1. Strange Love Poems

2. Shakespeare Gets Unconventional!
“My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun” p. 501
Also known as “Sonnet 130”
The Shakespeare Sonnet we discussed last class, Sonnet 116, which was about love as a concept.
This sonnet follows a much more conventional form for sonnets—that is, it is about a specific woman and is written to praise her.
HOWEVER, the way in which Shakespeare praises his “dark lady” is anything but conventional….

3. A sonnet has 14 lines rhyme scheme The first 12 lines are ABAB
3 quatrains
Groups of 4 lines
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
With a
closing couplet
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Sums things up!

4. But in his unconventional love poem Shakespeare
In a conventional love poem the writer would exaggerate how beautiful his mistress is:
My mistress' eyes are more
fantastic than the sun;
But in his unconventional love poem Shakespeare
underplays how beautiful his mistress is:
What effect does this line have on the reader? “My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;” Does it make us wonder what her eyes are like?
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
He has turned around the convention of exaggerated praise

5. He carries on with the unconventional approach in the next lines
desirable feature
Her lips aren't red
Pink-orange colour
Coral is far more red than her lips' red
Something
of a cliche
The conventional
Grey brown colour
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun
Is he saying she is not
beautiful or is he saying
she is beautiful in a different way?

6. In the next lines he moves on to describe other physical features
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
So she is not
conventionally
beautiful
Gold wires were used
in head-dress and
compared to golden hair
Blondes were more
highly rated
mixed
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white
Is he disparaging his mistress or do these lines enhance the idea of unconventional beauty?
But she doesn’t
have this complexion
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;

7. The author moves from how she looks to how she smells
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
Smells- the word
didn’t have a
negative meaning in
Shakespeare’s time
He’s not saying the smell of
her breath is unpleasant -
just that perfume smells sweeter
In conventional love poems
you would say her breath was
sweeter than perfume
But Shakespeare takes an
unconventional approach

8. The next feature is the sound of her voice
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
He’s not being critical of her voice:
all he’s saying is that music
has a more pleasing sound
In the conventional love
poem the writer
would say that her voice
was sweeter than music

9. The poet describes how his mistress walks
I admit
to you
I’ve never seen
a goddess walk
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
My mistress walks like anyone else,
on the ground, rather than floating through the air
In a conventional love
poem she would be
described as
a goddess
He’s stressing his mistress is no goddess.

10. So does the poet think that his mistress is beautiful or what?
The last 2 lines tell us
Direct statement, telling
us what he thinks
exceptional
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
For emphasis
The poet thinks she’s
beautiful but doesn’t want
to describe her in a cliched way.
She is as beautiful as
any woman who is praised
with false comparisons

11. Margaret Atwood: “You Fit Into Me” p. 526
This short poem works by upsetting the reader’s conventional expectations.
What positive associations does Atwood expect readers to have with the phrase “you fit into me”?
This poem works in three parts, each unsettles the readers conventional expectations further:
“like a hook into an eye” – AT FIRST refers to clothing clasp called “hook and eye clasp—most common on bras:
The minimalism of the 3rd and 4th lines are
meant to shock the reader
What is the outlook on love in this poem?

12. Metaphysical Poetry
The Metaphysical Poets were active during the 17th century (the 1600's).
They were, above all, concerned with inventiveness and ingenuity of metaphor, (remember our discussion of "wit" from earlier) and they fully explored the implications of saying that two unlike things are the same.
This tends to make the metaphors and similes in metaphysical poetry very striking and unusual.
John Donne and Andrew Marvell are two of the most recognizable Metaphysical poets.
Check out Andrew Marvell’s love poem “To His Coy Mistress”

13. "The Flea" by John Dunne p.672
What is the argument that this poem makes? (and YES, it is a strange one…)
How does the poet use the death of the flea to enhance that argument?
How does this poem fit in with the definition of “metaphysical” poetry we just learned?

14. Extra Credit Writing Bonus: Write a “love poem” using as many "disgusting" words as you can.
Possible GROSS word list:
Wormy
Bloody
Oozing
Pimple
Puss
Moist
Slime
Mucus
Rust
Moldy
Rotting

15. Homework for Next Tuesday: How to Get Your Short Story Reading: “To Build a Fire” by Jack London
Make sure you copy this address EXACTLY (with the capitals) or it won’t work!!

16. Homework for Tuesday
Tuesday, March 17—Topics: Themes Across Genres: Nature
Homework Due:
Read Short Story and Respond: Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”
Read introduction “Poems About Nature p ( in the 7th)
Read 2 Poems and choose 1 to respond:
William Wordsworth “I wandered lonely as a cloud” page 630, (653 in the 7th)
William Stafford “Traveling through the Dark” page  (656-7 in the 7th)

17. Homework for Thursday Thursday, March 17 Homework Due:
Topics: Nature Poems. Nature as Reflection of Humanity.
Homework Due: 
Read 4 Poems and Choose 2 to Respond:
Matthew Arnold “Dover Beach” p (677 in 7th)
Langston Hughes “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” p. 686 (702 in 7th)
Mary Oliver “Wild Geese” p. 634 (alternate Mary Oliver poem in 7th “Sleeping in the Forest” p. 654)
Robert Frost “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” p. 680 (697 in 7th)