“When
I was a kid, Bob’s voice somehow thrilled me and scared me, it made me feel
kind of irresponsibly innocent... Dylan was a revolutionary. Bob freed the mind
the way Elvis freed the body. He showed us that just because the music was
innately physical did not mean that it was anti-intellectual.”
-Bruce Springsteen
speaking about Bob
Dylan’s poetic-musical
influence
During
our three-week poetry unit, we will be listening to, studying, thinking about,
and discussing the music of Bruce Springsteen. Students will learn how to write
a properly formatted, well-researched and well-documented critical-analytic
paper. They will learn how to use primary sources (the Springsteen poems
and the sources he used when he composed his songs) as well as secondary
sources (things written about Springsteen’s music and poetry). Students
will be responsible to sign out and take care of one of the duo-tangs of
research materials I have compiled for them. The materials in this duo-tang
will constitute the majority of their research; however, students will also
need to access Bruce Springsteen’s official website in order to download copies
of lyrics for their own use (www.brucespringsteen.net).
Itinerary of Work for Assessment:
Tests:
ü
A
poetic devices/terminology test
Minor
Assignments:
ü
Write
a poem of
your own that uses 5 different poetic devices. Underline/highlight/otherwise
indicate where each device can be found in your poem. Define each term, and
then explain how you’ve used each device according to its definition.
ü
Secondary
text(s) summary
(see below)
ü
Secondary
text(s) reflective analysis (see below)
ü
Primary
text(s) summary (see below)
ü
Primary
text(s) reflective analysis (see below)
Major
Assignments:
ü
Critical-Analytic
Paper
(see below)
ü
Music-Poetry
presentation:
Choose a song (NO: it doesn’t have to be by Bruce Springsteen!) that has
meaning/significance to you personally. Bring the actual music for us to listen
to in class as well as the lyrics in PAPER copy. Print off enough copies for
every other student in class so each of us can pair up. Alternatively, make an
overhead projector transparency. DO NOT expect the internet or the technology
at our school to work either for finding your lyrics or your song online:
always have a back-up plan for such contingencies. That’s why it’s best to
bring enough copies of your lyrics for everyone to share, and why you need to
come to class with a recording of your song ready to be played. If your
presentation is cumbersome, makes inefficient use of time, if you have not made
careful preparations to ward off exigencies, your work will be judged
accordingly. You need to speak about 5 different poetic devices that appear in
your poem: what they are, where you find them in the poem, how each device is
defined, and how the poet/musician uses the device to create an effect. If your
song doesn’t have 5, then PICK A DIFFERENT SONG! Additionally, you must speak
about what YOU take to be the meaning/significance of the song you have chosen.
NOTE: A little profanity in a song is generally OK (even Shakespeare uses a
cuss now and again). But extended, insulting, misogynistic, racist, or bigoted
selections will not be tolerated. If you’re not sure about your selection, it’s
probably no good. You should clear your choice with me first if you’re worried
about its suitability. Students who choose music that violates these simple
guidelines will not be allowed to complete their presentation, and their work
will be graded accordingly. Student presentations are normally between 5 and 9
minutes in length, including the musical selection.
Weeks One and Two: Minor Research Writing
Components
1.
Reading the Question and the Duo-tang: Select a research duo-tang. Look at
the research question that accompanies this duo-tang. This question will
orient your work in the paper you are going to write. After you have read the
question carefully begin reading through the contents of the duo-tang. Read
the secondary source research article(s) carefully.
2.
Taking Jot Notes: Use the research question posed for you particular duo-tang
to help you focus your own reading efforts. Look for things in the duo-tang
that are relevant to helping you write a paper that responds to this question.
Take point form/jot notes to assist you with the difficult passages. If
you are going on to college or university you will need to learn to take good
notes as you read; you’ll need to learn to read and to think independently, and
to struggle with difficult or challenging texts. Do not worry about
understanding every single word of what you read. Try reading each paragraph
and then writing a single jot-note that summarizes what you take to be the
point of that particular paragraph. If you don’t feel like what you just read
makes sense, or if you don’t feel it is relevant to the question you are
investigating for your research paper, then move on to the next paragraph.
