Emily Dickinson: What is it to “[t]ell all the truth but tell it slant”? How does one of the anthologized Dickinson poems (besides “Tell all the truth but tell it slant—”) do just that?“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”: How can Eliot’s poem help express your feelings when endeavoring to respond to this prompt? How isPrufrock’s plight your plight? (First person is acceptable for this prompt.) Toni Morrison & Bob Dylan or Langston Hughes: Read pages 51 –54 of Morrison’s Playing in the Dark(in Files). Explore one of the four “topics that need critical investigation” in an interpretation of “The Weary Blues” or “Blind Willie McTell.”William Blake & Bob Dylan: To what effect does Dylan’s “Visions of Johanna” allude to Blake’s “The Little Boy Lost” and / or “A Little Boy Lost”? (Here is a link to Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience.) John Keats & Bob Dylan: Research the term “negative capability” and determine how it applies to “Ode on a Grecian Urn” and “Visions of Johanna.”Oedipus the King: Analyze the role of the chorus in Sophocles’ play, and compare-contrast its role with the townspeople’s in either Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” or Hurston’s “Sweat.”Trifles: Analyze the significance of sewing in Glaspell’s play. Cave of Forgotten Dreams: In Plato’s allegory of the cave, the cave represents the superficial physical reality; the cave’s darkness, ignorance; the shadows cast on the cave’s walls, the superficial truth. How can Chauvet Cave be thought of as representing the opposite, deep reality; the cave’s darkness, wisdom; the images on the cave wall, the deep truth? Dawson City: Frozen Time: How does the physical material used to make an artwork determine the art form? “Rhythmus 21”: Richter’s film is an “absolute film,” a genre devoted to experimenting with and revealing the elemental components of cinema. In Richter’s words, “The absolute film signifies the foundation of cinematic art… The absolute film opens your eyes for the first time towhat the camera is, can be, and wants!” What is the camera? What can it be? What does it want? “Un Chien Andalou”: The film’s opening title card reads “Il était une fois… ” (“Once upon a time… ”) To what effectdoes Buñuel’s film invoke the clichéd storytelling of fairy tale?
“Meshes of the Afternoon”: Analyze the significance of reflective surfaces in Deren’s film. “Mothlight”: The title of Brakhage’s film invokes the idiom “like a moth to flame,” which indicates that attraction to something or someone is dangerous yet irresistible. How can filmmaking or film viewing be thought of as an instinctively self-destructive act? Use Brakhage’s film to substantiate your answer.
“Rabbit’s Moon”(“Rabbit’s Moon” begins at 20:29): Research commedia dell’arte. To what effect does Anger’s film invoke the theatrical form? 2001: A Space Odyssey: To what effect does Kubrick’s film—in the image of the monolith—call attention to the screen’s rectangularity? 24 Frames: Compare-contrast the horses in “Frame 2” of Kiarostami’s 24 Frames and the horses on the Horse Panel of Chauvet Cave
