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Scalar Milton

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

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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)
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Edmund Spenser    Pastoral    Wherein I longd the neighbour towne to see:    A thousand sithes I curse that carefull hower,    Yet for thou pleasest not, where most I would:    And of my rurall musick holdeth scorne.    As on your boughes the ysicles depend.    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,    And eke tenne thousand sithes I blesse the stoure,    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:    Wherein I sawe so fayre a sight, as shee.    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.    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,    Ah foolish Hobbinol, thy gyfts bene vayne:    Thy mantle mard, wherein thou mas-kedst late.    And am forlorne, (alas why am I lorne?)    With breathed sighes is blowne away, & blasted,    Colin them gives to Rosalind againe.    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,

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