Anyway, onto the list of things I absolutely positively must do:
- Beef up on poetic devices and terms
- Focus on finding and sticking to the theme
- Learn to make sense of the logical leaps necessary to answer certain questions
- Treat everything more objectively
- Give myself time to think about things
Generally speaking, learning exact definitions makes up most of this list. Once I understand exactly what a question is asking when it talks about 'theme' as opposed to 'subject' as opposed to 'motif,' I can be more confident in my answers, and not feel like I'm blindly guessing in the dark. Frankly, I'm astonished I correctly answered most of the questions regarding meter. I don't know the difference between a lyric or elegiac poem, and I have no idea what masculine and feminine rhyme are, and there are a lot of nuances to the word 'theme' that escape me completely. Getting those down pat will be 90% of the battle, with the other ten being attitude. While I will always think it is kind of evil to ask a subjective question on an objective test, I need to learn to shut myself up and pick the most likely option, which may not necessarily dovetail with my own opinion. Even though I may not think that the man who is writing about his dead daughter buried in a blanket of snow is particularly hopeful, the English Literature AP test writers obviously do. The last bullet I have will help me with that as well. I have a horrible habit of rushing through standardized test style things; it's a combination of hubris and dislike that often leads me to make stupid mistakes. If I can force myself to slow down and actually give questions some serious thought, it will save me from 'doh' moments.
