All examples must be posted by March 7, 2007
Bacon loved to use parallelism.
As we discussed in class, parallelism uses successive words, phrases, clauses with the same or very similar grammatical structure. It is a rhetorical device that often occurs in political speeches and essays.
* To earn 50 extra credit points find and post a comment with a modern example of parallelism (20th - 21st century). Examples can come from speeches, editorials, articles, or campaign materials. Include info on where you found the example and why you picked it.
Here is a famous example from JFK:
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."
-- John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address
This is a great example, but don't worry there are millions more out there.
Go find them!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Class Notes February 26th
English 12
February 25, 2008
Today’s Objectives:
Dramatic Songs and their function
Francis Bacon Life and Writings
Seven Stages in Limerick Form
* Seven ages: first puking and mewling,
* Then very ticked off with one's schooling,
* Then loves, and then fights,
* Then judging chaps' rights,
* Then sitting in slippers, then drooling.
*
* Were women legally barred from performing on stage in the Elizabethan age?
* Yes. Women were only allowed on stage after 1660, following the downfall of Cromwell's puritanical government.
Dramatic Song
What is Onomatopoeia?
Where do you find examples?
* The songs in Shakespeare’s plays are the best of this kind that have come down to us, for Shakespeare excelled in lyric and dramatic poetry. Shakespeare’s songs serve a variety of dramatic purposes: Some advance the play’s action; some help establish the mood of a scene; some reveal character. The songs, which use a variety of poetic techniques, rely heavily on onomatopoeia, language that sounds like what it means.
What effect do songs and soundtracks have on movies or film?
Can you think of modern examples?
MARKETA IRGLOVA: Academy Award winner for Best Song from the film “Once”
* I just want to thank you so much. This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling.
* This - the fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to hold this - it's just to prove, no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible.
* And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don't give up.
* And this song was written from a perspective of hope and hope, at the end of the day, connects us all, no matter how different we are.
Shakespeare’s Comedy
* A character named Amiens sings this song in As You Like It (Act II, Scene 7), a comedy about a group of sophisticated courtiers exiled from their palaces and living in a very comfortable wilderness, the Forest of Arden.
* The song Blow, Blow Winter Wind makes a playful comment on a common human failing: ingratitude. In comparison with people’s ungrateful behavior, the cruel winter weather seems kind.
Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind
Blow, blow, thou winter wind,°
* Thou art not so unkind As man’s ingratitude;
* Thy tooth is not so keen,
* Because thou art not seen,
* Although thy breath be rude.
* Heigh-ho! Sing, heigh-ho! Unto the green holly:
* Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
* Then, heigh-ho, the holly!
* This life is most jolly.
Blowing Winter Wind
* Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
* That dost not bite so nigh
* As benefits forgot:
* Though thou the waters warp°
* Thy sting is not so sharp
* As friend remembered not.
* Heigh-ho! Sing, heigh-ho! Unto the green holly:
* Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
* Then, heigh-ho, the holly!
* This life is most jolly.
Questions
* 1.What aspects of human nature does the singer of “Blow, Blow” criticize?
* 2. How does man’s bite compare with winter’s in “Blow, Blow”?
* 3.The song “Blow, Blow” is sung by a character named Amiens. What would you say this song reveals about Amiens’s character?
* 4. What details personify the wind and the sky in “Blow, Blow”?
* 5. How does the merry-sounding chorus of “Blow, Blow” affect the impression created by the preceding verses?
Education and Equality
* With the advent of humanism, education was no longer restricted to the clergy. In fact, men of the privileged classes were now expected to study a wide array of subjects, from philosophy and economics to music and science. Education for Renaissance women, however, was a different story. Only women of noble birth had access to education, and the goal of education was to produce better wives and mothers, since education was linked to growth in moral virtue and since women directed the early education of their children.
* Although education was held up as a primary good during the Renaissance, it was certainly not available to all—and its goal was not to create equality, either between classes or between men and women.
* Do you think that education is different today? Why or Why not?
Ideas about Learning
* What is your view of the value of reading and learning?
* What are some of the benefits of being well-educated?
* Is real life experience more valuable than academic knowledge?
Bacon’s Life
* In a now famous letter Bacon wrote, “I have taken all knowledge to be my province.”
* He did not master all knowledge, but he did make important contributions to many different branches of knowledge: political science, economics, biology, physics, music, architecture, botany, constitutional law, industrial development, philosophy, theology, mythology, astronomy, chemistry, landscape gardening, and literature.
* He is most famous for his essays and axioms.
* He is most famous, however, for his vision of humanity’s future, when knowledge would be based on verifiable experimentation and science would be separate from theology.
Axioms
Many of the sentences contain nuggets of wisdom known as axioms or adages. Like proverbs, axioms do not argue or explain but merely make positive statements.
* Bacon’s essays are written in a terse, compressed style that demands a reader’s full attention. For the most part, Bacon does not develop his ideas in paragraphs. Instead, he writes a sentence containing one idea, then follows it with a sentence containing another idea. While the sentences are all related to the topic of the essay, they are related in different ways—and they could be rearranged without much damage to the whole. The effect is like a string of beads all the same size.
Axiom assignment
* Select an axiom and write a personalized interpretation along with an explanation of your choice, including:
* Why did you pick that axiom?
* What does it mean to you?
* How is it relevant to your life?
Parallelism
* Bacon’s sentences have been studied for centuries as models of parallelism, or parallel structure—the repetition of words, phrases, or sentences that have a similar grammatical structure. Parallelism is a powerful rhetorical device that enhances a passage’s clarity and makes it rhythmic and memorable. Bacon also uses parallel structure to present contrasting ideas. Reading aloud and paying attention to punctuation and parallel structure will help you make sense of Bacon’s long, complex sentences.
Examples
* Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested."
* Children who show signs of sloth will grow up to be lazy adults. Children who show signs of apathy with grow up to indifferent adults. Children who show signs of intolerance will grow up to be intolerable adults.
Modern Use of Parallelism
* Who uses Parallelism?
* Can you think of any famous examples?
February 25, 2008
Today’s Objectives:
Dramatic Songs and their function
Francis Bacon Life and Writings
Seven Stages in Limerick Form
* Seven ages: first puking and mewling,
* Then very ticked off with one's schooling,
* Then loves, and then fights,
* Then judging chaps' rights,
* Then sitting in slippers, then drooling.
*
* Were women legally barred from performing on stage in the Elizabethan age?
* Yes. Women were only allowed on stage after 1660, following the downfall of Cromwell's puritanical government.
Dramatic Song
What is Onomatopoeia?
Where do you find examples?
