Susan Willis
Hello from New York. My name is Susan, and I teach literature & composition to high school students. I am taking this course for professional development and personal enrichment.
Location New York
Activity
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Susan Willis made a comment
To elicit reader response from my 14 year old students, I would ask (a) Who is the narrator? (b) How would you characterize his "love"?
Patterns to draw attention to: rhyme and repetition (such as "untutored youth" & "unlearned"). Linguistic / grammatical content: pun ("lie" = "falsehood". "lie" also = "recline". Consider Shakespeare's unusual syntax ----... -
Susan Willis made a comment
It seems to me that there are 4 fictional worlds: inside the bus, the terrain / environment outside the bus, the destination (presumably some sort of prison), and Stanley's home (where his imagination created Camp Fun & Games.)
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Susan Willis made a comment
This excerpt is defined as an extract from a novel. I wonder if it is the opening few paragraphs. If so, I must say it is engaging. I am compelled to continue reading. Stanley sounds like a character who has a strong imagination and great perseverance (despite the grim circumstances.)
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Susan Willis made a comment
I realize that this does not directly address the topic, but I have a question about the types of verbs identified in the character analysis of this lesson. They were 'action', 'perception', and 'speech.' Where do 'verbs of being' fit? (or is that another lesson?) Writers would be lost without such expressions as 'She grew tired'; 'They felt ill'; 'He was kind.'
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Susan Willis replied to CLEDSON DOS SANTOS
I appreciated this introduction to cognitive linguistics.
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Susan Willis made a comment
PATTERNS:
Stanzas 1, 2, 3 begin with the imperative "Teach."
Stanza 4 begins with an opposite command: "Don't teach."
All 4 stanzas have an a-b-c-b rhyme scheme (while the last line of the final stanza contains internal rhyme with the words "that" and "cat.")
I note the diverging ideas with the cat on a "high-wire trip.....to hideaway places"... -
Susan Willis made a comment
This delightful poem confers praise on a cat (and dismisses a dog.) I think my students would appreciate this since most have these pets. I like the sound devices: shake clink, purr, yaps, hiss. I can just picture the cat of the first 3 stanzas (elegant, undemanding, independent, and spoiled) vs the dog (whose need for friendly interaction and attention is...
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Susan Willis made a comment
In response to the last point of this introductory article, I have to keep reminding myself that "the course is organized around texts and effects, not grammatical language or features." (It was not what I expected, but by the middle of Week 3 I was 'catching on' to the rationale for such an approach.)
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Susan Willis made a comment
Questions to guide reader response:
1. What feelings does Johnson want to elicit in the listener?
2. Do certain words have strong connotations?
How do grammar choices produce certain effects?
1. The parallel structure (repetition of 'between' in the presentation
scenarios if we remain in the E.U. or if we 'Brexit')
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Susan Willis made a comment
Exploit the setting / situation!
Those at the bus stop have a place to go. Animals at the care charity have no place unless you help! -
Susan Willis made a comment
The purpose of this text is persuasive. It is meant to engage the reader so that he becomes aware of the seriousness of heart disease -- so much so that he is willing to go to the website and to 'join the fight." While there is some appeal to 'logos' ("heart disease can kill when you least expect it"), the main appeal is to 'pathos' ("You're looking up to...
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Susan Willis made a comment
After the problem is identified, the solutions can be presented in a way that suggests hierarchy (such as the easiest solution to the most challenging one.) To achieve grammatical cohesion between the 'problem' and 'solution', the phrase "IN ORDER TO preserve our environment......." could be used. Alternatively, the writer could begin "Our current pollution...
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Susan Willis made a comment
The difference between 'cohesion' and 'coherence' are not entirely clear to me. However, I will add that the extract from this newspaper article is organized in a way that is easy for the reader to follow. The stage is set in opening statement: "village high street". It is followed by 'what was' -- several independent shops vital to village life. The...
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Susan Willis made a comment
My school is in suburban New York but draws students from 55 communities -- some large cities and some small towns. However, none would have the context for understanding this village in England and the vital need for local specialty shops. I like the suggestion of fellow learners: the effective use of photos. I can share my experience of having lived in a...
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Susan Willis made a comment
Great exercise ---- and I have heard for the first time the expression "the patient."
