AP Lit & Comp 2/9 ‘16

1. Look at poetry prompt from last class / review thesis statements and outlines.

2. Poetry essay tips 3. Lead the discussion – second half of “Judges” 4. For next class…

Poetry prompt Read the following sonnet carefully. Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze the techniques the poet uses to develop the dramatic situation in the poem. Comment on the title, tone, figurative language, rhythm, or any other appropriate poetic elements. THINGS I MUST REMEMBER: 1. My essay needs to—above all else—speak to the poem’s overall

meaning. 2. I must make sure I address all parts of the prompt. 3. I may discuss HOW this meaning is created using any poetic

elements I see fit. 4. I MUST speak directly to the dramatic situation the poet creates.

Since there’s no help, come let us kiss and part.

Nay, I have done, you get no more of me;

And I am glad, yea glad with all my heart,

That thus so cleanly I myself can free.

Shake hands for ever, cancel all our vows,

And when we meet at any time again,

Be it not seen in either of our brows

That we one jot of former love retain.

Now at the last gasp of Love’s latest breath,

When, his pulse failing, Passion speechless lies;

When Faith is kneeling by his bed of death,

And Innocence is closing up his eyes—

Now, if thou wouldst, when all have given him over,

From death to life thou might’st him yet recover!

WHAT SHOULD I DO FIRST? 1. Figure out what the poem means, what it’s saying. The poem seems to be about (a guy?) who changes his mind about ending his love affair. 2. THEN, ask myself, “what message does the author have for the reader? Maybe that when it comes to love, nothing is ever final (human hearts are bound to change) 3. HOW does he deliver that message in this poem? In other words, what poetic elements does he use to convey his meaning?

• I see some changes in diction

• some variance in tone • and some elaborate

personification in the last stanza

Remember: with your essay responses, it is ALWAYS a good idea to focus on changes (in perspective, events, attitude) and/or conflict.

In Michael Drayton’s sonnet “Since there’s no help, come let us kiss and part,” the speaker vacillates from firmly asserting the end of his love affair to fancying that his beloved will save the relationship. Drayton illustrates this transformation with changing diction, variance in tone, and fanciful personification, aptly demonstrating that when it comes to love, one’s mind and heart can, and may very well, always change.

My thesis could read something like this…

Here’s one thesis and plan you came up with

■In the sonnet by Michael Drayton, Drayton uses personification of emotions, a shift in tone from mourning to gradual acceptance, and several examples of character insight, in order to reveal the dramatic change the narrator undergoes throughout the poem. ■PLAN ■Personifying emotions □ love’s latest breath □ passion speechless lie □ faith kneeling ■

Shift in tone I to we to his couplet changing in tone mournfully happy to completely accepting (compare first line to last)

Character insight cancel all our vows last line be it not seen in either of our brows

And another…

■In this poem from Michael Drayton, Drayton uses personification of abstract ideas, includes tangible examples of lost-love actions and conditions, and chooses a certain title/first line to develop the culmination of the speaker’s regrets. Love, passion, faith,

innocence – personified

to mirror the ex-lover

Kiss and part, shake

hands forever, cancel

vows, not seen in brows,

pulse failing—repetition,

imagery

Reveals story before the

poem, mirrors two

interpretations of death

and divorce, links them

And another…

■The combination of simple, rhythmic diction, profound imagery, and a hopeful yet relieving (relieved) tone in the sonnet, “Since there’s no help, come let us kiss and part,” by Michael Drayton illustrates the dramatic departure between two lovers.

The simple, rhythmic

diction

-”Nay”

-“I am glad”

“last gasp”

Profound imagery

“the last gaps of Love’s

latest breath:

“Passion speechless lies

“Faith is kneeling by his

bed of death”

“Innocence is closing up

his eyes”

Hopeful yet relieved tone

the second quatrain

the couplet

CONCLUSION: meaning of the poem

overall

Last one…

■The narrator both rejoices and laments in the loss of his wife/lover. He states he is glad with all his heart to be free but privately wishes for her to rekindle any passion she once had for him, to not let the fiery love they once shared die out yet.

The meaning of the title

-lines 1 & 2

His feelings (happy)

-first half of the poem The shift at the end (sad)

-lines 9-14

All the thesis statements were written well.

HOWEVER, you MUST speak to the what the poem is trying to say through the dramatic situation – must mention this, while showing HOW the dramatic situation is created.

Read the Poetry Essay Prompts Overview handout from Pearson that I’m giving you. You should also read the Barron’s guide to “What You Need to Know About Poetry” You will need to have read all of Book Four “Bel and the Serpent” by next Weds 2/17.

Before next class…

Leading the DISCUSSION Hana and Brad, take it away!