Study Guide on Poetry and Narrative Media
Beginning Poetry
Verse as Media
Core Concepts: Narrative, Medium, Media
Understanding the class theme: "Narrative Across Media"
Essential questions posed for further exploration:
How do we define the term narrative?
What is the definition of media?
What distinguishes media from medium?
Clarifying Our Terms: Medium
Definition of Medium:
The physical material through which any information is shared.
Clarifying Our Terms: Medium
Singular vs. Plural:
Medium refers to singular, while media is the plural form.
Examples of mediums:
Holding a book: the medium is paper and ink.
Watching a film: the medium is light and sound projected at 24 frames per second.
Clarifying Our Terms: Medium
Impact of Medium on Narrative:
Every medium imposes specific restraints or limits on a story.
Each medium provides unique narrative affordances or possibilities.
Clarifying Our Terms: Medium
Conveyance of Interiority in Different Mediums:
Textual Media (i.e., books, written works):
Excels at conveying a character's interiority (inner thoughts).
Example: “he felt cold dread wash over him.”
Film Media (i.e., movies, TV shows, TikTok shorts):
Excels at conveying exteriority (visible expressions).
Requires directors to show feelings through visual cues:
Close-ups of gestures (e.g., trembling hand, darting eyes).
Specific lighting choices, etc.
Clarifying Our Terms: Media
Definition of Media:
Plural form of medium; also refers to broader cultural institutions and categories that group narrative forms.
Clarifying Our Terms: Media
Key Distinction between Medium and Media:
Medium refers to the materials (e.g., ink/paper, audio waves).
Media indicates broad categories of forms (e.g., “Graphic Novels,” “Podcasts,” “Film,” etc.).
Clarifying Our Terms: Narrative
Definition of Narrative:
The spoken, written, pictorial, etc., representations of connected events.
Essentially, it is a story or the practice/art of telling stories.
Clarifying Our Terms: What Isn't a Narrative?
Example of Non-Narratives:
Grocery List:
Lacks causality; items are listed without connections indicating causation.
Recipe:
Closer to narrative due to sequence but lacks key elements (e.g., protagonist, conflict).
Poem (Browning’s "My Last Duchess"):
Uses verse to reveal sequence (e.g., a marriage) from a character’s perspective.
Narrative Media
Definition:
Term that refers to various (often wildly different) methods of storytelling.
Narratives can be either non-fictional (true) or fictional (imagined).
Narrative Media
Function of Narrative Media:
Allow audiences to follow stories through cohesive, chronological accounts of characters, plots, settings, etc.
Common Examples:
Literature, films, television shows, video games, oral narratives, songs, certain visual arts (like comics).
Our Class’s Guiding Hypothesis: Media Matters
Key Assertions:
The medium influences what can be told, how it is told, why it is told, and to whom it is told.
Unique characteristics of each medium affect story presentation and reception, shaping our understanding of the narrative.
Is Poetry a Narrative Medium?
Question posed: Is poetry a good narrative medium?
Poetry as a Narrative Medium
Argument:
Poetry is an excellent narrative medium that hones analytical (close reading) skills.
Requires readers to consider how form contributes to content interpretation.
Engaging with Poetry: Personal Experience
Inviting reflection:
Have you enjoyed or disliked studying poetry? Explore reasons.
Analyzing a Poem
Aim of Good Analysis:
Explain how a poem’s form and voice interact to create meaning.
Formula: Form + Voice = Meaning.
Questions Regarding Poem's Form
Key Questions to Consider:
What type of poem is this (sonnet, epic, free verse, etc.), and how do you know?
Does it have a rhyme scheme? Meter? Rhythm?
What are the poem's features? (line breaks, spacing, punctuation, capitalization, font, etc.)
How does its form reinforce or contest themes, images, motifs?
Sonnets
Prompts for Reflection:
What impressions, ideas, and associations do you hold regarding the sonnet form?
Sonnet: Form
Characteristics:
Popular classical form, though rare in contemporary poetry.
Consists of 14 lines, written in iambic pentameter (10 syllables, alternating stressed/unstressed).
Follows a rigid rhyme scheme addressing one major theme.
Etymology:
Name derived from the Italian "sonetto" meaning “a little sound or song.”
How to Identify a Sonnet: The Basics
Identification Criteria:
Does each of the 14 lines contain 10 syllables?
Is emphasis properly placed within iambs: unstressed (shorter, less emphasis) on the first syllable, stressed (longer, louder) on the second?
IMPORTANT: Types of Sonnets
Two Types:
Petrarchan Sonnet:
Divided into an octave (first eight lines presenting a problem) and a sestet (final six lines providing a solution).
Rhyme scheme: abba, abba, cdecde or cdcdcd.
Shakespearian Sonnet:
Composed of three quatrains (four lines each) and a couplet (two lines).
Rhyme scheme: abab, cdcd, efef, gg.
Concluding couplet typically offers a conclusion, amplification, or refutation, often producing an epiphanic quality.
“Sonnet 18”: Rhymes
Text of Sonnet 18 with associated rhyme scheme for study:
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
“Sonnet 18” Rhyme Scheme
Breakdown of Rhyme Scheme:
The rhyme scheme for Sonnet 18 is ababcdcdefefgg.
“Sonnet 18”: Three Quatrains and a Couplet
Structure Analysis of Sonnet 18:
Revealing the arrangement into three quatrains and a final couplet marker.
How Sonnets Make Meaning: The Volta
Concept of the Volta:
Occurs in concluding lines, marking a shift in thought or argument.