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Susan Willis made a comment
Headline #1 depicts the protestors in a bad light.
Headline #2 seems to celebrate the role of police and order in society.
Headline #3 may catch the attention of a reader who is concerned the destruction in his or her neighborhood (though because it is written in passive voice, the focus is not on those who presumably caused the destruction.)
Headline #4 is... -
Susan Willis made a comment
Another question to elicit reader response could be this: consider such word choices as "destroy" and "night-long". What is this meant to elicit in the reader of the headline? Can you suggest other effective, powerful words that would draw the reader into the article?
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Susan Willis made a comment
Good reminder that newspaper articles = a genre. My students do not read newspaper articles (physical or online) apart, perhaps, from an occasional interaction in a Social Studies class. For the most part, they seem to gather their news from their Social Media. A few students work on a school publication, thereby gaining some experience with the composition of...
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Susan Willis made a comment
My students have analyzed speeches as well as expository and persuasive articles / essays. Students have learned to look for and to appreciate each writer's choice of diction and use of imagery and rhetorical devices. They consider how effective a piece of writing is by noting the emotional and logical appeals to the reader.
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Susan Willis made a comment
Talk about "out of context"! It is impossible to answer that question without some context. I can say "building" is not a verb (unless we add a helping / auxiliary verb). It can be a gerund (-ing word derived from a verb but used as a noun) or a present participle (-ing word derived from verb but used as adjective). Of course, 'building' can also be used...
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That last remark is interesting!
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Susan Willis made a comment
“Learning British Standard English is important, but does not need to come at the expense of other varieties.” This excerpt from the article sums it up well. I believe, though, that before students can employ “language variety” in their writing (where it may convey something about character, mood, tone), they need to know (or continue to be learning) ...
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Susan Willis made a comment
What motivates a character? What might have happened before the story began?
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Susan Willis made a comment
excerpt from Blake's poem: awe, fear, beauty
excerpt from Yorkshire travel: informative, intriguing -
Susan Willis made a comment
I am still trying to better understand how a writer's effect (which can be very personal / individual) on a reader helps to hone that reader's understanding of grammar (which is very objective.)
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Susan Willis made a comment
From a grammatical standpoint, I think readers would / should expect to find complete sentences (for instance) in a persuasive essay whereas they might find phrases in an advert and poem. A novel excerpt would probably include dialogue (and, therefore, an opportunity for reviewing certain punctuation.) In all of these types of writing, the reader can detect...
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Susan Willis replied to Luc Wyn
Luke -- these remarks are very helpful. Until now I was struggling to understand the approach to teaching in context when students have no (or little) prior introduction to basic terminology.
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Susan Willis made a comment
I learned some new terminology.
What a comprehensive glossary! -
Susan Willis replied to Sarah Collier
I agree with your remarks, Sarah. If teacher and student share grammatical terminology, it's easier for the teacher to provide feedback about writing. For example, I may remind a student who is editing an essay to be mindful of fragments, subject / verb agreement, and shift in person.
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Susan Willis made a comment
Good article! And I agree with the need to find ways that engage this generation of students through the interactivity and stimulation that technology offers. At the same time, I see nothing wrong with some good 'old fashioned drilling' from time to time.
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Susan Willis made a comment
Just created an account and surveyed the site.
I look forward to returning. -
Susan Willis replied to Catherine Reynolds
I am not a Luddite --- but (as Catherine noted) I do not use social media either.
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Susan Willis replied to Elfi Troi
Thanks.
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Susan Willis replied to Iryna Gokhman
I concur that the subject is important but can be boring. I try to make it relevant to students' formal writing (not their social media postings!) I think a good command of grammar can facilitate greater appreciation and understanding of literature. It can also help students be successful in their World Languages coursework. (I teach English Literature &...
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Susan Willis made a comment
I look forward to learning the best ways to impart this important topic to teenagers.
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Susan Willis made a comment
“…….totalled in toldteld and teldtold in tattletale tattle…..”
The alliteration made me laugh when I read out loud. Reading from FINNEGANS WAKE reinforces the importance of enunciating and infusing emotion and proper pauses when I speak (as church lector and teacher.) -
Susan Willis made a comment
Reading aloud and taming expectations are helpful. Approaching the prose as one would read and listen to poetry is also helpful. I could identify some of the Latin and (I think) Middle English. I could also understand the parts of speech (though not necessarily the meanings) of many of Joyce's neologisms (reminiscent of reading some of e.e. cumings' poetry)....