* The songs in Shakespeare’s plays are the best of this kind that have come down to us, for Shakespeare excelled in lyric and dramatic poetry. Shakespeare’s songs serve a variety of dramatic purposes: Some advance the play’s action; some help establish the mood of a scene; some reveal character. The songs, which use a variety of poetic techniques, rely heavily on onomatopoeia, language that sounds like what it means.
What effect do songs and soundtracks have on movies or film?
Can you think of modern examples?
MARKETA IRGLOVA: Academy Award winner for Best Song from the film “Once”
* I just want to thank you so much. This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling.
* This - the fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to hold this - it's just to prove, no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible.
* And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don't give up.
* And this song was written from a perspective of hope and hope, at the end of the day, connects us all, no matter how different we are.
Shakespeare’s Comedy
* A character named Amiens sings this song in As You Like It (Act II, Scene 7), a comedy about a group of sophisticated courtiers exiled from their palaces and living in a very comfortable wilderness, the Forest of Arden.
* The song Blow, Blow Winter Wind makes a playful comment on a common human failing: ingratitude. In comparison with people’s ungrateful behavior, the cruel winter weather seems kind.
Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind
Blow, blow, thou winter wind,°
* Thou art not so unkind As man’s ingratitude;
* Thy tooth is not so keen,
* Because thou art not seen,
* Although thy breath be rude.
* Heigh-ho! Sing, heigh-ho! Unto the green holly:
* Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
* Then, heigh-ho, the holly!
* This life is most jolly.
Blowing Winter Wind
* Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
* That dost not bite so nigh
* As benefits forgot:
* Though thou the waters warp°
* Thy sting is not so sharp
* As friend remembered not.
* Heigh-ho! Sing, heigh-ho! Unto the green holly:
* Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
* Then, heigh-ho, the holly!
* This life is most jolly.
Questions
* 1.What aspects of human nature does the singer of “Blow, Blow” criticize?
* 2. How does man’s bite compare with winter’s in “Blow, Blow”?
* 3.The song “Blow, Blow” is sung by a character named Amiens. What would you say this song reveals about Amiens’s character?
* 4. What details personify the wind and the sky in “Blow, Blow”?
* 5. How does the merry-sounding chorus of “Blow, Blow” affect the impression created by the preceding verses?
Education and Equality
* With the advent of humanism, education was no longer restricted to the clergy. In fact, men of the privileged classes were now expected to study a wide array of subjects, from philosophy and economics to music and science. Education for Renaissance women, however, was a different story. Only women of noble birth had access to education, and the goal of education was to produce better wives and mothers, since education was linked to growth in moral virtue and since women directed the early education of their children.
* Although education was held up as a primary good during the Renaissance, it was certainly not available to all—and its goal was not to create equality, either between classes or between men and women.
* Do you think that education is different today? Why or Why not?
Ideas about Learning
* What is your view of the value of reading and learning?
* What are some of the benefits of being well-educated?
* Is real life experience more valuable than academic knowledge?
Bacon’s Life
* In a now famous letter Bacon wrote, “I have taken all knowledge to be my province.”
* He did not master all knowledge, but he did make important contributions to many different branches of knowledge: political science, economics, biology, physics, music, architecture, botany, constitutional law, industrial development, philosophy, theology, mythology, astronomy, chemistry, landscape gardening, and literature.
* He is most famous for his essays and axioms.
* He is most famous, however, for his vision of humanity’s future, when knowledge would be based on verifiable experimentation and science would be separate from theology.
Axioms
Many of the sentences contain nuggets of wisdom known as axioms or adages. Like proverbs, axioms do not argue or explain but merely make positive statements.
* Bacon’s essays are written in a terse, compressed style that demands a reader’s full attention. For the most part, Bacon does not develop his ideas in paragraphs. Instead, he writes a sentence containing one idea, then follows it with a sentence containing another idea. While the sentences are all related to the topic of the essay, they are related in different ways—and they could be rearranged without much damage to the whole. The effect is like a string of beads all the same size.
Axiom assignment
* Select an axiom and write a personalized interpretation along with an explanation of your choice, including:
* Why did you pick that axiom?
* What does it mean to you?
* How is it relevant to your life?
Parallelism
* Bacon’s sentences have been studied for centuries as models of parallelism, or parallel structure—the repetition of words, phrases, or sentences that have a similar grammatical structure. Parallelism is a powerful rhetorical device that enhances a passage’s clarity and makes it rhythmic and memorable. Bacon also uses parallel structure to present contrasting ideas. Reading aloud and paying attention to punctuation and parallel structure will help you make sense of Bacon’s long, complex sentences.
Examples
* Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested."
* Children who show signs of sloth will grow up to be lazy adults. Children who show signs of apathy with grow up to indifferent adults. Children who show signs of intolerance will grow up to be intolerable adults.
Modern Use of Parallelism
* Who uses Parallelism?
* Can you think of any famous examples?
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Of Studies
This is a dense reading with A LOT of footnotes. Make sure you use the footnotes to help you understand the reading. Take your time with the reading and the questions.
Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight is in privateness and retiring;1 for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition2 of business.For expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of particulars, one by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and marshaling of affairs, come best from those that are learned. To spend too much time in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament is affectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules is the humor3 of a scholar. They perfect nature and are perfected by experience; for natural abilities are like natural plants that need pruning by study; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience. Crafty men contemn4 studies; simple men admire5 them; and wise men use them: For they teach not their own use; but that is a wisdom without them6 and above them, won by observation. Read not to contradict and confute;7 nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.Click on icon to answer this question in your Notebook. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: That is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously;8 and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. Some books also may be read by deputy, and extracts made of them by others; but that would be only in the less important arguments, and the meaner sort of books; else distilled books are like common distilled waters,9 flashy10 things. Reading maketh a full man; conference11 a ready man; and writing an exact man. And therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit;12 and if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know that13 he doth not.
Histories make men wise; poets witty;14 the mathematics subtle; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend. Abeunt studia in mores.15 Nay, there is no stond16 or impediment in the wit but may be wrought17 out by fit studies: like as diseases of the body may have appropriate exercises. Bowling is good for the stone and reins;18 shooting for the lungs and breast; gentle walking for the stomach; riding for the head; and the like. So if a man’s wit be wandering, let him study the mathematics; for in demonstrations, if his wit be called away never so little, he must begin again: If his wit be not apt to distinguish or find differences, let him study the Schoolmen;19 for they are cymini sectores:20 If he be not apt to beat over21 matters, and to call one thing to prove and illustrate another, let him study the lawyers’ cases; so every defect of the mind may have a special receipt.22
1. What three things can studies (reading, writing, and discussion) be helpful for? How can studies be used for each of these things?
