Poets and they didn't know it—Brit Lit's Sonnets.

u         /       u         /      u       /        u         /  u        /
The students of Brit Lit were given an [A]
u      /          u        /        u     /       u  /  u        /
Assignment built to test poetic skill. [B]
u          /    u       /        u           /           u       /          u    /
O'er many sleepless nights the work began [A]
u          /    u       /        u       /           u          /       u         /
And in the first few days, they got their fill. [B]

u       /     u      /   u     /        u  /     u         /
Of all pentameters, iambic's worst, [C]
u            /       u        /      u /    u       /             u                  /
With English and Italian rhyme schemes, too; [D]
u     /    u      /      u             /           u      /       u         /
Experience would help, but it's their first [C]
u     /           u    /   u  /         u       /          u     /
Attempt at poetry, that much is true. [D]

u         /                 u          /             u            /         u          /       u       /
Yet through their blood, sweat, and their tears we see [E]
u       /         u    /      u          /         u      /           u      /
Success in rhyming and ten beats per line. [F]
u             /     u       /       u        /          u    /    u        /
While many felt their work a failure be, [E]
u   /     u    /   u      /           u        /       u       /
I personally think they did just fine. [F]

u      /         u   /      u      /            u      /      u            /
So take a sec to check out all their work, [G]
u          /  u      /        u          /     u          /           u        /
And only comment nicely—kind, not jerk! [G]

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A-Day	B-Day
Aleena Annika Belle Brian Chanda Christine Emily Joyce Kelly Kevin M. Mandy Patrick W. Robert Sally Samuel Sian	Amy C. Anderson Grace C. Grace Y. Janelle Kathrina Krikki Minnie Takako Vivian

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Brit Lit students, you know what to do with this: comment on 5 of these posts (3 for the A-Day class, 2 for the B-Day class).

Get ready for confusing homework hence / Sir Shakespeare's rhyme scheme takes some time to crack!

Originally posted 11/14/11.

For the last couple of years, I've had to spend most late Fall—early Spring mornings walking nearly a mile to  TAPA, in the (typically wet/cold) Taipei Winter rain. I hate that. So gross. Maybe my least favorite moments of my time in Taiwan.

That's part of the reason I was so excited to get a scooter is that I would no longer have to make the death march in the terrible weather. A great example of that was this evening, when, in the nastiness, I was able to speed home, still drenched, but at least in less than 5 minutes. Awesome. It was this epic joy I felt in my heart that I decided to compose a Shakespearean Sonnet to this love:

  u       /      u          /            u         /        u      /      u      /
My scooter's paint job's nothing like a Benz;    [A]
  u       /           u       /        u         /             u       /       u       /
its scuffs and scratches prove that it's been used.    [B]
  u       /      u        /   u      /     u           /        u         /
The Harley of a wealthy man who spends    [A]
  u            /      u          /    u      /      u      /            u     /
looks perfect next to my machine, abused.    [B]

  u         /      u     /   u     /     u      /      u      /
The engine of a Harley Davidson    [C]
  u        /  u   /       u        /        u      /      u      /
Will easily outwork my motorbike.    [D]
  u       /          u          /   u    /      u      /        u      /
A brand new Yamaha, so fast, so fun,    [C]
  u    /      u            /      u         /        u      /      u      /
Is nowhere near to what my motor's like.    [D]

  u           /      u          /           u         /        u      /      u       /
Yet thine two-wheel'ed steed dost daily move    [E]
  u             /          u      /    u       /        u       /         u       /
Miss Webb and I betwixt our home to school.    [F]
  u            /    u          /        u         /    u     /      u          /
While other bikes more valuable may prove,    [E]
  u        /       u      /     u        /     u      /       u         /
For transportation's value, it's my jewel.    [F]

  u       /       u      /        u         /      u          /      u      /
So let's go get some money from the bank    [G]
  u       /               u            /        u     /      u      /      u      /
Because you've earned a fill-up of your tank.    [G]

OK, how about this? Is it a true Shakespearean sonnet after all? I'd go with yes:

• It's lyrical (i.e. not telling a story).
• It's 14-lines long.
• The entire thing is written in iambic pentameter.*
• It has the English (Shakespearean) rhyme scheme of ABAB / CDCD / EFEF / GG.
• It has 2 different thematic sections with a turn in the middle:
• First 8 lines: My scooter sucks in many ways.
• Last 6 lines: My scooter is awesome in many ways, and I will reward it (with gas).

