To Autumn

What?

• We focus on image, theme, language, rhythm, rhyme and anything else that strikes you as important in what many consider to be THE LAST POEM I EVER WROTE
• We do this over the course of two lessons, and conclude our studies on me FOR NOW

Task One:

• Grab a partner and join me outside. (You may not have noticed, but I am dangerously obssessed with quite interested in nature.)
• Use a suitable recording device (mobile phone?) to take some photos which you feel signify signs that Autumn is with us
• You will need to post these photos (your three favourite), writing between one and two lines of poetry for each one that you feel fits MY STYLE.
• Obviously the line of poetry you write should in some way be connected to the picture
• If you can use a rhythm and meter that I use in my poetry, you are a LEGEND
• Make sure you save your work - if you do not have time to post it all today, you can do so on Friday
• DO NOT read my poem on Autumn yet. That would be cheating...

Ode on Melancholy (Part Deux)

What?

• We think about how the STRUCTURE helps develop my ideas in the poem
• We provide some further ANALYSIS
• You present some of your blog work for the rest of the class to steal 

TUESDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS

• Many of you commented on how I use elements from the world of nature in this poem. In the first stanza, the various items that may cause or symbolize "oblivion" are all natural (fruits, plants, insects). Again, human desires are intrinsically linked to the natural world.
• The religious reference to the "rosary" was noted. Carola decided it acts as a metaphor to suggest the speaker argues we should not let death or oblivion (symbolized by the poisonous "yew berries") become our 'religion'.
• Tomas and Sofia both noted the references to ancient myths (Greek, Egyptian...). Tomas argued I use these allusions to suggest that our desire for escape (oblivion, death, that kind of thing) is a universal facet of humankind- it has been with us for centuries.
• Ana drew our attention to the simile of the "weeping cloud", which we agreed works on a number of levels to suggest the qualities of melancholy to the reader. Again, notice how I use the natural world to explore human experience and emotion. Can you find examples from previous poems?? Yeah Mr White;yeah nature!
• Tomas commented on the use of assonance and sibilance in the second stanza: "feed deep, deep upon her peerless eyes." Here I manage to capture through sound something of the almost hypnotic attraction of the eyes of the "mistress".
• Many of you noted how, like my other poems, I am concerned with the transience of our lives, and the paradoxical nature of human experience: that pleasure causes pain (because it does not last), and that deep sadness is something to be embraced. Why does Keats argue we should embrace it? Can we find the answer in the last stanza??

Synaesthesia in Ode on A Grecian Urn

We have discussed before my use of synaesthetic imagery.

What is it?

A literary term for an image that combines two or more of the senses or physical sensations normally considered as seperate (ie. sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell, temperature, weight, pressure, hunger, thirst, sexuality, and movement), that in other words attributes the traits of one sense to another.

Believe it or not, it is also a condition that around 1 in 2000 people have!

Synaesthesia in Ode on a Grecian Urn

"Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:"

The urn here is described in terms of its visual qualities ("flowery"), its ability to metaphorically speak to its audience and thus be heard ("express", "tale"), and how this appeals to taste ("sweetly").





Effects

Of course, it's no good just identifying my images. You must also explain what effects, or what functions they have in the poetry. It is your explanations of this that will truly show your understanding of my literature.

Firstly, and most obviously, this combining of sensations allows my poems to have a truly sensual flavour, appealing to the whole range of human sensations.


Secondly, consider the tenets of the Romantic movement, and how this may demonstrate them - the emphasis on unity, of a harmony involved in human experience and our perception of the world. Consider how my practice of synaesthesia may allow me to suggest this oneness of experience, the immediacy and completeness of our experiences with the world around us.
TASK

• Can you find another synaesthetic image in my poem, 
• quote it,
• explainwhat senses it refers to,
  and provide an explanation ofeffects? (Use what you have read above to help...)
• Upload it to your blog under the heading "Synaesthesia in Ode on a Grecian Urn" (including a suitable picture if you have time...

Rhythm and Meter in La Belle Dame Sans Merci

What?
Establish how I cleverly subvert the traditional ballad form in La Belle Dame Sans Merci

Why?
So we begin to appreciate that FORM and CONTENT work together to create and extend meaning in literature.


Let´s start by hearing some of your readings of my poem. Lovely...

La Belle Dame Sans Merci

 Aims of today's class (Tuesday, 15th April):

• show how our investigations last week help us to understand today's poem

The poem of mine you will explore today is a ballad entitled "La Belle Dame Sans Merci"

Task 1: Discuss - what do you expect from a poetic ballad? (your work in the treasure hunt last week should hopefully give you some ideas). Feedback to the class.

Task 2: We will read the poem as a class. (You can use the link or the handout provided.)

