Homework Task: Journeys in Poetry

1. List all the things that Frost sees. Rank them in the order that you would find them attractive.

1. frozen lake
2. snow
3. woods

2. What are the images and ideas that Frost reflects upon when he has stopped?

Frost reflects upon the things he sees in the woods when he pauses. He sees the woods and the frozen lake. He notices that it is the darkest night of the year. He reflects on the idea that it is strange to stop without a reason, just to take in his surrounding, and that his horse finds it odd that they have stopped away from a farmhouse.

3. Imagine that you are Frost. Write what you would say to your wife when you returned home from your journey.

As I was riding home through the woods, I stopped just to watch the woods, the snow and the frozen lake. Did you know that tonight is the darkest night of the year? My horse seemed to think it was strange that we stopped so far away from home. It was so quiet, all I could here was the wind.

4. Is there a deeper meaning to the poem? What do you think it is?

Yes there is a deeper meaning to the poem. I think the meaning is to stop and take time to admire things.

5. Comment on the use of three poetic devices in the poem. (Especially the use of rhyming and repetition in the last line).

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

The rhyming of the last four lines and the repetition of the last two lines indicates that this section of the poem is important and is being emphasised. The repetition of "And miles to go before I sleep" shows that even though he has a long way to go he still took the time to admire the woods. The rhyming of this section emphasises the fact that even though he has promises to keep and a long way to go he takes the time to admire how lovely the woods are. The third poetic devise used is imagery. Frost uses this to create an image of peaceful woods that are beautiful and snowy. His choice of words creates a strong image in the readers mind.

6. The poem draws attention to two conflicting desires: the desire to be alone and to explore mysterious, challenging or even dangerous places, thoughts or objects, and the desire to a sociable person who responds to the company of others. Trace these ideas through the poem.

The desire to be alone and to explore mysterious, challenging or even dangerous places, thoughts or objects is shown when he talks about how lovely and peaceful the woods are and how peaceful and quiet it is in the woods. The desire to be a sociable person who responds to the company of others is shown when he says that he has promises to keep, these being to people back home, and his belief that these are important and that he must keep his promises.

7. What aspects of the journey are being emphasised?

The aspect of the journey that is being emphasised is when he pauses to take in his surrounding and he reflects on the woods and also his responsibilities to people back home. This is more of an emphasis on his inner journey taking place on a physical journey.

8. Explain why this poem does or does not appeal to you. Justify your answer with quotes from the poem.

The poem does not appeal to me because it is hard to figure out some of the things in it such as when Frost writes:

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village, though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

I am unsure of who he is talking about. This made it hard for me to make sense of the poem. Also when Frost writes:

But I have promises to keep,

I was unsure who he had promises to. This confused me for a while.

Something of Value by Eric Boyle

1. What criticism does Bogle make about white Australia in the first 5 lines?

Bogel criticises that white Australian's are content with their lives and are not thinking about other people who are struggling.

2. In what manner was Australia 'taken' according to the poet?

Australia was 'taken' "by the gun and the sword," meaning that it was violently and forcibly taken from the Aboriginal people by the British white people.

3. How did the British justify their taking of Australia?

The British justified taking Australia by saying it was "the right of our race and in the name of God."

4. Why should those who came and took Australia have known better?

They should have known better because they were "exiles [them]selves, transported [and] condemned. None knew better than [them] the injustice of men" This shows that these people had been treated the same way they treated the Aborigines and should have known not to treat them this way.

5. What words were used by the white invaders to describe the Aboriginal inhabitants?

The Aborigines were reffered to as "drunkards, wastrels and whores."

6. According to Bogle what opportunities did the whites have?

The whites had the opportunity of " a new dream, a new life, a new hope [and] a new land." They had "one last chance to break the chains of the past, to build something of value, something to last."

7. What is implied by the poet in the rhetorical question at the end of the second verse?

The poet rhetorically asks "is paradise here, after 200 years?" This was asked so the reader would consider whether the white people did the right thing when they arrived. It is meant to show the reader, that 200 years on, there are still many problems that have never been fixed and that Australia is not a paradise, at least not for the Aboriginal people.

8. In the last verse what does the poet urge Australians to do now and in the future? List words and phrases which deliberately position the reader in promoting Bogles ideology about the future.

He urges Australian's to "tally up the cost" of all the damage done by the white settlers to the Aboriginal people. He urges Australian's to change the future so this place really becomes the paradise it always could have been.

• "who wander through life, most helpless and blind"
• "our hundred steps forward, ninety-nine back"
• "the wise and the fools"
• "the indifferent, the caring, the kind and the cruel"

These lines all make the reader choose what they want to be or who they are.

Extension Task:

How do the texts "Advance Australia Fair" and "Something of Value", position the reader to accept their invited reading? In your opinion, which of the texts is the most successful?

The texts "Advance Australia Fair" and "Something of Value" position the reader very differently. "AAF" makes the reader believe Britain is good where as "SoV" positions the reader to feel the opposite. In my opinion, "Something of Value" is much more successful in positioning the reader and making them feel something.

Comparing Representations of Australia

Advance Australia Fair

1. The original poem is different as it does not address as many people as the new version. It says "Australia's sons" rather than "Australian's all," this referring only to males in Australia. There is also a whole 2nd verse that is cut out of the new one that talks about Britain.
2. The poem addresses British men and does not acknowledge anyone else such as women, children or Aborigines.
3. Women, Aborigines, immigrants, children and anyone who is not a British male is excluded from this text.
4. Wealth, abundance, freedom, status and Britain's rule are important to Australia's sons.
5. The reader is positioned to see Britain as a fantastic place with brave men and to Australia as a beautiful and rich country. They are not 'shown' the way Aborigines, women or children were thought of or treated.
6. The changes identified in question one suggest that today women are equal to men. Australia values woman as much as they value men. Excluding the middle paragraph shows that Australia does not value Britain's rule as much as they did when the original text was written.

