Since this is a short week, and since we all deserve a break, hold your sonnets and your drafts for next Tuesday. Refine them and make them better. Make sure they are typed. Make sure you have several drafts. Take a look at my last blog entry--I give more details.
Let me try a few here--lines of love. Emulate, don't copy:
The following lines are not from sonnets, but they are about love. I'm highlighting the strong diction--the stuff that makes us feel something.
From Yeats:
"Ephemera": "'Your eyes that once were never weary of mine/ Are bowed in sorrow under pendulous lids...."
"To an Isle in the Water": "Shy one, shy one,/ Shy one of my heart,/ She moves in the firelight/ Pensively apart..."
"The Rose of the World": "Who dreamed that beauty passes like a dream?/ For these red lips, with all their mournful pride....
"He made the world to be a grassy road/ Before her wandering feet."
"When You Are Old": "How many loved your moments of glad grace,/ And loved your beauty with love false or true,/ But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,/ And loved the sorrows of your changing face...."
"The Arrow": "I thought of your beauty, and this arrow,/ Made out of a wild thought, is in my marrow./ There's no man may look upon her, no man,/ As when newly grown to be a woman,/ Tall and noble but with face and bosom/ Delicate in color as apple blossom...."
Tuesday: Finish "Orpheus" and work on your poems until they are almost perfect!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
For Your Sonnets (due Tuesday)
Keep the following in mind:
For your sonnets:
14 lines
10 syllables per line
You should have written several drafts
The sonnet should make me feel something for you—compassion, empathy, etc.
The sonnet should be something that any of us can relate to—a universal.
Look at some of the lines in Shakespeare’s sonnets:
#1:
From fairest creatures we desire increase,
That thereby beauty’s rose might never die,
But as the riper should by time decease,
His tender heir might bear his memory;
But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes,
Feed’st thy light’s flame with self-substantial fuel,
Making a famine where abundance lies,
Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel.
Thou that art now the world’s fresh ornament
And only herald to the gaudy spring….
These words have power. They make us feel something. I want your sonnets to do that.
#18
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate. You’re even more lovely than a summer day!
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 dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometimes declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimmed.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade Your summer won’t fade because I will
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st. immortalize your beauty in my art.
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st.
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, What better tribute is there than to
So long lives this, and this give life to thee. be immortalized in a work of art?
Write something that you would like to have written to you. Note the almost worshipful tone. It’s also a little bittersweet. You need to evoke feelings in your reader.
Shakespeare does not limit himself to one and two syllable words. You should not either. You need variety. Choose your words carefully.
For your sonnets:
14 lines
10 syllables per line
You should have written several drafts
The sonnet should make me feel something for you—compassion, empathy, etc.
The sonnet should be something that any of us can relate to—a universal.
Look at some of the lines in Shakespeare’s sonnets:
#1:
From fairest creatures we desire increase,
That thereby beauty’s rose might never die,
But as the riper should by time decease,
His tender heir might bear his memory;
But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes,
Feed’st thy light’s flame with self-substantial fuel,
Making a famine where abundance lies,
Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel.
Thou that art now the world’s fresh ornament
And only herald to the gaudy spring….
These words have power. They make us feel something. I want your sonnets to do that.
#18
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate. You’re even more lovely than a summer day!
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 dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometimes declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimmed.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade Your summer won’t fade because I will
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st. immortalize your beauty in my art.
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st.
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, What better tribute is there than to
So long lives this, and this give life to thee. be immortalized in a work of art?
Write something that you would like to have written to you. Note the almost worshipful tone. It’s also a little bittersweet. You need to evoke feelings in your reader.
Shakespeare does not limit himself to one and two syllable words. You should not either. You need variety. Choose your words carefully.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Quarter 3, Week 3
Sorry this is a day late, folks. My internet service was down for most of the weekend. I'm hoping it will be up when I get home today. If not, I have this time at school.
Tuesday: Review the Wife of Bath's Tale.
Perform Acts 4 &5 of "Twelfth Night." If there is anyone who wants to see the play, contact Ms. Sheppard ASAP. Apparently a lot of students signed up and then backed out. That means it will cost us money. We have over 30 slots available. The cost (for a day out of school that does not count against your school absences since it is a school activity) is only $39--for transportation and theater tickets. The event will be on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. What a great way to start a holiday!