"Volta" means "turn" in Italian.
In Petrarchan sonnets:
The first eight lines state a problem, while the final six offer solutions.
In Shakespearian sonnets:
The final couplet confirms or contradicts the earlier ideas, often leading to a revelation.
The Volta
Significance of the Volta:
Marks a change of thought or argument; may evoke a larger revelation.
Often indicated by words such as “but,” “yet,” or “however.”
While central in sonnet forms, other poems may also employ this technique.
Pro Tip for Analysis
When tasked with analyzing a sonnet, ensure your analysis identifies and explains the volta.
Analyzing Sonnet Content and Meaning
Analyze lines from "Sonnet 18," noting the speaker's intent and underlying themes pertaining to love and lasting beauty.
An Uncompelling Analysis of “Sonnet 18”
Overview of the poem focusing on its surface meaning about love and beauty.
A Stronger Analysis of “Sonnet 18”
Thematic exploration:
The poem compares the beloved to a summer’s day but ultimately argues for the permanence of poetry over nature’s transience.
Discusses the significance of poetic and temporal imagery in affirming the beloved's eternal beauty.
A Stronger Analysis of “Sonnet 18” Continued
Continuation of the thematic breakdown highlighting revelation within concluding quatrains emphasizing the act of preserving beauty through poetry.
Provocative Questions
Durability of media: is poetry more durable than digital files/photos?
What influences the durability of a medium?
Reflection on personal media used to preserve life stories.
“Sonnet 130”: What is this poem saying?
Textual analysis of lines from “Sonnet 130” featuring critical descriptions and the speaker’s contrasting portrayal of reality versus idealization.
Sonnet 130’s Rhyme Scheme and Meter
Exploration of the poem's vocal rhythm: written in iambic pentameter with a concise breakdown of the rhyme scheme.
Analyzing Sonnet 130: The Volta
Identifying the moment the poem shifts in tone and perspective, examining the insights this brings to the reader about real versus ideal love.
Analyze the Volta in “Sonnet 130”
Reflecting on the implications of the volta in contradicting traditional love poetry to highlight authenticity and realism in love relationships.
William Shakespeare: Formal Rebellion
Traditional sonnet conventions vs. Shakespeare’s subversion within “Sonnet 130.”
Poetic Parody
Examination of idealization versus realism in sonnet portrayals, focusing on how Shakespeare critiques romantic norms through parody.
Aspects of Poetic Parody
The juxtaposition of ideal attributes against the reality of the speaker’s mistress, redefining love and perception.
An Uncompelling Analysis of “Sonnet 130”
Brief reflection on love expressed through idealized views versus realistic representations.
A Stronger Analysis of “Sonnet 130”
Critical examination of hyper-idealized portrayals in poetry and the implications of recognizing real, human love.
Reflection Questions for Engagement
Comparative scenario on modern perceptions of love imagery against Shakespeare’s narratives, specifically regarding social media influence on standards of beauty.
From Form to Voice
Transitioning to communication methods within poetry and how distinct voices shape narrative delivery.
Questions to Analyze a Poem’s Voice
Considerations regarding speaker intentions, narrative perspective, and how diction influences the poem’s broader meaning.
Robert Barrett Browning (1812-1899)
Biographical notes outlining his prominence in the Victorian-era literary community, emphasizing his styles and contributions.
First Impressions of Browning’s “My Last Duchess” (1842)
Initial responses and critical observations regarding language, speaker persona, and imagery within the poem.
Analyzing Language in “My Last Duchess”
Exploration of the poem’s use of language, diction patterns, and their implications for narrative understanding.
Dramatic Monologue Explanation
Definition and characteristics of a dramatic monologue as exhibited in Browning’s work, focusing on character voice.
Character Perspective Analysis
Identification of how Browning's speaker veers from the poet’s voice, creating a vivid and isolated narrative.
Ekphrastic Poetry
Definition and significance of ekphrastic works, elaborating on how they extend meaning through vivid imaginative descriptions.
Contextualizing “My Last Duchess”
Exploration of historical context surrounding the painting and its real-life figure to deepen the reader’s understanding of Browning’s narrative.
Analysis of Perspective in “My Last Duchess”
The implications of using a first-person limited perspective highlighting the unreliability of the Duke as a narrator.
Distrust in the Narrative Voice
Laying out evidence within the poem that questions the reliability of the Duke’s account and motivations.
Concept of Dramatic Dialogue
How dialogue between characters shapes the delivery of ideas, ethics, and their respective narratives in Browning’s work.
Form vs. Theme in Power Dynamics
The contrasts developed through dialogue shape our understanding of social hierarchies and personal agency in “The Ruined Maid.”
Themes in “The Ruined Maid”
Unpacking the layered meanings behind the word “ruined” within the context of Victorian mores, touching on moral and economic implications.
Critical Examination of Social Commentary
A critical take on Hardy’s exploration of societal double standards regarding women’s sexuality and economic stability.
Irony in “The Ruined Maid”
Defining irony and unpacking how Hardy illustrates the hypocrisy in societal norms affecting women’s lives.
The Role of Poetic Form in Argumentation
Analyzing how dramatic verse is instrumental in expressing critique against societal hypocrisy regarding morality and womanhood.
Form vs Theme: The Ruin Paradox
Contrasting the poem's polished form against its heavy subject matter to explore thematic contradictions.
Method: Close Reading
Overview of close reading methodology as a foundation for literary analysis; emphasizing the importance of textual engagement in understanding depth and nuance.