Greetings!
We're progressing through our syllabus and discussed some fairly "heady" topics this week. As
Discussion Questions, I asked them to choose one of the following questions and write some thoughts about it:
1. What place does art have with regards to humanity?
2. What is art?
3. What is beauty?
Many
of the poets that we have read these past two weeks have explored the
idea of the bigger picture of art. Is art static and permanent (like a
sculpture or a painting), or is it dynamic and fluid (like music or a
poem)? What role does art play in our lives? Is it important? Is
beauty defined, or is it relative. These are often questions that
students talk about in art classes or in worldview classes. Because
many poets have explored the grander ideas of art, it was important for
us to discuss them in our literature class.
This week's reading was of
Victorian Poets.
This poetry is easier to understand since many poems tell stories. We
read line by line Lord Tennyson's poem, "The Lady of Shalott." (see
Wikipedia link)
Within the context of the poem, we also discussed rhyme schemes and
rhythms and why these are important to a poem. For example, enjambment
(ending the sentences of poems mid-line instead of at the end of the
line) can cause the action of the poem to move more quickly. The
rhythm, iambic tetrameter, also creates a sense of a steady pace and
keeps our brains involved in the poetry, even if it's a bit hard to
understand. The other poem we worked through was Robert Browning's "My
Last Duchess."
Our next assigned reading is more light-hearted:
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. From this play, we get the delightful
My Fair Lady.
If students have seen this musical, they will notice that many lines
are exactly as written by Shaw. I gave them some handouts that they
should read before starting the play.
I am thoroughly
enjoying discussing these classics of literature with this group of
students. At first, I was concerned that such a small class would have a
difficult time having enough to talk about for the allotted time. So
far, we've had enough to keep us going for the whole time. They are a
bright group of students who are willing to explore these challenging
pieces of literature.
Assignment for Next Week:
-- Read the Preface and Acts I, II, and III of Pygmalion
This week's blogs
Class Notes
Information on "The Lady of Shalott"
Information on Pygmalion
Have a great week. Winter has to end some time!
Mrs. Prichard
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