Homework: Expect a reading quiz on "The Wife of Bath's Tale," and Acts 3-5 of "Twelfth Night."
Thursday: Reading quiz on all of the above. Hopefully, we'll have time to go over it in class. Read the background to William Shakespeare and about his sonnets (733-736). Read all of the sonnets included. Take notes on to whom they are addressed and on what they are literally saying. Paraphrase. What is he saying about the relationship?
Work on sonnets. Follow Shakespeare's pattern, with the rhyme scheme: ababcdcdefefgg. You must have ten syllables per line. On Tuesday, when you turn them in, you should include rough drafts done during class. Sonnets are always about love. Remember that.
Friday: Discussion on the sonnets. Then you will be asked to write one--Shakespearean style--for a test grade. It must follow the rhyme and meter scheme and, since it is a sonnet, it must be about love. This will be due at the beginning of class (along with any drafts you might have done) on Tuesday. It must be typed, so plan ahead.
Tuesday: Review the Wife of Bath's Tale.
Perform Acts 4 &5 of "Twelfth Night." If there is anyone who wants to see the play, contact Ms. Sheppard ASAP. Apparently a lot of students signed up and then backed out. That means it will cost us money. We have over 30 slots available. The cost (for a day out of school that does not count against your school absences since it is a school activity) is only $39--for transportation and theater tickets. The event will be on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. What a great way to start a holiday!
Homework: Expect a reading quiz on "The Wife of Bath's Tale," and Acts 3-5 of "Twelfth Night."
Thursday: Reading quiz on all of the above. Hopefully, we'll have time to go over it in class. Read the background to William Shakespeare and about his sonnets (733-736). Read all of the sonnets included. Take notes on to whom they are addressed and on what they are literally saying. Paraphrase. What is he saying about the relationship?
Work on sonnets. Follow Shakespeare's pattern, with the rhyme scheme: ababcdcdefefgg. You must have ten syllables per line. On Tuesday, when you turn them in, you should include rough drafts done during class. Sonnets are always about love. Remember that.
Friday: Discussion on the sonnets. Then you will be asked to write one--Shakespearean style--for a test grade. It must follow the rhyme and meter scheme and, since it is a sonnet, it must be about love. This will be due at the beginning of class (along with any drafts you might have done) on Tuesday. It must be typed, so plan ahead.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Quarter 2, Week 2
Tuesday:
Gawain would make a great director of the Governor’s School. He shows himself to be a born leader and a risk-taker even as a young man. While others sit back, quaking in fear, Gawain offers to fight the Green Knight. Though we know little of his education, Gawain demonstrates intelligence in his actions, especially in the interactions with the lady. Not only does he demonstrate emotional intelligence in avoiding sin, but he also shows the finesse of the accomplished diplomat. He avoids hurting the lady's feelings—to the greatest extent possible. A leader of the Governor’s School also needs to interact with other leaders, subordinates, students, and parents. He/she may hurt people’s feelings now and then, but tries to minimize the effects. As a role model, he/she must also be introspective. He/she must be willing to take risks but also willing to admit when he/she has erred. Ultimately, he/she needs to act out of a sense of justice and for the good of the school as a whole.
Gawain’s resume begins when he first stands up to the frightening green giant who has just entered Camelot, and assaulted the lot with words. The monster calls the knights of Camelot “beardless children” (280). He even laughs at them. “’Where now is your haughtiness, and your high conquests,/ your fierceness and fell mood,/ and your fine boasting?’” he asks (310-311). No one moves forward but Arthur himself. More loyal to king and country than to himself, Gawain steps forward. Not only does he show courage, but he also demonstrates humility, calling himself “the weakest…and in wit feeblist,/ and the least loss, if I live not” (354-355). Not only that, but unlike Beowulf or Wiglaf, he doesn’t put down his fellow-knights for not taking the challenge. A real leader does not allocate blame but accepts responsibility.
For two more days, Gawain receives the lady’s kisses, returning them to the host, as agreed on that first night. On that third day, however, he does not entirely keep his word. In addition to the kisses, the lady gives Gawain her belt, modest by all appearances, but great in its utility. “’For whoever goes girdled with this green riband/ while he keeps it well clasped closely about him,/ there is none so hardly under heaven that to hew him were able/ for he could not be killed by any cunning of hand,’” she explains (1851-1854).
