Library 150 Reference Book Analysis

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Library 150 Reference Book Analysis
The 700s By Linda Thompson Winter, 2005
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Masterplots II. Poetry series Accessed from the
Kirkland branch of the King Co. Library Frank N.
Magill,ed.Pasadena Calif. Salem Press,
1992-c1998.
R 809.1 volumes 1-6
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Purpose Masterplots contains summaries and
commentaries of books, plays, stories, poems,
authors, and characters. This Magill series
focuses on poetry.
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Scope The entire Masterplots series covers a
broad range of literature, including American
Fiction Stories, African American Literature,
British and Commonwealth Fiction, Nonfiction,
Poetry, Drama, Juvenile and Young Adult Fiction,
Short Stories, and World Fiction.  
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Organization Volume 6 of the poetry series,
Masterplots contains an index,arranged by
author, title of poem and type of poem In each
volume, poems are arranged by title in
alphabetical order.
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• Use
• Each entry lists author, type of poem, date of
  first publication, summary, description of forms
  and poetic devices used, themes and meaning,
  critical content, and bibliographic information
  for further study.
• Students doing research on poetry, teachers doing
  background for a lesson, or anyone having trouble
  understanding a poem can use this reference tool.
•  

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• Magill is a well-known publisher of summaries.
  There are Masterplots of drama, American
  literature, and world literature.
• Some school districts provide Masterplots online.
  The Lake Washington School District has paid for
  a service, so Masterplots can be accessed through
  the internet. It is a comprehensive service with
  many links to criticism.
• This is a service that is best used by students
  with some explanation by a librarian or a teacher.

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Using a summary to help understand a poem is best
used in conjunction with a careful reading of the
poem. Summaries should not be used in place of
an assignment to read and experience a poem.
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• Lets look at an example
• The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is a
  difficult poem by T.S. Eliot. I often ask my
  students to use Masterplots to help them
  understand the poem
• Finding out that is was published in 1917, helps
  to put the content into historical perspective.
• Masterplots explains some obtuse analogies. It
  describes the basic plot of the poem and
  describes liteary techniques cross rhymes,
  couplets.
• The major theme is discussed Is disillusionment
  better than illusion?

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Sounds kind of like the film, The Matrix
Now that that the student isnt afraid of the
poem, The hope is that now, she will go back and
see if she agrees with Masterplots