Task 6: Travel Literature

This week, I am going to ask you to experiment in a genre usually associated with non-fiction (although there have also been plenty of fictional accounts): travel literature.

Just like the others this term, your task will consist of two parts; however, unlike the other tasks, which will predominantly deal with genres with which you have some familiarity, your success with this task will depend massively on how much you are able to learn from Part One - and how much you are able to demonstrate what you have learnt when you write your own piece in Part Two.

Part One

Mrs Gougeon will put on the weebly all FIVE EXCERPTS from famous and successful pieces of travel literature. You need to READ them carefully, CHOOSE which one you thought was the most effective of its genre, and EXPLAIN, in some detail and with examples (i.e. quotations), why you made your choice.

This is your chance to identify some of the most successful ingredients of good travel literature - e.g. witty anecdotes, figurative descriptions etc. - in order that you can try to embed those very same techniques in your own travel writing in Part Two.

Part Two

First of all, you will need to DECIDE on your subject matter. Unless you have spent the last 12-16 years locked 24/7 in a darkened room, you have all travelled considerably, whether it be internationally, nationally or just in the local area. And it is important to realise that good travel literature does not need to be about some exotic location: one of my favourite pieces by American travel writer, Bill Bryson, is simply about a small section of the Central Line on the London Underground.

Then, using some of the techniques you have observed in one/some/all of the excerpts I have sent you to bring your writing to life and engage and sustain the interest of your reader, you should WRITE (approx) 300-400 words in which you describe an episode from one of your own travels. N.B A tip: don't try to write about an entire holiday, as you will, inevitably, end up just skimming the surface; a brief episode, a particular segment of a journey, one chance encounter - these are ample around which to base such a short piece of travel literature.

The DEADLINE for this task is midnight on Saturday 1st June 2013.

Finally, here is my attempt:

When I was 21, I nearly died.

It was only on 31st October 1996, from the tectonic safety of a house I shared with another trainee teacher, the right side of the walls of H.M.P. Wakefield, home to some of the country's most dangerous and violent criminals, that I first realised quite how close I had come to extinction just under a year earlier. A brief item towards the end of the news mentioned that Gunung Merapi, an active (and, evidently, rather angry) volcano in the middle of the Indonesian island of Java, was erupting. Burning ash was raining down on houses on the mountain's flank, after part of the lava dome itself had collapsed earlier that day.

January 1996. In hindsight, certain details should have spoken louder to us, as we unpacked our rucksacks in the Merapi View hostel the night before our ascent: the eery absence of life emanating from almost all the houses we passed as we strolled around the village upon arrival; the still raw, lifeless canyon carved where half the village had been only two years previously; the fact that the puddles by the side of the road were all bubbling! The incessant plume of smoke from the summit should have warned us that someone was definitely at home; and the distinct absence of any vegetation whatsoever around the entire peak should have made it perfectly clear that visitors were definitely not welcome.

Was it the arrogance of youth? Or the naivete of the foreign traveler? Perhaps we were guilty of exactly the same disrespect we had villified in the hoards of tourists who scaled the holy arc of Uluru in Australia the month before? Deaf to common sense and blind to our own mortality, we duly rose in the middle of the night, donned our waterproofs and walking boots, and joined our brave guide as he took us on the three hour hike to the treeline. Had the sound of the rain abated, had our feverish pace slackened just for a moment, I might have called out to him, and asked him if this was really safe.

However, to be honest, the blackened stumps which spiked the grass as far as the eye could see gave me my answer; as did the thunder which shook the mountainside several times during our climb and descent. For it wasn't thunder. At the end of the news item back in Wakefield, the reporter explained, in sober tones, that the recent eruption was, in fact, nothing more than a continuation: Gunung Merapi had actually been erupting constantly since late 1994.

Note to self: if in close proximity to the fiery peak of an active volcano, walk the other way.

Task 5: Fantastic Fiction

Much of the best prose is, in itself, poetic, and it would be a sad mistake for you to ditch all you learnt over the past few months in writing fiction this term, as many of the techniques (even rhyme and meter) can sometimes be applied to prose too.

After this introductory task, the rest of this term will work through a number of different genres, with each task challenging you to embrace another genre but to do so with panache, flair and originality. Every submission should be between 200-300 words (any shorter and you will not be able to develop your skills to the full; any longer and not only will it become harder to moderate, but you will also be in danger of waffling).

But first the introductory task...

Mrs Gougeon has put a .zip file which contains 10 OPENINGS to different novels on the English department weebly (under "Home"). Unzip the file (let me know if you need guidance on how to do this) and read the openings carefully several times. Then your Task 5 consists of two parts:

1. Decide which opening you like the most and regard to be the most effective. Once you have done so, in one paragraph (approx 100 words) explain/justify precisely why you have made that choice. This part of the task is VERY important, as it sets the perameters for the second part.
   
