Elizabethan 9 - Shakespeare's Sonnets 1 - Discussion - Eternal Lines
"in eternal lines to time thou grow'st."
Shakespeare's Sonnets 1 - Discussion - Eternal Lines: A VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY important lesson. I just keep adding a VERY to the description - because it's true. This lesson - when done right - can be a time for wonder and awe for the teacher and for so much of the class. Because I've decided to write detailed notes for the Power Point Slides - it's also the lesson that's taken me the longest to get on this site. I can only do so much each day - the poems - the meanings - the wonder are just so emotional that it drains me (in a very good way). In any case, this lesson has us go through four of Shakespeare's Sonnets - 18, 30, 29, and 116. For the first three of these we go through them pretty much line by line - and then Sonnet 116 is explicated through a very personal story. One of the many objects of this lesson (and class) is to show the students - not tell them - why Shakespeare is so different than those who came before and after.
Lesson Overview
If there is a quiz today - it is given after our discussion - and usually it just has a simple question (like how do you spell "sonnet"). There really is no time for anything else - but I also want to keep track of who was here for this lesson. In my class - if you missed an important discussion like this - you were required to listen to an audio recording or watch a video of the lesson. So much is built on this.
We do not go over Shakespeare's background - the students read the bio material - and that's really enough. I want students to concentrate on the work - not the author - and we know so little real information about Shakespeare (but as Rob Watson says - he knows so much about us).
For the lesson notes on today's discussion - see the Power Point (or PDF of the presentation) below. There are notes for each slide and they go into some detail on how I approached the four sonnets covered in today's class. I won't repeat that information here - but will instead give a broad outline of what happens during the lesson.
Students should have copies of the four sonnets with lots of room to take notes (that handout can be found below as well). Instruct students to keep the sonnet covered except for what appears on the screen. That way they won't be overwhelmed by the poem - this really does help - and it helps them focus on that particular part as well.
If you have time - when you begin each of the first three sonnets - ask for a student to read the entire sonnet. Tell the students they should jot down anything about that sonnet as it is being read (that helps keep students focused and paying attention to the reader). After it is read - make sure they are keeping it mostly covered (depending on where you are in the presentation). The fourth sonnet (see the presentation notes) will be read first by the teacher.
So for those first three sonnets: 18, 30, 29, (and it's important to do them in this order too!), you will go over a line or two at a time. Always asking questions - and hearing the students answers. While there are many possible answers - you want to make sure you validate everyone - there is also a certain direction you want to go in (see the presentation notes for more). Make sure the students are covering their poems with notes. Remind them to if they're not.
For the final sonnet, 116 - I tell the students the story of me reading it at my wedding at some 40 years ago. You should find your own story - and perhaps a different Shakespeare Sonnet attached to your own story - so that you can make it your own. After my story, I go through the poem - line by line - explicating what I believe it to mean. This makes sense here - for time and because of the personal attachment of the poem.
If you do this right - the students will see for themselves how Shakespeare is different. Not because of who he is or because they've been told that he is - but because of the impact of his words.
Finally - there is the barest of lesson notes - but the notes on the Power Point are the definitive source of how I conducted this Lesson.
Power Point & Detailed Lesson Instructions
This is the Power Point that you would use in class - along with the Power Point are very detailed Speaker Notes that really lay out the lesson (if you choose to go that way). You can turn them on within Power Point - and off when you show the presentation to your students.
This version of the Power Point is mainly supplied to give you instructions - if you don't have Power Point. You can always view the above Power Point as a Google Slides Presentation (though I'm not sure how well it would preserve the Speaker Notes). In that case, this is a PDF of the Slide Show along with annotations (that can be turned on or off) that give the same detailed instructions for the lesson.
The Poems with Notes & Lesson Instructions
This version of the text book reading has my notes - both my general notes and some instructions for the lesson. A much more complete set of instructions for today's lesson can be found directly above (in the Power Point speaker notes) and the Lesson description above that. Also note - this contains more sonnets then will be covered in today's lesson - with the rest of them being done in the next lesson's Group Work.
Handouts - The Sonnets
Four Sonnets by Shakespeare Docx PDF
You want your students to put their textbook versions of the poems away (with all of the footnotes and annotations) and take out these versions of the two poems - they have plenty of room for notes - and NO footnotes to give the critical thinking away.
Sonnet (EASY) Quiz Docx PDF
Not a real quiz - just something to help keep track of who was here for this Lesson (it's that important). Students that weren't there would be able to listen to the recording and get full credit after taking an oral quiz and showing me their notes.
Remote Enhancements
This can all be done remotely of course - The Power Point included makes doing this remotely as effective (I really believe this) as in person.
The greatest book ever written on Shakespeare's Sonnets. So much of what I know comes from this book - so much of how I teach comes from Stephen Booth.
Sonnets18_30_29_116_ClassAudio.m4aClass Recordings
Audio - an audio recording of this class
Shakespeare's Sonnets Group Work - Nothing Like the Sun: In this group work, they will use three very techniques for analyzing a literary work (in this case, sonnets). The first method is to answer very pointed (typical group work style) questions about the sonnet that leads them to an answer. The second method uses much more general areas of questioning - "who is speaking? What are the questions and resolution of the sonnet, etc. The third method has them replicate what we've been doing in class (for Raleigh and Shakespeare): covering all but one line at a time - reading that line aloud - and asking their own specific and general questions, and then moving on to the next line. Finally, the group work asks them which method they prefer and why.
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
Thoughts on the Lesson
There are some classes that take a lot out of a teacher. This is one. There is so much here to convey - and, of course, the personal story - I try to be so spare with these. Maybe four for the entire year. I believe by using my own life so rarely - when I do - it gives that story that much more impact.