1. Romeo and Juliet
Day 22

2. SSR Reflection
What message about life or being human does your text suggest?
Write a compelling theme statement that captures this message.

3. Agenda – Feb 23, 24 SSR+ Reflection
Discuss Sonnet Comparison Essays - Hand In Charts
What We Talk About When We Talk About Theme
Peer Share + Edit Thesis
Writing Time: Graphic Organizer or Outline
HW:
Finish introduction and 1 body paragraph for peer workshop Thursday

4. Learning Targets I will be able to:
Analyze how an author draws on and transforms “source” material by comparing and contrasting my book club text to Romeo and Juliet.
Produce clear and coherent writing appropriate to task and purpose by using pre-planning strategies.
Appreciate how literature contributes to and shapes culture and our understanding of culture.

5. Sonnet Reaction Papers
Excellent depth and synthesis
Unique claims and connections to modern relevance
You can make a similar argument and follow a similar structure in your comparative analysis paper.
Next Focus: CONCISION!

6. The “tweetable intro” - Can we shorten this paragraph to make it 140 characters?
It can be seen in the Sonnets of Shakespeare and Petrarch that both poets characterize love in radically different ways. Upon close analysis, it can be seen that Petrarch using the imagery, symbolism, and language of religion portrays an unrequited obsessive love that only causes pain; whereas Shakespeare is using the imagery, symbolism, and language of the natural world in order to portray a requited, realistic love between two people that most people want and value. While radically oppositional, both concepts of love can be seen throughout modern romance. (456)

7. In his sonnets, Petrarch uses imagery, symbolism, and language of religion to portray an unrequited love, causing pain; whereas Shakespeare uses imagery, symbolism, and language of nature to portray a requited, realistic love that most desire. Both concepts of love can be seen throughout modern romance. (204)

8. Romeo and Juliet Comparative Analysis Essay
In Romeo and Juliet, we find a characterization of love that has lasted more than four hundred years. Its images and quotes haunt us and its influences can be felt, seen, and heard in numerous romantic relationships characterized throughout literature written since its creation.
Write an essay in which you compare and contrast Romeo and Juliet with your book club text. Be sure to address literary techniques that demonstrate the theme of each text.
Things to Consider: How does Romeo and Juliet define the nature of romantic love and desire? What warnings or promises about love does the text offer us? To what extent does Romeo and Juliet continue to influence our modern concepts of love and desire as seen in your book club text?       

9. Literary Analysis: Thesis Statements
Connect how the author writes with why the author writes: techniques (use of literary elements) with theme (the ultimate “why”).
Since this is a comparative analysis, show how the two works relate to one another. Do they extend, corroborate, complicate, contradict, correct, or debate one another?
Include authors and titles.
Style: Use present tense. Avoid using personal pronouns. Use academic voice.
Be concise and articulate. Use active verbs and be specific rather than general.
Choose to prove something that is not obvious, something that requires proof. Make sure that the text can prove it.
Remember to avoid clichés when addressing theme.

10. Connecting to theme What is theme?
“The theme of a piece of fiction is it’s controlling idea or its central insight. It is the unifying generalization about life stated or implied by the story. To derive the theme of a story, we must determine what its central purpose is: what view of life it supports or what insight into life it reveals.”

11. Thematic Statement
The last clause of a good literary analysis thesis statement often requires THEME (sometimes called “meaning of the work as a whole”).
Here are some tips to keep in mind when addressing theme.

12. Life Lesson

13. No ONE WORD themes

14. Most, some, often….

15. Don’t ignore the details

16. Many paths up the mountain

17. Avoid Clichés… like the plague

18. Be Insightful

19. Thesis should include:
Specific literary elements that demonstrate theme(s)
Create a relationship between theme(s)
EX: In Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare employs ______[specific description of literary device(s)] to portray _________, whereas in This Other Book, The Author utilizes _____[specific literary device(s)] to prove __________.
Introduction should include:
Hook
Frame of reference
Grounds for comparison (justification)
Thesis

20. Evidence: Textual Support
Find multiple quotes (at least three) from the text that demonstrate your thesis.
Lead into the quote.
Norris writes, “Barry stood there, illuminated in its (the sun’s) golden warmth for a whole minute knowing it would soon be gone.”
When Barry speaks to his father, “….”
And/or lead out of the quote.
Barry says, “…,” when he talks to his dad.

21. MLA In-text Citations NOTICE WHERE THE PUNCTUATION GOES.
BLEND YOUR QUOTES, DO NOT DROP THEM. That is, lead in and lead out of your quotes with your commentary or thought. In other words, introduce your quotes.
Freud states that "a dream is the fulfillment of a wish" (154).
According to some, dreams express "profound aspects of personality" (184), though others disagree.
Is it possible that dreams may express "profound aspects of personality?" (184).
In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare writes, “What is in a name?” (III.iii.23-57).