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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:    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.    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,    Yet all for naught: [such] sight hath bred my bane.    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 God, that loue should breede both ioy and payne.    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,    Yet for thou pleasest not, where most I would:    And of my rurall musick holdeth scorne.    As on your boughes the ysicles depend.

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