Unfamiliar Texts - English

They Ask Why I Don't Wear Makeup - Harriet Carter

This poem explores the way that men justify sexual harassment against women, and how women are are effected by this. The author uses simile to get her point across, for example, "private school brotherhoods wear ignorance like lynx." This language features compares ignorance to lynx, which is a brand of antiperspirant which teenage boys tend to use excessive amounts of. So this line is saying that private school boys are extremely ignorant, and by looking at the context of the rest of the rest of this poem I can assume that she is talking about their ignorance to the feelings of girls and women when they cat call, or give unnecessary compliments to. This poem has negative connotations, specifically because of words and phrases such as; bleed, shame burns my chest, caterwauling, male ears shouldn't have to listen, ignorance, only desperate liars lie here and crying.
We also see the use of a couplet in this poem, which helps to show what the author is referring to in this poem. The author writes, "they cherish both uniform/ and red church dresses." This line is referring to the way that men objectify and sexualise women, no matter what they are wearing, where they are going, or how old they are. If a girl is going to school or church she probably isn't trying to sexualise herself, however that doesn't stop men passing her from doing so, and in fact school uniforms are incredibly sexualised, as are girls who do attend church. The couplet in this line helps to break up the sentence, and adds to the rhythm of the poem.
             

Language Features - English

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet or stanza.

Eg. The holy time is quiet as a nun 

       breathless with adoration. 

Eg. The sun is bright as a flower

       ready to be pollinated.

Couplet 

A pair of successive lines, typically rhyming and of the same length.

Eg. Hear the honking of a goose

      I think he's angry at a moose.

Eg. The stars shine bright

      Creatures below fight.

Metonymy 

The substitution of the name of an attribute adjunct for that of the thing meant.

Eg. We will swear loyalty to the crown (instead of king or queen).

Eg. You'll find him six feet under (instead of dead).

My Folio So far - Art

This is a painting of Audrey Hepburn dressed like her character from the movie breakfast at Tiffany's, but instead doing what she really dedicated her life to, which was helping those less fortunate than herself.   

The Theme for my art board is Young Girls Role Models. The first row is typical depictions of women during the early-mid 20th century, the women in these paintings are Disney princess's, because of they are very common 'role models' for young girls. The first painting in the second row is a painting of three famous feminists, Susan B. Anthony, Kate Sheppard and Millicent Fawcett, at a protest. The second painting is of two airplanes made to look like the airplanes flown by Amelia Earhart, and Jean Batten.   

This is the first sketch for my painting of the two airplanes representing Amelia Earhart and Jean batten.                                

This is the first sketch for my painting of Susan B. Anthony, Kate Sheppard and Millicent Fawcett.                                           

This is my first brainstorm for my new board idea.                                                                                                                             

These are my thumbnail sketches for artworks I did/were/are going to put on my board.                                                                         

Unfamiliar texts - English

The Lifestyle Creed

What does the word creed mean?

A creed is a system of religious belief or faith.

Words I do not know:

Oleocanthal - Oleocanthal is found in extra virgin olive oil, and creates a burning sensation in the back of your throat when you consume this oil. 

Cruciferous - My favourite cruciferous vegetable is broccoli.

Catholic Nicene Creed: 

The Catholic Nicene Creed is a catholic prayer which the poem I am studying parodies. These two poems have the same structure, but while the catholic creed is about legitimate religion, the lifestyle creed is about praising the things that help lessen the effects of Alzheimer's, which I assume is either effecting the author, or someone they love. 

Why does the author use cut up words?

There are two different fonts used in this poem, one of the fonts is from the original prayer, and the other is from a website which gives advice on how to deal with Alzheimer's. The author has replaced words of the Catholic Nicene Creed with words to do with Alzheimer's. The effect this has on the reader is that they can acknowledge that they are reading two different poems at once.

Why does the author use two different fonts?

The author used two different fonts to make it easy to tell the two poems apart. The Catholic Creed is printed in a very formal font, whereas the Alzheimer's website is a very modern font. This represents the formality of the original prayer versus the website of modern medicines. 

Why has the author juxtaposed Catholic Nicene Creed?

The author is trying to drastically change the meaning of the poem, turning it from a highly religious prayer, to a prayer to all these vegetables and food related things that help fight the effects of Alzheimer's. This is very effective, and effects the audience by thinking them think the author is praising these things.

What is the overall purpose of this poem?

The purpose of this poem is to show how valuable certain food groups, antioxidants, vitamins ect are to people who suffer from Alzheimer's, or their loved ones.

Overall tone:

The overall tone of this poem is grateful or optimistic.

The last two lines:

These lines suggest that the author is praying for a recovery, and just wanting everything to return to normal. "Resurrection of good cholesterol and the life of the world to come." This makes it seem like the author wants everything to turn around and get better. 

My opinion: 

I enjoyed this poem because I thought the idea of joining two poems together was very creative, and I liked how the author used a very famous prayer to do so.