ENGL 102H, Fall, 2015
Dr. Harnett
Week 14 (Thursday) Class Notes, page 1
Announcements:
Wednesday,
12/9
Thursday,
12/10
Office
As Needed:
Contact me for
assistance.
ENGL 101H
(TuTh)
Final
9:10-11:30
SG 136
8:00-9:00
9:10-11:30
11:50-2:10
Office
ENGL 102H
Final
11:50-2:10
SR 314
Friday,
12/11
As Needed:
Contact me for
assistance.
Monday,
12/14
ENGL 101H
(MW)
Final
9:10-11:30
SG 138
Tuesday,
12/15
Wednesday,
12/16
As Needed:
Contact me for
assistance.
As Needed:
Contact me for
assistance.
Office
My Finals Week schedule.
1. See me if Essay 2 or any other assignment is not yet completed and
submitted. As always, I will work with you to see that you prepare your
best work under the circumstances.
2. The Research Paper is due at the end of this week—by the weekend. Send
it to me and also bring a paper copy next week.
3. The last SI is today at 12:15-1:15 PM in SR 313.
4. The Final Exam is Thursday, 12-10-2015, 11:50-2:10 in SR 314. It will have
2 parts:
a. A mini-essay in which you will analyze a poem. We will analyze a
poem today as practice.
b. A larger essay in which you will analyze and evaluate the written
story “The Witness for the Prosecution” by Agatha Christie and the
film adaptation Witness for the Prosecution. We will discuss the
short story briefly today and watch the movie today and Tuesday.
Poetry: Read, discuss, and analyze in these 3 categories:
 Meanings as you interpret them. Remember to give your interpretation
and then support it: Show why you see meanings and develop examples
from the poem to demonstrate them.
 Expression: Show specifically how the poem conveys its meanings,
through its word choices; sound effects such as rhyme, assonance,
alliteration, and others; imagery such as symbols, metaphors,
personifications, and other devices.
 Effects: Show how the poem affects readers, including yourself: What
does it make you think? What memories does it conjure? What emotions
or other reactions does it engender? As a work of art, how does the poem
make an impression on readers and you?
Again, in the interpretation and analysis of poetry, you are free to interpret a
poem as you see meanings in it. The only wrong interpretation is one without any
support to explain and demonstrate it.
ENGL 102H, Fall, 2015
Dr. Harnett
Week 14 (Thursday) Class Notes, page 2
1. Lawrence Ferlinghetti, “Constantly Risking Absurdity”
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/184167
2. Lisel Mueller, “Hope”
http://judithpordon.tripod.com/poetry/lisel_mueller_hope.html
It hovers in dark corners
before the lights are turned on,
it shakes sleep from its eyes
and drops from mushroom gills,
it explodes in the starry heads
of dandelions turned sages,
it sticks to the wings of green angels
that sail from the tops of maples.
It sprouts in each occluded eye
of the many-eyed potato,
it lives in each earthworm segment
surviving cruelty,
it is the motion that runs the tail of a dog,
it is the mouth that inflates the lungs
of the child that has just been born.
It is the singular gift
we cannot destroy in ourselves,
the argument that refutes death,
the genius that invents the future,
all we know of God.
It is the serum which makes us swear
not to betray one another;
it is in this poem, trying to speak.
3. Judith Viorst, “If I Were In Charge of the World”
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/if-i-were-in-charge-of-the-world/
If I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel oatmeal,
Monday mornings,
Allergy shots, and also Sara Steinberg.
If I were in charge of the world
There'd be brighter night lights,
Healthier hamsters, and
Basketball baskets forty eight inches lower.
If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn't have lonely.
You wouldn't have clean.
You wouldn't have bedtimes.
Or "Don't punch your sister."
You wouldn't even have sisters.
If I were in charge of the world
A chocolate sundae with whipped cream and nuts would be a vegetable
All 007 movies would be G,
And a person who sometimes forgot to brush,
And sometimes forgot to flush,
Would still be allowed to be
ENGL 102H, Fall, 2015
Dr. Harnett
Week 14 (Thursday) Class Notes, page 3
In charge of the world.
Poem for the Final—selected from these works:
Week 11
Auden, “Musée des Beaux Arts”
Week 12
Sidney Lanier, “Struggle”
Walt Whitman, “A Clear Midnight”
Robinson Jeffers, “The Treasure”
Dara Wier, “Instances of Wasted Ingenuity”
Amy Clampitt, “Fog”
William Earnest Henley, “Invictus”
Week 13
William Wordsworth, excerpt from The Prelude
Robinson Jeffers, “Tor House”
Lawrence Ferlinghetti, “Constantly Risking Absurdity”
Lisel Mueller, “Hope”
Judith Viorst, “If I Were In Charge of the World”
Research Paper Oral Presentations: We could do them in class instead of
watching the movie. I suggest watching the movie so that everyone is sure to
access it. You may present your presentation in my office if you wish. Be sure I
see your visual presentation in any case (PowerPoint or other format).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Agatha Christie, “The Witness for the Prosecution” short story
(from The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories). Give
responses that are correct for the short story. Cite page numbers
too so that you can refer back to this. The PDF is posted on the
main ENGL 102H page. It’s 15 pages. Cite like this parenthetically:
(Christie 14).
Describe Mr. Mayherne, including what he does for a living, his physical
appearance, and his personality.
Define and explain the position that Mr. Mayherne has. Also define the
position that Sir Charles, a character that is mentioned briefly later in the
story, has. What is the difference between these two positions?
Mr. Mayherne does this with his “pince-nez” (“pince-nez”
means_____):_______. When he does this, that means that he _______.
Leonard Vole is charged with the crime of_______.
Regarding Leonard Vole, Emily French wanted ________, even though she
was _______.
Mayherne DOES / DOES NOT initially believe that Leonard Vole is innocent.
Emily French left ________ for Leonard Vole.
TRUE or FALSE: Vole never seems to waver emotionally and remains calm
while he is meeting with Mr. Mayherne.
Leonard Vole’s wife Romaine is not what Mayherne expected in this way:
____ (one of several possibilities here)
ENGL 102H, Fall, 2015
Dr. Harnett
Week 14 (Thursday) Class Notes, page 4
10. TRUE or FALSE: Romaine vouches for his innocence and corroborates Vole’s
claim that he was home with her by 9:20.
11. Then Romaine says that she might say this in court: _____ (one of several
things)
12. TRUE or FALSE: Romaine tells Mayherne that she and Leonard are not really
married.
13. By the time he leaves Romaine, Mayherne is convinced that _____.
14. Mayherne meets a strange woman at the Shaw’s Rents who pulls away a scarf
to reveal _______.
15. This woman gives Mayherne ______________ in exchange for ____ that
show that _______________.
16. This and other _____ are used in the trial to _____________
17. Mayherne goes to the cinema and gets confirmation that ________.
18. At the trial, Romaine _______, and Leonard Vole is found GUILTY / NOT
GUILTY.
19. After the trial, Mayherne goes to see Romaine again and confirms his
suspicion, which started with doubts about her and then is enhanced with his
observation about the way she _____________, that she is
____________.
20. But Romaine surprises Mayherne by revealing that she “knew--[Vole]
was___________!” This means that _________________________.
 Overview of the movie adaptation of the short story, called Witness
for the Prosecution.
Note differences in characters:
Story
Movie___________
Leonard Vole
Mayherne (solicitor)
Sir Charles (barrister)
Romaine Heilger
Emily French (age: 70s)
Janet Mackenzie (maid)
Mrs. Mogson (19-24)
Leonard Stephen Vole
Sir Wilfrid Robarts
(barrister)
Mayhew (solicitor)
Brogan-Moore (other barrister)
Christine Helm Vole
Miss Plimsoll
Carter
Emily French (age: 56?)
Janet Mackenzie
The woman who meets Sir
Wilfrid and Mayhew at Euston
Station
Note Differences in Plot (list only begun):
 Subplot of Sir Wilfrid’s health and Miss Plimsoll
 How Leonard Vole meets Emily French
o How Sir Wilfrid meets Christine Vole
 The extent of coverage of the trial
ENGL 102H, Fall, 2015
Dr. Harnett
Week 14 (Thursday) Class Notes, page 5

