Language Arts 9 assignment
Due Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Mrs. Marston

Literary technique: Suggested Story

Poems: A Lady Comes to an Inn; The Listeners;A Shot at Night
Short Story: “The Stout Gentleman”

Choose one. Writing assignments must be handwritten and may be illustrated.
1. WRITE:
Three strange men came to an Inn. Write about what they brought with them. Write where they came from,and where they might be going. Include metaphors and similes.

2. Brainstorm times when you have had glimpses into the lives of others (such as conversations overheard at the Coop, someone receiving a note that made them cry or laugh.)
WRITE an account of one of these experiences.

3. In the poem The Listeners by Walter de la Mare, silence seems to have ears.
What do you hear in this poem?
What is real in this poem?
What is mysterious?
What mood is created?
Who are the listeners?
What is the rider’s errand?
Why does the rider want it known that he had come?
WRITE the story in your own way, explaining these things.

4. WRITE (inspired by A Shot At Night by Idella Purnell
It is a dark, silent, chilly night. You hear a shot. Where did it come from? Who fired it? Why? Was the aim true? What was the target? Was it an act of high courage? Or sneaking cowardice?

5. WRITE: (inspired by “The Stout Gentleman” by Washington Irving
It is a rainy Sunday in the gloomy month of November. It is 1800. You are staying in an old Inn, recovering from a slight illness. What do you see, hear, experience , out the window, down the hall, in the “common” room?

6. WRITE a character sketch, describing the stout gentleman according to your imagination. What is he wearing? What are are his physical characteristics? What does he sound like? smell like? What is his occupation? His social status?

Writing tips:
Make the paragraph the unit of composition Use the active voice.
Put the statements in positive form. Use definite, specific, concrete language.
Omit needless words. Avoid a succession of loose sentences.
Express coordinate ideas in similar form. Keep related words together.
In summaries, keep to one tense. Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end.