For Friday: Culler, Chapter 6: "Narrative"

Remember, Paper #2 is due on Monday (no class on Monday). Please let me know if you have any questions or I can help you in any way with the Sonnet Drama! Don't forget to read Chapter 6 in Culler in preparation for starting Pride and Prejudice late next week! You can start now if you're a slow reader, though don't worry--it's not a very long book and we'll take it pretty slow.

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: If a narrative plot can be translated into a different form (a comic, a TV series, a movie, a play, etc.), how does each change of angle change how we experience the plot? In other words, why does telling the same story from a different character's perspective, or in a different medium, change our experience of the plot, even if the story is exactly the same (same beginning, middle, and end)?

Q2: As Culler explains, "Feminist criticism has been especially interested in the way that European and American narratives frequently posit a male reader: the reader is implicitly addressed as one who shares a masculine view" (87). What does this mean? How can a book, or a film, which will be read by potentially millions of men and women be focused on a "male" reader? What makes it so? Can you think of an example of a text that does this?

Q3: Mikhail Bakhtin, a famous Russian theorist of the novel, claims that novels are "fundamentally polyphonic (multi-voiced) or dialogic rather than monological (single-voiced)"(87). Why do you think the novel is geared to expressing multiple voices/perspectives in a way that poetry is not? Related to this, why might novels have become the bona fide form of writing, considering that narrative takes other forms and a story doesn't have to be a novel? 

Q4: Traditionally, third-person omniscient storytelling was the norm, though since the 19th century first-person has become more and more popular, until today it is usually the most dominant perspective. Why do you think this is? Why do readers generally prefer a first-person approach, particularly in more popular forms of literature (YA, romance, horror, etc.)?

Q5: Culler writes that "narratives police," suggesting that a narrative can enforce social norms as often as they contest or challenge them. How can a narrative "police" a reader or a culture? Can you think about a text that does that, and was popular largely because it did this (whether consciously or subconsciously for the reader)?

For Wednesday: Finish the Sonnets (Nos.127-154)

 There are NO questions for Wednesday's class, but try to read all or as many of the last group of sonnets as you can. We'll have an in-class writing on some aspect of these sonnets in class on Wednesday (since I'll give you questions for Ch.6 of Culler on Friday--I didn't want to give you three back-to-back days of questions!). 

In particular, you might want to be sure to read Sonnets 129, 130, 135, 144, 145, & 147, 152.  But read as many as you can! These are just particularly important/interesting ones. 

ALSO, Sonnet 145 is different than most of the Sonnets in the sequence, and many scholars consider it an example of Shakespeare's earliest work. Can you tell why? There's also a pun hidden in the poem that has to do with Shakespeare's biography (hint, hint). 

See you on Wednesday! 

For Monday: Shakespeare, The Sonnets, Nos.95-126

NOTE: We moved the Paper #2 assignment back a day, so it's due a week from Monday, and not on Friday (the 1st). So you can take the weekend to work on it! I'll remind you of this in class as well. 

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: In class on Friday, we discussed the idea that many of the sonnets are actually rough drafts, or old versions of newer sonnets, all of which appear in this collection. Do you see any poems in this sequence (95-126) that seem to be revisions of older poems? Not just variations on them, but actually a better version of an older poem? Discuss why you think so.

Q2: In David Harper's essay, "Revising Obsession in Sonnets 153 and 154," he quotes another scholar who notes that "72% of the sonnets are “entirely unmarked for gender" (120). Discuss a sonnet that could arguably have nothing to do with the story of the young man, and could easily exist on its own. What possibilities does this offer in interpreting the sonnet? 

Q3: Sonnet 126 is the last poem that seems addressed solely to the young man, since Sonnet 127 is addressed to a woman for the first time. Interestingly, it's only 12 lines long, and all sonnets have 14 lines. The expected final couplet is missing, though lines 11-12 become that final couplet prematurely. The original Quarto version of 1609 placed brackets in the final lines, as if something was missing. Why do you think he ended the sonnet early? Is this poem a fragment? Were the lines lost? Were they too scandalous to print? Or was it an artistic omission? Does the poem itself give a clue?