Remember: the broad ideas are more important than the little details as you
research, and you may find that slogging through difficult or challenging
passages will help you discover these broad ideas and to see past the little
details that confuse you. Critical-analytic writing requires careful reading,
deep thought, and hard work: you must read and re-read, think and re-think,
question and answer and re-question in order to understand. Hand in your
jot-notes with your secondary research summary and analysis.
3.
Using Jot Notes to Write Summatively and Reflectively: Take notes on your primary and
secondary reading(s). Your notes should be in sentence form and proper
paragraphs:
i. Secondary Text Summary: Having read the
secondary research that appears in your duo-tang, you will need to summarize what
it is about. Look back at your jot notes for clues. How do all the jot notes
fit together? What is the big picture, the big idea, or the big question being
explored in the reading? Write a summary of this secondary research.
ii. Primary Text Summary: You will need to look up
the primary source lyrics to Bruce Springsteen’s songs if they are not
included in your duo-tang. Go to www.brucespringsteen.net
and click on the “songs” option. Most of the other primary sources
you’ll need (ex., texts that have influenced Springsteen’s writing) are already
included in the duo-tangs. Read and listen to the lyrics to these songs
repeatedly to “get a feel” for what the poet is saying, and write a summary
of what you take to be the meaning of the song(s), poem(s), and/or stories in
question.
iii. Reflective Response to Secondary Text: After summarizing your
secondary text(s), you must relate each of these back to your research topic.
Write about what you see as the connection between the article(s) you’ve read
and the research topic you have been given. What is the argument of the
secondary text? What evidence does the author provide for making this argument?
Do you agree/disagree with what the author of the article says? Do you think
that the author has missed something important, or that the author has
distorted something? Are there questions that the readings present to you that
you don’t feel have been sufficiently answered by the author(s) of the
secondary text(s)?
iv. Reflective Response to Primary Text: How does Springsteen’s
poetry relate to the topic you’ve been researching? What insights, ideas,
questions, and/or problems does Springsteen grapple with in these poems/songs
that are relevant to the topic you have been assigned?
Week Three: Paper writing and Music/Poetry
presentations.
Students will be presenting all week long in class. Work on their papers will take place outside of class. Papers that are handed in on time will be afforded an optional re-write following class guidelines for submissions. Details on constructing bibliographies and proper citations have been discussed in class, but can also be found on my website: www.mrsteelsclass.com.
DEADLINES:
End
of Week One:
Secondary
and Primary Text Summaries (with attached jot notes) are due.
Creative
poem with 5 different devices identified, defined and explained is due.
End
of Week Two:
Reflective
Responses to Secondary and Primary Texts are due. If you’ve done this exercise
well, then most of your work for your paper due at the end of next week is
already done!
Poetic
Devices/Terminology Test.
End
of Week Three:
Final
Critical-Analytic Paper is due (must include properly-formatted citations and a
Works Cited page). Papers ought to be 3-4 pages in length (750-1000 words,
double-spaced, 12 point, Times New Roman font). Papers are written on student
time outside of class.
Poetry/Music
Presentations all week in class. Students must come prepared each day since without
volunteers, a lottery system will be used each day.
Research Questions for Springsteen Duo-tangs:
Number |
Research
Question |
1 |
What
is the meaning of the term, “Eternal Recurrence”? How does the author of this
article think that Springsteen’s work affirms this concept? What evidence
does he provide? Is it convincing? Evaluate and support your arguments. |
2 |
How
does Bruce Springsteen’s music portray the everyday struggles of ordinary
working-class people? Use the secondary texts provided and rely on Springsteen’s
own poetry to help you make your case. |
3 |
What
does this writer see as the connection(s) between Springsteen’s music and the
story of Peter Pan? Do you agree or disagree? Evaluate the author’s claims
using careful support from Springsteen’s poetry. |
4 |
Evaluate
the author’s interpretation of “Thunder Road.” What does he say about the
song, and how does he support his interpretation? Is his article persuasive?
