1. Read the following poem by ee Cummings carefully. What is the message of the poem? Does it have multiple messages? How does Cummings' unique arrangement of letters, words and lines help or hinder his message?
2. Read these selected poems of former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins. How is Collins' poetic style different from other poetry you have read? Poem 1 ; Poem 2 ; Poem 3 ; Poem 4. You can hear Collins read some of these poems by following this link.
3. Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron deals with many topics applicable to contemporary society. Which do you recognize? How do they relate to current events and social trends? Is this good or bad? Why?
4. Read the following poem, Keeping Things Whole , by Mark Strand. What is the argument here? What rhetorical devices are used and are they effective? What are the implications of Strand's statement?
5. The Colonel by Carolyn Forche creates an interesting rhetorical situation in a literary form called the prose poem. What do you think Forche is arguing? Back your response with specific references from the poem.
6. Read the poem True or False by John Ciardi by clicking on the following link (you will have to scroll down a little to find it. Can you relate to this argument? Do you relate to it academically or personally? What rhetorcial devices help make Ciardi's argument? Whaere else have you seen these devices used?
7. Read the short story There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury. Who is the main charater? What are the implications of this choice in conjuction with the setting (both time and place)? Find a story, poem or song with a similar theme or style. Post a link and write a few words about why you chose it.
8. Read The Case for Torture by Michael Levin, an American philosopher and teacher at City College of the City University of New York. Then read The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin, a prominent science fiction writer and author of the Earthsea trilogy. Consider Levin's essay and Le Guin's short story in conjunction with each other. Do you believe the two authors would agree or disagree on the issue of torture as a social and political tool? Compare and contrast Le Guin's medium, the science fiction short story, with Levin's approach in essay format. What rhetorical techniques does each author employ to establish a persuasive point of view? Is there a difference in impact and authority between the short story format and the essay format, or do you believe that each can be successful at making an important social comment? Finally, which work do you find more persuasive? Think about your own opinion on the subject of torture. Has either reading influenced your thought, and if so, how?
9. Read Sources of the Delaware by Dean Young. What do you think the rhetorical value of the repetition is? Does it add or detract from the message? How could you utilize this strategy in your own writing?
10. Read Robert Herrick's poem To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time (written in the 1600s). What is the argument here? Is it still valid today? Are the rhetorical strategies that Herrick used still successful in modern times? Give an example to support your decision.
11. Read Jamaica Kincaid's short short stry/prose poem Girl. Notice how the entire piece is in second person. How does this affect the argument? What is the rhetorical weight of directly addressing the audience?
12. Read 10-15 definitions from Ambrose Bierce's classic cynical work, The Devil's Dictionary. Do these definitions hold truth to any extent? If so, what are the implications of that truth?
13. Read Yusef Komunyakaa's Audacity of the Lower Gods. What do you think the argument is here? What readings from your textbook do you think make a similar argument? How are Komunyakaa's strategies different than the other authors you identified?
14. Read the following two poems by Nicholas Samaras. How does Samaras' use of white space dictate how the poems are read? What effect does this have on the meaning of the works? Could this be mirrored in an essay? How?
15. Read Charles Bukowski's poem, Spring Swan. What is the main metaphor here? How does it add to Bukowski's argument? What parts of the poem help strengthen the metaphor?
16. Read Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates. Then, read the lyrics to the Bob Dylan song it was based on: It's All Over Now, Baby Blue. How do these two pieces interact. What parts of the story do you think clearly come from the song? What do you think Oates' purpose was in writing the story and dedicating it to Dylan?
17. Read Ruth Porritt's ingenuitive poem, Read This Poem from the Bottom Up. First, read it traditionally. Then, read it as the author directs. How does the direction the poem is being read change its meaning? How does reading it both ways change its meaning? In your opinion, does it matter which way it is read first? Why? How doe sthis poem exemplify the rhetorical strategy of revelation?
18. Read Dave Sedaris' essay, Jesus Shaves. How does Sedaris use humor to inform his reader's world view? What is the argument of this piece? How does Sedaris' word choice affect his argument?
19. Consider the poem, Alcohol, by Franz Wright. How does Wrights' choice of speaker affect the power of the poem? What is the tone? What is the affect of the unconventional grammar? How does Wright use these devices to make his argument?
20. Read Nadine Gordimer's short story, Once Upon a Time. Now explore the cultural context of the story. Using the information you have gathered, make a guess as to what argument Gordimer is making. Use specific evidence from the story and AT LEAST one outside source to support your claims.
21. Read Enemies by Tim O'Brien. How does O'Brien create the narrative tension in this piece? What is the net effect of the piece? If you had to deignate a climax in this story, where would it be?