2. In the sentence that begins “Read not to contradict and confute…,” what does Bacon conclude that reading should be used for? What should it not be used for?
3. According to Bacon, what is the difference among books that are meant to be “tasted,” books that are meant to be “swallowed,” and books that are meant to be “chewed and digested”?
4. Bacon uses an extended analogy to argue the value of “fit studies.”
Summarize Bacon’s analogy: Studies are to the mind as ____________ is to __________________ .
5. Bacon says that too much studying is “sloth”—laziness. Do you agree? Explain how this paradox, or seeming contradiction, can be true.
6. Which sentence from the essay best sums up Bacon’s views on the value of study? Cite reasons and examples he offers to support his argument. Has Bacon convinced you of his point of view? Explain.
Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight is in privateness and retiring;1 for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition2 of business.For expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of particulars, one by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and marshaling of affairs, come best from those that are learned. To spend too much time in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament is affectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules is the humor3 of a scholar. They perfect nature and are perfected by experience; for natural abilities are like natural plants that need pruning by study; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience. Crafty men contemn4 studies; simple men admire5 them; and wise men use them: For they teach not their own use; but that is a wisdom without them6 and above them, won by observation. Read not to contradict and confute;7 nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.Click on icon to answer this question in your Notebook. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: That is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously;8 and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. Some books also may be read by deputy, and extracts made of them by others; but that would be only in the less important arguments, and the meaner sort of books; else distilled books are like common distilled waters,9 flashy10 things. Reading maketh a full man; conference11 a ready man; and writing an exact man. And therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit;12 and if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know that13 he doth not.
Histories make men wise; poets witty;14 the mathematics subtle; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend. Abeunt studia in mores.15 Nay, there is no stond16 or impediment in the wit but may be wrought17 out by fit studies: like as diseases of the body may have appropriate exercises. Bowling is good for the stone and reins;18 shooting for the lungs and breast; gentle walking for the stomach; riding for the head; and the like. So if a man’s wit be wandering, let him study the mathematics; for in demonstrations, if his wit be called away never so little, he must begin again: If his wit be not apt to distinguish or find differences, let him study the Schoolmen;19 for they are cymini sectores:20 If he be not apt to beat over21 matters, and to call one thing to prove and illustrate another, let him study the lawyers’ cases; so every defect of the mind may have a special receipt.22
1. What three things can studies (reading, writing, and discussion) be helpful for? How can studies be used for each of these things?
2. In the sentence that begins “Read not to contradict and confute…,” what does Bacon conclude that reading should be used for? What should it not be used for?
3. According to Bacon, what is the difference among books that are meant to be “tasted,” books that are meant to be “swallowed,” and books that are meant to be “chewed and digested”?
4. Bacon uses an extended analogy to argue the value of “fit studies.”
Summarize Bacon’s analogy: Studies are to the mind as ____________ is to __________________ .
5. Bacon says that too much studying is “sloth”—laziness. Do you agree? Explain how this paradox, or seeming contradiction, can be true.
6. Which sentence from the essay best sums up Bacon’s views on the value of study? Cite reasons and examples he offers to support his argument. Has Bacon convinced you of his point of view? Explain.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Class Notes February 22nd
TODAY’S OBJECTIVES:
SHAKESPEARE’S DRAMATIC SPEECHES: SOLILOQUY AND MONOLOGUES
THE SEVEN STAGES OF MAN
English 12
February 22, 2008
Upcoming Assignments
* Today: The Seven Stages of Man
* 2/26: Blow, Blow Winter Wind
* Francis Bacon Activities
* 2/28: Ideas about Learning
* 2/29: Bacon’s Axioms
* 3/3: From Bacon’s “Of Learning”
* What is the first thing you think of when you hear the name Shakespeare?
Shakespeare’s Drama
Shakespeare's plays form one of literature's greatest legacies.
Believed to have written 37 plays.
Mystery surrounding the Plays:
* Chronology
* Amount of rewrites made by actors and others
* Lost Manuscripts
* Three Types:
Comedies
Histories
Tragedies
The Big Names
* Tragedies
Antony and Cleopatra
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
* Histories
Henry VIII
Richard II
Richard III
* Comedies
As You Like It
Love's Labours Lost
Measure for Measure
The Merchant of Venice
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado About Nothing
The Taming of the Shrew
Monologue and Soliloquy
* Most of the words spoken in a play occur in conversation, or verbal exchange between characters—that is, in dialogue. Renaissance playwrights frequently used two other devices for revealing to an audience a dramatic character’s thoughts and feelings: monologues and soliloquies.
* A monologue is a long, usually formal speech spoken by one character to another character or the audience.
* A soliloquy is a meditative kind of monologue in which the speaker, usually alone onstage, shares his or her true inner thoughts and feelings directly with the audience.
Setting the Stage
* Hamlet, the young prince of Denmark, has been told by the ghost of his father (the elder Hamlet) that his uncle, Claudius, now married to Hamlet’s mother, murdered the elder Hamlet. The prince is plagued by doubts, conflicting impulses, and confusing emotions. He both desires and fears to take revenge on his uncle. In this most famous of Shakespearean soliloquies, Hamlet weighs the case for action against inaction. The soliloquy is from Hamlet, Act III, Scene 1.
Hamlet Questions
* 1.What action is Hamlet considering at the opening of his speech?
* 2.What is Hamlet afraid will happen in “that sleep of death”?
* 3. According to lines 15–20 of “To be, or not to be,” what trials in life do we put up with?
* 4. According to lines 21–27 of “To be, or not to be,” why do we bear all those burdens in life?
Hamlet’s Conundrum
* To be, or not to be—that is the question.
* Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
* The slings and arrows of outrageous° fortune,
* Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
* And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep—
* No more, and by a sleep to say we end
* The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
* That flesh is heir to. ’Tis a consummation°
* Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep,
* To sleep—perchance to dream. Aye, there’s the rub,°
* For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
* When we have shuffled off this mortal coil°
* Must give us pause. There’s the respect
* That makes calamity of so long life.°
The Burdens of Endurance
* For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
* The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,°
* The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,
* The insolence of office, and the spurns
* That patient merit of the unworthy takes,°
* When he himself might his quietus° make
* With a bare bodkin?° Who would fardels° bear,
* To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
* But that the dread of something after death,
* The undiscovered country from whose bourn
* No traveler returns, puzzles the will,
* And makes us rather bear those ills we have
* Than fly to others that we know not of?
The final lines
* Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
* And thus the native hue° of resolution
* Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast° of thought,
* And enterprises of great pitch and moment
* With this regard their currents turn awry
* And lose the name of action….°
* 5. What do you think Hamlet means when he says, “Conscience does make cowards of us all” (line 28)? Do you agree?