Do you see the song differently? Are there things that the author left out
that are important? Are there alternative ways of seeing the song? Offer your
own assessment of what the song means. Use textual support from the song. |
5 |
What
is “fatalism”? What is the author’s central point in this article, and how
does he use Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” to explore this question? Is his
investigation of the song in relation to questions about “fatalism”
persuasive? Why or why not? Provide your own thoughtful reflective analysis
on the song and concerning the question the author poses. |
6 |
Who
was Socrates and what did he do that was important? What parallel are the
authors of this article trying to draw between Socrates and Springsteen? What
evidence do they provide to establish this parallel? What do they see both
Socrates and Springsteen trying to do, and what are the different/similar
ways that they do it? Is this parallel persuasive? Why or why not? Provide
your own assessment of the authors’ argument. Use evidence from Springsteen’s
poetry to help you make your case. |
7 |
What
role does a sense of place, setting, or geography play in Springsteen’s
effectiveness as a storyteller with whom his audience may identify? What do
the various secondary texts provided say about this? How do they make use of
Springsteen’s poems as support for their claims? Do you find their arguments
persuasive? Do they distort the meaning of Springsteen’s lyrics at all? Do
they add things or leave things out about his songs that you think are
important in relation to this question? Support your own ideas about the use
that Springsteen makes of place, setting, and/or geography with reference to
the secondary and primary texts provided. |
8 |
Having
examined and listened to his songs, try to figure out what is Springsteen’s
view of America and global citizenship. Use the secondary text about “world
citizenship” in the work of Bruce Springsteen to help you explore what
Springsteen understands to be our duties towards each other in a globalized
world. Find support in his lyrics to build your case. |
9 |
What
is “poetic virtue”? What are the Muses? How does the author of this article
understand the “Musical” nature of Springsteen’s music? What is his argument,
and what evidence does he provide to make it? Do you find his argument
persuasive? Why or why not? Support your views with reference to
Springsteen’s music. |
10 |
Springsteen
often writes about criminals and law-breakers. Read through the various
secondary texts to help you explore some of the reasons why Springsteen
chooses to investigate criminal behaviour in his poetry. What can we learn
about ourselves through Springsteen’s stories? Use both the secondary and
primary texts to help you make your case. |
11 |
Explore
the imagery and symbolism of borders, lines, and boundaries in the songs of
Bruce Springsteen. What do lines represent? What social, political, and
spiritual problems is Springsteen exploring through his use of such imagery?
Use secondary and primary research in order to make your case. |
12 |
Who
was Woody Guthrie? Explore the manner in which Guthrie’s music influences
Springsteen’s own poetic/musical song writing. Use the secondary research
provided along with some primary source investigation to help you make your
case. |
13 |
Read
the secondary literature provided to help you explore the manner in which
Springsteen’s music investigates how human beings variously deal with
suffering, loss, alienation, and death. How does Springsteen’s music help us
to understand how some people are crushed by such things, whereas others come
out stronger and with more insight into life? Be sure to ground your paper in
a careful reading of Springsteen’s lyrics/poetry. |
14 |
The
authors of this article claim that Springsteen’s work can be “periodized”
into three stages. Explain how their argument works and what textual/lyrical
evidence they use to support it. Does their argument hold up? Can you find
counter-examples that tear apart their rationale, or do you find their use of
evidence air-tight and convincing? Looking to the songs of Springsteen
yourself, develop your own assessment of these authors’ claims. |
15 |
What
is the meaning of the term “utopia”? What does the author of this article say
about Springsteen’s views on utopias as they are presented in his music?
Looking at Springsteen’s lyrics yourself, evaluate the author’s claims about
Springsteen’s views on utopias. Do you think that the author is right? What
does Springsteen think about utopias? Do you think that Springsteen is right?
