The most important skill...

                    The most important thing that I have learned in English so far is how to analyze the symbolic meanings of poetry compositions.  I never knew that there's sometimes an entire story beneath the surface of a poem.  I now know how to recognize irony, satire, connotation, metaphors, and theme.  These tools of the writer are what make poetry special, irreplaceable.  In the past I have wondered, "Why do people like poetry?  It's dull and pointless."  But now I know that there is so much more to a poem than what is gathered from first glance. 
                       Take shoulders, for example.  A man walks down the street in the rain with his son.  I'd have thought, "Awesome.  Why do I care?!" Now, I know why.  Because beneath the literal meaning is a statement about the human race:  everyone needs to help eachother through the many obstacles in our long lives.  Poets are brave enough to say things that everyone is thinking.  They say it beautifully in a way that creates a piece of art out of a simple message.  Poems mold to the reader like a pair of running shoes.  The reader can relate his or her own experiences to the poem.  The meaning is slightly changed in the mind of each reader.  People might get different things from a poem, and that is why poetry is so unique.  Poets think differently, and it takes a new perspective and some knowledge to appreciate their work.  Learning to analyze poetry has given me the key to a new world I never knew existed.

Lobsters

               These past few weeks we have been working on discussing poetry and prose more deeply than just the surface level literal meaning.  We have been taught to analyze a piece literally before examining connotation and tone in order to discover the underlying message.  While discussing the poem "Lobsters" By Howard Nemerov, someone in our class said something that changed how I think about it.  A question was posed that had to do with the author comparing lobsters to humans.  A girl answered, "The author isn't comparing lobsters to humans.  He is saying that humans are like lobsters."
               It was amazing how a comment so simple caused a lightbulb to go off in my mind.  It was like this obvious statement had opened up an entire new world of thought.  I realized that the author isn't discussing the similarities of lobsters and humans.  Upon first reading the poem, I thought of it as light, even whimsical.  "Lobsters are in a tank, dreaming, while similarly spacey, ditzy people walk around the store buying food," I was thinking.  After my epiphany, the poem took on much darker symbolic meaning.  Now I personally see the poem as the author's way of saying, "Like the lobsters in the tank, we go about our lives, stupid, unknowingly bound for death and destruction." 
               These discussions with our class have helped me realize how much time is needed to fully understand the symbolism in a piece of writing!     

5 Part Paragraph

               The usage of the 5 Part Paragraph for literary analysis involves many specifics.  The embedding of quotes has to be done in a certain way, commentary must be limited to two sentences, and there absolutely has to be a transition before each new concrete detail.  The rubric addresses so many specific areas that it is sometimes challenging to follow it perfectly.  Our class had the most trouble with their quotes, commentary, and transitions.  Quotes tended to be out of chronological order.  The order of the quotes is important because if correctly placed, a paper will follow the natural flow of the storyline and will be easier to organize and follow in a reader's mind.  The 5 Part Paragraph calls for two commentary sentences.  For some reason, quite a few people had too many or too few commentary sentences.  Another commentary-related mistake was the addition of plot summary to sentences following concrete details.  Commentary is supposed to be strictly the authors ideas, without a summary of the plotline.  Transitions are another important element of the 5 Part Paragraph.  These sentences introduce new ideas that fit with the topic statement.  The most common strength was writing style.  In my opinion, most students had papers that flowed well and had good word choice.  It was evident that most worked hard on revising and perfecting this assignment!
               I need to personally work on a few parts of my paper.  I left out a transition, which is an imperative part of the paragraph for good thought flow.  Another thing that could be improved is my word choice.  I should spend more time carefully selecting each adjective and verb in order to avoid sounding redundant.  To improve my papers, I need to slow down and take the time to double check my rubric and choose vibrant words that will spice up my writing.  With a little time and practice I'm sure I can perfect my 5 Part Paragraph!