Riddle of Sphinx
* What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?
As You Like It
* A pastoral comedy written in 1600.
* Pastoral: Literature or art that depicts shepherds or rural people, often in a highly idealized manner.
* A comedy about a group of sophisticated courtiers exiled from their palaces and living in a very comfortable wilderness, the Forest of Arden.
* Made into a film for HBO in 2006.
From As You Like It
Is the world a stage?
What are the Stages of Man?
What is a bubble reputation?
* All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.
* At first the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;
Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.
And then the lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress' eyebrow.
Then a soldier, Full of strange oaths, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth.
Stages Continue
* And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lin'd,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part.
* The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well sav'd a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound.
* Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. (II.vii)
The Stages
Stages: Years Characteristics Events
Infancy
School Age
Lover
Solider
Justice
Old Age
Second Infancy
Reflection Questions
* What stage of life are you in now?
* Which stage do you think is best stage of life?
* Which is the worst?
Reflecting
* Do you think the speaker is overly pessimistic or is he a realist?
* Is a man or woman without anything at the end of their life? What have they lost? What have they gained?
SHAKESPEARE’S DRAMATIC SPEECHES: SOLILOQUY AND MONOLOGUES
THE SEVEN STAGES OF MAN
English 12
February 22, 2008
Upcoming Assignments
* Today: The Seven Stages of Man
* 2/26: Blow, Blow Winter Wind
* Francis Bacon Activities
* 2/28: Ideas about Learning
* 2/29: Bacon’s Axioms
* 3/3: From Bacon’s “Of Learning”
* What is the first thing you think of when you hear the name Shakespeare?
Shakespeare’s Drama
Shakespeare's plays form one of literature's greatest legacies.
Believed to have written 37 plays.
Mystery surrounding the Plays:
* Chronology
* Amount of rewrites made by actors and others
* Lost Manuscripts
* Three Types:
Comedies
Histories
Tragedies
The Big Names
* Tragedies
Antony and Cleopatra
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
* Histories
Henry VIII
Richard II
Richard III
* Comedies
As You Like It
Love's Labours Lost
Measure for Measure
The Merchant of Venice
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado About Nothing
The Taming of the Shrew
Monologue and Soliloquy
* Most of the words spoken in a play occur in conversation, or verbal exchange between characters—that is, in dialogue. Renaissance playwrights frequently used two other devices for revealing to an audience a dramatic character’s thoughts and feelings: monologues and soliloquies.
* A monologue is a long, usually formal speech spoken by one character to another character or the audience.
* A soliloquy is a meditative kind of monologue in which the speaker, usually alone onstage, shares his or her true inner thoughts and feelings directly with the audience.
Setting the Stage
* Hamlet, the young prince of Denmark, has been told by the ghost of his father (the elder Hamlet) that his uncle, Claudius, now married to Hamlet’s mother, murdered the elder Hamlet. The prince is plagued by doubts, conflicting impulses, and confusing emotions. He both desires and fears to take revenge on his uncle. In this most famous of Shakespearean soliloquies, Hamlet weighs the case for action against inaction. The soliloquy is from Hamlet, Act III, Scene 1.
Hamlet Questions
* 1.What action is Hamlet considering at the opening of his speech?
* 2.What is Hamlet afraid will happen in “that sleep of death”?
* 3. According to lines 15–20 of “To be, or not to be,” what trials in life do we put up with?
* 4. According to lines 21–27 of “To be, or not to be,” why do we bear all those burdens in life?
Hamlet’s Conundrum
* To be, or not to be—that is the question.
* Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
* The slings and arrows of outrageous° fortune,
* Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
* And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep—
* No more, and by a sleep to say we end
* The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
* That flesh is heir to. ’Tis a consummation°
* Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep,
* To sleep—perchance to dream. Aye, there’s the rub,°
* For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
* When we have shuffled off this mortal coil°
* Must give us pause. There’s the respect
* That makes calamity of so long life.°
The Burdens of Endurance
* For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
* The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,°
* The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,
* The insolence of office, and the spurns
* That patient merit of the unworthy takes,°
* When he himself might his quietus° make
* With a bare bodkin?° Who would fardels° bear,
* To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
* But that the dread of something after death,
* The undiscovered country from whose bourn
* No traveler returns, puzzles the will,
* And makes us rather bear those ills we have
* Than fly to others that we know not of?
The final lines
* Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
* And thus the native hue° of resolution
* Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast° of thought,
* And enterprises of great pitch and moment
* With this regard their currents turn awry
* And lose the name of action….°
* 5. What do you think Hamlet means when he says, “Conscience does make cowards of us all” (line 28)? Do you agree?
Riddle of Sphinx
* What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?
As You Like It
* A pastoral comedy written in 1600.
* Pastoral: Literature or art that depicts shepherds or rural people, often in a highly idealized manner.
* A comedy about a group of sophisticated courtiers exiled from their palaces and living in a very comfortable wilderness, the Forest of Arden.
* Made into a film for HBO in 2006.
From As You Like It
Is the world a stage?
What are the Stages of Man?
What is a bubble reputation?
* All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.
* At first the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;
Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.
And then the lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress' eyebrow.
Then a soldier, Full of strange oaths, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth.
Stages Continue
* And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lin'd,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part.
* The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well sav'd a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound.
* Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. (II.vii)
The Stages
Stages: Years Characteristics Events
Infancy
School Age
Lover
Solider
Justice
Old Age
Second Infancy
Reflection Questions
* What stage of life are you in now?
* Which stage do you think is best stage of life?
* Which is the worst?
Reflecting
* Do you think the speaker is overly pessimistic or is he a realist?
* Is a man or woman without anything at the end of their life? What have they lost? What have they gained?
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Seven Stages of Man as a Limerick
The poem was compressed into limerick form:
Seven ages: first puking and mewling,
Then very peeved off with one's schooling,
Then loves, and then fights,
Then judging chaps' rights,
Then sitting in slippers, then drooling.
Seven ages: first puking and mewling,
Then very peeved off with one's schooling,
Then loves, and then fights,
Then judging chaps' rights,
Then sitting in slippers, then drooling.
Seven Stages of Man
The monologue
The full passage is:
"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;
Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin'd,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well sav'd, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything." — Jaques
(Act II, Scene VII, lines 139-169)
The full passage is:
"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;
Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin'd,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well sav'd, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything." — Jaques
(Act II, Scene VII, lines 139-169)
Hamlet's Monologue
HAMLET
A monologue from the play by William Shakespeare
HAMLET: To be, or not to be--that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep--
No more--and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep--
To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprise of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action. -- Soft you now,
The fair Ophelia! -- Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered.