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Susan Willis made a comment
so many layers of meaning........I will need to return to this when I feel a bit more grounded with Joyce's imagination
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Susan Willis made a comment
I knew nothing about "Finnigan's Wake" until watching the video intro. to Week 3 and reading this short article (as well as many of the insightful remarks of fellow classmates here.) I think I will be approaching this work of literature as much more than that --- more of a work of art. I am feeling intellectually inept at the moment (although enthusiastic...
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Susan Willis made a comment
I feel better prepared (and more motivated) to tackle a few more sections of this tome (thanks to the helpful background, analysis, and contribution of course professors and fellow learners).
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Susan Willis made a comment
Upon Joyce's death, Ezra Pound wrote a short essay in tribute to Joyce and "Ulysses". Here is an excerpt: "It was in its author's own mind a mine of rich COMEDY, not a crucifix set in a chapel or a bag of saint's bones to be worshipped....." (As I recall, Pound had criticized the novel earlier.) I am inspired by Joyce's capacious mind --- employing myriad...
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Susan Willis replied to Steve C
Thanks for sharing the pictures of the pub.
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Susan Willis replied to Mary Mc Mullen
very funny video at a wake!
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Susan Willis made a comment
Allusions to contemporary life in Dublin (1904) enrich the text, creating verisimilitude. However, some of the allusions will be lost on readers who are unfamiliar with them. The novel is rife with allusions, and if I (or other readers?) took the time to look them all up, we might never get through it. (I am recalling advice from earlier in this course -- just...
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Susan Willis made a comment
Perhaps an nationalist's 'indifference or criticism of the political, even violent, forms' that nationalism could take belie a frustration, disappointment, anxiety, and anger of the current state. It's too simple an analysis about one whose self-imposed exile was a reaction to the suffocation and oppression he felt in his otherwise beloved Ireland. Is he...
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Susan Willis made a comment
I only began to notice the parallels to Homer's ODYSSEY because of the title of Joyce's novel. My edition does not have subtitles for each of the episodes. Perhaps other editions do? Even with such aids, the reader still has much to ponder and to grasp.
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Susan Willis made a comment
This article was informative and helpful, yet I still have difficulty understanding the literary technique 'stream of consciousness.'
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Susan Willis made a comment
I recall a professor saying once "Certain books cannot be read; they can only be reread." I know that ULYSSES is one of those. I have read some excerpts as well as some analysis. I know I have still have a lot to learn. The links (articles) above provided helpful orientation, foundation, and invitation.
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Susan Willis made a comment
These lessons have been incredibly informative, enriching, and (yes!) challenging. I look forward to continuing.
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Susan Willis made a comment
In "The Dead", I could hear the variety of sounds and contrasts --- Mary Jane playing the piano to a "hushed drawing room"........"to great applause". Gretta's reference to "The Lass of Anghrim" is a testament to music's evocative powers; in particular, to facilitate for her the recollection of Michael Furey.
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Susan Willis made a comment
The excerpt from "Sirens" has some creative words. For instance, Joyce replicates sound with "Imperthnthn thnthnthn". He includes oxymorons "jingle" and "clock clacked". The line "A sail! A veil awave upon the waves" is so lyrical.
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Susan Willis made a comment
I have really begun to appreciate the aural imagery in Joyce. I was intrigued by the personification of the harp in "Two Gallants": "His harp, too, heedless that her coverings had fallen about her knees, seemed weary like of the eyes of strangers..." The juxtaposition of the "mournful music" that follows the young men with the "noise of...
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Susan Willis made a comment
alliteration: "steeping and stuping" & "don't be dabbling"
Is this a pun? "You'll die when you hear" (alluding to title of novel)? -
Susan Willis made a comment
I resonated with millie kate's remarks (Sept. 9) re music as a universal language. Infusing music into the literature offers another layer of meaning, engages the reader's aural sense more profoundly, and complements the narration and dialogue to enhance meaning.
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Susan Willis made a comment
The question seems to imply that we are considering a writer whose works (plural) are rife with music. While I cannot think of a writer whose oeuvre is permeated by music, I can identify individual works where music is significant. For instance, in "Beowulf", Grendel is annoyed by the music (and light) of Herot: "As day after day the music rang / Loud in that...
