The Flea

Hi guys,
So today we took up a poem called "The Flea" by John Donne. This poem is mainly about love and there are a lot of small details that can be used as symbolism, just like a flea. For the flea, he says, has sucked his blood first, and then her blood, so that now, inside the flea, they are mingled as if there is a connection between the three. His beloved moves to kill the flea, the speaker raises his hand, asking her not to kill the flea, because it has 3 lives in it: his life, her life, and the flea’s own life. The speaker calls his beloved cruel and sudden after she has killed the flea and in a way he is trying to show her that if she slept with him and didn't follow tradition she would lose no more honor than she lost when she killed the flea(as if she is trying to deny him). It's a great poem, but I found it hard to understand when I read it for the first time.

The Course Calendar

In order to keep current on what has been covered and when assignments are due, I have created a Course Calendar (<---- Just Click to access it). I strongly advise you to bookmark the page or to add it to your favorites so that you can retrieve it easily in the future.

The reason I do not advise you to simply return here to access the calendar is that this page will change as more content is added.

A Note on Email Etiquette

I just thought that I would post this proactively, before any one person in particular feels singled out. I keep returning to it because it has proven to be new information for some of my students.

By all means, post any thoughts or queries you might have.

Here is a post from a previous blog on email etiquette.

Poetry & ISU Choices

Given the large enrollment I need to get moving on poetry and the ISU as soon as possible. Don't be alarmed by an early presentation date. It can be really nice to get the poetry presentation out of the way so that it doesn't end up conflicting with one of the other assignments. When marking, I try to take into account the fact that early presenters have less information and experience to work with than students who present later.

Please email ewcwriter@live.ca with your preferred presentation date. I'll get you the closest date possible. If you are looking for poems, try one of the following links which contain poems written by well known poets.

http://www.emule.com/poetry/?page=author_list

http://www.poetry.com/greatestpoems/PoetsCorner.asp

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/

For the ISU... Please bring your ISU novel Monday... I'd like to set aside some independent reading time. You might want to bring several novels and make your choice in class. If you are stuck for ideas, here are a few links that might help:

http://www.cbc.ca/canadareads/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_winners_and_shortlisted_authors_of_the_Booker_Prize_for_Fiction

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotiabank_Giller_Prize

http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/Fiction

Remember, the whole point of the ISU is for you to pick a novel that you will enjoy. It is better to choose carefully than quickly.

First Day Handouts

Here are some links to some of the important documents we will be using. My goal will be to update the Course Calendar frequently, so check back here for updates.

Course Overview

Course Calendar

Policies

Plagiarism-See instructor

Notes on Being A Student
Conventions

Engaged Reading Note

Engaged Reading Assignment

Welcome

Welcome Students and Visitors to the online dimension of Mr. Pierce's and Mr. Baty's ENG 4U Summer School classes.

My hope is that this space will create a "home-base" that will help to keep us all organised and also enable us to communicate more effectively.

Please feel free to add your comments or questions.