WEEKLY WRITING WARMUP 2: Song As Poetry, Poetry As Song
Weekly Writing WarmupDonn English II Pre-AP & GT
WEEKLY WRITING WARMUP 2: Song as Poetry, Poetry as Song
Refer to your “Rhetorical Figures” handout to complete this task.
TASK: Read the information about archetypes provided. Write ONE 5-7 sentence paragraph in which you use your notes on “Red Right Hand” discuss the “crossroads” archetype used in the song. What is its significance in today’s popular culture of film, TV, and song? Give examples from popular movies, songs, and music today.
- Use the rhetorical figures from your handout to help you write the following: Use the three rhetorical figures below to make your writing more interesting. Highlight these rhetorical figures in BLUE. To get some good figures upon which you can build your paragraph, write your own, original versions in lines a-c below this list.
Antithesis
Allusion
Analogy
a)Antithesis:______
b)Allusion:______
c) Analogy: ______
2. Draft, revise, and edit your paragraph in the space below. Write your draft in black ink, and edit in red. Practice using commas with introductory phrases. Then, complete your final draft on the back. You may PRINT your final draft in black ink or type and attach to this task sheet. Points will be taken off for using pencil!
Rough Draft w/Edits: ______
______
Final Draft, printed in BLACK INK or typed and attached:
______
ARCHETYPE: A statement, pattern of behavior, or prototype which other statements, patterns of behavior, and objects copy or emulate. Archetypes are considered to be universally present in thought and action, constantly recurring as symbols or motifs in literature, painting, or mythology. Examples of allegoricalcharacter archetypes are the Hero, the Villain, the Sidekick, the Mentor, the Shadow, the Virgin, the Trickster, the Savior, and many, many more. Examples of archetypal situations are the Quest, the Trial, the Underworld, and the Crossroads. TV shows such as Heroes and Once (Upon a Time) use fairy tale and mythological archetypes in their casts of characters.
The Crossroads
The Crossroads are a place where a person/hero/heroin must make a choice that will effect their lives. They come to a realization of where they are in their life, often by way of making a “deal” or exchanging something spiritual in exchange for something material (in American Blues folklore, the famous blues guitarist Robert Johnson was said to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for superhuman talent). However, crossroads experiences are not always described in demonic terms: In the New Testament account of Saul’s conversion into the apostle Paul on the road to Damascus, Paul is described as having been blinded by the light of God and subsequently converted to Christianity. This too is a crossroads experience.Crossroads experiences always confront characters with moments of life-changing, deeply personal doubt—sometimes, that doubt is over whether or not the decisions or “deals” made will turn out as expected in the first place. In trickster myths, tricksters frequently make deals that backfire for mortals making the deal—and sometimes, even the trickster is fooled by his own sophomoric appetites and desires. For example, the Uncle Remus story character Bre’er Rabbit and the Tar Baby, Bre’er Rabbit is among the most cunning of tricksters and yet is entrapped by his own pride and quick temper. Often times the person take the wrong path and must overcome many obstacles to right the wrongs done through the deal that is made. Speaking metaphorically, people are said to come to a “crossroads” in their lives when they find themselves having to make difficult life-changing decisions that could change who they are forever.