An Introduction to SOAPSTone Friday, October 28th Materials: Binder, pen/pencil

Agenda SOAPStone for “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Discussion Article of the Week Discussion

SOAPSTone Speaker Occasion Audience Purpose Subject Tone

S O A P S T o n e Who is the Speaker? It is not enough simply to name the speaker. Whose voice is telling the story? What assumptions can you make about the speaker (e.g., age, gender, class, occupation, emotional state)? Remember that the author and the speaker are not necessarily the same, and that the author may tell the story from more than one point of view. What does the speaker believe? Do not assume that the author believes what the speaker believes. If the text is non-fiction, include important facts about the speaker that might help you make judgments about his or her point of view. O A P S T o n e

S O A P S T o n e What is the Occasion? Occasion is not simply identifying the time and place. Consider the larger occasion or context: the environment of ideas, attitudes, and emotions surrounding an issue. Then examine the immediate occasion that may have inspired this specific response. O A P S T o n e

S O A P S T o n e Who is the Audience? To whom is this text directed? It’s not enough to say: “Anyone who reads it.” Is it one individual, a group, many groups? What assumptions can you make about the intended audience? How might the intended audience have been similar to or different from you? O A P S T o n e

S O A P S T o n e What is the Purpose? What is the speaker’s reason for writing the text? What is its intended effect? How is it supposed to make the audience feel? What change does the author want to see as a result? Is the author’s aim to entertain, to inform, to persuade, to critique, to complain, to explain, to describe, or to reflect? Consider that oftentimes writers have a dual purpose.  O A P S T o n e

S O A P S T o n e What is the Subject? The subject is the general topic, content, and ideas contained in the text. This can usually be stated in a few words or a phrase. The subjects of texts are frequently abstract: the right to die, racism, poverty, conformity, cloning, global warming, etc.  O A P S T o n e

S O A P S T o n e What is the Tone? Tone is the attitude of the speaker towards his subject. What emotional sense do you take from the piece? Does it stay consistent throughout, or do the speaker’s feelings shift? While the spoken word can easily convey attitude through inflection, tone is often difficult to discern in the written word. Consider how word choice, sentence structure, and imagery might point to tone. O A P S T o n e

Talking About Tone aggravated ambiguous amused angry apathetic apologetic appreciative apprehensive arrogant dramatic ecstatic effusive elated elegiac factual fanciful flippant foreboding moralistic mournful nostalgic objective outraged passionate patronizing pedantic perplexed

Discussion What is King’s purpose in writing this story? How does King use rhetoric (words) to achieve his purpose? Logic? Emotion? Ethical? How does he appeal to a specific audience with his language and details?

AOW Discussion Does anything in this chart surprise you? Explain. Did anyone research any of the issues? What did you learn?