Notes for practice exam

Question: 

5. Patterns, aimed at the mind, the heart or the ear of the reader, are used by poets to 
achieve their purposes. In the work of at least two poets you have studied, examine various patterns and their effects.

Outline: 

• Introduction
• Thesis: Poets can use different patterns to emphasize the points they want to show. Emily Dickinson follow the patterns on form, like repetition and rhyme, while Naomi Shihab Nye wrote more cultural connections, like figs and Palestinians. 
• First Paragraph: talk about the form of Blood, and the background of Naomi Shihab Nye. (Pattern-- free verse, Palestinian) She mentions Palestinian culture, figs, and grandma in every poem. 
• Second: analyze the sentences. Especially connection to 911, terrorists and true arabs. 
• Third: form of Hope is the thing with feather. repetition, rhyme, and dashes. Mention that Emily Dickinson always follow rules, and the patterns actually make the poem sound great. Also talk about the division of sentences. (one period) Also talk about personalize abstract things. She always talked about nature. 
• Fourth: talk about the contents. analyze the poem sentence by sentence. Remember to talk about the two ways to look at the poem. (positive: hope is around and free, negative: hope never comes). 
• Conclusion

Quotes may use: 

Hope is the thing with feather:

1. I’ve heard it in the chillest land - 

And on the strangest Sea - 

Yet - never - in Extremity, 

It asked a crumb - of me.

2. And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard - 

And sore must be the storm - 

That could abash the little Bird 

Blood: 

1. A true Arab knows how to catch a fly in his hands,”   

2. True Arabs believed watermelon could heal fifty ways.   

3. Years before, a girl knocked,

wanted to see the Arab.

I said we didn’t have one.

4. “Shihab”—“shooting star”—

Once I said, “When we die, we give it back?”   

He said that’s what a true Arab would say.

5. Homeless fig, this tragedy with a terrible root   

is too big for us. What flag can we wave?

I wave the flag of stone and seed,

table mat stitched in blue.

6. I drive into the country to find sheep, cows,   

to plead with the air:

Who calls anyone civilized?

Where can the crying heart graze?

What does a true Arab do now?

In class writing

Nature is what we see: 

"Nature" is what we see—

The Hill—the Afternoon—Squirrel—Eclipse— the Bumble bee—Nay—Nature is Heaven—Nature is what we hear—The Bobolink—the Sea—Thunder—the Cricket—Nay—Nature is Harmony—Nature is what we know—Yet have no art to say—So impotent Our Wisdom isTo her Simplicity. 

In this poem, there is only one stanza. It seems that there is only one sentence, because there is only one period, but actually, there are several sentences, if I divide it well. In my opinion, there are actually three sentences. One is the first four lines; second one starts from the fifth line and ends at the eighth line; the last sentence is the last four lines. Emily Dickinson was always following the poem forms. In this poem, it also follows a certain pattern. Every sentence starts with the form "Nature is what we...", and the following lines just unfold the idea. Also, this poem has several tones. Firstly, she used repetition at the beginning of the lines. The lines start with "Nature" and "Nay". Secondly, she rhymed a lot at the end of the lines, like "see", "Bumble bee", "Sea", "Harmony", and "Simplicity". This is kind of interesting. Also, she used dashes in this poem. There are not many poets use dashes to end their lines, but this is a significant thing for Emily Dickinson. The dashes are her special form. Consequently, Emily Dickinson always followed the forms of poems, like repetitions or rhymes, but she also had her own uniqueness, like the dashes. 

Obviously, the theme of this poem is "Nature". In this poem, Emily Dickinson also used metaphors. This is actually one of her traits. She always used metaphors in her poems. In this poem, she made nature which is immaterial become material, like squirrels, the sea, of hills. From the poem, we can see that the author believed nature is everything. She mentioned many little things in our life, such as hills, squirrels, bumble bees... She believed nature is beautiful, because it is hills, or eclipse.Nature is also melodious, because it is also bobolink, the sea, thunder and cricket. Also, she thought nature is great. Besides the little things, nature is also thunders, and sea. If people do not respect nature, it would roar. However, humans always think they are the smartest creature. They do not respect nature. They do not understand that even themselves are created by the nature.

Mock poem test

Many writers like to give some space to readers and let them define the work on their own. Emily Dikinson was actually one of them. In the poem, “Hope” is the thing with feathers -, she used a metaphor that described hope as a bird. The most interesting part is the last stanza. “I’ve heard it in the chillest land - And on the strangest Sea - Yet - never - in Extremity, It asked a crumb - of me.” This few lines can be seen both in positive and negative way. 

Firstly, it can be seen from a positive way. “I’ve heard it in the chillest land - And on the strangest Sea”, this two lines show that hope is always here. Even in the “Chillest land” and “strangest sea”, which refer to extreme difficulties, hope is always with people and encourage them to overcome the difficulties. Also, the lines: “Yet - never - in Extremity, It asked a crumb - of me.” actually show that hope never asks people for anything. Birds always ask for crumbs, but hope ever does. Like air or sunshine, it’s free and for anybody who needs it. 

Secondly, the same contents can also be appreciated from a negative perspective. The lines: “I’ve heard it in the chillest land - And on the strangest Sea” actually shows how unreal hope is for the author. In the far “Chillest land” and “strangest sea”, she could only hear it, but she can never reach it. The next lines actually emphasize this point. “Yet - never - in Extremity, It asked a crumb - of me.”. It is a natural thing for birds to ask food, but weirdly, the “hope” bird never asks the author, though she could always hear it. This actually means that hope is far far away from the author, and it is so unreal for her. She always heard people talking about hope—she could always hear it “in the chillest land - And on the strangest Sea”, but “Yet - never - in Extremity, It asked a crumb - of me.”, the bird never asks food from her, which means she never sees what real hope looks like. 

