I'm sooooooooooooo sad that so many of you were away today but I understand the reasons. I hope it was worth it. We all pretty much decided that we like Bryon best of all so far. Read and take notes on Bryon and ask me for the handout I shared today on the Bryonic and Romantic hero.
Next, we read and discussed and took notes on Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, the chapter called, "Apostrophe to the Ocean" by Lord Bryon.
We worked in groups after our discussion to create a dynamic TICK chart. Ask someone such as Jeffrey or Natrine or Anders etc who take great notes so that you have them all.
Once you have the notes, create a thesis statement on the poem's theme.
Mine is: In the poem, "Apostrophe to the Ocean" by Lord Byron, the omnipotent, unchanging ocean is a humble reminder to mankind that through pride and destruction our relationship to God is ruined: God becomes only the punisher of our sins instead of a natural support to man's imagination and inspiring humanity: God and ocean are a "pleasing fear".
You can always read interpretations of these poems on line but never use them to replace your own interpretation of the work.
The TICK chart method is fullproof.
HOMEWORK: To get into class tomorrow morning, you must show me the notes that you have written on our next poet, Percy Shelley. 542-543
Shelley believed in the power of poetry to change human beings and ultimately the political structures of the day. He called poets the "unacknowledged legislators of the world". He was a vegatarian, read Hindu texts, Ghandi quoted Shelley, and he was an atheist.
Beauty to Shelley was to a degree a repudiation of all that was fixed and placid. He loved contantly flowing energy. He travelled a lot so he saw avalanches, wind near Florence, Italy, which excited his imagination in a way that the placid English countryside could not.
His verses have been described as the most melodic and skillful in the English language.
He is unique as a member of the Romantic period because he is looking for a better world of liberty. Especially moral liberty. Felt constrained by conventional morality.
He fought against oppression and injustice.
Read his bio.
Bonus Marks:
Create a phrase to typify the works of the poets below:
Robert Burns
William Blake
William Wordsworth
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Lord Byron
Percy Bysshe Shelley (believed poetry could change the world by changing the herarts and minds of its readers)