Note: In 1953, Christie adapted her story as a stage play, which ran in
London and in America, among other venues. The play adds the character of
Sir Wilfrid Robarts to take the leading role instead of Mr. Mayherne. Then, by
1957, the movie version was written by Billy Wilder and Harry Kurnitz and
released in theatres with a new character, Miss Plimsoll, and changes to the
plot. A voice-over message at the end of the movie requested that the audience
not reveal the surprise ending to anyone.

Now, let’s watch the movie adaptation. I recommend that you take
notes, possibly in a table like the one below.


Note that the short story title is written like this: “The Witness for the
Prosecution.”
The movie title is written like this: Witness for the Prosecution.
Please watch the movie carefully and take notes of important points,
especially those that differ from the short story. The final exam will involve
these changes between the two versions of the story.
Here is a table to fill in as one option for keeping track of differences between
the movie and the short story (add rows as necessary):
Key Scenes or Chapters of the DVD Showing Differences Between
The Short Story “The Witness for the Prosecution” and the movie
Witness for the Prosecution
Scene or Chapter
on DVD
Opening /Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Story
Mr. Mayherne meets
Leonard Vole (Christie 1).
Movie
Introduction to English
high court, the Central
Criminal Court, nicknamed
The Old Bailey
Sir Wilfrid Robarts finally
going home with Miss
Plimsoll after recovering
from his heart attack and
coma
ENGL 102H, Fall, 2015
Dr. Harnett
Week 14 (Thursday) Class Notes, page 6
By this weekend: Complete and send me (mharnett@glendale.edu) your
Research Paper final revision in a format that I can view (Word document, PDF,
or in the text of the email). Share it to my gmail at mharnettgcc@gmail.com .
Then bring the hard copy to me as soon as possible.
For Tuesday, 12-8-2015: Review the short story. We will watch the remainder
of the film in class.
Thursday, 12-10-2015 is the Final Exam in this classroom from 11:50 AM to
2:10 PM.