Blogger #12 - Melanie Huang - Period 1 - 11/18/2020 - Day A - Freshmen 2021
Aim: How can further implementation of our poetry skills enhance our exploration and analysis of Shakespearean Sonnets?
Do Now: With your partner, consider the word “Summer”. What symbolic meanings or connotations are usually associated with this word? Why?
At the beginning of the class, we had a group discussion about what each student thought about the word “Summer”. It started off with the question of what symbolic meanings or connotations we associate with this word and the majority of the class agreed that it has a positive connotation. Like many others, I wrote that it reminded me of happiness and sets a bright mood in the morning. We compared it to the weather right now which is dull and dreary.
Structure of a Shakespearean Sonnet:
Fourteen line poems.
Traditionally about love or romance.
Divided into four parts: Three quatrains (4 lines each) and two rhyming couplet lines at the end.
Rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
Written in iambic pentameter
DEFINITION
Iambic Pentameter: A metric (individual) line that consists of unstressed syllables followed by stressed syllables.
Breaking Down the Quatrains:
First Quatrain: Introduces the subject
Second Quatrain: Complicates the subject or expands on the subject
Couplet: resolves the subject
Stresses In Syllables BREAKDOWN:
During this part of the lesson, we began to learn more about how the stressing in the syllables worked and how it added more of a meaning to the sonnet. To further our knowledge, we looked at some examples and videos.
We learned that stressed or unstressed syllables were based on the pronunciation of the letters and how they are marked. Stressed syllables are marked with a / over the letters and unstressed syllables are marked with a u.
Iambic Foot: Contains two syllables, the first stressed and the second unstressed.
Iambic Measure: (Heartbeat Meter) Is the rhythm of the Iambic Foot and is similar to a human’s heartbeat.
/ u / u / u / u / u / u
a. Phoenix b. Forbid c. anew c. in turn d. repair e. heaven
Video on Better Understanding Iambic Pentameter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-tayWCupD8&ab_channel=ShakespeareCoach
After watching the video, we talked about how these sonnets correlate to rhyme scheme, figurative language, diction and tone. While reading the following sonnets/poems, we kept this chart in mind.
SPIRIT READING:
Sonnet 18
1 Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? (A)
2 Thou art more lovely and more temperate: (B)
3 Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, (A)
4 And summer's lease hath all too short a date: (B)
5 Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, (C)
6 And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; (D)
7 And every fair from fair sometime declines, (C)
8 By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd; (D)
9 But thy eternal summer shall not fade (E)
10 Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; (F)
11 Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, (E)
12 When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st; (F)
13 So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, (G)
14 So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. (G)
After annotating and analyzing the poem, we watched a brief video explaining more about sonnets which would help us with our group work later on.
Video on Better Understanding Sonnets:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42_QOaCL8uc&ab_channel=Shmoop
The video explained that iambic pentameters is used to create a more calming tone to keep us captivated. It has a strict rhyme scheme and is 14 lines long.
GROUP WORK:
We were sent to breakout rooms to work together and fill out the questions on slides 6-8 about the Sonnet 18.
Using the capital letters A-G, mark the poem for its rhyme scheme. In Quatrain One: According to the speaker, how does this subject compare to summer? Which does he prefer?
According to the speaker, this subject is much better compared to summer. The first line states the question “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”. This next line states that the subject is “more lovely and more temperate”. The speaker states that summer is too short and has “rough winds' '.
In Quatrain Two: What are the problems the speaker has with summer?
What does line 7 mean (“and every fair from fair sometimes declines”)?
In Quatrain two, the speaker states that summer is too hot and often shines too bright or too dim. The speaker states that the sun, “eye of heaven”, is sometimes dimm’d. It loses its beauty, stated in line 7.
In Quatrain Three: According to the speaker, what is the main difference between the subject of the sonnet and summer?
According to the speaker, the main difference between the subject of the sonnet and summer is that summer will fade away while the subject will forever hold their beauty. “But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;”
Rhyming Couplet: Look at lines 13-14. What is the speaker saying in the conclusion of the sonnet? Does this confirm the messages expressed in the rest of the sonnet or alter them in some way?