Can you guess where this is going? If you guessed "HEY TEACH-AH, ARE WE GOING TO MAKE OUR OWN SONNETLAAAAAS?", then yes, you guessed right.

So here's the plan: starting today (for A-Day classes) and tomorrow (for B-Day classes), you'll be working on writing 14-line sonnets about something you have a love/hate relationship with. You'll need to write in iambic pentameter with a defined rhyme scheme (i.e. Italian ABBA/ABBA/CDECDE or Italian ABBA/ABBA/CDCDCD or English ABAB/CDCD/EFEF/GG—you pick!). Also, you'll need to make sure you label both the meter and word stresses and the rhyme scheme.

OH, and, just for an added bonus, I'll give extra points to my, let's say, top 3 favorite sonnets in both classes. You have one week to get this project done, so it'll be due at the beginning of Week of Prayer. Get started!

*One line I really had to get creative with: "two-wheel'ed." That's pronounced in 3 syllables. It's cheating, but whatever. I'm cool. I can do it.

And the winner(s) of Best Sonnet in Brit Lit is...

I had some really hard decisions to make regarding which of your Shakespearean sonnets were my favorites. With the exception of a few, everyone did a really really great job on these, and I wanted to congratulate you on getting something down that many people struggle with! It seems like, between making the Show Me videos writing these, you have Shakespearean poetry pretty down!

I've already spilled that three of my favorite sonnets were written by Vivien, Yalisa, and Beverly, so I'm going to give them extra points for melting my brains with their work. I also want to add the sonnets of Enoch, Jason, Andrew, Tim, and WinWin to the mix. These five sonnets also really stood out as being great examples of iambic pentameter and English sonnet rhyme scheme. Please, if you haven't, go check their work and see some epic poetry! 10 point extra credit for each of them!

And for those of you who aren't happy about your sonnet grades, you can absolutely keep working on them and resubmit, and I'll gladly regrade them and give you a better score! So get working!

The Sonnet Bar = Raised.

Jackie Chan looks like he read your sonnets.

Last week, I told some of the British Lit classes that last year, we had a few pretty good examples of original Shakespearean sonnets, but also, some not-so-good examples, and I hoped that this year, students could do a bit better.

W

O

W

The assignment is not due until tomorrow morning, but I've already got 3 amazing examples of sonnets from Vivien, Yalisa, and Beverly. I literally could not believe how incredible these sonnets were. PLEASE, if you have 5 minutes, check these things out this evening. I'm completely amazed by what these 3 ladies did, and I now have faith in the rest of you doing even better than what I'd expected before!

How do you explain sonnets to a 5-year-old? ANYANG!

I know I keep talking to my British Lit students about writing their sonnets and all kinds of different things regarding poetry, but it's 1) awesome to study, and 2) hard enough I want to KEEP talking to you about it and giving you pointers. Recently, you guys had an assignment to make those Show Me or Screen Chomp videos explaining how sonnets work. [I HATE SCREEN CHOMP NOW. JUST THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW.] Everyone did pretty good jobs on them, but the most outstanding one, in my opinion, came from little Anyang Esther. She explained masculine/feminine rhyme, rhyme schemes, and iambic pentameter so well that I thought you should all take a peek at her awesomeness. Look:



Thanks for rocking out, Esther! 5 points EC to you!

Mr. Webb done gone and analyzed some rap for poetic value.

Have you ever needed to work on some homework or something, and you get totally distracted by something that isn't due immediately afterwards, but you don't care because you love the thing you're doing? [SAY YES.]

That just accidentally happened to me. I wasn't prepared for my last class of the day (Sorry, Communications) because I was too busy studying poetry. Rap, specifically.

