Blogger #11 - Emily Chen - Period 5 Day B - 11/19/20

 Blogger #11

Emily Chen

Period 5

11/19/2020 Cycle B

Freshman Lit 2021

Aim: How can further implementation of our poetry skills enhance our exploration and analysis of Shakespearean Sonnets?

Do Now: Think/Pair/Share

With your partner, consider the word “Summer”. What symbolic meanings or connotations are usually associated with this word? Why?

Unlike previous lessons, we were to brainstorm ideas ourselves and prepare to share with the class. What did people think about the word summer? A break (from work), the sun, warm, beach, relaxation, and etc. Overall, everyone’s response all have positive intentions. 

Next, Ms. Peterson started on explaining what Shakespearean sonnets were, along with their format. Using spirit reading, we learned that their structure is that of the following:

>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)

• First quatrain introduces the subject 

• 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) 

Continuing the basic structure of sonnets, the class discussed stressed/unstressed syllables in words and iambic pentameter. The class then watched a video, Iambic Pentameter Made easy ( https://youtu.be/W-tayWCupD8 ), to further understand what iambic pentameter was, as it could be confusing at first. 

We were then introduced to Sonnet 18, one of Shakespeare’s most profound sonnets. Per instructions, we were to pay attention to the poem, the rhyming schemes and the theme as always. 

Using spirit reading, our class reads through Sonnet 18. 

‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:

Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;

And every fair from fair is sometime declines,

By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimm’d;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; 

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, 

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;  

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, 

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.’

The class was then sent to their breakout rooms, with their assigned groups. Everyone was tasked to answer the following questions based on the given sonnet. Questions guided us through an analysis of the sonnet, how the speaker's lover was like summer, but unlike the passing season, their beauty is eternal. After returning from our group discussion, the class took volunteers and gave their insights on each question.

We then moved to Sonnet 130, using spirit reading yet again.

‘My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; 

Coral is far more red than her lips' red; 

If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; 

If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. 

I have seen roses damasked, red and white, 

But no such roses see I in her cheeks; 

And in some perfumes is there more delight 

Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. 

I love to hear her speak, yet well I know 

That music hath a far more pleasing sound; 

I grant I never saw a goddess go; 

My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground. 

And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare 

As any she belied with false compare.’

Similar to the last sonnet, the class once again was sent to their groups to discuss the questions amongst each other. We then were pulled out once again to share our thoughts. The speaker speaks horribly of their mistress’ appearance yet they still love her. This shows that the speaker’s an honest person. The poem uses a lot of juxtaposition to describe the mistress. Using flowery language to describe what someone would love then debunking it with these foul, negative words to say the truth of their mistress. 

Lastly, everyone was to write a response individually to sum up the lesson for the given prompt:

‘How is the speaker's lover an inversion or parody (an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect) of the petrarchan (A Petrarchan lover is melodramatic, self-consciously suffering and has given himself up to the power of his mistress) and medieval lover? 

1. How has Shakespeare used juxtaposition, and for what purpose?

2. In what way(s) has the writer’s focus on physical beauty enhanced the emphasis and relevance on the theme for society at the time? 

3. How is this theme still relevant and prevalent today?’

Reflection: 

Today’s lesson was like any other typical poetry lesson. The class learned a ‘new’ form of poetry, read examples and answered questions upon analyzing the poem. Sonnet 130 was a good example of juxtaposition. Both poems use imagery to enhance the meaning behind the words quite well.