[TCA-Asyn-Sep] ENG3U ...

What poetry has taught us – let’s review the Unit’s goals and objectives

Read poetry for Meaning: read and you demonstrated an understanding of a variety of poems using a range of strategies to construct meaning (paraphrasing, asking questions such as how does this poem relate to my life – past, present and future? 

We examined and analyzed a variety of poems to develop a better Understanding of form Form and Style (rhyming poems and free verse):  you learned to recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic elements and demonstrate understanding of how they help communicate meaning; 

You use your knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently; you read and learn many new words in each lesson’s Glossary (review them frequently to commit to memory and use them often.

You should be more aware and be able to reflect on and identify your strengths as readers, - this is known a metacognition – awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes. Self-Awareness about how you think and learn.  Metacognition is essential as you progress through education. It’s what makes us aware of the areas we need to improve, and the strategies you found most helpful before, during, and after reading. Hopefully the Discussion Forums have given you an opportunity to share tips that work for you and to also learn from others registered in the course.

So, where do we go from here? To fiction, beginning with short stories which is Unit #3.

State the natural bridge from poetry to fiction. In the next activity you will read a poem that is a teacher narrator’s response to the question we have all asked our teachers at one time or another, “Teacher I wasn’t in class yesterday, so what did I miss?” There are many possible answers to that question.  The narrator’s many possible responses are likely none that you’ve ever heard before.

The poem uses two literary devices known as verbal irony and sarcasm. 

1. Verbal irony. Irony: noun - the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect: Verbal Irony: ‘Don't go overboard with the gratitude,’ he rejoined with heavy irony. • Situational Irony a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often wryly amusing as a result: the irony is that I thought he could help me | also Dramatic Irony: a literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy, by which the full significance of a character's words or actions is clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character. These definitions are in Glossary 2.5.
2. Sarcasm occurs when irony is used to mock or convey contempt. There are several examples of Irony and Sarcasm in the poem and your assignment will be to indicate which stanza is irony and which may also be sarcasm