AP Literature and Composition

AP Literature and Composition February 25, 2009 Ms. Cares

Agenda: • Synthesis Essay: outlines and questions • Emily Dickinson poem: strategies and answers Homework: refine your outline and begin drafting your initial draft - DUE Tuesday, 3/2.

Emily Dickinson Poem: • What interpretations did you make BEFORE you began unpacking the multiple choice questions? • How did you use the questions to shape your interpretation? • How did you feel about this poem, overall? • Did you use the grammar of this poem to help construct meaning?

1. In the second line of the poem, the word “Were” is • Make sure to read “Were” as the beginning of a complete idea (STOP/GO). • “Were the universe one rock” = If the universe were one rock… (conditional verb) • DO NOT FORGET POE! • Answer = B

2. In line 3, the word “far” probably modifies • “Were universe one rock / And far I heard his silver call…” • Modifies = alters • “far” is used as an adverb to describe how the speaker hears the silver call • Inverted syntax • Answer = C

3. The lines “I’d tunnel till my groove / Pushed sudden through to his” are an example of • Use POE to get you to the happy place: between A and B • “I’d tunnel till my groove” = exaggeration as any action has its limit • Answer = A

4. In line 7, the word “recompense” is best understood to mean • Vocabulary in context • Attempt to establish meaning before looking at the answer choices • Use POE • Answer = E

5. Which of the following is an example of synesthetic imagery… • Notice that the AP exam provides you with the definition of this literary element. • “silver call” • Silver = visual • Call = auditory • Answer = C

6. Which of the following phrases requires some adjustment according to conventional grammatical rules? • What does this question ask? • Which phrase uses abnormal grammar? • “pushed sudden” is abnormal because adverbs (suddenly) typically end in -ly. • The interchange of adverb and adjectives is commonly used in poetry written before the 20th Century. • Answer = D

7. All of the following words are used to suggest the same quality EXCEPT • Which one of these is not like the others? • Use POE. • “walls,” “rock,” “block,” and “adamant” all connote hardness. • “groove” has nothing to do with being tough. • Answer = D

8. Line 9 begins with “But” because • Notice that “But” marks the beginning of a new sentence that spans two stanzas. In other words, it is significant. • Use POE • The poem turns on the word “But,” and the last two stanzas present the opposite of the finite walls and rock and connote much softer - and less negative - “walls.” • Answer = A

9. All of the following words are used to suggest the Middle Ages EXCEPT • Use POE • “adamant” has nothing to do with the Middle Ages, specifically. • Answer = A

10. All of the following words are used to suggest the same quality EXCEPT • Which one of these is not like the others… • Most of the words connote those things that are pliable and soft… EXCEPT limit. • Answer = E

11. On which of the following do lines 11-16 chiefly rely? • RTFQ - CHIEFLY meaning mainly • POE • Paradox = situation of contradictory events or images • “cobweb wove of adamant” or “battlement of straw” are paradoxical (conflicting) • Answer = B

12. To fully understand the situation presented in the poem, a reader would have to know more about the specific reference of which of the following… • Unpack the question - which word is most difficult to interpret based on the poem alone? • “block,” “groove,” “recompense,” and “veil” are all used figuratively and can be interpreted within the poem. • “law” seems to be literal; it is impossible to identify which or what type of “law” is mentioned in the poem. • Answer = D

AP Literature and Composition