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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    A thousand sithes I curse that carefull hower,    Wherein I longd the neighbour towne to see:    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 God, that loue should breede both ioy and payne.    Thy sommer prowde with Daffadillies dight.    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:    And now is come thy wynters stormy state,    And am forlorne, (alas why am I lorne?)    With breathed sighes is blowne away, & blasted,    Colin them gives to Rosalind againe.    Thy mantle mard, wherein thou mas-kedst late.    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 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,    Thou barrein ground, whome winters wrath hath wasted,    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.    Art made a myrrhour, to behold my plight:    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,    Yet all for naught: [such] sight hath bred my bane.    Whilome thy fresh spring flowrd, and after hasted

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