2. Now you must write your own OPENING to a novel. This should consist of 200-300 words which could begin your own piece of fiction. Your moderators, as well as discussing with you your choice for Part (1), will assess your own opening according to a) how well it meets your own criteria identified in Part (1); and b) how effective an opening it is according to their own opinion. As usual, they will comment on the main strengths and areas for development in your piece of writing.

The deadline for your submissions (which must be LABELLED, and must also have a TITLE of your own choosing) is midnight on Saturday 18th May.

Task 4

So many of you have either cracked this now, or, if you haven't then you have ALMOST done so.

I am REALLY very impressed. Best of all, some of you are managing to do so without sacrificing the power of your poetry itself. And those of you who are struggling simply need to keep practising in addition to what you're doing on the blog, and come and see me if you need any extra help.

This is the real challenge: a synthesis of CONTENT (choice of language and what it is about) and FORM (rhyme, rhythm etc.). In fact, you can look at it mathematically:

powerful CONTENT + disciplined FORM = effective POETRY

Now for this week's task - and it's a DIFFICULT one.

These are the rules of the English (or Shakespearean) SONNET:

• It must be written in IAMBIC PENTAMETER (i.e. x5 dee-DUMs)
• It will be 14 lines long, and consist of x3 quatrains and x1 final couplet
• It will have a strict rhyme scheme (abab cdcd efef gg)

You should, by now, be familiar with the rules of IAMBIC PENTAMETER.

As for writing in three quatrains, well you have all written ONE quatrain (4-line poem), so it is just a question of writing three different ones of these, which link together in subject matter to form ONE poem - a poem which is concluded by a couplet (i.e. two, rhyming lines).

And as for the RHYME scheme, I am sure you will be fine with this.

The challenge is putting all these things TOGETHER! (Click HERE if you want to find out some more tips on the building blocks of sonnets.)

And what should your sonnet be about?

Friendship. This is your topic and your title. Now it is up to you...

Your deadline is midnight on Saturday 13th April.

As an exemplar, I have dug out one I wrote a few years back, in case it is of any help...

Friendship

Inchoate yet invincible, a bond
Beyond and past the purview of my prose;
I have no words, they’ve all been said, no wand
To wave, no spell to keep it safe; it grows
Despite my pestilential clutch; too much
For me to tend, my friend, it perseveres
By virtue of your anodynic touch,
Immune to all that festers in my fears.
While reciprocity eludes me yet,
I will requite the comfort you bestow;
Find something to repay this ample debt.
How can I pay you back? I do not know –
I cannot comprehend – but I intend
To merit and deserve to be your friend.

Task 3: Trochees

All of you have managed iambic meter some of the time.

Some of you have managed iambic meter all of the time.

If you are still stuck, it is really important you go back over all the previous posts. Look again at your attempts; look again at the others; and, most importantly, reread all the comments.

You are all perfectly capable of this; it just takes practice and perseverance. As I keep saying, this is not SUPPOSED to be easy. It is supposed to be fiendishly difficult. But all the more reason to ask you to do it.

When you finally get there, think how satisfied you will feel. And, most of all, think what a skilful mastery of language you will have developed. If you can control language to THIS extent, think how much better ALL your writing will be - whether iambic verse, a persuasive speech, an ordinary essay, or the sonnet I hope we can attempt on this blog soon...

* * * *

And now for this week's task...

Well, in addition to reworking, redrafting and revising your previous attempts, until you master that dreaded IAMB, I am going to set you a slightly different exercise which should achieve TWO things:

1. It will teach you ANOTHER type of foot (i.e. the TROCHEE);
2. and, in doing so, it should also reinforce your understanding of the IAMB.

Or at least that is the plan... :)

So, let me introduce you to the TROCHEE.

Where as the iambic foot goes dee-DUM, the trochaic foot goes DUM-dee. (Some of you have used lots of them already by accident - see Line 4 of 'Man's Best Friend', for example.)

Here are some simple words which directly fit a trochaic rhythm:

• English
• International
• Basketball
• Savage
• Borneo

Look at how they are ALL words we say with the stress on the FIRST syllable (and, if they are more than two syllables, the third syllable too). 

With 'trochaic' verse, the stresses fall on syllables 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 etc. (i.e. the ODD numbers) and so you need to choose and order your words so they fall in the correct place to fit those stresses. And remember that, with monosyllabic (1-syllable) words, you need to use your 'ear' to decide whether they work best stressed or unstressed - which sometimes depends on the context in which they are used.

Here is a line of perfect trochaic pentameter:

People often ask me why I bother.

Let me write it again, with the stresses in capitals:

PEOple OFten ASK me WHY i BOTHer.

See how this fits with the way we say the words anyway, in a way that saying this line IAMBICALLY would not fit, e.g.:

peoPLE ofTEN ask ME why I bothER.