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Susan Willis made a comment
I have never really considered the first question -- how a modern novelist retains a "knowledge of the closeness" of art and Christianity which has characterized much of Western history. Joyce's Christian (specifically Catholic) allusions (in "The Sisters" and the excerpt from "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man") are overt. But even contemporary writers...
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Susan Willis made a comment
The narrator of "The Sisters" experiences an epiphany moment when he learns of the death of Fr. Flynn. When the news is announced, he remains quiet and engrossed in his meal while others in the kitchen are looking at him and expecting a reaction. He is almost "paralyzed" (as this word is repeated in the story and applied literally to Fr. Flynn and...
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Susan Willis made a comment
Joyce tells his brother: "Don’t you think there is certain resemblance between the mystery of the Mass and what I am trying to do? … to give people some kind of intellectual pleasure or spiritual enjoyment by converting the bread of everyday life into something that has permanent artistic life of its own. … for their mental and moral uplift." In Joyce's time,...
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Susan Willis made a comment
"Despite his eventual atheism, like Stephen, Joyce remained profoundly Catholic." I was struck by this statement. While he was not religious, he was profoundly spiritual, and it seems that Joyce could not excise from his heart what had been instilled in him by family, schooling, and country. Nevertheless, I find it odd that he pledged himself to the "Gospel...
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Susan Willis made a comment
These excerpts offer a glimpse into Stephen's intellectual and imaginative maturation (from the initial attempts at simple expression to the complex interior monologue (?) / stream of consciousness (?) of the diarist.) Although readers are conscious of "intentional fallacy", I can't help but conflate some of Joyce's experiences with those of Dedalus (in order...
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I agree with the claim by Tim Peters: "The work takes precedence". I also appreciated T.J. Welsch's admonition (as Robert Herman noted):
"Rather than fixate on which details are ‘true’ to Joyce’s life or not, we can see how he mined his lived experience, interweaving it with exhaustive research for other details, in the hope of reaching a new depth of... -
Susan Willis made a comment
".........if you wanted to succeed you had to go away. You could do nothing in Dublin." I was struck by this excerpt, this belief of Little Chandler who felt that he could not fulfill his aspirations in Dublin. Then I read some of Joyce's letters and remembered that he also seemed to need to go elsewhere (Paris, Trieste) to feel welcomed and successful....
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Susan Willis made a comment
"the take-home message" = tenacity! hope! diligence!
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Susan Willis made a comment
I like the idea of considering the historical context (and of vicarious travel to Ireland!)
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Susan Willis made a comment
Like me, about 10% are "more of an Austen fan." But like the 51%, I have read a little. I love to learn and want to hone my critical reading skills and knowledge over the next few weeks.
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Susan Willis made a comment
Hello classmates and Professors!
My name is Sue, and I teach high school English in New York. I am taking this class as part of my professional development (to maintain teaching certification) and also for personal enrichment. -
Susan Willis made a comment
Whether books were bound or unbound was probably determined by such factors as production cost, customer interest, aesthetic value, and binders' access to materials.
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Susan Willis made a comment
The frontpiece for “Songs of Innocence” connotes a time and place where children are nurtured by an adult. While the title is large and dramatic, the 3 people in the illustration look very much at peace. When juxtaposed with “Songs of Experience”, this frontpiece will engage the reader (promising poems that will be gentle, sweet, positive, happy, and hopeful.)
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Susan Willis made a comment
The printers probably reused illustrations in order to save money. I wonder, too, if the reappearance of illustrations might have suggested to readers a certain validity, importance, or enduring quality (kind of how we regard “the classics”).
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Susan Willis made a comment
Apart from the answer to the question, I must say what a laborious process…….and yet the effort produces such beauty! These texts are works of art!
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Susan Willis made a comment
I marvel at this database from the Bodleian Library.
I searched Oxfordshire since it is the area of England with which I am most familiar (saw stationer, bookseller, printer, publisher.) -
Susan Willis made a comment
I concur with what Rebecca and Desma wrote.
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Susan Willis made a comment
The internet might rival the invention of Gutenberg’s press.
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Susan Willis made a comment
This was a helpful reminder since the last time I took a course.