Q4: In many of these sonnets, the poet is acknowledging his own bad behavior, betrayal, and questionable reputation. In essence, he seems to be blaming the break-up on himself? Do you think is sincere or is it another poetic ploy to win back the young man's affection? A sonnet that convinces you one way or the other?

Finding Sources for Paper #2: The Sonnet Drama

 We'll be doing In-Class Writing #4 on Friday to help you with your Sonnet Drama paper, due very soon! So keep reading the Sonnets and look for connections/themes that tell a story you find interesting. As I suggested in class, the best way to write this paper is to READ first. Not just The Sonnets, but critical works about them. The more ideas you get, the easier it will be to put the poems together into a loose narrative. Below are some sources via our library that you might want to check out. I highly recommend the books by Mirsky and Vendler. And remember, you don't have to read an entire book to find it useful...each one highlights specific sonnets and in the case of Vendler, her book is literally a close reading of every single sonnet. So simply look up the ones you're interested in! 

Books and DVDs in our Library

* A Waste of Shame: The Mystery of Shakespeare’s Sonnets (DVD)

Call number (3^rd floor): PN1997 W.3880

* Mirsky, Mark. The Drama in Shakespeare’s Sonnets: “a satire to decay.”

Call number: PR2848.M57

* Rackin, Phyllis. Shakespeare and Women. Call number: PR2991.R33

 * Vendler, Helen. The Art of Shakespeare’s Sonnets.

Call number: PR2848.V46

Articles

Cheney, Patrick. “‘O, Let My Books Be ... Dumb Presagers’: Poetry and Theater in Shakespeare’s Sonnets.” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 52, no. 2, [Folger Shakespeare Library, The Shakespeare Association of America, Inc., Johns Hopkins University Press, George Washington University], 2001, pp. 222–54, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3648668.

Dubrow, Heather. “‘Incertainties Now Crown Themselves Assur’d’: The Politics of Plotting Shakespeare’s Sonnets.” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 47, no. 3, [Folger Shakespeare Library, The Shakespeare Association of America, Inc., Johns Hopkins University Press, George Washington University], 1996, pp. 291–305, https://doi.org/10.2307/2871379.

Harper, David A. “Revising Obsession in Shakespeare’s Sonnets 153 and 154.” Studies in Philology, vol. 112, no. 1, University of North Carolina Press, 2015, pp. 114–38, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24392050.

Hokama, Rhema. “Love’s Rites: Performing Prayer in Shakespeare’s Sonnets.” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 63, no. 2, Folger Shakespeare Library, 2012, pp. 199–223, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41679747.

Rosmarin, Adena. “Hermeneutics versus Erotics: Shakespeare’s Sonnets and Interpretive History.” PMLA, vol. 100, no. 1, Modern Language Association, 1985, pp. 20–37, https://doi.org/10.2307/462198.

Sarkar, Malabika. “The Magic of Shakespeare’s Sonnets.” Renaissance Studies, vol. 12, no. 2, Wiley, 1998, pp. 251–60, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24412540.

Stockard, Emily E.. “Patterns of Consolation in Shakespeare’s Sonnets 1-126.” Studies in Philology, vol. 94, no. 4, University of North Carolina Press, 1997, pp. 465–93, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4174591.

 WANT MORE? Search JSTOR through the A-Z Databases at the library website

 

 

For Wednesday: Shakespeare, The Sonnets Nos.73-94

 

Answer TWO of the following for our next class:

Q1: These sonnets begin the downward spiral of the poet's relationship with the young man. Though we've seen flickers of this previously, where does it become most apparent that their relationship has ended? What does the poet seem to accuse the young man of? Or was it his fault? 

Q2: Sonnets 79, 80, 85, and 86 introduce a rival poet, someone else who is either writing sonnets for the young man, or writing plays for the young man to act in (if we follow that theory). Since Shakespeare clearly believes his verse has the greatest chance of surviving the ages (Sonnet 18, etc.), why is he worried about a rival? What does the rival seem to have that he lacks? 

Q3: In several sonnets so far, including 66, 71, 72, and now 87, the poet seems to be taking his leave of the young man, and basically saying the relationship is over. What seems to keep the poet coming back to his favorite subject and Muse? Do these poems seem sincere--or are they calculated to win him back? 

