Aim: How can further implementation of our poetry skills enhance our exploration and analysis of Shakespearean sonnets?
Do Now:
For the activity, we were presented with the question:
With your partner, consider the word “Summer”. What symbolic meanings or connotations are usually associated with this word? Why?
After a few minutes were given for us to collect and consider our thoughts, we began to share our answers. The first few people to share focused on the positive associations of summer, such as going on vacation, having time off, warm weather, etc. However, then, one student brought up another variation of the idea of summer. She implied that summer may have a negative connotation. Some examples of this are dry weather, extreme temperatures, and forest fires. This definitely opened up the possibility of summer being taken another way other than fun and enjoyable. I enjoyed how this discussion became very thorough and open-minded.
Notes:
Referring back to the aim, we began to take turns in spirit reading the following, about the structure of a Shakespearean sonnet:
Shakespearean sonnets are structure-specific:
Shakespearean sonnets are fourteen-line poems.
They are traditionally about love and romance.
Divided into four parts: three quatrains (four lines each) and a rhyming couplet at the end of the poem (two lines)
The first quatrain introduces the subject
The second quatrain complicates the subject
The couplet resolves or alters the subject in some way
Follows the rhyme scheme- ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
Sonnets are written in iambic pentameter (a metric line consisting of unstressed syllables followed by stressed syllables)
Each syllable in a word is either stressed (hard) or unstressed (soft) based on the pronunciation of the letters. Stressed syllables are marked with a / over the letters; unstressed are marked with u.
An Iambic foot contains two syllables, the first unstressed and the second stressed. The iambic measure is often called the heartbeat meter because of its similarity to the rhythm of the human heart. Note the following terms with an iambic rhythm:
/ u / u / u / u / u / u
a. Phoenix b. Forbid c. anew c. in turn d. repair e. heaven
Understand iambic pentameter: Iambic pentameter (five-measure) is a line of five iambic feet. The line has a total of ten syllables repeating the pattern of “unstressed, stressed” five times. Identify the iambic pentameter below using / for stressed and u for unstressed, then write and mark two lines below.
Often, a pet’s soft whine outcries the son’s
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Attached to this part of the lesson was a link that went more into depth about the Iambic Pentameter, more specifically its organization, several in-depth examples, and dissected the phrase itself.
Iambic Pentameter Made Easy [2:32]
Sonnet 18 is one of Shakespeare’s most well-known sonnets and even if you aren’t familiar with the entire poem, you have likely heard the first line (it is often alluded to in other forms of pop culture). Pay attention to the rhyme scheme, figurative language, diction, and tone, and as you read annotate the poem for meaning.
Keep the following mnemonic device in mind:
ANALYSIS OF POETRY
Then, we moved on to reading Shakespearean sonnets, and we were provided with the following link that went into depth with the structure and rhyme scheme of sonnets.
Group work:
Sonnet 18
1 Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
2 Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
3 Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
4 And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
5 Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
6 And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
7 And every fair from fair sometime declines,
8 By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;
9 But thy eternal summer shall not fade
10 Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
11 Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
12 When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;
13 So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
14 So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
We then read Sonnet 18, which revolved around the extended comparison between the subject of the sonnet and summer. Once the class finished reading, we were split up into our groups to discuss it and deeply analyzed it. We concluded that the subject of the sonnet was likely the lover of the speaker and that he thought of her as better than summer. Afterwards, we answered the questions pertaining to it. We discussed how the speaker compared to summer and the subjects, the problems that the speaker had with summer, why he thought that the subject was better, and the overall theme. The speaker describes the subject as “temperate” and “lovely” and feels that she is even better than a summer’s day because, unlike summer, her beauty is eternal and shall not fade away over time. As well as this, we said that in lines 13-14, the speaker implies that, as long as people are physically capable of reading the sonnet, it’s beauty will not dissolve, much like the subject herself.
Sonnet 130
1 My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun,
2 Coral is far more red than her lips red,
3 If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun:
4 If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head:
5 I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
6 But no such roses see I in her cheeks,
7 And in some perfumes is there more delight,
8 Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
9 I love to hear her speak, yet well I know,
10 That music hath a far more pleasing sound:
11 I grant I never saw a goddess go,
12 My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
13 And yet by heaven I think my love as rare,
14 As any she belied with false compare.
After a class discussion of Sonnet 18, we were divided back into our groups to read and analyze Sonnet 130. We ran out of time, so we could not answer the questions together, however, we had discussed the poem’s meaning enough to grasp the concept and finish answering on our own. We had come to the conclusion that the speaker is completely sarcastic when comparing his mistress, the subject of the sonnet, too many things which he perceives to be better than her physicality. For example, he says, “And in some perfumes is there more delight, than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.” The poem concludes with the sentence, “And yet by heaven I think my love as rare, As any she belied with false compare.” This proclamation of love for the mistress clarifies that the poem is meant to mock other superficial writings filled with admiration of solely physical characteristics of women as if that is all they consist of. This thorough analysis helped us to answer the questions, which asked for the specific comparisons the speaker makes, the meaning at the end of the poem, and the overall message it gives.
The lesson finishes off with the following video link that could be used as additional enrichment in the topic of Shakespearean Sonnets.
Shakespeare's Sonnets: Crash Course Literature 304 [12:26]
Reflection:
What did I learn?
During this lesson, we learned about the formatting of a Shakespearean sonnet and read two examples of these sonnets. We got to analyze them and learned how to identify their rhyme schemes and find their deeper meanings.
Why did I learn it?
I learned this in order to gain insight into how poems evolved into the way that they are today and to expand my knowledge of basic literary history and the meanings behind classical texts that eventually paved the way for modern writers.
How will I use what I have learned?
I will use what I have learned by further focusing on works that are related to these sonnets in order to gain more information about the formatting and writing process of poems in relation to this one. I will also read more Shakespearean works as they are a humongous part of history.
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