Nobody talks like that!

Now look at this piece of trochaic pentameter:

Monday's never been my favourite day.

What is missing?
The first four feet are perfect trochees:

MONday's NEVer BEEN my FAV'rite...

(because we usually say the word 'favourite' as if it were two syllables and not one).
But look at the last foot:

...day.

It is a stressed syllable, but it lacks the unstressed syllable to make it a complete trochee.

This type of INCOMPLETE foot, often used at the end of a line, is called a catalexis (making it a catalectic foot).

Here's another example of a line of trochaic pentameter ending in a catalectic foot:

English isn't my idea of fun.

Look how the first four syllables are purely trochaic:

ENglish ISn't MY iDEA of...

But, again, the last foot is catalectic, i.e. it has no unstressed syllable:

...FUN.

So, surprise surprise, your task this week is to write:

1. a quatrain (four-line poem)
2. with an abab rhyme scheme (like Task 2)
3. with a trochaic rhythm (i.e. DUM-dee)
4. apart from the final foot in each line, which should be catalectic (i.e. DUM);
5. (leaving it with 9 syllables in total).

AND

6. write the poem AGAIN underneath, but this time with EACH stressed syllable in
CAPITALS, to show how it fits the DUM-dee-DUM-dee-DUM-dee-DUM-dee-DUM
rhythm.

N.B. As with any poetry, it will be even better if you also think about sound (e.g. alliteration, assonance etc.) and image (e.g. metaphor, personification etc.)

And your topic this week? Yourself. 'A poem about me'. In fact, as your title, simply give it the name of your blogger ID...

Here is my attempt:

     Englishguru

     Artifice and anonymity
     Make a mask behind which I can hide.
     Here within my pseudonym, I see
     All. But no one else can see inside.

     ARtiFICE and ANoNYMiTY
     MAKE a MASK beHIND which I can HIDE.
     HERE withIN my PSEUdoNYM, i SEE
     ALL. but NO one ELSE can SEE inSIDE.

Good luck!  And come and speak to one of your teachers if you get impossibly stuck! :)

Please ensure you have submitted your post by MIDNIGHT on Saturday 9th March 2013.

Task 2: Mastering the dreaded iamb

A couple of things before I begin:

1. PLEASE make sure you have all posted your weekly posts by the deadline. Some of you fell a bit behind to start with, and, as a result, the blog has made a slightly slower start.
2. PLEASE make sure that, as well as completing each task yourself, you ALL find time to comment on each other's posts that week too. Wait until the teacher comments have been posted, and then add your own thoughts. Be positive, of course, but don't be afraid to point out how it could be improved too. 

Right, now for this week's task. Conquering the horrible IAMB!!!

I will start by quoting from some of your poems, to show where you went wrong (and right).

This is a successful iambic pentameter:

A stunning view of Glasgow in my room

Look at the stresses, which will be obvious when you read it out loud:

a STUNning VIEW of GLASgow IN my ROOM

It is a perfect 'dee-DUM' rhythm, with 5 iambic feet, as is this one:

My mind, my fear begins to chill my skin.

These are successful iambic tetrameters:

The crowded sounds of Chinatown...
I know this place, I know its feel...

With each one, notice how it begins with an UNSTRESSED syllable, and then follows a dee-DUM pattern throughout.

And these are each a perfect iambic trimeter (3 feet):

But what else can I say?
While playing in the snow...

And now for some which didn't quite work...

Here's one from 'The City of Singapore':

The colours and lights of downtown.

'Downtown' is tricky, because I guess you could argue it sort of works with either stress - and if you argue strongly that it is pronounced "downTOWN", then I suppose we can tolerate the preceding "of" being stressed. But even if we accept all that, the rhythm is still wrong in the middle, because "and lights" has been placed so that we stress "and" rather than "lights". See how swapping the two nouns around solves this though:

The lights and colours of [downtown].

And what about this from 'A Cold Night in Glasgow':

Watching the building glow

Almost a perfect iambic tetrameter too, if it weren't for the first word, which would have to be pronounced watchING. How about:

i WATCH the BUILDing GLOW...

And this one from 'A memorable place':

Beaches cleaner than the sky

The reason this one slips up is because it only has 7 syllables. All we need as an extra syllable at the start, so push the first syllable of "beaches" into second place, and the whole line then works perfectly:

the BEAches CLEANer THAN the SKY

This pentameter (from 'Stonehenge') is ALMOST iambic, except for the words "my dog", because it sounds much more natural with the emphasis on "dog", but that throws out of kilter the iambic beat:

A life, a dream, concealed in my dog days

It's difficult to remedy that without messing up the rhyme, so this might be an example of where a different idea or phrase is necessary, and just 'tinkering' with the line might not be enough.

