Week 4: Let's Get Down to Business

This week, our poem was the focal point to me. We analyzed I Felt a Funeral, In my Brain by Emily Dickinson. Our focus was on how Dickinson expresses intense emotion through her diction and imagery. As a class, we agreed on the theme of a depressive downward spiral. However, we often found our own spin on this idea when we considered what might have triggered Dickinson's feeling and her point of view on them. I actually enjoyed this poem in spite of the subject matter. Dickinson is able to express a vivid image without the use of many adjectives. 
Aside from the weekly poem, we prepared for our project on what literature is. We discussed the 'so what?' question. Why are the literary devices important and why do we discuss them? We will be making a presentation centered on two elements of literature that we choose and read from the pieces paired with them. I'm interested to see what the other groups say about their elements and which excerpts they choose.
As a special treat, we saw what a real publishing company looks for when it asked for peer review. The questions you are expected to consider are very similar to the ones we use when reviewing each other's essays. The biggest similarity though, is that you are asked not to consider grammatical errors and spelling, but content alone.
​The theme for this week was getting serious.