Happy Day!

Cather’s Style; Nature as a Character

Notice descriptions of setting on pg 35- Notice descriptions of setting on pg 35- What kind of diction does Cather use? What kind of diction does Cather use? How does this relate to what is happening in this part of the story? How does this relate to what is happening in this part of the story?

Nature as Character Beginning of Chapter 9 (IX) Beginning of Chapter 9 (IX) Description of winter landscape (41-44) Description of winter landscape (41-44) “I was convinced that man’s strongest antagonist was the cold” (44) Cold/winter as antagonist in the story. Cold/winter as antagonist in the story.

Nature as a character Pg 21 elm tree Pg 21 elm tree Pg 78 spring Pg 78 spring Pg 89 thunderstorm Pg 89 thunderstorm

Seasons and plot alignment What season was it, at the beginning of the novel? What season was it, at the beginning of the novel? What seasons have we moved through? What seasons have we moved through? How are the seasons related to events that are happening in the novel? How are the seasons related to events that are happening in the novel? What season is it, in your reading right now? What season is it, in your reading right now?

Be aware of Imagery “At last I saw a dark spot moving on the west hill, beside the half-buried cornfield, where the sky was taking on a coppery flush from the sun that did not quite break through” (54). “At last I saw a dark spot moving on the west hill, beside the half-buried cornfield, where the sky was taking on a coppery flush from the sun that did not quite break through” (54).

Imagery/Simile “The snow did not fall this time, it simply spilled out of heaven, like thousands of feather-beds being emptied” (60). “The snow did not fall this time, it simply spilled out of heaven, like thousands of feather-beds being emptied” (60).

The prairie-grass dividing, its special odor breathing, I demand of it the spiritual corresponding, Demand the most copious and close companionship of men, Demand the blades to rise of words, acts, beings, Those of the open atmosphere, coarse, sunlit, fresh, nutritious, Those that go their own gait, erect, stepping with freedom and command, leading not following, Those with a never-quell’d audacity, those with sweet and lusty flesh clear of taint, Those that look carelessly in the faces of Presidents and governors, as to say Who are you? Those of the earth-born passion, simple, never constrain’d, never obedient, Those of inland America. -Walt Whitman-

Found poem (Two options!) Considerations: Weather, seasons, moodiness, wild vs. cultivated, sensory images, etc. Poetic style- repetition, line breaks (enjambment), dramatic pause (caesura); consider the expansiveness of language

Black-Out Poems

Maintain passage’s essence

Play with the page- but focus on language

Get Creative and Symbolic

Homework Read My Antonia, Book II, Chapters 1-7 Read My Antonia, Book II, Chapters 1-7 Continue gathering examples that illustrate your assigned topic Continue gathering examples that illustrate your assigned topic Finish found poem (if needed)- keep these for next class. Finish found poem (if needed)- keep these for next class.