Q4: Sonnet 73 is one of Shakespeare's most famous and most quoted, even though its theme seems to follow the typical memento mori formula "death is always with us, even in youth, etc." What makes this poem particularly powerful, so that it rises above the "death" cliche and says something powerful and unusual? In other words, how does it draw attention to itself? 

For Monday: Shakespeare, The Sonnets, Nos.42-72 & Paper #2 assignment

NOTE: As always, I don't necessarily expect you to read every sonnet in this sequence, though you never know when a magical sonnet will strike you! But read every other sonnet, or every third one if you like. But be sure to read enough so you can see more of the possibilities of these amazing poems, and get more ideas for your Paper #2 assignment! (I've pasted that below these questions) 

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: Discuss a poem that seems to be a 'throwback' to an earlier poem or series of poems. Why do you think Shakespeare reverts back to an earlier topic or style? Do you think this poem belongs with the earlier sonnet(s)? Or is it revising the earlier theme or style from a new perspective? 

Q2: Discuss a series of sonnets where the pronoun of the lover switches from thee to you, or you to thee. What do you think happened between these sonnets? Does the second one give any indication? Or is the second sonnet somehow an 'answer' to the first?

Q3: Discuss a sonnet that seems to particularly call attention to itself in terms of poetics: either a strange use of language, constant repetition, an odd metaphor, or some other striking turn of phrase. How does this formal structure aid in the meaning or the emotion of the poem? 

Q4: Based on the story outline I shared with you earlier (in the post below this one), where does the story change or shift in this series of sonnets? Where is the relationship at this point? Do they reconcile? Break up? Become enemies? Discuss where you see a new 'Act' occurring in this sequence. 

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Intro to Literary Study

Paper #2: The Sonnet Drama

“…poems work like conversation, even if they get no direct answer…they make a demand on the interpreter to imagine who would say this to whom, and in what situation. Speech is a social activity: what one says depends on whom one speaks to and in what context” (Magnusson 630).

INTRO: As we’ve discussed in class, The Sonnets explore the inner workings of a poet’s mind as he pursues a beautiful young man into the labyrinth of Elizabethan society, encountering love, hope, confusion, and betrayal at every turn. Even the story itself is murky, and it really depends on who we think is speaking from sonnet to sonnet, who they’re speaking to, and how the social context around each sonnet changes to create drama and conflict. Like a play, each line could be a piece of monologue, a scrap of dialogue, or even a haunting chorus. No one has definitely explained what it all means yet…well, not until this paper!

PROMPT: I want you to choose 10-12 sonnets to put together into a mini “Sonnet drama” that functions as a kind of play that could be acted or read aloud. The sonnets can come from anywhere in the sequence, and you should put them together to tell the story that you see, spoken by anywhere from 2 to 4 characters (but more than one—that’s the challenge). You don’t have to write the play, just pick the sonnets and imagine who would speak each one, or how you might divide one sonnet between two speakers, etc. It could be a play between two lovers, or a love triangle, or a love quadrangle!

ASSIGNMENT: The paper is in two parts: ONE, you’re going to list your 10-12 sonnets and the characters that speak each one. This requires no writing, just a list like a “cast of characters.” Then, TWO, you’re going to write an essay explaining the THEORY of your play by close reading from several of the sonnets, and highlighting why a certain character would speak these lines, and what they say about this character and this part of the story. I want you to use at least TWO outside sources to help you explain and explore your ideas, and these could include: Culler’s book, Magnusson’s essay, Sappho’s poetry, books about the Sonnets in our library, or articles on-line. The goal in this assignment is simply to show us why your ‘theory’ of The Sonnets is interesting and could shed light on many of the secrets of these poems. You don’t have to be ‘right’ or get someone to agree with you—it’s just an attempt to make these old poems speak in a new language, and tell a new story.

REQUIREMENTS

• Use 10-12 Sonnets to fashion a rough “Sonnet Drama” (you DO NOT have to write the script)
• Write a paper that explains your theory, performs some close reading, and uses at least TWO sources to help you discuss the poems
• Be sure to introduce all poems and sources and cite them according to MLA guidelines. Include a Works Cited page, too, of course.
• DUE in two weeks, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1^st BY 5pm (no class that day)

For Friday: In-Class Writing #4 (and the Paper #2 assignment!)