Task 3: PLACEMATS - an exercise which will help generate discussion on the poem and synthesize key ideas you have:

• Before discussing the poem AT ALL, you will move into your "placemat" groups. 
• In your group, you will sit with a large piece of blank paper separated into sections.
• You will not discuss the poem with your group yet, but will write down your individual comments, thoughts, questions, and ideas on the poem in your section. You will write for four minutes on this, WITHOUT DISCUSSION.
• After the time is up, you will be able to share your comments with the others in your group.
• In the middle of your "PLACEMATS" there is a section to fill in. Here, you should put any major conclusions on the poem your group has come to, after sharing your thoughts. (For example:
• What ideas did members of your group agree on? 
• What seems striking and important about this poem? 
• What themes does it seem to address? 
• How does it seem to reflect the literary movement of the time? 
• How does it seem to reflect aspects of my life that you have investigated?)
• Remember: you can record thoughts and ideas using words and/or images: sometimes images help us to clarify our ideas better than words...
• When you have done this a spokesperson from each group will explain the group's findings of the poem (the centre of your placemats).

Groups:

Shelley´s Nightmares

Francisco
Josefina
Isabel
Jazmin
Carola

Byron's Broads
Valentino
Joaquin
Milagros
Ana

Coleridge's Coven
Rocio
Sofia
Thomas
Florencia

The John Keats Treasure Hunt

What?
In your first double lesson, you will all go on a virtual "treasure hunt" to find precious nuggets of information about 

• John Keats
• the context in which he writes
• his poetry
• EXT: how he fits into the IB Literature course

How?
1) You will work in pairs, using your own research skills to search for the required data on this marvel of modern information technology, the internet, as well as making a few trips downstairs to the library. (Hint: you will be able to find much of the info by using the "useful websites" on this blog!) 

2) You will then collate the information in a suitable way, perhaps using a word document to make notes as you go along.

3) Individually, you will have to post all the material on your very own John Keats blog, having created the blog using www.blogger.com, following the instructions on that website.

When?
You will have all of this  lesson AND Friday's lesson to hunt for the treasure!

You will need to submit your finished treasure hunt on your own John Keats blog (having set up the blog using blogger.com by 9.30am, Tuesday 8th April).



Let The Treasure Hunt begin...
 (Note: Each section should be a new blog post in your blog!)


SECTION 1 - BIOGRAPHY

1) Find a suitable picture of me  to upload to your blog post. (Try to pick a flattering one, ok?)


2) Create a brief timeline of my life, including

•  birthdate, 
• important events in my life, 
• when I wrote famous poems, 
• a quote from me when I became ill.
• deathdate, 

At least eight different brief entries in your timeline!



3) Find a suitable picture of my sweet girl Fanny Brawne.
Give a brief explanation (no more than two sentences)  IN YOUR OWN WORDS as to why she was important in my life.

4) Find a letter that I wrote to Fanny Brawne in which I declare my love for her from a book of my letters downstairs in the library. 

• Take a picture of the letter. 
• Quote underneath or highlight in some way THE SENTENCE WHICH DECLARES MY LOVE.

5) Find the letter in a book in the library I wrote  to Charles Brown on  30th November, 1820. 

• Take a photo of the first page. 
• Underneath the photo, explain in two sentences who Charles Brown is/my relationship with him.
•  Also, quote the final THREE SENTENCES of the letter (before "God bless you!) 
• Try not to cry... 

SECTION 2 - CONTEXT

1) Find an image on the web which in some way (symbolically or literally) represents the Romantic Period. 

• Save the image
• Explain how it does.
• Give rough dates (in years) for the beginning and end of the Romantic period in English literature. 

2) Find ONE HISTORICAL EVENT (clue: allez!) that had a major impact in shaping the Romantic era.

•  Explain briefly what it is and how it did this. 
• Find a picture that in some way depicts this event. 
• Label it.

3) Provide brief diagram or bullet points outlining some of the key characteristics of Romanticism. You may find this useful. Or this.


4) Find a painter from my time known for his/her associations with Romanticism. 

• Find a painting of theirs in a book in the library (hint: look in The History of Art section). 
• Take a photo of it. 
• Label it with painter, title, date of production
• Then try to recreate a "living" version of it here or at home (you may need friends or family to act as models).  Take a photo of your living painting and post it next to the original picture.

5) Find a pictures of a rival of mine: Lord Byron. 

• Save it.
• Label it.
• Can you explain in two or three sentences IN YOUR OWN WORDS why we disliked each other??

SECTION 3 - POEMS

1) Give a brief, bullet-pointed explanation of what an Ode (in poetry) is.
List all the Odes I wrote, including the first line for each one, and the date (roughly) they were written. 

2) Select four themes I deal with a lot in my poetry that you find interesting. 

• List the themes.
• Find at least two poems of mine that include each theme. 
• (You could include a quotation from each poem that seems to allude to the theme).

3) I take great pride in my synaesthetic images. 

• Can you briefly explain IN YOUR OWN WORDS what these are? 
• What function(s) do they perform in my poems?
• Give the example from the link on Isabella, explaining the sensory images it combines.

4) What is a poetic ballad? 

• Give a brief definition IN YOUR OWN WORDS.
• Find my ballad entitled La Belle Dame Sans Merci.
• Perform a dramatic reading of it.
• Record the audio.
• Upload the audio file to your blog! 
• (If you have time, you could make it a video recording instead.)
• Find a suitable image to go with the reading.