1. Turn in your reading log to the box BUY A YEARBOOK!!! There are 459 students that appear in the yearbook multiple times that have not bought one yet! SALES END ON FRIDAY 1/31!!! You need: your STAAR folder your SpringBoard book “Fast Break” and “A Poison Tree” handouts notebook paper (two sheets) pen/pencil RANDOM FACT OF THE DAY: “I am.” is the shortest sentence in the English language.

2. Answer each of the questions, using the analytical statement – evidence – commentary structure: 1. Is “A Poison Tree” an appropriate titles for Blake’s poem? Why? 2. In Poe’s story “The Cask of Amontillado”, describe the character of Montresor. 3. After reading the poem “Fast Break”, do you think the author’s use of diction and details conveys the speaker’s attitude and passion for basketball? 4. In “The Stolen Party”, is Rosaura’s experience ironic? Why or why not? 5. How does the idea of good vs. evil apply to both “The Stolen Party” and “The Cask of Amontillado”? (you need evidence from both selections)

3. Is “A Poison Tree” an appropriate title for Blake’s poem? Why? “A Poison Tree” by William Blake is accurately titled because it introduces the poem’s central metaphor. In the poem, the speaker admits to not expressing his anger, and as a result “[his] wrath did grow” like a tree. The metaphor develops as the speaker festers: “And it grew both day and night, / Till it bore an apple bright.” When the speaker’s enemy eats the apple, he dies which represents how anger that is not addressed will become like a poison and hurt people that come in contact with it.