No new reading for Friday's class, though we'll have an in-class writing response on something related to the Sonnets to introduce you to the Paper #2 assignment. In the meantime, here's the handout I gave in class in case you lost in or want to reference it quickly. Think about the next parts of the story as you read on in the Sonnets...

A THEORY OF THE SONNETS SO FAR…

Sonnets 1-14: Memento Mori. The sonnets are trying to convince the young man to “increase” and “print more, not let that copy die.” Sonnet 1 states the general theme, and each sonnet is a variation on this theme, with the poet trying to find new ways to persuade him of his argument. These are the most conventional sonnets, following many of the standard themes/images of his age.

Ex: “But if you live remembered not to be,/Die single, and thine imagine dies with thee” Sonnet 3).

Sonnet 15: The Switch. The poet suddenly introduces subtle acting metaphors (the stage, shows, cheered and checked) and suggests for the first time that the poet, not procreation, will make a lasting image of the young man.

Sonnets 16-19: The Poet. These sonnets start to focus more on the poet’s skill in verse and how they can immortalize the lover. He’s clearly trying to dazzle the lover with his skill, and is trying to show confidence in his abilities (which will later falter).

Ex: “So long as men can breathe and eyes can see,/So long lives this, and this gives life to thee” (Sonnet 18).

Sonnet 20: The Reveal. In this sonnet, the poet comes out and declares his love for the young man, though also suggesting that this might be a more platonic or idealized love than a sexual one (“But since she pricked thee out for women’s pleasure”). But he also seems to suggest that the young man is an actor (either literally or figuratively), and able to embody both sexes at once (“the master-mistress”).

Sonnets 21-32: The Ambivalence. In these sonnets, the poet is trying to define the nature of their relationship, becoming possessive, feeling inadequate, and basking in love of the young man. He also starts to question the power of his verse, and several times suggests that though it might not live forever, the emotions contained within them will. He also suggests that his low class and/or reputation might get in the way of their love.

Ex: “When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,/I all alone beweep my outcast state” (Sonnet 29).

Sonnets 33-41: The Betrayal. The young man is betraying the poet by having other lovers, and eventually, stealing the poet’s own mistress. He poet is having to himself in order to maintain the relationship, and possibly, people are starting to talk. The poet suggests they’ll have to separate so he won’t ruin the young man’s reputation (or fame). He wants what’s best for the young man…but still feels maligned.

Ex: “That I an accessory needs must be/To that sweet thief which sourly robs from me” (Sonnet 35).

For Wednesday: Shakespeare's Sonnets, Nos.21-41

NOTE: see the close reading of Sonnet 15 in the post below, which gives you some hints about how to read these poems, and what to take note of. Remember, don't read it like a novel--listen to the sounds, look at the metaphors, puzzle over the syntax. It's like listening to any song: first you hear the music, then you get stuck on the chorus, then you think about the lyrics, then you see how it all fits together. Don't expect to "get it" at once. A reason why these poems might seem so repetitive is so Shakespeare can 'teach' you to read them, so that once you get the general theme, you can then be aware of the small changes and variations within.

Q1: Only ONE question for today, but about any TWO Sonnets. Choose two sonnets from the series 21-41 that you feel are very similar but offer some slight change between them. Close read them to explain what both are generally saying, and how one of them twists the meaning/experience in a different light. What changes? Is it who the poet is speaking to? What he wants from him? The nature of their relationship? The way he understands it? Etc. 

Think too about how these poems relate to Sappho...you can always use ideas from Sappho (theory!) to help you read these poems. Ultimately, these poems are very similar to Sappho, as they are about someone older/wiser who is trying to teach someone younger/more beautiful, and how this relationship is doomed to fail. So think about how a poem might remind you of one of Sappho's fragments and how this can help you read it. 

A Close Reading of Sonnet 15

Reading Shakespeare's language is tricky, but the best way to do it at first is to go SLOW. Use the side notes to help you define difficult or arcane words and phrases. But as you read, (a) think about the metaphors--what are they helping you see; (b) look at weird syntax--why is he trying to hide a meaning in tangled speech; (c) think about what he's saying to the lover. Why would he say this? Why is this still a 'love poem'?

