Lost in Literature by Tori Greaves

21 literary movements?!
...overlapping, forming a tangled web
How did they know what to write?
Who said, "Let us be enlightened!"
Or "It is time to be absurd."?
Do authors dawn new literary trends
as teenagers following the latest style?
Do important leaders -
Elizabeth, Victoria -
Simply order "A new movement shall there be!"

Or is there something more...
A human condition perhaps?
That directs the tides of written art,
Guides their hands and their thoughts...
It calls them to write of things of value,
Of significance in their life and times.
It calls them to make a difference,
To use their words to change minds.

Be there influences of culture,
Or catastrophic events that sway the age,
Be there exciting discoveries,
Or disillusionment in corrupted actions...
Literature will forever remain
Changing, flowing, forming
To say what needs to be said.

To bring reason to those lost in their dreams.
To sing romance into eager lives.
To enhance beauty when it goes unseen.
To show reality to those who don't care.
To strike creativity in a structured place.
To inspire change and promote acceptance.
To relate experience and promote awareness.
To redirect wasted efforts.

It seems there is a pattern
In the literature throughout the years.
It does not change on every whim,
But shapes and builds
On visionary dreams.
So what is the struggle of our life and times?
What movement in literature
Will flow from our pens?
It's all up to you, and what you want to say.
From your life, transformation begins.

Talking About College, by Allyssa Ungrue

     Mrs. Elliott's senior AP English class is quite unique and sets itself apart from every other english class I have ever been in. We cover ideas and concepts such as poetry, archetypes, allusions, reading for a more in depth understanding, and that has only occurred within the first few weeks of school. However, what makes this class so enjoyable is all the hands on activities we do to gather information in our minds that will stay. This class is designed in every aspect to help every single student. We have teams that are designed to allow us to get to know our peers better, learn to work as a team, trust one another, while learning the criteria needed for that day. We also have "fill in the gaps" day where we finish any work we did not complete or fully understand. This class is designed to help us not only excel in AP Literature; but also, learn concepts that we will continue to use through out college and for the rest of our lives.
    
     A particular subject that I became very fond of was college day in class. Mrs. Elliott took us through what we needed and did not need to do to get into the colleges we will soon, or already have began applying for. As a young adult, it is scary to think that in less than a year I will be heading off to a college; an idea that has been building up anxiety in my mind since I could remember. It was a relief to see that my peers in this class felt the same way; likewise, it was also a huge plus that we have Mrs. Elliott there to revise our college essays and even write recommendation letters for her students. College has came quicker than we have ever imagined and on college day I had a an eye opening experience into what these next few months were going to be like-crazy and hectic.
    
     The thing I most like about this class is we have to do everything on our own but we have help and guidance through the way. This class is like a two-way street, we have to put in the hard work if we want a good outcome in the end. My expectations for the start of an amazing senior year have been accommodated with great teachers, lessons, and a better understanding of one of my favorite subjects. It was rather hard for me to pick one subject to talk about because the fact of the matter is we discuss a whole lot every single day in this class!


    

Analysis of "Out, Out" by Shelby Harms

Today in Mrs. Elliott's second period English class we discussed them poem "Out, Out" by Robert Frost  and the significance it has in the world of allusions along with the main ideas that it expresses. In the poem, a young boy is outside cutting wood for the stove, doing what Frost describes as the work of a man. Upon hearing his sister yell "supper" the boy is startled and loses control of the saw, cutting his hand clean off. His first reaction is to tell his sister not to let the doctor cut his hand off, although it is already gone. The doctor puts the boy under with ether. However, all are shocked when the boy's pulse begins to slow, eventually becoming less and less apparent as it soon stops all together. Upon the boy's death, all return to their affairs.

The fact that no member in the family seemed to be deeply affected shows that Frost is suggesting the idea that life goes on. It is made clear from the start, that this Vermont family is a family in which work is important; the boy(s) cut wood even though it is a man's job while the girl(s) help prepare dinner, if not prepare it all themselves. The fact that ether was used dates the poem back to the mid nineteenth to the mid twentieth century, meaning that the way in which these children live is worlds different than the ways by which today's youth live.

The direct allusion in the title to Shakespeare's "Macbeth" shows a clear parallel between the deaths of young Lady Macbeth and the boy in Frost's poem. While both die at a tragically young age, it can be said that the ways by which they meet their demise are entirely different along with the reactions from readers. When Lady Macbeth dies, one is hard pressed to feel bad for the conniving shrew, yet when the young boy in Frost's poem dies, one is hard pressed to not feel remorseful and sympathetic. The boy is doing the work of a man which most likely means he was forced to grow up to fast, hence representing a loss of innocence.  Frost states "Call it a day, I wish they might have said/To please the boy by giving him the half hour/That a boy counts so much when saved from work". These lines explain just how overworked the boy was and how greatly he would have appreciated a simple half an hour of leisure. The freak accident of the buzz saw helps more clearly reinforce Shakespeare's statement that life is like a "brief candle", one which can flutter out in an instance. By choosing to title his poem after one of Shakespeare's most famous lines, Frost is clearly using the allusion to reinforce his message while simultaneously likening the works of a highly regarded playwright to that of his own.