PDD Socratic Seminar

Okay, I haven't posted in ages so I'm really glad I've finally taken out time to update my learning log.

Let's start with the pointers Mrs Seah gave for analyzing poems:

Analyze poems, not paraphrase.
Analyze the craft the poet has used and follow up with why did the poet use that device in the poem.
- Perhaps it's to place emphasis on a particular point?
Poet makes use of sounds with devices such as sibilants, assonance etc to reiterate and draw attention to an important point in the poem.

I stayed back just the other day for a few tips on how to analyze poems without going off track or losingnfocus and here's a summary of the points :)

Annotate
Top Down - SPECS (start from a general theme/subject then narrow down to a more in-depth analysis)
Bottom Up (e.g. Identify repeated imagery and link it to how the poet conveys the themes and how it helps to link to the main theme/subject etc)
Don't analyze it in chronological order
SLIMS
- sounds
- language
- imagery
- metaphors
- structure

Next is about my PDD Soc Sem on "A Holiday" by Margaret Atwood. Well, the poem's theme is mainly about the destruction of nature by humans. A lot of extended metaphors and juxtaposition were used in the poem to provide a better understanding of the message the poet was trying to convey. Before the discussion began, I felt prepared for it and felt confident that I had analyzed the poem well enough. However, as the discussion progressed, I began to realize that my points only scratched the surface of the poem and I seemed to be paraphrasing instead of analyzing the poem. There were certain times when the whole group, including me, kept paraphrasing and going in circles, instead of focusing on a point and doing a more in-depth analysis.

Lastly, I saw this on (posted by Lesley) just a few moments ago and just felt like posting it here for who knows what reason :) It just kind of evoked certain emotions from me and I just wanted to share it :)

Shut your ears and open your eyes. Start appreciating those human beings who persistently gave a damn about you; unlike those who never quite did and were merely great masters at whispering sugared bullshit. Start before you're left with their footprint marks to gaze & regret upon.