For example, here's my close reading of Sonnet 15, showing you how a single word or two can change the direction of the poem. These sonnets are puzzles, and they require a little 'assembly' until you get the hang of them. 

Sonnet 15 

When I consider everything that grows

Holds in perfection but a little moment,

[Everything is perfect--young, powerful, strong, blossoming--just for a short space before time sets in]

That this huge stage presenteth nought but shows 

Whereon the stars in secret influence comment;

[Read this carefully; literally it means that the earth only reveals a drama that makes sense to the gods/the stars/the heavens. BUT look at the metaphors: "this huge stage," "shows," and "stars in secret influence comment." Shakespeare is a playwright, so he uses the world of the stage as a metaphor...but he could also mean this more literally, too. A play is just a "little moment" of perfection, that ends after 2 or 3 hours, and then everything "dies." And the stage can only present "shows" that make sense to the audience--many of whom are "stars," or aristocrats who can comment in "secret influence" on the success or failure of a play.]

When I perceive that men as plants increase,

Cheered and checked even by the selfsame sky,

Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease,

And wear their brave state out of memory;

[Again, this continues the metaphor that men are like plants: they grow tall, reach their zenith, and then die and are forgotten. But this also relates to the stage references above: new "men" are "cheered and checked" by the audience, but just as they make a name for themselves, they "wear their brave state out of memory," meaning they get too old and people move on and forget them. An acting career is VERY brief, even today, for most actors.]

Then the conceit of this inconstant stay

Sets you most rich in youth before my sight,

Where wasteful Time debateth with Decay

To change your day of youth to sullied night;

[Thinking about this inevitable decline, the poet appreciates anew the young man's beauty and (talent)? He's clearly at the height of his power and his fame, perhaps, even though "Time and Decay" are already plotting to take him out. Maybe he has rivals in the theater, too, which is why Time and Decay are also personified? It works beautifully both ways.]

And, all in war with Time for love of you,

As he takes from you, I engraft  you new.

[The couplet always has a little twist of meaning, and so, too, here. The poet is allying himself with the young man in two ways: one, he says that I'll always be on your side in the "war," and two, I can make your career/beauty last forever. I can "engraft you new." This goes back to the plant metaphor, since "grafting" (see note on page 48) is a way to create new life for plants. He is going to defy death for the young man by writing about him; the poet is taking the ability to cheat death onto himself. 

So this is no longer a poem saying "procreate and live forever," since the poet is now saying, "procreate WITH ME, by letting me write about you (or for you), and your fame will live forever." This ties directly into the next Sonnet 18, which says the same thing in a different way, and Sonnet 20, which makes the acting metaphor even more distinct. 

For Monday: Shakespeare's Sonnets, Nos.1-20

For Monday's class, read the first 20 sonnets from Shakespeare's sequence. As we'll discuss, they collectively tell a loose story with initially two, and later three main characters (and there are some background characters as well). You don't have to read the Sonnets for the story, but it makes them more interesting. For this first assignment, read through them slowly (they'll take some getting used to) and remember all the ideas we've discussed about poetry, metaphor, and poetics in Chapters 4 and 5. 

A Shakespearean sonnet follows a very strict formal scheme: 

ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

The sonnets are always in iambic pentameter, which means 10 syllables with five unaccented and accented syllables. For example, in Sonnet 1:

from FAIR-est CREA-tures WE des-IRE in-CREASE (always starts with an unaccented syllable followed by an accented one, etc.) 

The concluding couplet (GG) usually places a twist on the meaning of the entire poem, either affirming it, or lightly contradicting it, or giving us a surprising reveal. Try to think about how the couplet responds to the poem in each one. 

Answer TWO of the following questions for TWO of the Sonnets. So yes, you'll answer 4 questions this time, but the catch is each set of questions will cover only one Sonnet. So for example, you could answers Questions 1 and 3 for Sonnet 14, and 2 and 3 for Sonnet 20. This is a rare time I'll make you answer 4 questions, but some of the questions will have shortish answers, so don't fear. 

