Today we will finish our discussion of the critical reading essays (Nabokov, Perrine, Agassiz) and try to compress these into our critical reading skills lists (the back of your journal).
Then, I’m going to introduce a visual method of studying text–one that promotes inductive, fish-gazing, stay-in-the-flashlight, detail-fondling interpretations. And we’re going to practice that visual method on a poem called “Rink Keeper’s Sestina.”
Your journal prompt for this poem is simple: Based on your observations of this one sestina, what is a sestina?
I’m eager to see what you come up with. No Googling, no peeking, no clues, no comparing with other poems (even sestinas, at least not yet). You’ve got yourself and the fish poem and your writing utensils. Bon chance!
PS) The bold print above is just a small hint of the kinds of metaphors and skills you might have added to your critical reading skills list by the end of the day today. :)
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