A monologue from the play by William Shakespeare
HAMLET: To be, or not to be--that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep--
No more--and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep--
To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprise of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action. -- Soft you now,
The fair Ophelia! -- Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Sonnets Selected for Explication: The these are a just a few examples of the sonnets your class selected.
William Shakespeare
Sonnet 1
From fairest creatures we desire increase, A
That thereby beauty's rose might never die, B
But as the riper should by time decease, A
His tender heir might bear his memory: B
But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes, C
Feed'st thy light'st flame with self-substantial fuel, D
Making a famine where abundance lies, C
Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel. D
Thou that art now the world's fresh ornament E
And only herald to the gaudy spring, F
Within thine own bud buriest thy content E
And, tender churl, makest waste in niggarding. F
Pity the world, or else this glutton be, G
To eat the world's due, by the grave and thee. G
SONNET 12
When I do count the clock that tells the time,
And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;
When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls all silver'd o'er with white;
When lofty trees I see barren of leaves
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,
And summer's green all girded up in sheaves
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard,
Then of thy beauty do I question make,
That thou among the wastes of time must go,
Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake
And die as fast as they see others grow;
And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence
Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.
SONNET 30
When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe,
And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight:
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored and sorrows end.
SONNET 60
Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
Nativity, once in the main of light,
Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown'd,
Crooked elipses 'gainst his glory fight,
And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
And delves the parallels in beauty's brow,
Feeds on the rarities of nature's truth,
And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:
And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
SONNET 142
Love is my sin and thy dear virtue hate,
Hate of my sin, grounded on sinful loving:
O, but with mine compare thou thine own state,
And thou shalt find it merits not reproving;
Or, if it do, not from those lips of thine,
That have profaned their scarlet ornaments
And seal'd false bonds of love as oft as mine,
Robb'd others' beds' revenues of their rents.
Be it lawful I love thee, as thou lovest those
Whom thine eyes woo as mine importune thee:
Root pity in thy heart, that when it grows
Thy pity may deserve to pitied be.
If thou dost seek to have what thou dost hide,
By self-example mayst thou be denied!
144
Two loves I have of comfort and despair,
Which like two spirits do suggest me still:
The better angel is a man right fair,
The worser spirit a woman colour'd ill.
To win me soon to hell, my female evil
Tempteth my better angel from my side,
And would corrupt my saint to be a devil,
Wooing his purity with her foul pride.
And whether that my angel be turn'd fiend
Suspect I may, but not directly tell;
But being both from me, both to each friend,
I guess one angel in another's hell:
Yet this shall I ne'er know, but live in doubt,
Till my bad angel fire my good one out.
When I Consider how my light is spent
by John Milton
When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide,
"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts: who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed
And post o'er land and ocean without rest
They also serve who only stand and wait."
Elizabeth Barret Browning
XIV:
If thou must love me, let it be for nought
Except for love's sake only. Do not say
"I love her for her smile--her look--her way
Of speaking gently,--for a trick of thought
That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
A sense of pleasant ease on such a day"--
For these things in themselves, Beloved, may
Be changed, or change for thee,--and love, so wrought,
May be unwrought so. Neither love me for
Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,--
A creature might forget to weep, who bore
Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!
But love me for love's sake, that evermore
Thou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 42
That thou hast her, it is not all my grief,
And yet it may be said I loved her dearly;
That she hath thee is of my wailing chief,
A loss in love that touches me more nearly.
Loving offenders, thus I will excuse ye:
Thou cost love her because thou know'st I love her,
And for my sake even so doth she abuse me,
Suff'ring my friend for my sake to approve her.
If I lose thee, my loss is my love's gain,
And losing her, my friend hath found that loss,
Both find each other, and I lose both twain,
And both for my sake lay on me this cross.
But here's the joy, my friend and I are one:
Sweet flattery! then she loves but me alone.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Explication of Sonnet 130
William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” beautifully depicts a man’s love for his mistress with realistic eyes, though the woman is a far cry from the popular ideals of a woman’s beauty at the time: “ My mistresses eyes are nothing like the sun” (1) If hairs be wires black wires grow on her head.” (4) He’s trying to prove a mans love for a woman doesn’t have to be for her beautiful godlike body, carved by nature, but rather and honest and deep relationship.
“Sonnet 130” dramatizes the fact that beauty is only skin deep. The whole poem is condescending towards Petrarchan sonnets and other poems of the time declaring how beautiful women are and how special love is. These annoyingly repetitive poems are most likely where Shakespeare got his inspiration for “Sonnet 130” where he is mockingly repetitive with his comparisons to nature: “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun/ corral is far more red than here lips’ red/ If Snow be white, why then her breasts are dun.” (1)
What the speaker is saying is his mistress’ looks are nothing like nature’s beauty: “But no such roses see I in her cheeks.” (6)But that his love is still rare and great all the same. He doesn’t need those qualities sought out by many men for him to be happy and her imperfections are what he admires and loves most about her. “I love to hear her speak, yet well I know/ That music hath a far more pleasing sound.” (9) Although she doesn’t have an angel like voice, he still loves to talk and listen to her. It is also evident in the couplet “And Yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare/ as any she belied with false compare.” (13-14)
Shakespeare is describing what he thinks a relationship should be based upon, personality and inner beauty, not only lust for external beauty. He shuns the idealized fantasies of time and is the reason why he makes a mockery of other love poems
“Sonnet 130” dramatizes the fact that beauty is only skin deep. The whole poem is condescending towards Petrarchan sonnets and other poems of the time declaring how beautiful women are and how special love is. These annoyingly repetitive poems are most likely where Shakespeare got his inspiration for “Sonnet 130” where he is mockingly repetitive with his comparisons to nature: “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun/ corral is far more red than here lips’ red/ If Snow be white, why then her breasts are dun.” (1)
What the speaker is saying is his mistress’ looks are nothing like nature’s beauty: “But no such roses see I in her cheeks.” (6)But that his love is still rare and great all the same. He doesn’t need those qualities sought out by many men for him to be happy and her imperfections are what he admires and loves most about her. “I love to hear her speak, yet well I know/ That music hath a far more pleasing sound.” (9) Although she doesn’t have an angel like voice, he still loves to talk and listen to her. It is also evident in the couplet “And Yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare/ as any she belied with false compare.” (13-14)
Shakespeare is describing what he thinks a relationship should be based upon, personality and inner beauty, not only lust for external beauty. He shuns the idealized fantasies of time and is the reason why he makes a mockery of other love poems
Explication of Donne's Death, Be Not Proud
The sonnet “Death Be Not Proud”, written by John Donne is one of many sonnets that are part of a collection called The Holy Sonnets. This collection is comprised of nineteen sonnets with themes that pertain to Christian philosophy.
