Great Preriphrasis site

One of you went into new territory in a glossary entry on "periphrasis," nice work!  Most of us real mortals have always called excess verbage "circumlocution."  However, My mother, a lover of metaphor, used to say, "Sit down and quit dancing around" or "Just spit it out!" when an explanation or excuse was getting too long for her attention span. You may have had similar thoughts while reading The Scarlet Letter. Here is a great site that talks about this technique and gives terrific examples: Periphrasis site.
Happy hunting grounds for wordiness: "The Victorians and Romantics are our friends as we embark on the worthy endeavor of capturing the essence of how word-loving authors lovingly work out torturous phrases in order to convey, with flourish and great attention to beauty, some very plain ideas." Translation: Check out Bronte, Hawthorne, Keats, and Shelly for examples of periphrasis)

Great Precis discussion and Essay Start

It was so good to be back with you this week, and I applaud your thinking and passion about the BIG IDEAS that Shelly's work brings to us.  I am out today (Wed. 11/16) but will return tomorrow.  Please use the class time today to:

Majority of Class: Get and receive feedback on your essay outlines from as many colleagues as you can manage. Try to be helpful to each other regards possible "holes" in logic or times when textual evidence is not truly supportive of thesis.  Remember that we are answering specific prompt questions with specific ideas and information as we analyze the text.  What the author "may have done differently" or how your own view differs from hers is not the point of this kind of essay.  The prompts and process of this assignment are included in this document: Frank Writes, Quizzes and Essay.

Medea Group: Please use your time today to plan your presentation and discuss our "Mad (?) Medea" in the context of  the Greek Tragedy.  Here is another link to that process/assignment: Medea Presentation. Themes regarding the proper roles of parents from Frankie cross over nicely to this piece.

I look forward to your drafts/presentation, and am working on getting all of your glossary entries and other assignments back to you by tomorrow and/or Friday.  Scholar On!

How do you like the end?

Mrs. Eddy here-- sorry I have had to be out, but I trust all is well under Mr. Kay's command.  Things don't look good for V. Frankenstein but, the monster . . .?  Will they ever learn?  That's a good question for you to think about--remember that our quester/hero is in search of self-knowledge-- the other kind of smarts haven't done them much good, after all.  Enjoy the symbolic/tragic/thematic conclusion.
Mrs. E
Quick note for the curious-- after the final essay (process paper) on Frankie, we will hear from the students who studied Medea, and then read Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King) next.  There are copies in the library for all, or you can find it just about anywhere online or in print.