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Susan Willis made a comment
Does poetry need to have a use?
"A poem should not mean
But be." (Archibald McLeish)
Poetry can be 'silent' and yet still 'profound.'
I think poetry has different uses to different people at different times.
While poetry may be as powerful as compelling someone to act, it can be just as useful in its ability to be admired and... -
Susan Willis made a comment
When I may be sad or anxious, I recall the last stanza from Wordsworth's "Daffodils": "For oft when on my couch I lie/In vacant or in pensive mood,/They flash upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude./And then my heart with pleasure fills/And dances with the daffodils."
Simply put ----- recalling happier times can be therapeutic. -
Susan Willis made a comment
I was struck by a phrase in this article: "role of the poet in mediating the miraculous". I could also envision that scene from "The History Boys" (saw both the film and the Broadway production) where the teacher makes an impression about poetry's power and relevance for his student.
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Susan Willis made a comment
Loved the idea of Roger Robinson: "Poems are empathy machines." I also was reminded of how important "context" is after first seeing the excerpt by W.H. Auden (poetic tribute to Yeats) apart from the poem and then in its context.
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well-said, Mark!
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Susan Willis made a comment
I knew a little about ekphrasis but nothing about intermediality. I really enjoyed learning about the interplay between visual arts and the written word. Each does enrich the other and provides a more rewarding experience for the viewer / reader.
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Susan Willis made a comment
I recognized many of these literary, artistic, and historical allusions. As far as the enigmatic ones, well, they were easy to look up online.
The hard part, though is this: making sense of the peppering of allusions throughout this poem (while keeping in mind Macleish's exhortation: "A Poem should not mean, but be.") I DO want to understand poetry so that... -
Susan Willis made a comment
I can appreciate Plath's poem without reading Lowell's. However, if I know that Plath was inspired by Lowell as she composed her poem, then I can glean more through intertextuality. How can we know, though, when a composition has been influenced by another?
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Susan Willis made a comment
Can you think of any further examples of interesting or famous intertexts?
* I wonder if pastiches and parodies are examples of intertextuality.
For instance, the contemporary novel "Longbourn" responds to
"Pride and Prejudice" (from the servants' perspectives) or "Death
Comes to Pemberley" (acts as a kind of sequel). I recall C.... -
Susan Willis made a comment
I have learned most from the section on meter and scansion (and realize how much more I still have to understand!)
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Susan Willis made a comment
Thanks for engaging and informative presentations.
(SO much to learn!) -
Susan Willis made a comment
“A leaf falls” by e. e. cummings is a simple yet powerful poem which uses space well.
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Susan Willis made a comment
Appreciating poetry involves engaging all the senses.
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Susan Willis made a comment
The last “prompting question” was very helpful. Then I recalled having read Plath’s “Metaphors” which begins “I am a riddle in nine syllables.” The poem contain 9 lines, each with 9 syllables. In short, it is about a woman who is pregnant. I had never seen or heard of “You’re” which is a bit complementary to “Metaphors”!
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Susan Willis made a comment
I never really considered "white space" as integral to a poem's meaning (but will do so from now on!) Penny Boxall's idea of first approaching a poem by "squinting at it" is very good advice. I don't do that enough.
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Susan Willis made a comment
The sonnet is versatile -- it suits so many individuals' ideas across so many countries and so much time. I never really thought much beyond the traditional composers of sonnets such as Shakespeare and Keats.
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Susan Willis made a comment
Context and traditions help me understand poetry.
However, that is just a starting point. Applying different perspectives (and schools of literary criticism) can help me glean more from a creative work. I appreciated Joyce Barker's idea that "tradition" is not "the issue." It's "traditionalists." -
Susan Willis made a comment
"Penelope" by Carol Ann Duffy ........I like how it shows us the perspective of the wife of Odysseus. Readers of Homer's epic seem to focus on Penelope's spousal fidelity in a patriarchal world. This poem makes the reader think about her qualities as a strong and independent woman.
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Susan Willis made a comment
Tough question! But if I must decide -- content or expression -- I think I need to go with the latter. Poetry is a genre that says so much in so few words (apart from epics, of course). Therefore, the poet's choice of diction and use of figurative language must be seriously regarded by the reader. What a poem says will be enhanced by how the poet conveys the...