Sign in or register
for additional privileges

Scalar Milton

Evan Thomas, Milton Group8, Milton Group7, Milton Group6, Milton Group5, Milton Group4, Milton Group3, Milton Group2, Milton Group1, Milton Group9, Authors

You appear to be using an older verion of Internet Explorer. For the best experience please upgrade your IE version or switch to a another web browser.

Teaching notes, 10 Sept. 2014

This day was based primarily around one activity: annotating the January aeclogue from the Shepheardes Calender with the aid of the Oxford English Dictionary.

To introduce that, we started off by writing for 2 minutes about our challenges reading Spenser. The students had trouble with:
  1. Vocabulary
  2. Syntax
  3. Perspective
  4. Historical Context
  5. Purpose
I organized this list with a Venn diagram of "TEXT" (1-3) and "CONTEXT" (3-5). From this, we launched into the markup activity.

I started the markup activity by introducing the class to two resources: Early English Books Online and the Oxford English Dictionary. I used the "most cited authors" feature to highlight the number of times the OED consulted Spenser for original usages in the Shepheardes Calender.

After introducing the class to EEBO and the OED, I handed out an assignment sheet with a stanza for each number group. This was the plan on the assignment sheet:

"TEXT"
  1. Check transcription (EEBO)
  2. Mark up unfamiliar words (OED)
  3. Find the verb
  4. Restructure the sentence
  5. Paraphrase the argument
"CONTEXT"
  1. Who is the speaker?
  2. What is the purpose?
  3. How does a woman's authority influence interpretation?
Then we spent the bulk of class marking up stanzas from the January Aeclogue. I've transcribed some groups' annotations on this page. We reviewed as a class.

Unfortunately, this first activity took so much time that we didn't get to the "CONTEXT" section. I want to introduce students to contextual reading strategies--primarily Marxist and Feminist strategies--but I also don't want to shoehorn in a lecture.

So I concluded class with an "exit ticket," as I discussed in the last set of notes. I asked the class to write two or three sentences on what a poet can do when his/her society is corrupt.

When I returned to my office, I organized the students' responses into four general categories. What is the poet's recourse? 
  • satire (most popular)
  • call to rebellion (second-most popular)
  • allegory (second-least popular)
  • dystopia / jeremiad (least popular)
Comment on this page
  • Local Discussion
    •
  • Popout
    •
 

Discussion of "Teaching notes, 10 Sept. 2014"

Add your voice to this discussion.

Checking your signed in status ...

Edmund Spenser    Pastoral    A thousand sithes I curse that carefull hower,    Wherein I longd the neighbour towne to see:    Wherein I sawe so fayre a sight, as shee.    Art made a myrrhour, to behold my plight:    Both pype and Muse, shall sore the while abye.    And laughes the songes, that Colin Clout doth make.    Albee my loue he seeke with dayly suit:    Yet all for naught: [such] sight hath bred my bane.    Whilome thy fresh spring flowrd, and after hasted    So broke his oaten pype, and downe dyd lye.    All so my lustfull leafe is drye and sere    His clownish gifts and curtsies I disdaine,    Ah God, that loue should breede both ioy and payne.    Thy sommer prowde with Daffadillies dight.    My musing mynd, yet canst not, when thou should:    My timely buds with wayling all are wasted:    His kiddes, his cracknelles, and his early fruit.    Ah foolish Hobbinol, thy gyfts bene vayne:    And now is come thy wynters stormy state,    I loue thilke lasse, (alas why doe I loue?)    The blossome, which my braunch of youth did beare,    Colin them gives to Rosalind againe.    Thy mantle mard, wherein thou mas-kedst late.    And am forlorne, (alas why am I lorne?)    With breathed sighes is blowne away, & blasted,    Wherefore my pype, albee rude Pan thou please,    Shee deignes not my good will, but doth reproue,    And from mine eyes the drizling teares descend,    Yet for thou pleasest not, where most I would:    And of my rurall musick holdeth scorne.    As on your boughes the ysicles depend.    And eke tenne thousand sithes I blesse the stoure,    Thou barrein ground, whome winters wrath hath wasted,    And thou vnlucky Muse, that wontst to ease    Shepheards deuise she hateth as the snake,    It is not Hobbinol, wherefore I plaine,

Related:  Wherein I sawe so fayre a sight, as shee.,  His kiddes, his cracknelles, and his early fruit.,  Thy sommer prowde with Daffadillies dight.,  Stoure,  Shepheards deuise she hateth as the snake,,  Thou barrein ground, whome winters wrath hath wasted,,  With breathed sighes is blowne away, & blasted,,  Hobbinol,  My musing mynd, yet canst not, when thou should:,  Ah foolish Hobbinol, thy gyfts bene vayne:,  Wherefore my pype, albee rude Pan thou please,,  Art made a myrrhour, to behold my plight:,  couth,  neighbour towne,  Yet for thou pleasest not, where most I would:,  And eke tenne thousand sithes I blesse the stoure,,  Epic,  And from mine eyes the drizling teares descend,,  Sere,  Colin them gives to Rosalind againe.,  And laughes the songes, that Colin Clout doth make.,  And am forlorne, (alas why am I lorne?),  auaile,  Rosalind,  I loue thilke lasse, (alas why doe I loue?),  Yet all for naught: [such] sight hath bred my bane.,  Virgil,  Edmund Spenser,  Both pype and Muse, shall sore the while abye.,  All so my lustfull leafe is drye and sere,  overhaile,  Wherein I longd the neighbour towne to see:,  John Milton,  The Shepheardes Calender: January,  sithes,  It is not Hobbinol, wherefore I plaine,,  And of my rurall musick holdeth scorne.,  As on your boughes the ysicles depend.,  And now is come thy wynters stormy state,,  Colin clout,  Whilome thy fresh spring flowrd, and after hasted,  Thy mantle mard, wherein thou mas-kedst late.,  The blossome, which my braunch of youth did beare,,  Colins Embleme.,  Pastoral,  Albee my loue he seeke with dayly suit:,  My timely buds with wayling all are wasted:,  I loue,  His clownish gifts,  His clownish gifts and curtsies I disdaine,,  EK's gloss,  A thousand sithes I curse that carefull hower,,  So broke his oaten pype, and downe dyd lye.,  Ah God, that loue should breede both ioy and payne.,  Shee deignes not my good will, but doth reproue,,  And thou vnlucky Muse, that wontst to ease,  vnnethes