AP Lit Poetry Essay lesson Part 1: Reading and analyzing
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    Mock AP Lit essay lesson: attacking the question, annotating the poem.
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    • Created:
      Aug 17 2007
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      English
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    Notes

    • 1:19Attack the QUESTION: What is it ASKING? Identify KEY TASKS: describe setting, create mood and meaning.
    • 1:21Now read the poem, scan it once quickly, then reread more closely for evidence that answers the questions.
    • 2:17I left out "Describing the scene" here: the whole image of a hawk plunging down "planes of light" at the end of day produces awe and power. Notice the "light and dark" in "sky and earth," "day and night"-everything having to do with Earth is dark, so that includes those of us who live on it.
    • 2:23Here I thought about ambiguity of PLANE, as in AIRPLANE, but I don't think it's intended or meaningful.
    • 2:34Note the unusual imagery: wing "scythes" - he turns the noun "scythe" into a verb, an action performed by the Hawk's wing. Always try to notice UNUSUAL language choices. They're obviously conscious decisions by the poet, intended to carry meaning. So pause and let yourself play with possible answers to riddles like this. They'll be worth mentioning in your essay.
    • 3:16Note the SCENE: "Look! look! he is CLIMBING THE LAST LIGHT...." The Hawk ASCENDS again into the light, godlike into the "heavens," again AWE-inspiring - but at the same time possibly sad for us, as we're left below in the darkness, unable to enjoy his power to rise.....
    • 3:47A Hawk, in other words, is a NATURAL creature. It's given all the qualities that more religious times gave to God. So Nature is argued to be the True God in this poem, and the implications of what that means for our life and death are radically different.
    • 3:56That's why "UNFORGIVING, UNFORGIVEN" are so important. None of the "merciful, loving God" belief here. Death ends all in Nature. Scary? Well, so is the idea of Hell for unbelievers, so it's just a different kind of darkness, one could argue. Anyway, this poem seems to be more focused on the Truth, and accepting it, and not on the Emotion we feel in the face of that Truth....
    • 6:48Jot down connotations of any words that add meaning, mood, tone: "gorge" is close to the more spiritual notion of "abyss," so that word adds to the MOOD.
    • 12:44Mistake here: normally, the OWL is the bird of "ancient night wisdom." Warren makes it a BAT instead. Interesting. I think he IS playing with the OWL OF MINERVA allusion, but TWISTS ITS MEANING by replacing it with a BAT. So what does a BAT connote? Vampires? Night-birds? More terror, definitely.
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