Class 12

Today we discussed the "lyric argument," a technique used in many of the poems we read for today. Whereas the classic prosaic argument proceeds using hypotaxis (that is to say, its connections are explicitly made: A and B and C therefore X), the lyric argument proceeds using parataxis (that is, in a list, where the connections not explicitly made and the conclusions ambiguous: A, B, C, X).

Poems like "Vespers," "Women's Novels," and "Footnote" also proceed using antithesis: a duality between two things.

Poems like "Of Flesh & Spirit," "The Exodus," and "An Anointing" could be considered "braided arguments," in that they are a series of thematically linked stanzas.

In class we did two writing assignments to help you get started on this week's homework assignment:

1. ANTITHESIS
Set up a duality of competing desires (Men want X / Women want Y; Kids want X / Adults want Y; Liberals want X / Conservatives want Y, etc.). Make a list, using antithesis, and use this as the basis for a poem.

2. BRAIDING
First pick a theme, a "big" theme: love, death, birth, sex, and so on. Now write five stanzas:
The first stanza should be a narrative, a story involving this theme.
The second stanza should be an observation about society, with regards to your theme.
The third stanza should be a memory you have involving your theme.
The fourth stanza should provide some history of your theme.
The fifth stanza should tell a joke about your theme.
Now keep going, as you see fit.

HOMEWORK
1) Read "Syntax and Grammatical Inversion" & write a Reading Report.
2) Write a prose poem that uses lists, antithesis, or a "lyric argument."
3) Bring a revised peice to class for workshop.

IMPORTANT NOTE!
We meet on Tuesday of next week, not Wednesday.