Poetry Unit 2 Test

Shakespearean Sonnet also known as

The English Sonnet

Shakespearean Sonnet structure

3 quatrains(unit of 4 lines) followed by a couplet

Shakespearean Sonnet typical rhyme scheme

abab cdcd efef gg

can vary

Shakespearean Sonnet’s are usually in

iambic pentameter

What is iambic pentameter

when there’s an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed symbol = 1 iambic foot

each line has 5 iambic feet

4-4-2 structure works well for a poem that

makes a 3-step argument(quick summary or a dramatic turn at the end) or for setting up brief cummulative images

Petrarchan Sonnet also known as

the Italian Sonnet

Petrarchan Sonnet structure

8 lines known as an octave followed by 6 lines known as a sestet

Petrarchan Sonnet typical rhyme scheme

abbaabba cdecde

Petrarchan Sonnet’s work best when there’s

two points to be made, or when a general proposition can be formulated in the octave with a specific example to reinforce given in the sestet

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

Speaker

Shakespeare or someone else talking about their love for someone

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

Who is the poem addressed to

To Shakespeare’s lover or the speaker’s lover

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

Main idea of 1st quatrain

The lover or beloved is better than a summer because summer’s not perfect

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

Function of 2nd quatrain

to show summer’s imperfections

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

Figurative language in 2nd quatrain

Personification: “sometime too hot the yee of heaven shines”

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

Meaning of lines 7-8

Beauty can decline. Summer isn’t forever

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

How does the 3rd quatrain differ from the first 2

Reveals the theme and it’s a new topic while the first 2 were connected

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

Figurative language in 3rd quatrain

Metaphor. Beauty is eternal

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

What theme is clear in the 3rd quatrain(repetition)

“eternal,” immortality

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

3rd quatrain: what’re the “lines” in line 12

they are poems

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

What function does the couplet serve

makes the lover eternal as the readers bring them to life

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

Overall message

The lover is perfect and always will be

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

Note how the couplet directly

builds on the idea presented in the 3rd quatrain(immortality)

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

How does the 4-4-2 structure enhance the content of the poem

It shows harsh truths of humanity and the solution of eternal immortality

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

Most famous of Shakespeare’s sonnets

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

What makes it so successful

It beautifully denounces death with the idea of eternal love

“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”

1st, 2nd, 3rd quatrains main ideas

1st: You’re better than summer, because

2nd: Summer isn’t perfect,

3rd: But you’re perfect and always will be

“My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun”

Main idea

She’s imperfect and ordinary. Despite this, she’s rare.

“My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun”

“Belied with false compare” meaning

She’s as rare as all the women inflated by false descriptors of beauty

“My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun”

“Belied with false compare” function of Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s being self-aware and playful

Allusion

brief reference to a person, place, or thing, and the stories surrounding it

An allusion relies on

shared knowledge between the author and the reader

“Dothead”

Allusion: Reference to Chernobyl baby

\-“freak 3rd eye”

\-the speaker wishes he had said this

\-still an imperfect response(freak)

“Dothead”

1st section: lines 1-9

Why didn’t the speaker verbally respond

His mouth went dry and he was speechless

“Dothead”

2nd section: lines 10-21

Helps us to

understand why the speaker feels unable to verbalize a response

“Dothead”

Allusion: “The Greatest Hits”

\-Here are the top things about India

\-Teaching only these gives only an exotic sort of view of Indian culture

“Dothead”

What plays a critical role

High school environment

\-Speaker reaches a boiling point

“Dothead”

The boys asked the speaker questions to ____

they were _______

bug him.

casual and unbothered (direct contrast to what’s happening within the speaker)

“Dothead”

3rd section: lines 22-end

What occurs

Emotional, drastic response

“Dothead”

Allusion: Red planet

Mars - Greek God of Aries(God of war)

\-speaker gearing up for a fight(entering house of war)

“Dothead”

Why should the speaker not say anything

He doesn’t need to, action says it all

“Dothead”

Allusion: Nataraja

Description

Hindu god of destruction(Shiva)

\-”Lord of the dance”

\-Depictions show Nataraja dancing on a small human who symbolizes human ignorances

\-Said to dance at the end of time

\-Has a creation dance

“Dothead”

Allusion: Nataraja

Analysis

\-Concludes with this allusion because it’s so powerful

\-More effective route than the calm explanation

\-Claiming identity

“Dothead”

Allusion: Nataraja

Claiming identity

\-others mocked his identity and his mother’s

\-speaker reclaims his identity with no shame

“Dothead”

Title

\-Slur

\-Author is reclaiming power over it

“Because I could not stop for death”

Point of view

1st person speaker

“Because I could not stop for death”

speaker

contents of poem are very personal

\-fixation/reflection on death

“Because I could not stop for death”

First line

“could not”

\-physically unable

“Because I could not stop for death”

reasons why she couldn’t stop

\-business of life

\-human nature

\-we’re programmed in life to not wait for death

“Because I could not stop for death”

Second line fig. lang

Personification of Death

\-”He”

“Because I could not stop for death”

How does this version of death differ from most versions as a personified being

less intimidating

\-”kindly” stopping for the speaker

\-the encounter is cordial and courteous

\-death has many options, but he stopped for the speaker

“Because I could not stop for death”

The Carriage

The speaker, Death, and Immortality

\-Immortality=positive connotation of unending life

“Because I could not stop for death”

“We slowly drove, he knew no haste”

\-Challenges preconceived notions about death again

\-Pleasant, uneventful carriage ride

* Not slow to be agonizing, slow because there’s no hurry

“Because I could not stop for death”

