RUSH -- ENGLISH 9 --
MASTERY WORK #4 -- ENGLISH 9 -- RUSH
Over the month of December, we have immersed ourselves in poetry and Greek Mythology,
and we have begun to talk about theme.
Themes are large, universal ideas, and we can use them as organizing principles for our learning, for
our analytical work, and for our deeper understanding of both texts and the world around us.
In this Mastery Work, you are building skills in the integration of knowledge and ideas, which is the focus of
ELA common core standards 7 & 8. This means examining how a character or story has been interpreted in
multiple mediums, as well as how one author draws on the work of another author.
Using textual evidence and strong, clear writing will be key to your successful analysis in this project.
Your task  Analyze how both a writer and an artist have drawn on one of the Ancient Greek Myths to
develop a theme in their work.
I. Select the Greek Myth you would like to focus on. Re-read the story thinking about the author’s
message… the “take-away” for us.
 Write one well-developed TE/EA paragraph that makes a claim about what the author’s message is in the
myth. Support with direct evidence from the story (specific references to plot) and close with analysis of why this
story and theme are interesting/important for us or would have been for the Greeks.
II.
Find a piece of art (painting, drawing, sculpture) that shows a scene or character from that same
myth (use http://www.artcyclopedia.com/ or another search engine like it).
Write one well-developed TE/EA paragraph that makes a claim about what the artist’s message is in this work.
Support with direct evidence from the piece of art itself, describing details you’ve noticed and explaining how they
support the theme. Finish with an analysis – is the artist’s theme the same as you claimed in the first paragraph?
If yes, how does the visual nature of the art affect our understanding of the theme, and if not, how is THIS
interpretation of the myth interesting/important for us?
*Pay attention to what has been included from the myth and what has been left out!
III.
Locate a poem that alludes to the myth or mythical figure you’ve focused on (use one Ms. Rush
provides or find you own – formally published poets only!). Analyze how the author is using the
allusion to contribute to a theme of their poem.
Write one well-developed TE/EA paragraph that makes a claim about how the author is using allusion to
support their message in the poem. Use quoted evidence from the poem, and explain how this evidence supports
the theme. Finally, offer analysis of how the poet has used the allusion to make their message as powerful as
possible for us.
.
All three paragraphs should be well-developed, with multiple references in each paragraph to the work being
studied, and use of TE/EA structure throughout. This is not an essay with an introduction and conclusion, but rather 3
paragraphs which together represent an analytical study of how we interpret and re-interpret stories through multiple
artistic mediums and throughout history. * Your FINAL DRAFT should be typed in a 12 point professional font.
DUE DATES
Rough Draft due Monday, January 5.
Final Copy (MUST be typed) due Tuesday, January 20, but can be submitted by Friday 1/16 for Extra Credit.
RUSH -- ENGLISH 9 -Which Myth?
MASTERY WORK #4 -- ENGLISH 9 -- RUSH
Author’s message/Theme?
Evidence from the text?
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What piece of art? Title/artist
Author’s message/Theme?
Supporting details from the work of
art?


What poem? Title/author
Author’s message/Theme?
Evidence from the text?


POEMS:
King Midas – “Hour” by Carol Ann Duffy
Daedulus & Icarus – “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” by William Carlos Williams OR “To A Friend Whose Work Has
Come to Triumph” by Anne Sexton
Narcissus – “Personal Helicon” by Seamus Heaney
Perseus – “Perseus” by Robert Hayden
Orpheus & Eurydice – “Orpheus with his Lute Made Trees”
Persephone – “Persephone, Falling” by Rita Dove OR “Two Sisters of Persephone” by Sylvia Plath
Prometheus – “Prometheus” by Lord Byron
Sisyphus AND Tantalus – “Yet Do I Marvel” by Countee Cullen