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fandomhigh2012-04-04 10:16 am
steel-not-glass.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2012-04-04 10:16 am
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Is A Cigar Just A Cigar, Wednesday, Period 3
With the end of the semester fast approaching, Cindy knew that she might have a hard time keeping her students focused on classwork today. But until the semester was completely over with, she was going to keep her students working.
"Let's start with one of the most famous poems that references seasons," she announced as soon as the bell rang. Handing out a copy so everyone to follow along, she began reciting from memory:
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate;
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd."
Papers handed out, she went back to leaning against her desk. "Before we begin the lecture proper, I want you to take a few moments and think about that he's saying in the poem, not just in the lines I recited, but in the entire thing. Figure out what you think the poem means and then I want you to think of why he chose that particular comparison to make. Why a summer day, and not roses or jewels or something else."
Once it seemed like everyone had finished writing, she continued. "So, the four seasons are packed with all sorts of symbolism, much of it similar the whole world round. Our ancestors were tied to the land in a way we've largely moved away from, but the associations they created remain with us still. Spring often symbolizes youth, new beginnings, waking up, renewal, rain and all that it symbolizes, and resurrection. In spring, the world comes to life again. Summer is the easy season. It's early adulthood, when anything is possible--you are no longer held back by youth and not yet held back by growing older. It's sexual and romantic beginnings; though spring is when the land becomes fertile, summer is when we see things begin to truly ripen. It's the season of passion, creativity, and fulfillment. Autumn is middle age; it's wisdom and knowledge, balanced by tiredness and the beginning of the decline. The world is readying itself for winter, so things fade and begin to go back to sleep. But it's also the season of the harvest, of fruitfulness. It's the twilight of life, when things are quiet, easy, and contemplative. Then there is winter. The earth is sleeping now, usually covered in ice and snow where nothing can grow. That is the season of old age, of mourning, bitterness, and resentment. Winter is the season of death, and through that death, we get rebirth, moving back again to springtime."
She'd say something about the cyclical nature of the seasons and symbolism, but then she'd have that damn lion song stuck in her head for days. The students were smart, they could notice it without her, right?
"So now, let's try another round of textual analysis." She had another handout for the class. "Let's look over this one--what is the narrator saying in this poem, and what season does he mean. Feel free to work together in pairs if you'd like."
"Let's start with one of the most famous poems that references seasons," she announced as soon as the bell rang. Handing out a copy so everyone to follow along, she began reciting from memory:
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate;
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd."
Papers handed out, she went back to leaning against her desk. "Before we begin the lecture proper, I want you to take a few moments and think about that he's saying in the poem, not just in the lines I recited, but in the entire thing. Figure out what you think the poem means and then I want you to think of why he chose that particular comparison to make. Why a summer day, and not roses or jewels or something else."
Once it seemed like everyone had finished writing, she continued. "So, the four seasons are packed with all sorts of symbolism, much of it similar the whole world round. Our ancestors were tied to the land in a way we've largely moved away from, but the associations they created remain with us still. Spring often symbolizes youth, new beginnings, waking up, renewal, rain and all that it symbolizes, and resurrection. In spring, the world comes to life again. Summer is the easy season. It's early adulthood, when anything is possible--you are no longer held back by youth and not yet held back by growing older. It's sexual and romantic beginnings; though spring is when the land becomes fertile, summer is when we see things begin to truly ripen. It's the season of passion, creativity, and fulfillment. Autumn is middle age; it's wisdom and knowledge, balanced by tiredness and the beginning of the decline. The world is readying itself for winter, so things fade and begin to go back to sleep. But it's also the season of the harvest, of fruitfulness. It's the twilight of life, when things are quiet, easy, and contemplative. Then there is winter. The earth is sleeping now, usually covered in ice and snow where nothing can grow. That is the season of old age, of mourning, bitterness, and resentment. Winter is the season of death, and through that death, we get rebirth, moving back again to springtime."
She'd say something about the cyclical nature of the seasons and symbolism, but then she'd have that damn lion song stuck in her head for days. The students were smart, they could notice it without her, right?
"So now, let's try another round of textual analysis." She had another handout for the class. "Let's look over this one--what is the narrator saying in this poem, and what season does he mean. Feel free to work together in pairs if you'd like."