Poem Assessment

Invictus by William Earnest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul. 


This is my best interpretation of the nine poetic elements:
The author is a young man over coming extreme misfortune and tragedy. The poem doesn't seem to be set in any specific time, but the main setting is a dark night. The poem is organized in stanzas. Each stanza separates ideas while still tieing into the main message. The author uses many literary elements like personification and metaphors to describe the circumstance and misfortune. The theme of the novel is the overcoming of tragedy and the taking control of one's own destiny. Many words are crucial to the meaning of the poem. "Wrath" for example is used in an effective, but different way to convey the message of depressed frustration. The author also uses a lot of imagery. In the first stanza he uses imagery of a dark night to set a mood. The most important words are wrath, horror, circumstance, and master. These words all convey the message of overcoming misfortune. The author's tone is sad but also optimistic towards the subject. He is sad about the tragedy he faced in the beginning, but very optimistic about staying strong and controlling his own destiny in the end.  

Reactions To Practice AP Exam:

I thought the essay questions were surprisingly easy. They were very straight forward. The only thing that confused me a little was the fact the they didn't specifically ask about literary elements. I thought I remembered the essay questions last year being more technical. I was able to develop strong ideas towards the questions, but I don't think I had enough to support my statements. While writing the essays I also learned that I don't work to well under pressure. I could easily knock out my opening paragraph in just a little more than five minutes, but after that I would freeze up with the remaining ten minutes. I think my struggling was due to the fifteen minute time limit. I felt stressed and worried I wouldn't be able to get anything worth while down. I have found that when given more time like a fifty minute period, I actually finish way too quickly. I'm not really sure why I acted in the complete opposite way during the practice test.

I wasn't present for the second part of the practice AP exam. However, I have taken other practice tests and I have found them extremely difficult. I have found that just tackling one section at a time and not worrying about the time limit works best for me. I am also getting better at reading and comprehending long passages effectively. I took a six week long preparation class for the SAT and learned many helpful skills in tackling long passages and getting all of the needed information out of them.

Great Expectations Notes

-Draws characters that are realistic
-People that he wanted to be and people he didn't
-Almost every character is both

-Incite to a young man who is confused about false values and and unreal ambitions
-Understanding of background and 16th century England
                        -Could this same story happen anywhere else? NO
-Well constructed plot, different plot lines and views perspectives

-Themes: value of love, irreversibility of time, fragmented life around us, acceptance
-Codes- in first scene Dickens uses the word "plot" in four different ways
-Traditional Etipus story
-Cinderella plot
-Plot connections

Characters:
-Magwhich- Represents the stranger, weak, child fears
-Havasham- "Have A Sham", trained Estella to destroy men
-Joe- measures success by emotions, positive, good hearted
-Jaggers- only does bare minimum, secrets, with holding, doesn't trust anyone
-Wemmick- material and poetic views on life, in the middle of Joe and Jaggers
-Pip- confused because he is attracted and repulsed by both positive and negative views