“Death Be Not Proud” is a powerful declaration against death, in which death is personified as a tyrant without real power “…some have called thee / Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe” (1-2). The poem continues to dismantle death from something mysterious and feared, to something weak and irrelevant. From a structural standpoint, the poem conforms to the sonnet form, which is a lyric poem with aconventional rhyme scheme and is made up of fourteen lines. The rhyme scheme for this poem is “abbaabbacddcee”.
The last line of the poem is the final thrust against death. It is a claim that death is meaningless, and a paradox. This is written as a recursive statement “…death, thou shalt die”(14). Since there is no death, the only thing left is Eternal Life. But this poem is not merely a remonstration; it is also a passionate piece of writing that is imbued with emotion and sounds. The entire poem follows in this manner, as a declaration loudly commanded. This continues up until the last lines of the sonnet, where the tone shifts to that of “finality”, “And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die” (14). Also, many of the words in this poem bear heavy connotations, “Thou are slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men” (9), the words “slave” and “desperate” are words with strong emotional connotations.
“Death Be Not Proud” by John Donne passionately argues against the formidability of death. The poem cites hope of Eternal Life as the ultimate escape from death. The sonnet is a literary work of immense beauty and structure.
“Death Be Not Proud” is a powerful declaration against death, in which death is personified as a tyrant without real power “…some have called thee / Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe” (1-2). The poem continues to dismantle death from something mysterious and feared, to something weak and irrelevant. From a structural standpoint, the poem conforms to the sonnet form, which is a lyric poem with aconventional rhyme scheme and is made up of fourteen lines. The rhyme scheme for this poem is “abbaabbacddcee”.
The last line of the poem is the final thrust against death. It is a claim that death is meaningless, and a paradox. This is written as a recursive statement “…death, thou shalt die”(14). Since there is no death, the only thing left is Eternal Life. But this poem is not merely a remonstration; it is also a passionate piece of writing that is imbued with emotion and sounds. The entire poem follows in this manner, as a declaration loudly commanded. This continues up until the last lines of the sonnet, where the tone shifts to that of “finality”, “And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die” (14). Also, many of the words in this poem bear heavy connotations, “Thou are slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men” (9), the words “slave” and “desperate” are words with strong emotional connotations.
“Death Be Not Proud” by John Donne passionately argues against the formidability of death. The poem cites hope of Eternal Life as the ultimate escape from death. The sonnet is a literary work of immense beauty and structure.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Hyperbole: A Necessary Evil … In Poetry Or Politics
Hyperbole seems to have cross-over appeal. It’s not just for poetry any more.
What I mean is this: Anyone who has something to communicate can whip out a hyperbole and sling it around like a broadsword. I picture some political commentators (I won’t name names) in a David Carradine-like movie fighting the evil dragon of “the other” or perhaps “the opposite side of the aisle” using their favorite deadly weapon - the hyperbole. Ann Coulter (oops, that slipped out) comes to mind.
Political commentators tend to use hyperbole when discussing issues that are close to their hearts, which puts good political rhetoric right up there with the masters of writing poetry, giving the whole political spectrum a boost in spiritual and psychological value and a bump (thump?) in economic worth. Except that this isn’t quite true. For some reason, when political ideologues use hyperbole, their economic value goes up while their spiritual and psychological value goes down. This makes me wonder how poets can wrest the power of hyperbole back from the hands of political ideologues.
Why Poets Should Concern Themselves With The Use Of Hyperbole
I’m not quite sure, on the other hand, that most poets have an interest in taking hyperbole back. Particularly political poets. Most political poets consider themselves to be purveyors of truth - which is itself a sort of hyperbole - but in their poetry they seem to lack the use of this poetic technique. That is ironic since political poetry would benefit a great deal from the use of the rhetorical hyperbole that characterizes much of political speech.
Curiously, hyperbole can be used in any type of poem, political or otherwise. Its use is more than academic. It is necessary, for writers of prose and poetry alike have always been known to be liars and exaggerators. Without the use of hyperbole, I suppose neither poetry nor political speech hold any interest for serious students of them. I for one love hyperbole - it is exciting, gut-wrenching when used correctly, and thought provoking, and if it gets the ire of some opponent or the love of a friend then its value has proven itself.
What I mean is this: Anyone who has something to communicate can whip out a hyperbole and sling it around like a broadsword. I picture some political commentators (I won’t name names) in a David Carradine-like movie fighting the evil dragon of “the other” or perhaps “the opposite side of the aisle” using their favorite deadly weapon - the hyperbole. Ann Coulter (oops, that slipped out) comes to mind.
Political commentators tend to use hyperbole when discussing issues that are close to their hearts, which puts good political rhetoric right up there with the masters of writing poetry, giving the whole political spectrum a boost in spiritual and psychological value and a bump (thump?) in economic worth. Except that this isn’t quite true. For some reason, when political ideologues use hyperbole, their economic value goes up while their spiritual and psychological value goes down. This makes me wonder how poets can wrest the power of hyperbole back from the hands of political ideologues.
Why Poets Should Concern Themselves With The Use Of Hyperbole
I’m not quite sure, on the other hand, that most poets have an interest in taking hyperbole back. Particularly political poets. Most political poets consider themselves to be purveyors of truth - which is itself a sort of hyperbole - but in their poetry they seem to lack the use of this poetic technique. That is ironic since political poetry would benefit a great deal from the use of the rhetorical hyperbole that characterizes much of political speech.
Curiously, hyperbole can be used in any type of poem, political or otherwise. Its use is more than academic. It is necessary, for writers of prose and poetry alike have always been known to be liars and exaggerators. Without the use of hyperbole, I suppose neither poetry nor political speech hold any interest for serious students of them. I for one love hyperbole - it is exciting, gut-wrenching when used correctly, and thought provoking, and if it gets the ire of some opponent or the love of a friend then its value has proven itself.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
HOW TO EXPLICATE A SONNET
STEP 1
Read the poem carefully and think about it. Write an initial response (1 paragraph). Tell what you think it means based upon your cursory reading.
STEP 2
List words from the poem that need closer examination. Oftentimes poems play with the multiple denotative and connotative meanings a word can have. Therefore, look up words you think you already know. Provide a thorough definition for each word, using a college edition dictionary that gives a complete rendering of each word's meaning.
STEP 3
Analyze the persona of the poem, as well as the person to whom the poem is addressed. What can you determine about the two? How is each described? What about the relationship between them? How would you characterize it?