ANSWER TWO OF THE FOLLOWING FOR TWO DIFFERENT SONNETS:

Q1: How does Shakespeare used a cliched metaphor or sentiment in this sonnet in a new light? In other words, how does he make us see or experience it differently, even though the overall idea is pretty common?

Q2: Discuss a line that has very unusual syntax (sentence/grammatical structure). What do you think it literally means, and why do you think he writes it this way?

Q3: Which poem really seems to reveal the identity of the narrator of the poem? Why is this? What 'clues' are in the poem itself? 

Q4: Discuss a concluding couplet that seems to change the meaning of the preceding lines? How does it do this? 

For Next Week: Paper #1 and Culler, Chapter 5: "Rhetoric, Poetics, and Poetry"

REMEMBER to bring your Paper #1 assignment to class on Wednesday to turn in. We'll also discuss it in class, because I want to see all the different ways you used Sappho as a theory to examine other works of art. Remember, too, that you should basically use 'poetics' to analyze the poem, and then use 'hermeneutics' to examine your selected work of art. The paper assignment is a few posts down, but remember what we discussed on Friday from Chapter 4 of Culler. 

Below are the questions for Chapter 5, which you can start reading/answering if you have nothing else to do over the three-day weekend. But they won't be due until Friday, of course. 

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: Culler writes that poetry is not only the "making strange" of language, but it is the "abundant use of figures of speech and language that aims to be powerfully persuasive" (69). How can poetry be "persuasive" if it has more than one meaning? Isn't persuading someone of something the very essence of propaganda? Also, how might Sappho's poems be "powerfully persuasive" even in their fragmentary state?

Q2: On page 70, Culler, quoting theoretical debates on language, asks if a metaphor is "literal or figurative?" Why is this a very hard question to answer? And how does this tie into the larger question about literature: are cliches just metaphors we've forgotten to see? Is anything in literature NOT figurative? Is anything in literature TRULY literal?

Q3: Most of Sappho's poems can be considered 'lyric poems,' which Culler defines as "fictional imitations of personal utterance" (75). Because of this, he argues that "lyric poems strive to be an event" (77). What do you think he means by this? What 'event' are they trying to create, and how does this relate to the "fictional" aspect of the speaker's "real" emotions? In other words, what makes lyric poetry so much trickier to read and interpret than most other literature?

Q4: Culler advises us to read a poem not as a fragment of a larger conversation, but to "assume that it has a structure of its own" (79). How do we do that in practice, especially for Sappho, whose poems literally are fragments? Can we assume that even Sappho's poetry is an "aesthetic whole" (79)? What would be the advantage of doing this? 

For Friday: Culler, Literary Theory, Chapter 4: "Language, Meaning, and Interpretation"

"This Is Not a Pipe" (Rene Magritte)

As promised, we're back to Culler after a brief foray into Sappho's poetry! But don't worry, we'll be moving onto Shakespeare's Sonnets before long. Don't forget that I moved the Paper #1 assignment back to Wednesday (after Labor Day), so you have time to keep thinking about it. This chapter might give you more ideas when it comes to interpreting poems, discovering meaning, and using words to uncover theories. 

Answer TWO of the following: 

Q1: If ‘poetics’ is about the meaning of texts and how these meanings are achieved, then what is ‘hermenutics’? Why might this be equally important in reading or discussing a text? When might hermeneutics also get in the way?

Q2: What is the "Intentional Fallacy," and why is it a "fallacy"? Why do you think intention used to matter for so much, and now, we tend to question it rather than accept it at face value? Similarly, how does this free us up to discuss Sappho in a way we normally couldn’t?

Q3: On page 63, Culler writes that “a work is interpreted as answering questions posed by [the] horizon of expectations, and a reader of the 1990s approaches Hamlet with expectations different from those of a contemporary of Shakespeare’s.” So if Shakespeare was writing to his audience and their expectations, how does it make reading his works especially difficult? How can a modern reader be aware of a previous age’s—and even their own—horizon of expectations?

Q4: What does it mean that a word's form and meaning have an arbitrary relationship? How can a dog not be a dog? Or a moon not be a moon? Does this relate to the idea that “meaning is context-bound, but context is boundless” (67)?