Honors British Literature Week 1

Class 1: Objectives SWBAT… Understand the definition of Romanticism Know what is Poetry Out Loud and how we will do POL in class Browse poems

Romantic Poetry Write: What does it mean for something to be romantic?

Romanticism Statements Read the statement and mark whether you agree or disagree with each one.

Romanticism Statements Each of these statements represents an idea that the Romantic movement embodied Knowing that, how has your idea about what is romantic changed?

Characteristics of Romanticism: 1

Characteristics of Romanticism: 1

Characteristics of Romanticism: 1 Interest in the common man and childhood Romantics believed in the natural goodness of humans which is hindered by the urban life of civilization. They believed that the savage is noble, childhood is good and the emotions inspired by both beliefs causes the heart to soar.

Characteristics of Romanticism: 2

Characteristics of Romanticism: 2

Characteristics of Romanticism: 2 Interest in the common man and childhood Strong senses, emotions, and feelings Romantics believed that knowledge is gained through intuition rather than deduction. This is best summed up by Wordsworth who stated that “all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.”

Characteristics of Romanticism: 3

Characteristics of Romanticism: 3

Characteristics of Romanticism: 3 Interest in the common man and childhood Strong senses, emotions, and feelings Awe of nature Romantics stressed the awe of nature in art and language and the experience of sublimity through a connection with nature. Romantics rejected the rationalization of nature by the previous thinkers of the Enlightenment period.

Characteristics of Romanticism: 4

Characteristics of Romanticism: 4

Characteristics of Romanticism: 4 Interest in the common man and childhood Strong senses, emotions, and feelings Awe of nature Celebration of the individual Romantics valued people as unique, complex individuals. They often elevated the achievements of the misunderstood, heroic individual outcast.

Characteristics of Romanticism: 5

Characteristics of Romanticism: 5

Characteristics of Romanticism: 5 Interest in the common man and childhood Strong senses, emotions, and feelings Awe of nature Celebration of the individual Importance of imagination Romantics valued imagination above reason as the highest faculty of the mind. Imagination was an active, creative act, which had the power to create reality.

Characteristics of Romanticism Interest in the common man and childhood Strong senses, emotions, and feelings Awe of nature Celebration of the individual Importance of imagination How are they like and unlike… The literature we read in semester 1? The things our society values now?

Transition Ticket Write down, in your own words (3 sentences or less): What does it mean for something to be romantic?

What is Poetry Out Loud? A national competition for high school students More than 3 million students have participated Students memorize and recite poetry Starts with a class competition (yes, you will be graded on your recitation) Class winners compete in a school-wide competition at the end of January.

Example Recitations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgGIDij7gqI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRQIISF4prA

Why Memorize and Recite Poetry? From POL: “Why should I study this poem, let alone try to learn it by heart? ….“Because it is a chance to make a friend for life.”

How are you evaluated? Physical Presence Voice and Articulation Eye contact Body language Poise Voice and Articulation Volume Pace Rhythm Intonation Pronunciation

How are you evaluated? Dramatic Appropriateness Interpretive and performance choices made by the student Conveying the poem’s sense through its language Evidence of Understanding Comprehension and mastery of the poem Saying the poem in a way that helps the audience understand it better

How are you evaluated? Overall performance Accuracy Overall success of your recitation Complexity of the poem is also considered Accuracy Points are deducted for missed or incorrect words

Poem Options www.poetryoutloud.org Banned poems: “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost “Catch a Little Rhyme” by Eve Merriam “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley Any poem with 10 lines or less (12 if the lines are short) Participants on choosing poems: http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poems-and- performance/watch-video/choose-poems

Tips for Memorizing Poems Rewrite your poem by hand several times. Each time, try to write more and more of it from memory. Read your poem aloud before going to sleep at night, and repeat it when you wake up. Carry around a copy of your poem. You’ll find several moments throughout the day to reread or recite it. Practice your poem by saying it to family and friends.

Homework Choose a poem and start to memorize it. Our class contest will take place class 2 next week.

Class 2: Objectives SWBAT… Go over final exams Explore a Romantic definition of poetry Read and analyze a Romantic poem Create a POL timeline

Final exams

Defining Poetry What is poetry?

Wordsworth’s Definition “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” How close is that to your definition? What are the 5 characteristics of Romanticism from last class? How well does this definition fit with those characteristics?

Romantic Poetry What would you expect from a Romantic poem about this image?

Romantic Poetry William Wordsworth: “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” Level 1: What is the poem literally saying?

Romantic Poetry Level 2: What features of the poem can help us understand other layers of meaning? Alliteration Personification Assonance Simile Caesura Metaphor End Rhyme Imagery Internal Rhyme Diction Enjambment Syntax Meter Repetition

Homework Print or write down your poem and bring it to class

Class 3: Objectives SWBAT… Finish analyzing “I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud” Analyze and come to better understand your POL poem Practice evaluating a poem recitation Practice reciting your poem out loud to a partner

I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud Level 3: Where in the poem can we see a shift? Look for: key words, (but, yet, however, although) punctuation (dashes, periods, colons, ellipsis) stanza divisions changes in line or stanza length or both changes in sound that may indicate changes in meaning changes in diction

Romantic Poetry Overall, what does this poem tell us, and how?

Poetry Analysis Take out your POL poem Level 1: What is the poem literally saying? Level 2: What features of the poem can help us understand other layers of meaning? Level 3: Where in the poem can we see a shift? Is your poem Romantic? Why or why not?

Poetry Out Loud: Recitation http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poems-and- performance/watch-video/recitation-tips Look at Evaluation Criteria

Poetry Out Loud: Timeline How many days do we have before our class competition? What are some intermediate deadlines you can set for yourself to have your poem ready for our competition? Work on your memorization timeline and have your chosen poem out for me to record!

Poetry Out Loud Take out the packet with the scoring rubric on the front Practice evaluating a (Romantic) poem recitation Turn to “Ode on a Grecian Urn” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vedEszkhpOg

Poetry Out Loud Practice reading or reciting out loud for your partner. Partners: give feedback on the reading/recitation. Did you notice any mistakes? How is your partner’s physical presence? How is your partner’s voice and articulation? What suggestions do you have to improve your partner’s dramatic appropriateness? Does it sound like your partner understands the poem? What other suggestions do you have?

Homework Write an informal 1-page description of: why you chose your poem what your poem is about what is below the surface of your poem Keep up with your memorization schedule!