Welcome!
What do you see?
What do you see?
What do you see?
Read “Leda and the Swan” by WB Yeats. Make a list of two things: What I do understand (themes and events) based on the poem [background knowledge] Information I need to fully comprehend the poem (literary and historical) [the gap]
What is different? Loose formulas Quality over quantity in writing Depth of thought Breadth of knowledge Top-down analysis Original conception
What is the goal? For you to be able to close the gap and create based on the text in a completely independent fashion. In other words, you will read, understand, and create original material based on complex literature without any help from me, your peers, or any other outside source (internet, books, etc.).
How is this accomplished? Close reading of a variety of text.
What is close reading? Close reading is thoughtful, connective reading. While reading you are trying to understand how the part that you are reading (be it a line or a page) connects with the larger whole. THEN you try to connect that whole (be it a book, poem, or short story) to literature in general. THEN you try to connect those ideas to our society and culture and try to discern what the author is trying to say about it. This, in general, is known as part-to-whole understanding. It is the stuff of deep, critical thinking.
What must I do? Read, closely. THEN...
Read, intensely. THEN...
Read, broadly. THEN...
Get the idea, yet?
This is so hard! Question: What can I do to make it easier and make sure that I am successful?
Answer Read.
This is so hard! Question: What if I feel overwhelmed and feel that I cannot comprehend the material?
Answer Read.
This is so hard! Question: What is the one thing that I can do to make sure that I don’t get behind and feel crushed by this college-level course that I chose to take of my own free will?
Answer Read.
This is so hard! Question: But, Mr. Bailey, you are so nice and funny and love everyone; how could anyone possibly fail your class?
Answer Don’t read.
Questions?