Q1 Practice

1. Q1 Practice Dickinson and Frost: On Darkness

2. Major Takeaways • Both discuss dark from two starkly different perspectives • Dickinson – it’s something to which we can become “accustomed” rather than fear or feel trapped by. • Frost – it’s something with which he’s intimately “acquainted” and has accepted its permanence. • All-encompassing, overwhelming loneliness. • Point of View – focus on the differing pronouns • Dickinson – uses the collective “we” (none of us are really alone). • Frost – uses the isolating “I” (it’s a lonely description of something that only he is experiencing).

3. Major Takeaways • Structure – could discuss caesura, uniformity of stanzas, etc. • Dickinson – caesura/pauses to accentuate the hesitancy of facing the unknown (but we find our way in time). • Frost – uniform stanzas unbroken by dramatic pauses like Dickinson’s to accentuate the fixed darkness in his life. • Imagery – hesitance and lessened fear vs. total acceptance and sorrow • Dickinson – imagery suggests uncertainty initially upon entering new situations, but ends on a promising note. • Frost – imagery suggests a deeper, sorrowful darkness/difficulty as he’s isolated from everyone and everything (emphasizing his loneliness).

4. Writing Tips For your next timed write…

5. Thesis • Your thesis must be an interpretation of the poem’s meaning, which you’ll support with specific and varied evidence from the text. • In your thesis: • Include specificity / qualifiers (e.g. don’t just say “uses diction to show…”). • Addressallparts of the prompt.

6. Thesis • Example of prompt: • Write an essay in which you analyze how the style and structure of Maxine Kumin’s “Woodchucks” convey the speaker’s attitude toward killing the woodchucks in her garden. • Too broad: • Maxine Kumin uses style and structure to convey the speaker’s attitude toward killing the woodchucks in her poem, “Woodchucks.” • Too narrow: • In “Woodchucks,” the speaker’s diction is violent and defensive.

7. Organization • You can organize as you see fit, based on the question – for example, you can: • Can organize around the style elements (e.g. structure, imagery) • Can organize according to the progression of the question or the piece itself (e.g. first looking at Dickinson, then Frost; starting with an examination of the beginning of a poem and working your way through the whole piece in order)

8. Integrating quotes • Incorporate numerous specific references to the text. • Integrate quotes smoothly • Don’t include giant blocks of text all at once • Weave your commentary in between as well • Your voice should prevail • Offer thoughtful commentary on what you quote • To check your evidence, highlight all the quotes you incorporated in your essay • If primarily a string of quotes with not a lot of un-highlighted commentary, you need to focus more on expanding your explanations of how/why this evidence matters (in relation to your thesis)

9. Integrating Quotes – insufficient commentary • The violent word choices in “Woodchucks” help create a battle scene in the poem, illustrating the change the speaker undergoes as the war between humans and nature escalates. The woodchucks are “no worse for the cyanide,” still “nipping the broccoli shoots, beheading the carrots.” The speaker references World War II, including “the quiet Nazi way” and “gassing.” She also takes up arms, “thrilling / to the feel of the .22,” “[draws] a bead” on a baby woodchuck, then triumphs again as she “drop[s] the mother,” whose body “flipflop[s] in the air.” She feels the “murderer inside” and like a “hawkeye killer.” She stays “cocked and ready day after day after day” as she “hunts [the old woodchuck’s] humped up form.”

10. Integrating Quotes – Strong commentary • The violent word choices in “Woodchucks” help create a battle scene in the poem, illustrating the change the speaker undergoes as the war between humans and nature escalates. The woodchucks, on a rampage, are “nipping the broccoli shoots” and “beheading the carrots.” Their actions against the speaker’s garden, as well as the speaker’s response, are acts of war, and casualties follow. The speaker’s references to World War II bring the battle to a new level, as words like “gassing” and “Nazi” remind us that wartime atrocities take place both seen and unseen. The speaker sees herself as a soldier who must accomplish her mission, though she is aware that her actions are over the top. There is, however, no denying a certain sense of glee as the speaker prepares to fight. She finds the .22 “thrilling” and is proud of being able to “[draw] a bead” as she “dropped the mother.” She believes she is an even match for the woodchucks and assumes that the playing field is level because they attacked her first. While she is honest enough with herself to see that there is a “murderer inside her,” she’s not quite self-aware enough to know that the war against the old woodchuck, which keeps her “cocked and ready day after day after day” has dehumanized her. Both through her actions and the language used to describe them, the speaker’s uneasy relationship with nature is made clear.