may yet succeed if we do not relent in total commitment to our cause.”

[Advice – which is not theme – might be “Never surrender!”]

Theme Is:

Stated in a complete sentence The main idea of the piece of literature a generalization about life or people “Stateable” in more than one way

Is not: a cliché A moral Too broad Not advice –i.e. does not tell people what to

do

The next lesson will be How to use the evidence within songs

and poems to convince the reader the theme we find is indeed “findable” in our chosen poems…

By showing them using the poet’s words

Or in other words By effectively integrating quotes using

the state-quote-clarify method…

Hereafter referred to as SQC

This method is useable all the way through university and into the critical media

So…Now:

Review your iPod or MP3 player song list for a song that is very meaningful to you

OR

Reflect, using your remarkable mental recall, on poems or songs that you know that you really like

Listen to them or read them… Ask yourself: what is this song about?

What is happening in it? What does the poet want me to realize or consider?

Jot down your initial ideas…

Please note – you may need to analyze the song first to ensure you fully understand what happens within it

And the point is… To realize that important themes of life

are all around us - all the time - when we open our minds, hearts, eyes and ears to the art around us.

Wheeeeeeeeee…..!

[The beginning]