Students will be graded for their performances in Act II of "Twelfth Night." You had better practice--and that means enunciating the words and speaking with feeling. Be prepared. Do not just wing it. Pretend that it is a "cattle-call" for a real play and that you want the part. I might do a re-play and have your classmates rate your performance. Be ready to answer questions about your character. Be ready to explain why you have chosen to portray him/her in the way that you have. Finish the prologue to the Wife of Bath's Tale.
Homework: Read Act III. Some of you will have parts.
Thursday: Quiz on Acts I-III of "Twelfth Night" and "The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales" and "The Prologue to the Wife of Bath's Tale." Graded performance of Act III. Grading will include the actor's understanding of his/her part.
Homework: Read "The Wife of Bath's Tale." Read Act IV of "Twelfth Night." Students will be assigned parts. Expect a reading quiz on both on Tuesday.
By the way, I've been working on grading your papers. Some of you did not answer the right question; others did not use quotes or used them minimally and did not give them a context. Some essays seemed as though the student had not even read the work. I'm still grading them, but, in an effort to show you what might be done, I wrote my own response to one of the questions from sixth period. I also wrote down my process:
First, I reread the story of "Sir Gawain" and took notes on passages that really stood out for me. I advised you to do the same.
Prompt Choice #2: Our school is in need of a new director. Disregarding the fictional characters’ age and experience, focus on those characteristics that would make either Sir Gawain or Oisin the best possible choice. You should probably start by identifying what characteristics would be most desirable in a leader of this school. Then identify those in the character you have selected. Ultimately, think of this as a kind of letter-of-recommendation for that character—only in essay format. When I write letters of recommendation, I always give specific examples. In your case, your examples will include paraphrased passages as well as direct quotes.
Next, I considered what qualities I would like in a new director. After determining these, I would try to find some concrete words to embody those qualities. Then I would decide which character best fits this.
Director’s qualities: A diplomat—knows how to deal with parents—from the over-involved to the uninvolved. Knows how to deal with students. Treats everyone with respect and makes them feel valued. Humble—knows that he/she can learn from others—including students, faculty, and parents. Intelligent—well-educated but also has common sense. He/she should have a strong sense of loyalty and do what he/she can to get whatever he/she can for our school. He/she can take a stand, and fight for what is even uncomfortable or difficult—consider finances. He/she sees him/herself as part of a larger body—the school. He/she considers him/herself a role model. He/she is consistent in actions—not arbitrary. Everyone plays by the same rules. He/she is also flexible if necessary, but not to the point that his/her actions are perceived as unfair. Merciful. A risk-taker.
Next, I considered what qualities I would like in a new director. After determining these, I would try to find some concrete words to embody those qualities. Then I would decide which character best fits this.
Director’s qualities: A diplomat—knows how to deal with parents—from the over-involved to the uninvolved. Knows how to deal with students. Treats everyone with respect and makes them feel valued. Humble—knows that he/she can learn from others—including students, faculty, and parents. Intelligent—well-educated but also has common sense. He/she should have a strong sense of loyalty and do what he/she can to get whatever he/she can for our school. He/she can take a stand, and fight for what is even uncomfortable or difficult—consider finances. He/she sees him/herself as part of a larger body—the school. He/she considers him/herself a role model. He/she is consistent in actions—not arbitrary. Everyone plays by the same rules. He/she is also flexible if necessary, but not to the point that his/her actions are perceived as unfair. Merciful. A risk-taker.
I am not going to be able to use all of these qualities, but a few will certainly apply.
Gawain would make a great director of the Governor’s School. He shows himself to be a born leader and a risk-taker even as a young man. While others sit back, quaking in fear, Gawain offers to fight the Green Knight. Though we know little of his education, Gawain demonstrates intelligence in his actions, especially in the interactions with the lady. Not only does he demonstrate emotional intelligence in avoiding sin, but he also shows the finesse of the accomplished diplomat. He avoids hurting the lady's feelings—to the greatest extent possible. A leader of the Governor’s School also needs to interact with other leaders, subordinates, students, and parents. He/she may hurt people’s feelings now and then, but tries to minimize the effects. As a role model, he/she must also be introspective. He/she must be willing to take risks but also willing to admit when he/she has erred. Ultimately, he/she needs to act out of a sense of justice and for the good of the school as a whole.
