Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards

In each discussion post prompt, I offer one or two suggested discussion prompts. Scroll down to see those prompts (or you can see them in the content module for the week).
You may choose to respond to one of these suggested prompts. Or you may pursue your own topic, as long as your post pertains to one of the readings for the given week (i.e. not earlier or later weeks). 
Please review the document  or  for guidance, especially if you choose to pursue your own topic. 

Avoid summarizing or providing a “book report” on the readings in this discussion post.
Instead, focus on exploring genuine questions or points of confusion you have about one or more of the readings.
If you want to pursue your own approach, here are three commonly-used, productive literary approaches that you might adopt: 

Linguistic Analysis: 

Focus on an unfamiliar but prominent word or phrase the author uses. Look it up in the Oxford English Dictionary (see Resource link) and use your post to define the word, point to a few important places it occurs in the reading, and explain why you believe the word or phrase is especially important how does a better understanding of this term lead us to a better understanding of the reading as a whole? 

Genre Analysis:

A “genre” is an established form of writing with an expected audience and set of conventions (rules that the genre follows). A letter is a type of genre, for instance, with set rules: letters are typically addressed to a specific audience (Dear X) and include a greeting and closing. “Romance novels” are also a genre, with expected plots (for instance, the main character pursues a specific desire or love interest). In a genre analysis, you can ask these questions: 

What is the genre of the reading? What are the conventions or rules of the genre? Who is the expected audience? What are the main “goals” or purposes of the genre, if any? 
How does this reading meet (or conform) to the expectations of its genre?
How does this reading depart from, disrupt, or challenge the expectations of its genre? 

Character Analysis

Select a major or minor character of interest in the reading. Ask: 

What does the character want?

This is especially important to ask about the main character (or protagonist).
What is the “problem” (if any) that the main character or author is trying to solve? How do they try to solve it? Are they successful or not? How do you know any of these things? 

NOTE: You can ask the questions above of an author as well, though this is generally considered a rhetorical analysis since the author is generally not considered a “character” (though a narrator is a character: see below for questions). 
In general, is this character someone the reader is supposed to like or dislike? How do you know? 
If a minor character, what “role” does this minor character play? How does this character relate to or interact with the main character?
The narrator is often an especially interesting character to consider:

Who exactly is the narrator? How can you tell? 
Is the narrator “inside” or “outside” the story with limited knowledge or with “omniscience” or more complete knowledge?
Is the narrator speaking of “past” (likely completed and known) events or “present” (likely incomplete and unknown) events?
Does the narrator withhold knowledge? If so, what knowledge and where? 
Is the narrator reliable or unreliable? How can you tell?

Select one of the following two prompts, or go your own route.
Option 1: Using a Worksheet with Bradstreet
Worksheets that present many prompts can help promote active critical reading and help inspire interesting observations and questions. The Norton Anthology has put together a helpful worksheet on Anne Bradstreet’s “To My Dear and Loving Husband.” This week you have the option of completing and submitting this worksheet on Bradstreet’s poem instead of writing a complete discussion post.
Click the link below to complete the worksheet. I should be able to view your answers through the Norton website, but you can also copy and paste some or all of your answers in the PAWs discussion post. 
To access this Norton product, you will need to visit the link below and enter in the “Student Set ID” below when prompted. View  about how to add yourself to a “Student Set.”
I haven’t used this service before, so do let me know if you run into problems. You may need to register a username with Norton before you can access the Student Set or worksheet. If so, you can just use your Southwest email and password. 

Link to Bradstreet “Close Reading” Worksheet: 
Student Set ID for this course: 488879

Option 2: Jonathan Edwards’ “Rhetoric of Sensation” 
The biographical note to Edwards observes that his writing style is characterized by a “rhetoric of sensation.” Put another way, Edwards uses a lot of vivid, evocative imagery often centered on the body and its five senses. Pick one of Edwards’s images that you feel is especially interesting or important or a pattern you noticed. Then consider the following questions: 

Briefly paraphrase (1-2 sentences, in your own words) this image or description.
Where does this image show up beginning, middle, end? Just once or in multiple places? Between two other images, or more “isolated?” 
What exactly is this image used to illustrate? Where does the image fit in with Edwards’ overall argument?
Does Edwards borrow this image in some way (from a Bible verse, for instance) or does he seem to invent it himself? 

If Edwards does borrow the image from a Bible verse, what verse? What details does Edwards add to the description?

What exactly makes this image important or interesting? 

Note: I mention linguistic analysis (the study of words or phrases) as one good strategy for developing a discussion post. For a good example of linguistic analysis from this week’s reading, look at the paragraph about the word “delight” in the biographical note to Jonathan Edwards (last paragraph on page 167).