#9 Bell Work Week 5

Read

While reading think about the acutal difference between fantasy world vs reality.

Tone vs. Reality. The speaker’s head is “bloody, but unbowed.” Does the poem celebrate resilience OR does it refuse to admit limits? Point to diction that supports your reading. Connect your claim to your personal life.

Write as a senior: claim first, then proof, then meaning. Do not summarize the whole poem.

Lead with a claim, not “I think the poem is about…”

Embed quotations (four words or fewer when you can). Example: Henley calls the soul “unconquerable” before he has earned the word.

Reply to two classmates who did not choose the same angle you.

A strong reply does one of the following:

Extend: Add a line they did not use and show how it tightens or complicates their claim.
Challenge: Quote a word that works against their reading and explain the tension without attacking the writer.
Refine: Grant their point, then distinguish resilience from denial, or agency from isolation.