HOMEWORK: Gold Coast - Australian Identity

The beautiful city, the Gold Coast, fits into the Australian identity in many ways as well as contradicting many of the stereotypical views of Australia. The Gold Coast fits in with the Australian identity as it is famous for it's amazing beaches, tanned people with 'perfect' bodies, barbecues, drinking and having a very laid back attitude, just like the way Australia is more than often perceived by others. Although the Gold Coast has all of these things, it is also a very commercial city and is highly developed. It is home to the tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere, yet there are people who believe that Australians are rowdy 'bogans' and aren't capable of being civilised. The Gold Coast has a large population and is not at all desolate nor does it have wide open plains filled with nothing but kangaroos and emus, as many people believe is a common occurrence in Australia. Although this is true in some parts of the country, this does not apply to the Gold Coast what so ever. These are just a few ways the Gold Coast fits into the typical Australian identity as well as some of the ways it is very different to this.

English 2011

Mrs Damen

Year 9 English Evaluation

1. What did you enjoy about year 9 english?
2. What did you dislike?
3. What were you good at?
4. What was a challenge for you?

1. The thing I enjoyed most in English was probably the protest poetry unit and also the unit on Tomorrow when the World Began. I like the poetry because it was really interesting to look at different poems and songs and to get to read
3. When writing a short story I am good at:

• Knowledge and understaning
• Appreciating texts
• Interpreting texts (B)
• Constructing texts (B)
• Reflecting (B)

I had a few problems with punctuation

When writing an analytical essay I am good at:

• Organising points and subject matter
• Knowledge and understanding (B)
• Constructing texts (B)

I had some problems with spelling.

When preparing and presenting an oral presentation I am good at:

• Speaking clearly and confidently with good pace
• Selecting appropriate and effective texts

Most of my ticks are in the B B- column and there is one in the C column. I did not do very well in:

• Consistentky organising subject matter logically and effectively
• developing argument
• cohesive ties
• vocabulary
• grammar
• NON VERBAL FEATURES

When doing a persuasive oral I am not very good. I mostly got ticks in the B, B-, C+ & C columns. This was for:

• Knowledge and understanding
• Constructing texts
• reflecting

When writing a feature article I am good at:

• Constructing texts
• Cohesive Ties
• Vocabulary
• Appropriate Grammar
• Punctuation
• Spelling

Much Ado About Nothing – Blog Activities

1. Which character do you relate to the most in the play? In your response, you must refer to the

 following:

a. Name and describe the character you have chosen

b. Choose a minimum of 4 quotes from the play that demonstrate

 their personality, qualities or characteristics.

c. Name which character they interact with the most in the play and explain their relationship.

d. Explain and justify why you relate to this character the most in the play

e. Include at least one photo of your character.

(200-300words)

a. The character in the play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ that relates to me the most is Hero. Hero is gentle, kind and a bit shy. She is the daughter of Leonato and she falls in love with Claudio. She is a beautiful and caring young woman who is well respected.

b. CLAUDIO: “In mine eye she is the sweetest lady I ever looked on.” (1.1.179-180)

PEDRO: “Amen, if you love her, for the lady is very well worthy.” (1.1.210-211)

c. The character Hero interacts with most in the play is Claudio. Their relationship started when they first saw each other and immediately fell in love with each other. Both of them are shy so Don Pedro had to talk to Hero on Claudio’s behalf. Once they admit their love to each other they plan to get married. There relationship is a very happy and loving one until Don John spoils everything by making Claudio think that Hero was unfaithful. Don John’s lies broke up their relationship. In the end they realised the truth and they loved each other again.

d. I relate to this character most in the play mainly because she is shy and I can be shy. I also do not relate to any of the other characters much at all. Hero is quite lots of the time but she likes to have fun with her friends and at parties. This is also very similar to me.

e. This is a photo of Hero:

2. Dramatic monologue:

I cannot believe this is happening. Claudio has just walked out on Hero on their wedding day accusing her of something that is not possible. There is absolutely no way Hero would have been unfaithful. She loved Claudio. There is no way she would do anything to hurt him. Before she fell in love with Claudio, she had never considered being with a man before she was married. She has always been a loyal person. Whenever I got into arguments when we were younger she always stood up for me and has never let me down.

When Claudio accused Hero of being disloyal in front of all our family and friends, most of our friends left. Our father was furious at Hero. He disowned her and said that she was better off dead than to bring this disgrace upon our family. He didn’t believe Hero even when she pleaded that she never did what Claudio was accusing her of. My uncle’s loyalties lay with Claudio for some reason, even though he has only known him for a short time and he has known Hero for her whole life. My uncle, Hero’s father, was only concerned for himself. He did not stop to think about how Hero felt or that she was actually innocent and either Claudio was mistaken or was lying for one reason or another. I am angry at my uncle because he could have handled this much better and he could have tried to put himself in Hero’s shoes and find out what she had to say about the situation. I think that everyone should calm down and talk about what has happened so we can figure everything out. I am disappointed in the way the situation was handled by my family, by Claudio and Don Pedro. I plan to talk to everyone about what they know and figure out the truth. Right now, I believe that Hero is innocent and I won’t stop until I prove her innocence.