Why or why not? Build your own argument using evidence from the secondary
text, from Springsteen’s own poetry, and your own ideas about utopias. |
16 |
Having
read through the secondary texts provided, what do the various authors say
about the influence that author John Steinbeck has had on Springsteen’s song
writing? What evidence do they provide for these claims? Along with these
articles, examine some of Springsteen’s poetry to build your own case. |
17 |
Read
through the secondary texts provided to try to figure out what role religion,
religious imagery, and religious questions play in Springsteen’s poetry. Make
sure you use examples from Springsteen’s own poetry to help you make your
case. |
18 |
Read
the articles that concern Springsteen’s response to 9/11. Investigate the
songs that appear particularly on his album The Rising. Use the
secondary texts to help you develop your own interpretation of the powerful
imagery in one or more of the songs that appear on this album. What is
Springsteen’s message about 9/11 on this album? |
19 |
Read
the short story by Flannery O’Connor. Then read the secondary texts provided
that explore the influence of O’Connor’s writings on Springsteen’s work. What
argument is made by the author’s of these secondary texts? What evidence do
they provide to support their case? Do you find it persuasive? Why or why
not? Look at Springsteen’s poetry yourself and compare it with the Flannery
O’Connor short story that you have read in order to build your own case. |
20 |
What
is feminism? How might a feminist approach to Springsteen’s music better
enable us to understand his writing? How are women and men portrayed in his
work? Is Springsteen fair to women? Is he misogynistic? Are the authors of
these articles fair to Springsteen in their analyses of his work? Build your
own case using the secondary research provided, and by referencing
Springsteen’s poems/songs for support. |
21 |
What
is a theme, and how are themes related to what musicians sometimes do on
“concept albums”? Explore one or more of Springsteen’s albums thematically?
Use primary texts (Springsteen’s songs) and the secondary text provided to
help you build your case. |
22 |
For
this assignment, EITHER use the secondary and primary texts to explore
the relationships depicted in Springsteen’s poetry between fathers and sons OR
use these sources to investigate the way that men and masculinity is defined
in Springsteen’s music. Make sure that you ground your use of secondary texts
in a careful reading of Springsteen’s actual lyrics. |
23 |
What
is narrative poetry? How might Springsteen be considered a narrative poet?
Using the secondary text provided to assist you, explore some of
Springsteen’s narrative poetry to figure out what he has to say about hopes
and dreams and the relation that social/political order/disorder has to the
fulfilment/discouragement of those hopes and dreams. Ground your work in one
or more of Springsteen’s own narrative poems or stories. |
24 |
Read
this secondary text provided to help you explore the way that Black/African
American music and culture has influenced Springsteen’s own writing and
composition. Make sure that you ground your work in lyrical analysis of one
or more or Springsteen’s own songs. |
25 |
For
this assignment, EITHER explore the way that live musical performance
is related to ethical questions of right and wrong (read the Gimbel article),
OR investigate the moral/ethical dilemma that Springsteen depicts in
“Highway Patrolman” (i.e.: What is the moral dilemma? Why is this a dilemma?
How do we know how to do the right thing? Is the problem resolved in the
poem? Why or why not? Defend your response with support). |
26 |
Read
the secondary texts provided, and use them to help you write a paper that
explores the use that Springsteen makes of images and experiences of driving
and open roads/highways. What role does driving and do roads play in his
narratives? What symbolic significance do these elements play in his songs?
Make sure you ground your analysis in careful readings of his poetry. |
27 |
What
does it mean to be “patriotic”? What does it mean to be “progressive”? Do
patriotism and progressivism ever conflict? Is Springsteen patriotic? Is he
progressive? What role does dissent play in patriotism and progressivism?
Read the secondary texts provided to help you start your paper. Make sure you
ground your paper in a careful analysis of Springsteen’s own poems. |
28 |
What
role does emphasis on “the local,” “the Hometown,” the place of person
origin, and the sense of community play in Springsteen’s writing? Read the
articles provided to help you formulate your argument, and make sure that you
ground your paper in a careful analysis of Springsteen’s own poetry. |
29 |
What
is music? What is philosophy? What is the difference between music and
philosophy? What can each teach us? Can music be philosophical? Or is the
philosopher always critical of what the musician sings? What does the author of
this article say about this subject? Could it be that there is something
deeply philosophic about Springsteen’s music? Use the secondary text provided
to help you make your case. Ensure that you ground your argument in a careful
analysis of one or more of Springsteen’s songs. |
30 |
What
is “ontology”? What does the author suppose is the ontology that Springsteen
is espousing in his songs? (If you can’t understand what he’s up to in this
article, just ask yourself: what ontology do YOU think Springsteen is exploring
in one or more of his songs? This would be just as good!) |
31 |
Use
the secondary source provided as a doorway into exploring what you take to be
the meaning or central problem/concern of Springsteen’s “Straight Time.” Make
sure that you support your work with reference to the actual song. |
32 |
Browse
through the literature provided in this duo-tang and use the secondary
research to help you isolate an instance of influence or at least similarity
between the musical lyrics of Springsteen and the poetry of Walt Whitman.