STEP 4
Scan the poem for images and symbols; try to see if they relate to a larger thematic portrait; what significance do these images and symbols have?
STEP 5
Are there any metaphors or similes? What elements do they connect?
STEP 6
How would you describe the tone of the poem? Is the author's attitude toward the subject humorous, ironic, sarcastic, somber...? How is this conveyed?
STEP 7
What is the sequential structure of the poem? Is it narrative, descriptive, expository, or dramatic? Also, what does each quatrain focus upon? The couplet?
STEP 8
What is the poem's meter, rhyme, and form?
STEP 9
In a complete sentence, state what you think is the theme of the sonnet. Are there any other possible thematic statements that might also be appropriate? If so, list them.
STEP 10
Write your interpretation of the poem. Your thesis will assert what you believe is the theme of the sonnet? Support your view with the material generated from the steps above; be sure to refer to the bold terms. A three-part approach may work well: an introduction which clearly states the theme; a body which carefully explains the poem in relation to the theme; a conclusion which brings some final considerations of the poem to the reader. The best response will carefully interpret the poem, being clear, precise, and persuasive.
Read the poem carefully and think about it. Write an initial response (1 paragraph). Tell what you think it means based upon your cursory reading.
STEP 2
List words from the poem that need closer examination. Oftentimes poems play with the multiple denotative and connotative meanings a word can have. Therefore, look up words you think you already know. Provide a thorough definition for each word, using a college edition dictionary that gives a complete rendering of each word's meaning.
STEP 3
Analyze the persona of the poem, as well as the person to whom the poem is addressed. What can you determine about the two? How is each described? What about the relationship between them? How would you characterize it?
STEP 4
Scan the poem for images and symbols; try to see if they relate to a larger thematic portrait; what significance do these images and symbols have?
STEP 5
Are there any metaphors or similes? What elements do they connect?
STEP 6
How would you describe the tone of the poem? Is the author's attitude toward the subject humorous, ironic, sarcastic, somber...? How is this conveyed?
STEP 7
What is the sequential structure of the poem? Is it narrative, descriptive, expository, or dramatic? Also, what does each quatrain focus upon? The couplet?
STEP 8
What is the poem's meter, rhyme, and form?
STEP 9
In a complete sentence, state what you think is the theme of the sonnet. Are there any other possible thematic statements that might also be appropriate? If so, list them.
STEP 10
Write your interpretation of the poem. Your thesis will assert what you believe is the theme of the sonnet? Support your view with the material generated from the steps above; be sure to refer to the bold terms. A three-part approach may work well: an introduction which clearly states the theme; a body which carefully explains the poem in relation to the theme; a conclusion which brings some final considerations of the poem to the reader. The best response will carefully interpret the poem, being clear, precise, and persuasive.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Selecting and Explicating a Sonnet Assignment: Stay tuned for a due date. Get Started now!!
Selecting and Explicating Your Own Sonnet
Over the last two weeks, you have had to read the poems I selected for you. NOW!! It is your turn to decide what you read. You may select any classic or modern sonnet from any author to explicate. The only requirements are that it must be a published Shakespearean or Pertrarchan style sonnet and you cannot use a sonnet we have covered together as a class. Your sonnet can be from the text book or any internet source. Some good sites to search include:
www.poetry.org
www.sonnet.org
http://libraries.mit.edu/guides/subjects/literature/poetry.html
http://www.onlineshakespeare.com/sonnetsabout.htm
After selecting a sonnet and reading it several times, you are ready to write your explication.
Writing the explication
What is an explication of a poem?
It is an explanation or interpretation of a poem. It discusses the poem’s form (Quatrains? Iambic pentameter? ).
It explains the rhyme scheme (abab? abbacc?).
It analyzes the poem’s tone and theme (serious or humorous? subject and message or “meaning”?).
It analyzes important figures of speech or other techniques (metaphor? simile? alliteration?) which contribute to the overall effect or tone of the poem.
The explication will examine the major themes and basic design of the poem and work through each section to the more specific details and patterns. Be sure to identify and explain the turn or the volta.
The first paragraph
The first paragraph should present the major themes and subjects of sonnet. It also introduces the author and gives a small amount of biographical information.
The next paragraphs
The next paragraphs should expand the discussion of the poem by focusing on details of form, rhetoric, syntax, and vocabulary. In these paragraphs, the writer should explain the poem line by line in terms of these details, and he or she should incorporate important elements of rhyme, rhythm, and meter during this discussion.
The conclusion
Do not simply restate the main points of the introduction! The end of the explication should focus on the overall effect of the sonnet and demonstrate personal reflection.
Tips to keep in mind
1. Use the present tense when writing the explication. The poem, as a work of literature, continues to exist!
2. To avoid unnecessary uses of the verb "to be" in your compositions, the following list suggests some verbs you can use when writing the explication: dramatizes, presents, illustrates, characterizes, underlines, asserts, connects, portrays, contrasts, juxtaposes, suggests, addresses, emphasizes, stresses, accentuates.
Over the last two weeks, you have had to read the poems I selected for you. NOW!! It is your turn to decide what you read. You may select any classic or modern sonnet from any author to explicate. The only requirements are that it must be a published Shakespearean or Pertrarchan style sonnet and you cannot use a sonnet we have covered together as a class. Your sonnet can be from the text book or any internet source. Some good sites to search include:
www.poetry.org
www.sonnet.org
http://libraries.mit.edu/guides/subjects/literature/poetry.html
http://www.onlineshakespeare.com/sonnetsabout.htm
After selecting a sonnet and reading it several times, you are ready to write your explication.
Writing the explication
What is an explication of a poem?
It is an explanation or interpretation of a poem. It discusses the poem’s form (Quatrains? Iambic pentameter? ).
It explains the rhyme scheme (abab? abbacc?).
It analyzes the poem’s tone and theme (serious or humorous? subject and message or “meaning”?).
It analyzes important figures of speech or other techniques (metaphor? simile? alliteration?) which contribute to the overall effect or tone of the poem.
The explication will examine the major themes and basic design of the poem and work through each section to the more specific details and patterns. Be sure to identify and explain the turn or the volta.
The first paragraph
The first paragraph should present the major themes and subjects of sonnet. It also introduces the author and gives a small amount of biographical information.
The next paragraphs
The next paragraphs should expand the discussion of the poem by focusing on details of form, rhetoric, syntax, and vocabulary. In these paragraphs, the writer should explain the poem line by line in terms of these details, and he or she should incorporate important elements of rhyme, rhythm, and meter during this discussion.
The conclusion
Do not simply restate the main points of the introduction! The end of the explication should focus on the overall effect of the sonnet and demonstrate personal reflection.
