Sonnet 29 - Commentary

In class today, please write a commentary on Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Sonnet 29".


Sonnet 29
Edna St. Vincent Millay

Pity me not because the light of day
At close of day no longer walks the sky;
Pity me not for beauties passed away
From field to thicket as the year goes by;
Pity me not the waning of the moon,
Nor that the ebbing tide goes out to sea.
Nor that a man's desire is hushed so soon.
And you no longer look with love on me.
This have I known always: Love is no more
Than the wide blossom which the wind assails.
Than the great tide that treads the shifting shore.
Strewing fresh wreckage gathered in the gales:
Pity me that the heart is slow to learn
When the swift mind beholds at every turn.

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Your commentary should take the following form.

Paragraph 1 - Introduction – Include the title and author, a general explanation of the subject matter, a summary of what the poem is about, and what the key themes of the poem are (if there are any).

Paragraph 2 - Include detailed, stanza-by-stanza (or section-by-section, with line references) analysis of what is actually happening in the poem (without the greater depth of analysis coming later).

Paragraph 3 - Discuss the subtext and the implied. Look at the way that the poet hints at wider meaning, how a greater range of interpretation can be applied. This paragraph should lead in to the analysis of style in Paragraph 4.

Paragraph 4 - This paragraph should be a focused discussion of the way the poem is written and structured with regard to style – analysis of diction, rhythm and rhyme, figurative imagery, mood and tone, alliteration and assonance, the way that pace is controlled and atmosphere created – with detailed reference to the text in the form of quotation and line references.

Paragraph 5 - Link this poem with any other literature (especially poetry) you have read or studied. What are some common themes? In this case, you should be thinking especially about how this poem compares with Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "Sonnet 43".

Paragraph 6 - Conclusion – Discuss your overall feeling about the poem, its abiding images, and whether it is successful or not in what it sets out to do.

"The Taste of Watermelon"

We have now spent two full periods reading Borden Deal's short story "The Taste of Watermelon" but have not yet finished with our reading. For the first part of the period today, let's finish reading the story. Though the story's conclusion is very interesting, we won't spend to much time today discussing it. Instead, we will spend the final portion of the period beginning to write a "SCASI" essay about the story. This essay is to be completed before Friday, 4 December. This should only take about 20-25 minutes of homework time. If you haven't done so already, also be sure that you have memorized Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Sonnet 29" before our next class!

The Barretts of Wimpole Street

Today in class, we viewed the first portion of the film The Barretts of Wimpole Street about the courtship of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning. Given what you have viewed, please write a 10-15 minute reflection on the film. You can discuss your thoughts about the characters, setting, action, etc. of the film, the biographies of these poets, love, family, poetry, or go wherever else thinking about the film takes you. Feel free to refer to what you already know about Elizabeth Barrett Browning from reading Sonnet 43 and researching her biography. You are especially encouraged to think further about specific aspects of the poem. We probably won't be viewing this film further in class, so here's the first in a youtube playlist of the full film for you to continue enjoying.

"Sonnet 43"

Oh no! I forgot to have this blog post up for you on Friday. What was meant to be written was a commentary on "Sonnet 43" using the structure for a poetry commentary that we used before. I know that I told some students about this before Friday and hope that everyone was able to figure this out. Not to worry. We'll discuss this further this week. When you have finished this commentary, please post it as a comment here.

"Meteor"

Please submit your "SCASI" essay on "Meteor" here.

Comparison and Contrast - "The Signalman"

Today in class, we watched a film adaptation of Charles Dickens' story, "The Signalman". For homework, please spend 15-20 minutes writing two paragraphs comparing and contrasting the story with the film where your paragraphs take the following form.

Paragraph 1: Compare the story and the film. (Discuss similarities.)

Paragraph 2: Contrast the story and the film. (Discussion differences.)

Here's the video. Part one can not be embedded on our page, so here is the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c06WUYsI0ic

Comparison and Contrast

Please take twenty minutes to write two paragraphs comparing and contrasting Ray Bradburry's "There Will Come Soft Rains" with the Soviet animation adapted from it.

Paragraph 1: Comparison (Similarities between the story and the film)

Paragraph 2: Contrast (Differences between the story and the film)