The speaker is saying that as long as men can breathe and see, the sonnet will continue forever. If this poem still lives up until today, whoever reads this will be blessed with immortality like the subject who is being written. This alters the sonnet in a way because there’s a deeper meaning than just comparing summer to the subject.
What is the theme of this sonnet?
What is the speaker’s attitude toward the subject?
The beauty of a person will fade, but poetry can withstand anything which makes it the true beauty. The speaker’s attitude towards the subject is positive and loving because the speaker states that the subject’s beauty is eternal.
After finishing the 6 questions, we returned back to the main meeting where the class discussed the questions. Most of the class agreed upon each other's answers. We continued reading another sonnet.
SPIRIT READING:
Sonnet 130
1 My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun, (A)
2 Coral is far more red, than her lips red, (B)
3 If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun: (A)
4 If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head: (B)
5 I have seen roses damasked, red and white, (C)
6 But no such roses see I in her cheeks, (D)
7 And in some perfumes is there more delight, (C)
8 Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. (D)
9 I love to hear her speak, yet well I know, (E)
10 That music hath a far more pleasing sound: (F)
11 I grant I never saw a goddess go, (E)
12 My mistress when she walks treads on the ground. (F)
13 And yet by heaven I think my love as rare, (G)
14 As any she belied with false compare. (G)
GROUP WORK:
We were sent to breakout rooms to work together and fill out the questions on slides 10-12 about the Sonnet 130.
In Quatrain One: How does the speaker describe his mistress? What specific attributes does he reference?
The speaker describes his mistress in a negative way by using descriptive language to describe her. He references the darkness of her eyes and how her hair is like wires.
In Quatrain Two: How does the speaker speak to: her cheeks, and her breath?
The speaker speaks about her cheeks and her breath using dismissive words. For example, the speaker describes her cheeks as pale and that her breath reeks.
In Quatrain Three: According to the speaker, how does he address his mistress’ voice and walk?
How does this contrast with what most people would claim about their mistresses?
According to the speaker, he addresses’ his mistress’ voice as nothing like music and her walks treads the ground. This contrasts with what most people would claim about their mistresses because others would say positive things instead of negative ones.
Rhyming Couplet: Look at lines 13-14. What is the speaker saying in the conclusion of the sonnet? Why does the poet think his love is rare?
How does the poet play with conventional stereotypes of love poetry?
In the conclusion of the sonnet, the speaker says that love is rare to him. The poet thinks his love is rare because he has a hard time finding someone he truly loves and appreciates. For example, he compares his mistress to negative things. The poet plays with conventional stereotypes of love poetry by using negative terms to describe love.
5. 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?
How has Shakespeare used juxtaposition, and for what purpose?
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?
How is this theme still relevant and prevalent today?
The speaker’s love was an inversion or parody because it was not a typical love poem. Unlike most petrarchan or medieval lovers, he compared his mistress to negative things. Shakespeare used juxtaposition to compare his mistress to things that don’t represent her. For example, he says her eyes are not like the sun and her cheeks are not like roses. The writer’s focus on physical beauty enhanced the emphasis on the theme for society at the time by showing how beauty standards were a thing. This theme is still relevant today because society still has beauty standards towards women in general.
Reflection:
Throughout the lesson, I learned that Shakespeare is well known for his sonnets as well as why these sonnets are so popular. In order for a poem to be classified as a sonnet, it has to have 14 lines and correlate to the rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. Additionally, I found out that in Shakespeare’s sonnets, there are iambic pentameters which is why these sonnets are so popular. The iambic pentameters add a rhythm to the poem because of the stress in the syllables. It appends to the meaning of the poem by giving a tone to go by. This lesson allowed me to expand my knowledge of poetry in general and make me a better writer. Furthermore, it taught me a lot about new poetic elements I didn’t know about before which can help me later on when I write more poems/sonnets.
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