Far from the Madding Crowd: quotations

Choose a quotation from the first two instalments of the novel (chapters 1-5 / chapters 6-8).  Remind us what chapter it comes from, then explain briefly why you chose it.  Feel free to comment on other quotations!  Due by Thursday, December 3rd. (Also, please vote in the poll on the right!)

Voice lesson on Detail 2

About suffering they were never wrong,
The Old Masters: how well they understood
Its human position; how it takes place
While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along;
    W. H. Auden, “Musée des Beaux Arts”

Task: substitute another general term for suffering in the first line (e.g. laziness, happiness…).  Now rewrite the fourth line with details about the opposite condition of your term.  Share your new stanza on the blog and comment on one other stanza.  Due by Friday, November 27th.

Voice lessons - Diction 2

"Her face was white and sharp and slightly gleaming in the candlelight, like bone."

Substitute a noun for bone that changes the meaning and feeling of the sentence.  React to a classmate's substitution, commenting on how it changes the sentence's connotation and impact.

Voice lesson on tone

Write a paragraph about something that amazed or amazes you.  Use diction, detail, imagery, and syntax to convey your sense of wonder.  Comment on the effects and/or effectiveness of a classmate's blog post.  Due by Friday, November 6th. (Also, please answer the poll on the right)

Voice lesson on syntax

Write a short paragraph on the subject of your choice. Use a variety of sentence types and lengths, with at least one exclamatory sentence that clarifies or amplifies a declarative sentence.  Comment on the effects and the effectiveness of at least one other post.  Due by Friday, October 9th.

Voice lesson on Imagery

Write two sentences that create a particular mood (terror, threat, joy, gloom, excitement...).  Use at least two types of imagery to describe the weather, thereby setting and reinforcing the mood.  Comment on at least one other post (imagery, language, effects, effectiveness...).  Due by Friday, October 2nd.

Voice lesson on detail

Choose a color and describe a scene using at least three varieties of that color.  Try to mix details of landscape and people.  Share your description with the class on the blog, and comment on at least one other blog post (effects created through the use of detail, effectiveness...).  Due by Thursday, September 24th (both your blog post and your reaction to another post).