Gawain’s resume begins when he first stands up to the frightening green giant who has just entered Camelot, and assaulted the lot with words. The monster calls the knights of Camelot “beardless children” (280). He even laughs at them. “’Where now is your haughtiness, and your high conquests,/ your fierceness and fell mood,/ and your fine boasting?’” he asks (310-311). No one moves forward but Arthur himself. More loyal to king and country than to himself, Gawain steps forward. Not only does he show courage, but he also demonstrates humility, calling himself “the weakest…and in wit feeblist,/ and the least loss, if I live not” (354-355). Not only that, but unlike Beowulf or Wiglaf, he doesn’t put down his fellow-knights for not taking the challenge. A real leader does not allocate blame but accepts responsibility.
Though the court treats him like royalty for many months, ultimately Gawain must venture off into the wilderness and move toward his fate. The court arms him well, and he arms himself with the symbols of his faith—the pentangle, the Endless Knot, and the image of the Virgin Mary. These images will serve him well during the times when “he had no friend but his horse in the forests and hills,/ no man on this march to commune with but God” (695-696). His faith sustains him during this journey. And it is faith that leads him to find the castle where he will find temptations that are resonant of Christ’s temptations in the desert.
A former ladies’ man whose reputation has preceded him (“Who hears him will, I ween, / of love-speech learn some art’” (926-927)), he arrives tired, lonely, and scared. The beautiful host’s wife yearns for such words from the famous knight. She is “fairer in face, in her flesh and her skin,/ her proportions, her complexion, and her port than all others [italics mine],/ and more lovely than Guinevere to Gawain she looked” (943-945).
After a fine feast, Gawain prepares for bed. He expresses anxieties about finding the Green Chapel, but the host assures him that he will take care of that. He also, like the scary Green Knight, makes a deal with him. He will go hunting. When he returns, Gawain will have whatever he has caught. In return, Gawain will do the same for the host.
The next morning, the host goes hunting. Gawain, resting in his comfortable bed, soon finds himself sharing it with the host’s comely wife. Not knowing what to do, he pretends to be asleep. This does little good, for the lady is “an urgent wooer” (1259). She offers her beautiful body, “’of delight to take your fill’” (1238). After a few exchanges in which God and the Virgin Mary are invoked, he finally wins the battle by saying that she is married to a better man than he. He does relent a little, however, when he gives her a single kiss.
For two more days, Gawain receives the lady’s kisses, returning them to the host, as agreed on that first night. On that third day, however, he does not entirely keep his word. In addition to the kisses, the lady gives Gawain her belt, modest by all appearances, but great in its utility. “’For whoever goes girdled with this green riband/ while he keeps it well clasped closely about him,/ there is none so hardly under heaven that to hew him were able/ for he could not be killed by any cunning of hand,’” she explains (1851-1854).
Though Gawain keeps his word at all other times, he does not this time. And that “sin” costs him. The wound, however, is minor. It is mostly Gawain’s pride that has been hurt. At the same time, Gawain has grown from the experience. Although a member of the famed Knights of the Round Table, he is also human. He is also a good human, one who admits his mistake, asks forgiveness, and moves forward to become one of the greatest Knights of the Round Table.
Even though the Governor’s School has received the accolades in various contests, and even though Newsweek recognizes us as one of the twenty elite public schools in the country, neither we, nor our leader, should become too full of ourselves. In order to truly grow, we need to constantly assess ourselves, and then to seek to improve on what we have. Like Sir Gawain, our director should possess the courage to fight for our school and the humility to sometimes ask for help or to delegate tasks. He/she should take risks, but be willing to acknowledge it when things go wrong. Like Gawain, he/she should not play the blame-game. In the long run, our leader should be someone for whom any one of us would be willing to support, even to the extent of wearing the proverbial green girdle.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Quarter Two, Week One
Thursday:
We will read "The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales" in class. Because some of you will be attending "Twelfth Night" at Blackfriar's, we will begin reading that for homework. Read the background. All students will be expected to read Act I for homework. On Thursday, certain students will be assigned parts. They will act out those parts in class on Friday (with a few minutes for preparation). They may use their books and read, but should be willing to physically (to a limited degree) act out their parts. You will be graded on your delivery.
Friday: Possible quiz on the Prologue. Next, students will be given 10 minutes to prepare to act out Act I. If we finish that, you will get the "Introduction to the Wife of Bath's Tale." We will do that in class. Different students (and some of the same for those who had small parts in Act I) will be assigned parts and should prepare to present on Tuesday. All students must read Act II.
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