Things Every Day English Literature Assignment
There are three exercises in English Literature and the instruction is listed below:
Please write (one to two pages), it should not be too long just answer the questions.
For the second exercise, you can choose any song that is/was popular in the last 6 years.
The instruction of the exercises:
” EXERCISE #1
(Please number your exercises)
Write a paragraph of more than 5 sentences, or a poem of more than 10 lines, wherein you explain your Ars Poetica, or your reason for writing. Warning! Statements like “Because I have to” or “because it’s required for this class” are NOT ALLOWED! The fact that you’re enrolled in this class is irrelevant. Forget your status as “student.” You’re a writer/poet by virtue of having enrolled in HUM 2990. Think like one, write like one. What is your raison d’etre? What do you want your words to do? In other words, why bother? We do all kinds of things every day–play sports, watch TV, take out the garbage … but not all of the things we do have real meaning. But putting words on the page, putting your thoughts and emotions in black and white, should be done for good reason. That’s what I want you to think about and write about (as a paragraph or poem) right now. By the end of the semester, your Ars Poetica may be totally different, your ideas changed completely. That’s okay. We have to start somewhere, though. So, from your perspective (which is unlike anyone else’s) … why write?
Now, onto the second part of this module … thinking of lines …
EXERCISE #2
Choose a favorite song, one you could listen to several times (because you’ll have to ). It should have lyrics (words). No classical or instrumental songs!
* Listen to your song.
* Grab the lyrics online (via Goggle or some other search engine) and re-listen to the song, this time paying attention to the lyrics/words.
Now, answer the following questions (please use the letters a, b, c, etc.):
a. Why did you choose this song? Why do you like it? Did you choose it because of the lyrics. Why or why not?
b. Now that you’ve listened to the lyrics several times what do you notice about them that you didn’t notice before? Do they use repetition? Do they describe in great detail? Or are they vague? Are there any unusual, interesting or disturbing words? Do the lyrics even make sense from a narrative (i.e., telling a story) sense?
c. Do the lyrics have a “mysterious” quality in that they don’t paint the whole picture (of what’s going on), but instead allow the listener to fill in the gaps, or put her/himself into the lyrics? What I’m trying to get across here is this: sometimes writers are very specific, very detailed and those details allow readers to “see” the situation and feel as though they’re right there with the writer. Other times a writer may leave some “space” open so readers can fill in the way they want to–thus, they “open” the text. What about the song lyrics you’ve chosen? Are they “tight” with detail, or more “open” and spacious?
d. Write a song, any song! Well, okay, write the lyrics. It can be the dumbest song ever, just write it. This is good practice for writing poetry. Think of it as warming up the lyrical muscles.
EXERCISE #3
Finally! This week I’d like you to listen, really pay attention to someone’s story. Maybe you’ll need to eavesdrop (I believe I mentioned in class that I do that a lot!) or maybe you’re just sitting in the cafeteria or some coffee shop or at home or in the dorm–at any rate, you’re listening to someone else TELL A STORY.
a. Briefly recreate that story by telling it here, paraphrased (in your own words).
b. Did the storyteller (the person you were listening to) hold your attention/interest as she/he was telling the story? Why, or why not?
c. How might the storyteller have told her/his story in a better, more interesting way?