Tips to keep in mind
1. Use the present tense when writing the explication. The poem, as a work of literature, continues to exist!
2. To avoid unnecessary uses of the verb "to be" in your compositions, the following list suggests some verbs you can use when writing the explication: dramatizes, presents, illustrates, characterizes, underlines, asserts, connects, portrays, contrasts, juxtaposes, suggests, addresses, emphasizes, stresses, accentuates.
Class Notes February 5
English 12 February 5, 2008
TODAY’S OBJECTIVES:
REVIEW SONNET FORMS AND EXPLICATION
DISCUSS CARPE DIEM AS LITERARY THEME
Special Notes
It’s Super Tuesday.
I Corinthians 13:1-13
The Petrarchan Sonnet.
Review
What do these two types of sonnets have in common?
8/6
How are they different?
SONNET 42 PETRARCH
Sonnet 23 Louise Labé
Can you:
Find the Rhyme scheme?
Find the Octave?
Find the Volta?
Find the Sestet?
Petrarch’s Rhyme Scheme
Petrarch typically used an ABBA ABBA pattern for the octave, followed by either CDE CDE or CDC DCD rhymes in the sestet.
The rhyme scheme and structure work together to emphasize the idea of the poem: the first quatrain presents the theme and the second expands on it
What is Carpe Diem?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?
Robert Herrick
Is this a sonnet?
In your own words, summarize the advice Herrick is giving to young people.
Herrick is using "Rosebuds" metaphorically. What do you think the rosebuds represent?
What do you think of Herrick’s advice?
TODAY’S OBJECTIVES:
REVIEW SONNET FORMS AND EXPLICATION
DISCUSS CARPE DIEM AS LITERARY THEME
Special Notes
It’s Super Tuesday.
I Corinthians 13:1-13
The Petrarchan Sonnet.
Review
What do these two types of sonnets have in common?
8/6
How are they different?
SONNET 42 PETRARCH
Sonnet 23 Louise Labé
Can you:
Find the Rhyme scheme?
Find the Octave?
Find the Volta?
Find the Sestet?
Petrarch’s Rhyme Scheme
Petrarch typically used an ABBA ABBA pattern for the octave, followed by either CDE CDE or CDC DCD rhymes in the sestet.
The rhyme scheme and structure work together to emphasize the idea of the poem: the first quatrain presents the theme and the second expands on it
What is Carpe Diem?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?
Robert Herrick
Is this a sonnet?
In your own words, summarize the advice Herrick is giving to young people.
Herrick is using "Rosebuds" metaphorically. What do you think the rosebuds represent?
What do you think of Herrick’s advice?
Monday, February 4, 2008
Class Notes February 1
English 12 February 1, 2008
TODAY’S OBJECTIVES:
EXPLICATION OF SHAKESPEAREAN AND PETRARCHAN SONNETS.
EXAMINE CARPE DIEM AS A LITERARY THEME.
Upcoming Assignments
The Renaissance continues…
Next Week: Poetry, Poetry, Poetry
Herrick, Marvell, Donne
Following Week:
Explicating a sonnet of your choice
Renaissance Poetry Review Test
After that? Shakespeare’s Famous Speeches and writings of Francis Bacon
Sonnet 18
Sonnet 116 William Shakespeare
Your turn to read and explicate!
Can you?
Find three quatrains?
One couplet?
The Rhyme scheme?
The Turn?
Paraphrase the overall message?
Questions
Where does the speaker define love by what it is not and by what it does not do?
What single quality of true love does this sonnet emphasize?
This sonnet is read at both weddings and funerals. Do you think the poem is equally appropriate for either occasion? Why or Why not?
The Petrarchan Sonnet.
SONNET 42 PETRARCH
Can you:
Find the Rhyme scheme?
Find the Octave?
Find the Volta?
Find the Sestet?
Petrarch’s Rhyme Scheme
Petrarch typically used an ABBA ABBA pattern for the octave, followed by either CDE CDE or CDC DCD rhymes in the sestet.
The rhyme scheme and structure work together to emphasize the idea of the poem: the first quatrain presents the theme and the second expands on it
TODAY’S OBJECTIVES:
EXPLICATION OF SHAKESPEAREAN AND PETRARCHAN SONNETS.
EXAMINE CARPE DIEM AS A LITERARY THEME.
Upcoming Assignments
The Renaissance continues…
Next Week: Poetry, Poetry, Poetry
Herrick, Marvell, Donne
Following Week:
Explicating a sonnet of your choice
Renaissance Poetry Review Test
After that? Shakespeare’s Famous Speeches and writings of Francis Bacon
Sonnet 18
Sonnet 116 William Shakespeare
—Let me not to the marriage of true minds
—Admit impediments. Love is not love
—Which alters when it alteration finds,
—Or bends with the remover to remove.
—Oh no! It is an ever-fixèd mark° 5
—That looks on tempests and is never shaken.
—It is the star to every wandering bark,°
—Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.°
—Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
—Within his bending sickle’s compass° come. 10
—Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
—But bears it out° even to the edge of doom.
—If this be error and upon me proved,
—I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
Your turn to read and explicate!
Can you?
Find three quatrains?
One couplet?
The Rhyme scheme?
The Turn?
Paraphrase the overall message?
Questions
Where does the speaker define love by what it is not and by what it does not do?
What single quality of true love does this sonnet emphasize?
This sonnet is read at both weddings and funerals. Do you think the poem is equally appropriate for either occasion? Why or Why not?
The Petrarchan Sonnet.
SONNET 42 PETRARCH
—The spring returns, the spring wind softly blowing a
—Sprinkles the grass with gleam and glitter of showers, b
—Powdering pearl and diamond, dripping with flowers, b
—Dropping wet flowers, dancing the winters going; a Octave
—The swallow twitters, the groves of midnight are glowing a
—With nightingale music and madness; the sweet fierce powers b
—Of love flame up through the earth; the seed-soul towers b
—And trembles; nature is filled to overflowing… a
—The spring returns, but there is no returning c Volta
—Of spring for me. O heart with anguish burning! c
—She that unlocked all April in a breath d Sestet
—Returns not…And these meadows, blossoms, birds e
—These lovely gentle girls—words, empty words e
—As bitter as the black estates of death! d
Can you:
Find the Rhyme scheme?
Find the Octave?
Find the Volta?
Find the Sestet?
Petrarch’s Rhyme Scheme
Petrarch typically used an ABBA ABBA pattern for the octave, followed by either CDE CDE or CDC DCD rhymes in the sestet.
The rhyme scheme and structure work together to emphasize the idea of the poem: the first quatrain presents the theme and the second expands on it
I Corinthians 13:1-13
—If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
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