Some of Whitman’s poetry as it is pertinent to this question appears towards
the end of the duo-tang. Make sure you ground your comparative work textually
in the primary sources from Whitman and Springsteen. |
33 |
Use
the secondary texts provided to get you started exploring the way that
Springsteen’s poetry investigated the effects that “social traumas” like 9/11
and the everyday disenfranchisement people experience from the “American
Dream” affects their lives. How do characters in various among Springsteen’s
songs deal with socially traumatic events? How come some people are crushed
by social traumas while others overcome them and are even strengthened by
them? Be sure to ground your analysis in the songs of Springsteen. |
34 |
Read
the secondary texts to help you begin thinking about the role that “hope” and
not giving in to despair but always supposing there is a kind of meaning to
things plays in Springsteen’s poetry. Be sure to ground your analysis in the
songs of Springsteen. |
35 |
Read
the secondary text provided and then investigate Springsteen’s poetry
yourself to explore the way that cultural diversity and multiculturalism are
treated in his music. Be sure to ground your analysis in the songs of
Springsteen. |
36 |
Read
the secondary literature provided to help you explore the manner in which
Springsteen’s music investigates how human beings variously deal with
suffering, loss, alienation, and death. How does Springsteen’s music help us
to understand how some people are crushed by such things, whereas others come
out stronger and with more insight into life? Be sure to ground your paper in
a careful reading of Springsteen’s lyrics/poetry. |
37 |
Read
through the secondary literature in this duo-tang carefully as a means to
develop an in-depth analysis of Springsteen’s most famous song, “Born in the
USA.” What is the central concern of this song? Be sure to ground your paper
in a careful textual analysis of the lyrics. |
38 |
When
we listen to music, we don’t often think of musicians as poets or authors,
and we don’t think about our appreciation of music as a literary exercise or
as the appreciation of literature, but it is. Read the article in this
duo-tang to explore the way in which Springsteen the musician can be
understood as an author. Then, examine one or more of his songs carefully as
a piece of literature, and make a case for understanding it as literature. |
39 |
Use
the article that appears in this duo-tang as a springboard to think about the
problem of interpreting songs, poetry, music, stories, literature... anything
for that matter! Why is it so hard for us to understand the things we read or
hear or see or experience? What are some famous examples of
interpretations/misinterpretations of Springsteen’s own writing? How can we
know that one interpretation of a work of art is correct and another is not?
Make reference to the examples in the secondary text to help you, and ensure
that you ground your work in a careful analysis of Springsteen’s poetry. |
40 |
Read
through these accounts provided by real teachers of their own experiences of
using Springsteen in their classrooms, and the various ways in which the
music of Springsteen influences and challenges and provokes them. Detail
their experiences and then look to Springsteen’s songs to find one that you
yourself feel challenged by, or that teaches you something about yourself.
Explore what this particular poem/song means to you and how your own
experiences with Springsteen are similar/different from the ones in the
accounts provided. Make sure you ground your work in a careful exposition of
Springsteen’s poetry. |
41 |
Read
through these accounts provided by a businessman and a businessman’s wife of
the various ways in which the music of Springsteen influences and challenges
and provokes them. Detail their experiences and then look to Springsteen’s
songs to find one that you yourself feel challenged by, or that teaches you
something about yourself. Explore what this particular poem/song means to you
and how your own experiences with Springsteen are similar/different from the
ones in the accounts provided. Make sure you ground your work in a careful
exposition of Springsteen’s poetry. |
42 |
Read
through these accounts provided by ordinary people of the various ways in
which the music of Springsteen influences and challenges and provokes them.
Detail their experiences and then look to Springsteen’s songs to find one
that you yourself feel challenged by, or that teaches you something about
yourself. Explore what this particular poem/song means to you and how your
own experiences with Springsteen are similar/different from the ones in the
accounts provided. Make sure you ground your work in a careful exposition of
Springsteen’s poetry. |
43 |
Use
the secondary text that appears in this duo-tang to explore the question:
“What can reading or listening to the lyrics of Bruce Springsteen teach us?”
What kind of knowledge do his words impart? Make reference to the examples in
the secondary text to help you, and ensure that you ground your work in a
careful analysis of Springsteen’s poetry. |