True Broadway Piece

This is the first time I watched a show in Broadway. Personally, I think it deserved Broadway’s reputation. Only talking about the stage is already very impressive. The stage was a adventurous, but successful design, however, I think it can only be shown by Broadway crew. 

Actually, before I watched the play, I already knew how the stage was set up, so I was not surprised, but I was still impressed by their design. Firstly, the design of the stage was actually smart and beautiful. They created several different scenes by simply using projectors and letting actors move props. For example, when Christopher was asking neighbors about the dead dog, the crew did not build real houses, instead, they projected the house numbers on the floor. At first, it was a little bit confusing for me. I did not get why the actors were dancing. Then I realized they were just quickly staging different houses. Also, there was always a dog on the center of the stage, it represented the dead dog. This was a smart design. The actors always had double roles, so they did not have to use many actors. However, I think this would not work for any theaters. Firstly, to show the best effect, the theater must use best projectors. Also, they have to change the floor and walls to the materials which can get better projected. I wonder normal theaters can’t afford these things. Secondly, in the neighborhood scene, the only props were the trains and the white suitcases. Therefore, to show the story, it can only rely on actors’ acting. The actors must be professional and talented. Though, the neighbors were small characters, everyone had his/her unique personality. For instance, one neighbor was partying, and he was actually drunk, when Christopher was trying to ask his questions. It was so difficult for a group of people act like partying without any props. Broadway had the best actors in the world, so they could achieve it. I am not sure if other small theaters can still do this. Consequently, the stage design was truly a master piece, but I think this design also had a big limitation—it can only work for Broadway crew. 

In conclusion, the staging design was unique and daring. I’m sure everyone who watched this play would be impressed. However, in my opinion, its uniqueness also created some limitation to this play. Honestly, I think this design can only be presented by Broadway. 

Poem Blog

- My Father and the Fig Tree
   Theme: A lesson from father
   This poem shows father's passion to the fig trees. The author first did not understand, and then she finally knew the meaning of father's passion.
   Quotation: There, in the middle of Dallas, Texas, 
                      a tree with the largest, fattest, 
                      sweetest fig in the world. 
- Arabic Coffee
   Theme: faith and hope to family
   In this poem, the coffee was actually a symbol of family for the author.
   Quotation: And none was
                      more important than the others,
                      and all were guests. 

- My Grandmother in the Stars
   Theme: love to grandmother
   She moved to US, but her grandmother was still at home. This poem describes the love to her grandmother, and the author missed her grandmother.
    Quotation: Take this home with you,
                        never again,
                        and only memory making us rich.

stage proposal

This is a visual version of my stage proposal. This is the scene that people are rescuing the whales. Koro and Kahu's father stand on the elevator. They use the telescope to see what is happening on the beach, like leaders. Kanu stands on the ground under the elevator. She has to look up at Koro like she always does. Also, I would like to show the whales by projector. The projector projects the image or video on upstage. Then other actors are acting like they are rescuing the whales. Moreover, the little houses represent the village. The telephone stages left, this where Rawiri narrates.

Whale Rider for Black Box

“It’s not his fault, it’s that I’m a girl. ” This is from the book Whale Rider. When I read this sentence, my heart actually hurt. This story has interesting plot, so when I read it, I already pictured how it is like on the stage. If I’m going to adapt the novel, I will highlight the relationship between Koro and Kahu, and whales will not appear in the play. 

Firstly, Koro’s attitude to Kahu is a big part in this story. At first, I thought this is an anti-feminist book, but actually this is a story says that girls can also be leaders. In my play, I would let Koro show up more often to highlight the change of his attitude. For example, I would set up a scene that Kahu is practicing diving or swimming, and Koro saw her. He rebuked her and walked away. Another scene is after Kahu recovers and becomes a new leader, Koro and she are playing in the sea. Koro kindly touches Kahu’s head an says that she makes a big progress. The extinct change actually emphasizes the main idea of the story. 

Secondly, the staging is the most exciting part to plan. If I am the director, I would like to have the village as the main stage. Consider the restriction in black box, I would only have two stages— one is the village, one is the ocean. I will set several houses on the stage to represent the village and use a shiny blue cloth to cover the floor and show the ocean scene. Also, I would let Uncle Rawiri narrate what happens in Australia rather that setting a real stage. There will be a telephone booth on the right stage, and Rawiri will call in that booth. Moreover, about the whales, I would not make real whales, instead, I would use projector to project the scene that whales strand. At the meantime, the main characters, such as Koro, stage left. It’s better to have an elevator or a ladder. The actors can stand on it as standing on a little hill. Koro will hold a telescope and tell people what to do. This avoids to make fake whales and highlight Koro as a leader. In addition, about costumes, I will put more attention on Rawiri. He is always a interesting character. He goes to Australia alone and meets a lot of friends. He is such a cool guy. Therefore, in this play, I will emphasize his adventurous personality through costumes. As the novel says, he has a cool motorcycle. Also, I will let him wear leather jacket, cowboy boots and ripped jeans. As he said in the book: “I’m always a cowboy.” Consequently, I design the stage and the play that can best suit for black box. 

In conclusion, it is not an easy task to adapt Whale Rider to a play, but this is fun. It is important to show the main idea, and I will achieve this by highlighting the relationship between Koro and Kahu. Also, it is important to adapt a realistic version for black box. To achieve this, I only have two stages, and people can easily change between scenes.