A Turn for the Verse: Welcome, Class of 2015

Monday, April 1, 2013

Welcome, Class of 2015

Welcome to the Team Blog for the MCS2 Literature and Medicine: Poetry Selective for the Class of 2015. I hope to post assignments, comments on our class and other resources for you here. I have configured this blog that you each are authors who may post any of your thoughts as well -- a shared journal as such. If there is any interest in writing poetry, we can also use this space to "workshop" poems, posting work and letting each other comment on it.

On Wednesday, April 3, we will be looking at Sylvia Plath's poem Fever 103. You can find it on the Poetry Foundation website, and a biography of the poet by clicking here. You may post your thoughts by clicking "comments" below, by posting a separate entry on this blog, or by bringing any thoughts with you to class. Read it a couple of times, look up any words with which you may not be familiar, and think about the metaphors and images Plath uses to describe the intensity of her experience. What words does she use and how does she use them to make this such a powerful statement?

The word "verse" comes from a Latin verb meaning "to turn" (as in versus, and reverse). Now it's your turn, and this is your space. Thank you for allowing the study of humanities, literature, and poetry a turn in your medical education.

2 comments:

Stephanie said...: Fire, yet Fever

I thought it was clever of the author to juxtapose the concepts of sickness and nature, both under the overarching umbrella of "What is purity?" It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "baptism by fire". And yet fire has a different connotation and is often related to sin or evil.

In some ways, it reminded me of the concept of yin and yang, two opposing concepts held under one concept: Nature

For what is sickness, but merely the absence of health. And yet the idea of fever, as illustrated in this poem has an additional meaning... as it alludes to a freeing of the construct that man was created to signify health and well-being. For fever is both a sign of sickness and health, or is it?; April 3, 2013 at 9:17 AM
Arjun Iyer said...: I think it's a very sad poem. Her baptism by fire/fever seems to cleanse her and empower her for a fleeting moment in the poem. The third to last stanza is the climax of her fevered cleansing where the poem seems to stop on the word 'Virgin'.

But it degenerates from there, and you can hear her sinking back down from her high point as her bitterness and self-loathing at her defilement shows through. It's sadder, because it seems like she's really attempting to maintain that high, but her rancor seeps through.; April 3, 2013 at 11:55 AM

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WRITING PROMPTS

Week 4 Uncertainty

Use the phrase, "I Don't Know" as a catalyst for your next poem. You can use it as a theme, as a title, as a first line (or last line). You may not even use the phrase at all and still be writing about it. And yes, Cassidy, you can even say it in French. :) See you Wednesday.

Week 3 Ekphrasis, Art, and Empathy

Pick a visual work of art from the NYU's Art, Literature, and Medicine Database, and reflect, in your poem --What do you see? --What else do you notice? --How does this work make you feel?

Week 2 The Body

Choose a part of the body and describe it.

Describe something being done with or to that part of the body.

Use (and be ready to discuss) simile, metaphor, or other figurative language in your poem.

Week 1 Fever

Think back to your own experience of illness. Recount a particular sickness, accident, surgery, or other anecdote related to your own health. Like Plath, try to describe not what happened, but how it made you feel. Try to write lyrically -- expressing the emotional experience -- rather than literally.

HOW TO READ/COMMENT ON A POEM

I find that reading a poem is like looking at a piece of art, a painting, a sculpture, a movie, or a play. When we read each others' poems we have an opportunity to show appreciation and to help the poem get even better! Try to answer three basic questions, and even if you don't have a lot of experience reading poetry or using any of the lingo, you'll still have much to say.

What do you see?

-- What does the poem look like on the page. What can you say about its structure, form, line lengths?

-- What is the literal meaning of the poem, what is actually happening? How would you say it in your own words?

-- What is the setting of the poem? Where and when?

-- Who is speaking in the poem? What does the speaker want?

What else do you notice?

-- What are the sounds of this poem? Look for lyric devices, such as meter, rhyme, assonance, alliteration, consonance.

-- Look for figuarative language: similes and metaphors, imagery, symbols and allusions. Look up words you don't know or familiar words used in unusual ways.

-- Take longer poems in chunks. Comment on a favorite stanza, line, or word.

-- If there is a part that seems confusing, it's OK to say where you get lost, it may help the poet revise and rework the poem.

-- If there is a part or device that works particularly well, make sure to mention it.

How does it make you feel?

-- Mention how the poem makes you feel. Does it remind you of anything, any time, any place?

-- What is the theme of the poem? Is there a message here?

Always remember to criticize the poem, not the poet.

Have fun, and thank you for sharing your thoughts!

A Turn for the Verse

Monday, April 1, 2013

Welcome, Class of 2015

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