Check out my favorite song of the day:

Meter Key:

iamb:  u / 

trochee:  / u 

cretic:  / u /  

Ok, here's where I got into trouble: I took Travis McCoy's first rap verse and analyzed it, line-by-line, looking for what poetic tricks he did in it. Here are the lyrics, with the rhymes and the meter:

 u  /     u      /         u   /     u     /    u      /     u        /     u         /   

If I was just another dusty record on the shelf [A]

 u                /         u        /       u       /        u       /       u       /     u    /     u      /   

Would you blow me off and play me like everybody else [A]

 /   u   /        /       u       /            u       /            /            u        /       u        / 

If I ask you to scratch my back, could you manage that [B]

 u            /       u           /         /       u       /   u         /   u        /      u       /   

Like [ICKY] yeah, [ICKY] Travie, I can handle that [B]

 /         u      /          /   u     /  u   /       u     /  u       /    u              /    

Furthermore, I apologize for any skipping tracks [C]

 u                /       u        /      /        u       /             u       /    u    /    u           /   

'Cause this the last girl that played me left a couple cracks [C]

 u   /         u      /       u       /       u      /        u     /          u      /    u     /   

I used to used to used to used to, now I'm over that [D]*

 u               /     u         /       u       /    u      /       u     /     u       /    u    /   

Cause holding grudges over love is ancient artifacts [D]*

 u   /      u        /     u      /     u    /       u       /          u        /    u        /    

If I could only find a note to make you understand [E]

 u        /      u   /     u     /     u         /       u        /         u        /      u        /     

I'd sing it softly in your ear and grab you by the hand [E]

 /            u      /        u    /         u         /           /         u       /     u          /       

Keep it stuck inside your head, like your favorite tune [F]

 u             /          u         /         u  /    u  /       u     /     u        /       u      /       

And know my heart's a stereo that only plays for you [F]

Now here are some thing I'm seeing:

• The A lines have the same construction and the same length (7 iambs (  u /  ) = 14 beats).
• The B lines are CRAZY. 
• They begin with two cretic (  / u /  ) in a row, which I think is pretty rare. (You hear cretic in phrases like "SEE you LAter, ALiGAtor" and "AFter a WHILE, CROcoDILE".) The squeeze 3 syllables into 2 beats, like the poetic equivalent of a musical triplet () .
• The 2nd B line has two DJ scratches that sound like the word "ICKY," and even though McCoy doesn't say them, for the beat of the rap, they must be included. (Each act as a trochee, or  / u  .)
• Therefore, even though the two lines are 14 and 13 beats, respectfully, they still match.
• The C lines are pretty similar to the B lines, with a 14 and a 13, and a cretic beginning the first. The difference is that instead of having some iambs, they go with trochees at the end of each.
• The D lines have the same construction and the same length (7 iambs (  u /  ) = 14 beats) as eachother, and the same as the A lines. Furthermore, the A and D lines rhyme with eachother, so they could both be labeled the same. (I won't because McCoy didn't intentionally try to match those two sets to eachother.)
• The E lines have the same construction and the same length (7 iambs (  u /  ) = 14 beats) as eachother, and the same as the A and D lines.
• The F lines focus on trochees at the beginning, but switch to iambs at the end.

Travis McCoy:
A modern-day Shakespeare?

When you put it all together, it sounds... aesthetically right-on. Again, I'm not telling you that Travis McCoy deliberately writes his raps by saying "SHOULD I BEGIN THIS LINE WITH TWO CRETICS HERE SO SOMEWHERE, OFF IN A FAR AWAY SCHOOL, SOME NERDY ENGLISH TEACHER WILL HAVE SOMETHING TO SPEND 90 MINUTES BLOGGING ABOUT?". He doesn't. But, like when you multiply 5 x 5 in your head, you go through a few different steps within a second, a poet/rapper can just weave together meter and rhymes to create something magically pleasing to your eardrums.

Good luck using this as some further ideas for your sonnets!

Brit Lit Sunday To-Do: 1) Medieval projects & 2) ShowMe Sonnets

Well, I warned ya.

For British Lit students, you have two pretty big assignments due early this next week—your aforementioned Medieval projects and the assignment where you use Show Me Whiteboard or Screen Chomp to explain my lecture on Sonnets (featured below):

Sonnets on Prezi

The Medieval projects are due on Sunday, as I said earlier. Please email them to Sean, Beverly, and myself so we can start to process and put them together.

As for the ShowMe projects, I've decided to excercise some mercy and extend the deadline until Monday (for the A-Day class) and Tuesday (for the B-Day class). Not a huge extension, but I'm willing to give it to ya because I know these will look amazing on the blogs!

Have a busy weekend!