Use the information on this page to guide you in creating your Letter from Earth wiki page.

After you have read this info, go here to create your Parody page.

Learning Goals

To create short works of fiction and poetry that parody the authors and poets of this period.  These parodies should do the following:

• Use contemporary American culture as the vehicle for the parody (in other words, your parodies should use contemporary American culture – politics, style, arts, entertainment, religion, and so on – as the content or focal point)
• Mimic the literary style, voice, and theme of the writers being parodied

To produce meta-commentaries (commentaries about the works of fiction or poetry that you produce) that do the following:

• Explain in specific ways how the parody mimics the literary style, voice, and theme of the writers being parodied. 
• Use at least TWO of the literary terms that we have addressed in the course as part of your explanation.
• Use at least TWO references (i.e. quotes, paraphrases, examples, and a link) to secondary source websites I have directed you to visit-- for instance pages that give author bios or explain literary concepts

 

Purpose and Content

Parody is a literary genre that draws on one's critical thinking skills (in order to do a parody, one must understand thoroughly how the object of the parody is composed) and creativity (you will be, after all, creating something original). (See "parody" in the Literary Terms for a more detailed definition.)

 

You will create TWO parodies for this assignment. The first one must be a short (300-500 words) work of prose that imitates one of the fiction or nonfiction writers that we have read in weeks 5-16 of the course. 

 

The second one must be a short (no fewer than 10 lines, yet no longer than 20 lines) work of poetry that imitates one of the poets that we have read in weeks 5-16 of the course.

 

Each parody should take as its content something from contemporary American culture, while the literary style, voice, and theme should reflect the writer being parodied. For instance, if one were to parody Benjamin Franklin, one could write a short autobiography acting humble while really showing off or telling other people how to live their lives in the present day.  If one were to parody Whitman's "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," one might write a poem called "When Snow Fell Last" about President Bush leaving office in January of 2009 (Do make sure that you title each parody).

 

The parodies are meant to be a fun and creative way for you to consider the literary concepts we have discussed in general and specific writers and poets in particular.

 

After each parody, you must create a short (400 - 600 words) meta-commentary. This meta-commentary should first name the writer and the poem or short story being parodied. Next, the meta-commentary should explain how and in what ways the parody mimics the original. In particular, you must use TWO of the literary terms we have addressed in the course to describe your parody's attempt to mimic the original. You must also use at least TWO references (i.e. quotes, paraphrases, examples, and a link) to secondary source websites I have directed you to visit-- for instance pages that give author bios or explain literary concepts

 

Audience

The audience for this writing includes the instructor and all of your classmates.

 

Format

The parodies will be posted on the course wiki. I will grade wiki page based on how it achieves the "learning goals" listed above and conforms to the format below.

 

Please note: I will NOT be grading your parodies on their literary merit, only your ability to reflect aptly the literary style, voice, and theme of the original. The meta-commentaries will be weighted more in the evaluation process.

 

Here is the specific grading rubric I will use.

 

Your wiki page should have a title, and you should be noted as the author somewhere on the page.

 

The page should use this structure:

Fiction parody + meta-commentary

Poetry parody + meta-commentary

 

To support each of your two meta-commentaries, please include the following in each:

• at least one specific example or quote from the work of each of the authors you have chosen
• at least two references (i.e. quotes, paraphrases, examples, and a link) to secondary source websites I have directed you to visit-- for instance pages that give author bios or explain literary concepts

Additionally,

• bulleted lists and tables may be used, but are not mandatory;
• audio and video files may be used, but are not mandatory.

 

Samples

If you are floundering for ideas, you might look at some of these examples from previous students.  They do a nice job of the parody and the explanation.  If you have an idea, you might want to write yours down first before looking at these examples so they don't poison your parodic brilliance :)

http://amlit-at-mctc.pbworks.com/An-Open-Plain

http://amlit-at-mctc.pbworks.com/A-Play-on-Words

http://amlit-at-mctc.pbworks.com/Becky%27s-Parodies