“I had put away my labor and leisure to”

\-Speaker set aside things of life and responsibilities

\-Work and play no longer matter

\-This is about the process of entering some kind of afterlife

“Because I could not stop for death”

“For his civility”

Speaker is being polite to Death

“Because I could not stop for death”

Third stanza symbolism

Chronological stages of one’s life

“Because I could not stop for death”

Third stanza alliteration

Recess/ring, gazing grain, setting sun

“Because I could not stop for death”

Third stanza repetition

"we passed”

\-speaker is no longer in her childhood and adulthood

“Because I could not stop for death”

Fourth stanza “he passed us

\-the sun passes them

\-messes with our conception of time

\-suggests that time may function differently in afterlife

“Because I could not stop for death”

Fourth stanza “quivering and chill”

Dress unsatisfactory, thin gown

\-keeps a coldness about death

\-prevents death from seeming warm/fuzzy

\-death may stop kindly, but it’s still death who stops

* speaker isn’t in control, death is

“Because I could not stop for death”

Fifth stanza - symbolic house

\-majority of the house is underground

\-it’s the speaker’s gravesite

\-house is not intimidating, but being below the ground is cold

cornice

upper molding around a room/building

“Because I could not stop for death”

Sixth stanza - primary emphasis

\-drastic difference between the passage of time while one is alive and after they are dead

“Because I could not stop for death”

sixth stanza - “horse’s heads pointing toward eternity”

They’re taking me to the afterlife

“Because I could not stop for death”

Message

Lasting nature in which time might function differently in the afterlife

\-there is an afterlife of some kind. it’s eternal

\-not agonizing. centuries can just feel like a day

\-this is one possibility for the nature of the afterlife

“Because I could not stop for death”

The poem is meant to

comfort to an extent

\-meant to still be ambiguous

\-Dickinson is reflecting on what death could possibly be

\-Turns common perceptions of death on it’s head

“Because I could not stop for death”

This poem has stood the test of time because

\-Deals with a universal concept: death

\-Not hard to. we’ve all thought about/been affected by death

“Because I could not stop for death”

Use of capitalization

\-Meant to emphasize important things

\-can be seen as overused

\-trademark of Dickinson’s poetry

Trademarks of Dickinson’s poetry

capitalization and emdash

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

Title

No official title

Holy Sonnet 14

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

Why was it a revolutionary shift from what a sonnet had been

\-Sonnets were typically love poems

\-Shifted from a traditional love poem to a speaker referring to their relationship with God. it creates an interesting dynamic

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

Rhyme scheme

abba abba cdcd ee

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

utilizes

Iambic pentameter

\-certain syllables are stressed

\-creates rhythm

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

Iambic pentameter

\-Donne inverts the iambic foot

\-makes it more aggressive

\-It’s a different sonnet

\-You have a sense of urgency

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

Fig lang lines 1-2,3-4

Enjambment

\-only lines that don’t end with punctuation

\-keeps you moving fluidly

\-speeds up the pace of the poem to reflect the speaker’s sense of urgency

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

Line 2

Actions that God has been doing

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

Line 4

Actions they want God to do

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

“Knocking,” etc.

\-Gentle

\-”God’s being too gentle”

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

Force, break, etc.

\-Force and aggression that God isn’t showing

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

Imagery

Batter, knocking, bend your force

\-breaking down a gate; bash into the gate

\-through that something will be created

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

First few lines

Speaker is dissatisfied and tells God what he needs to do

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

Alliteration

Lines 1-4: bend, break, blow, burn

\-repetitive force like a battering ram

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

Lines 5 and 6

Usurped: taken over without any right. taken something with force

\-a town due to another God but taken over by Satan

\-Laboring to admit you: trying to let God in but it’s not working

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

Lines 7-8

\-Speaker reflecting on their own faults

\-Reason should dictate my decisions, but my reason is capitve and not doing what it’s supposed to

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

Line 9-end

\-Yet

\-Last 6 lines are much more personal than before

\-No mention of love until now

\-Speaker wants to be loved back

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

“Betrothed to enemy”

\-Engaged to Satan

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

“Divorce me” from Satan

more commands

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

Last several lines

Paradox: two contradictory things presented as similar

\-break the knot, imprison me, except you enthrall(enslave) me

\-speaker is set free through imprisonment from God

Paradox

two contradictory things presented as similar

“Batter my heart, three-personed God”

“Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me”

\-chaste vs. ravish

\-impactful and problematic

\-speaker’s desire to be closer to God and is incapable of doing so alone

* acknowledgment of weakness, God has the power

“Dover Beach”

Line 1-6 mood

calm, chill, neutral, positive

“calm night,” “fair,” “tranquil”

“Dover Beach”

What is established in lines 1-6

\-concrete setting

\-tranquil beginning

“Dover Beach”

What is the only line that suggests the mood will shift

“gleams and is gone”

“Dover Beach”

Lines 7-14 auditory imagery

\-emphasizes hearing and noise

\-musical allusions

\-these aren’t positive descriptions

“Dover Beach”

Lines 7-14 personification

“grating roar”

“Dover Beach”

Lines 7-14 imagery

“moon-blanched land”

“Dover Beach”

Lines 7-14 “begin and cease,” “draw back and fling”

mimicking and ocean and how it flows

“Dover Beach”

Lines 7-14 mood shift

no longer tranquil

\-changed perspective

“Dover Beach”

Lines 15-20 Sophocles

\-sophocles known for writing tragedies(Antigone)

\-He talked about eternal sadness

“Dover Beach”

Lines 15-20

waves flow continuously, so does

human misery and eternal sadness

\-Aegean is a body of water