So, you see, it IS possible, in ALL your poems. It just takes perseverance, and a CLOSE study of:

• all the Task 1 poems (including the comments);
• last week's task (in full);
• and the whole of this post.

Feel free to redraft your attempt and post it for comments, as an extra piece, if you want. You will feel SO satisfied when you master this - just as you will feel SO annoyed if lots of the others master it this week and you are left behind.

Right, so what do I expect you to do for Task 2?

Well, we're not quite ready for a sonnet yet, but we should be by next week. This week, I simply want:

1. a four-line poem (otherwise known as a quatrain);
2. with an a-b-a-b rhyme scheme (i.e. Lines 1 and 3 rhyme, as do lines 2 and 4);
3. written in iambic (i.e. dee-DUM) pentameters (i.e. 5 feet/beats/stressed);
4. about an ANIMAL of your choice.

Here is my attempt...

Orang Utan

A flash of rusty fur enflames the air;
A branch breaks off and crashes to the ground;
I squint to catch a glimpse of orange hair:
This fiery beast refuses to be found.

See what you can come up with, and remember:

• quatrain
• a-b-a-b
• 5 beats
• dee-DUM

Have fun, and good luck!

Your deadline is: midnight on Sunday 24th February.

Task 1 - Rhyme and Meter

You all know what RHYME is - and it will be one of the first things you encountered when reading poetry as a young child. "Twinkle twinkle little BAT, How I wonder where you're AT" etc. However, as you are going to find, it is very difficult to use rhyme effectively when writing poems of your own. Too often, the quest to find a word that rhymes ends up changing the meaning of the poem altogether - like points on a railtrack switching the train to a totally different course. However, it is a challenge that is well worth pursuing - i.e. how to find a rhyme whilst not diverting the tracks of your meaning at the same time. And it is a challenge I am setting you this week too.

But, not one to keep things TOO simple, I am also setting you another challenge - and that is to do with METER. Meter is the term to describe the rhythm of a poem - and how that rhythm is created through the number and order of all the syllables in any one line. Those of you who listen to music will know how all music has a BEAT of some sort; some music has a strong and regular beat, other music has a less clear rhythm (and so would be very hard to dance to too!) This week, you are going to be writing poetry with a very regular beat. Here is how...

The simplest type of beat (or, as it is called in poetry, FOOT) is one that goes 'dee-dum' - i.e. made up of TWO syllables, where the SECOND syllable is stressed. This type of foot is called an IAMB; and this type of meter is called IAMBIC. Here is an example of iambic verse:

I cannot write iambic verse. 
My poem goes from bad to worse.

See how each line is written in TWO-SYLLABLE beats, with the stress (or emphasis) on the second in each pair. Try reading it with a hand clap on each stressed syllable:

i CANnot WRITE iAMbic VERSE
my POem GOES from BAD to WORSE.

This is simple, iambic meter.

Notice also how many feet (or beats) there are in each line. Four. We call these lines tetrameters:

• 5 feet = pentameter
• 4 feet = tetrameter
• 3 feet = trimeter etc.

Now look (or rather LISTEN) to how easily the regular rhythm can be broken. What if I had written 'can't' instead of 'cannot'; or 'poetry' instead of 'poem'? This would have totally changed and disrupted the rhythm of each line:

I can't write iambic verse
My poetry goes from bad to worse.

In the first line, there is one syllable MISSING:

I can't [***] write iambic verse.

Whereas, in the second line, there is one syllable too MANY.

My poeTRY goes from bad to worse.

Right. Now for your challenge. In a few weeks' time, we are going to try to produce some SONNETS. (VERY difficult!). But, in preparation, this week we are just going to play with rhyme and meter. I would like you to write a poem which:

• uses ONLY iambic meter;
• is 10 lines long;
• begins with two 5-feet lines (i.e. pentameters)
• then has two 4-feet lines, two 3-feet lines, two 2-feet lines and, finally, two 1-foot lines.
• rhymes each pair of lines.

Your poem should be about a place (city/country) that you know particularly well.

To help you, here is an example, although I cannot vouch for how good it will be since I am rushing it off for you right now! It's about a famous landmark in London...

View from Canary Wharf

The city snakes beneath the heavy sky,
The shadows tall, the river crawling by.
Commuters swarm; like locusts, they
Descend upon the dying day.
From high above I see
Them fighting to break free.
The dusk descends.
The chaos ends.
And time
is mine.

See what you can do, and remember: 

• Lines 1-2 = rhyming, iambic pentameters
• Lines 3-4 = rhyming, iambic tetrameters
• Lines 5-6 = rhyming, iambic trimeters
• Lines 7-8 = rhyming, iambic dimeters
• Lines 9-10 = rhyming, iambic monometers.

All on a powerful place of your choice.

BY MIDNIGHT ON SATURDAY 9TH FEBRUARY PLEASE.Good luck!!! :)