Analysis cont’d

Journal #5 Work on journal entry #5

“Old men make wars that young men have to fight” What do you think about this quote?

The Second Coming W.B. Yeats Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all convictions, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. The darkness drops again; but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? - “gyre” (spiral)

Understanding poems Ask: who is the poet? When were they writing? What was the context? Answer: WB Yeats was an Irish poet. This poem was published in 1921, after the end of WW1. Ask: What was WB Yeats’ perspective on the world? Answer: (a quote from Yeats) The end of an age, which always receives the revelation of the character of the next age, is represented by the coming of one gyre to its place of greatest expansion and of the other to its place of greatest contraction... The revelation [that] approaches will... take its character from the contrary movement of the interior gyre... Ask: what does this tell us about the poem?

ANALYSIS Let’s look at the poem again. What can we find in terms of: Imagery Poetic devices Tone

Group work Answer: • Do you agree that in the modern world “things fall apart; the centre cannot hold?” • How does Yeats use the unhearing falcon as a symbol of what is happening in the world? • What would you expect to appear at the second coming? How does that differ from what the speaker suggests will appear? •What historical forces do you think prompt people, including poets, to predict vast upheavals, new civilizations and even the end of the world?

Writing analytical paragraphs An ‘A’ paragraph does the following: Identifies the author, title, and gives a brief summary of the literary work. Provides a clear interpretation of the author’s message and purpose. Provides details, quotations

Writing & drafting Reread the literary work several times. Read through the first time to get a feel for the work. Reread and look for passages and ideas that stand out or have special meaning. Before drafting, brainstorm possible interpretations. A good strategy is to write annotations as you read. Discuss the interpretation with others who have read the work. Make sure you have a clear answer to the following questions as you write or revise: What is the main point of the paragraph? This main point should be clearly identified What evidence best supports the interpretation? Are there any points that should be added to clarify the interpretation? Is there any superfluous evidence that could be deleted?

Common pitfalls Writing a summary: what is the difference between a summary and an analysis? Listing facts: A close relative of the summary is listing facts. It’s also called the, “I’ll list as many facts as I can about this literary work and hope the teacher doesn’t grade it very closely” syndrome. Having No Evidence: At the other end of the bad analysis spectrum is the no evidence analysis. It consists of nothing but conjecture.

ANALYSIS EXAMPLE Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; ->This shows:______________________________ Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. ->This shows: ______________________________

Analysis in the “real world” Poetry analysis is an important skill to build as it increases: o Critical thinking o Supportive evidence skills o Our view of how socio-historical context affects interpretation

Questions? Poetry analysis due next class