Elizabethan Sonnets

English IVs have begun a new unit on Renaissance and Elizabethean England. Today, we looked at the rhyme scheme and meter of Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham to begin identification and analysis of poetic structure.

We also looked at the sonnet in modern times to notice the structure, theme, and format of this special type of poem before we add that crazy Early Modern English speech of Shakespeare, Spenser, and Sidney. Next time, we will continue analyzing sonnets from the Elizabethean era.

Check out one screen shot of our analysis here!

Our Little Books of Poetry Have Grown!

"Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May"

So far we have added in:


Ben Jonson's Poetry
"Song: To Celia"
"Still to Be Neat"

Carpe Diem Poetry
Robert Herrick: "To the Virgins to Make Much of Time"
Andrew Marvell: "To His Coy Mistress"

We will continue to read:

John Milton's Poetry
"Sonnet VII"

Alexander Pope's Writing
"An Essay on Man"

John Donne's Poetry
"Song"
"A Valediction Forbidding Mourning"
"Holy Sonnet 10"

Replies to Love Poems

Today we began our foray into our first unit of poems. We made little books with magic folding skillz and started with a personal favorite, "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" by Christopher Marlowe. After being offered beauteous flowers, serene vistas, and delicately made gifts, we read "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd" by Sir Walter Raleigh. The Nymph, however, was not so keen on the ephemeral gifts of the Shepherd and declined his love that will one day wither.

In class to finish for homework:
Write a reply poem to the Shepherd or to the Nymph. Write saying how the Shepherd's offerings are pleasing enough to go live with him. Or write how the Nymph was right in declining the Shepherd. Or how the Nymph should take the Shepherd. Or how the Shepherd should offer more. Or..Or..Or... However YOU would like to respond to EITHER ONE of the poems.

Be sure your poem is:

• Set in rhyming couplets
• Twelve lines (may be longer)
• 3 quatrains (4-line stanzas)

Poe's Horror Stories

Poe is notorious for his "scary" stories and creepy tales. We will spend the rest of this week looking into Poe's creative arts and compare his writing to writing of his time.

Together, we will read:
"The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe
"The Seven Ages of Man" by William Shakespeare

Be sure to complete the assignments on the Week Assignment Sheet and the Halloween Independent Reading to finish up all the Poe unit work!

If you are still interested in more texts related to Edgar Allan Poe, consider reading:

"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe

"My Favorite Murder" by Ambrose Bierce

"The Blind Men and the Elephant" by John Godfrey Saxe

If you'd like to watch a twist on the "scary mood" of Edgar Allan Poe, check out "The Raven" Cartoon-Style.

Here is a copy of all assignments:
Masque of the Red Death Chart: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByVKpn2OdpFARDJJMkpjMWRnYWs/edit?usp=sharing
Masque of the Red Death Project https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByVKpn2OdpFARDJJMkpjMWRnYWs/edit
Unreliable Narrators https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByVKpn2OdpFAQjhVMFlZNXFCUmM/edit

Victorian Era History

You may use any of the following sites to use for the "History" part of your children's book, due Friday.

Overview of Victorian Writing Trends
http://literatureinenglishunican.blogspot.com/2009/12/english-realism-victorian-era-1837-1901.html

Analysis and Typed Text of Many Poems
http://edsitement.neh.gov/feature/twenty-one-poems-ap-literature-and-composition

Quick History of the Victorian Era
http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Victorians/article.html

The Reign of Victoria in England
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/

Sitemap of Easy-to-Click Victorian England Social Life Info
http://www.victorianweb.org/history/sochistov.html

A Resource for a Resource List
http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Victorians/www.html

Dropbox.com Access Info

ID: elizabethheck@ccs.k12.nc.us

P/W: svhs9-12

More Campfire Sonnets!

Campfire Sonnet readings were both comical and enjoyable today. Here's an excellent picture of all of you so diligently working!

Campfire Sonnets

All seniors have begun a new unit on Renaissance and Elizabethean England. Today, we looked at the rhyme scheme and meter of Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham. Tomorrow, we will continue analyzing sonnets from the modern and Elizabethean eras and writing our own "Campfire Sonnets."

Two Modern Sonnnets https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByVKpn2OdpFAMXBpWGZYU241RTA
Sonnet Analysis Chart https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByVKpn2OdpFAckFTT091RjdjM2s