Activity One Poetry, Sound, and Music

Unit 10 Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day? Activity Two A Visit to the Hometown of Shakespeare Activity One Poetry, Sound, and Music Material Designer Chen Chienchou

Activity One Poetry, Sound, and Music Poetry is a kind of music made up of words. To enjoy the art of poetry, you have to read it slowly and expressively, as if you were singing a song, sipping a cup of coffee, or tasting a piece of cheese cake. In this section, we will learn about rhyme in poetry and listen to beautiful recitation of two sonnets.

Poem Recitation Dear Poem-lovers, I am William Shakespeare. Now, We are going to listen to a beautiful recitation of my sonnet 18 by an English actor, Michael Sheen. Be sure to be quiet and pay attention to the end word of each line. Enjoy it.

Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? 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 dimmed; And every fair from fair some declines, By chance or nature’s changing course untrimmed

But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st, Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st. So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

The Musical Sound Effect of Poetry Can you feel the beauty of the poem? If you would like to make your poem sound more lovely, rhyming is a very important technique. Next, we are going to learn something about rhyme in poetry.

Different Kinds of Rhyme Here are some major types of rhyme. I. Exact (or Full) Rhyme: You repeat the exact end sounds, such as “bee/tea” and “found/sound.” II. Slant (or Half) Rhyme: You choose words with similar end sounds, such as “cord/court,” “harp/hope,” “impeded/defeated.” III. Sight (or Eye) Rhyme: You use words that look alike but sound different, such as “proved/loved” and “pour/sour,” “near/bear”

Rhyme Scheme Rhyme scheme is the pattern you arrange rhyming words in a poem. The most common way to show the pattern is to use English letters to represent each end sound. For example: Make new friends, But keep the old. Those are silver, These are gold. a b c b

One more example! a a b b a a Twinkle, twinkle, littlestar, How I wonder who youare. Up above the world sohigh Like a diamond inthesky. Twinkle, twinkle, littlestar, How I wonder who youare.

Rhyme Scheme: Exercise Now let’s use a poem that we have learned in Book I and analyze its rhyme scheme.

Gathering LeavesSpades take up leavesNo better than spoons, And bags full of leavesAre (as) light as balloons. I make a great noiseOf rustling alldayLike rabbit and deerRunningaway. abab cded

Analyze the rhyme scheme in Sonnet 18. a Shall I compare thee to a summer’sday? Thou art more lovely and moretemperate: Rough wins do shake the darling buds ofMay, And summer’s lease hath all too short adate; Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexiondimmed; And every fair from fair somedeclines, Bychanceornature’schangingcourseuntrimmed. b a b c d c d

e f e f But thy eternal summer shall notfade, Nor lose possession of that fair thouow’st, Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in hisshade, When in eternal lines to time thougrow’st. So long as men can breathe or eyes cansee, So long lives this, and this gives life tothee. g g A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem. My sonnets are mostly composed of three quatrains (a four-line stanza) and a couplet (a two-line stanza). They are still loved by many contemporary readers!

But why do poets write in rhymes? First of all, it provides pleasure for the ears and fulfill the human desire to see likeness in difference. Moreover, it also helps one to memorize the poem because of repetition and regularity.

Appreciating Poem Recitation Now, let’s listen to another recitation of a sonnet written by a female poet, Elizabeth Barret Browning.

How do I Love Thee? By Elizabeth Barrent Browning (1806-1861) How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breath and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and ideal Grace. I love thee to the level of everyday’s Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs; and with my childhood’s faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death. Read by Laura Paton from A Lover’s Gift ,Naxos-4023 滾石古典百科全書-23

The Rhyme Scheme of the Poem is… a b How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breath and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and ideal Grace. I love thee to the level of everyday’s Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. b a a b b a P.S. The 1st and 4th word ( “ways” and “Grace”) In the first stanza is a half rhyme.

c d c I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs; and with my childhood faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints—I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life!—and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death. d c d

How do you like the poem? I am Elizabeth, the writer of this sonnet. The poem is from a forty-four sonnet sequence written for my beloved husband, Robert Browning, also a great poet. Though having encountered many difficulties, we are still deeply in love with each other. I am a very lucky guy to have such a talented wife, and I’m really proud of her.

End of Activity I

Activity TwoA Visit to the Hometown of William Shakespeare 1558-1599 http://www.peopleplayuk.org.uk/thimelines/shakespeare.php?year=0&syear=3&

Question: Where was Willian born? United States of America Canada England Ireland

Sorry, wrong answer. Don’t give up! Click on the picture and try again!

He was born in Warwickshire, England. Bingo! You’re right! London Warwickshire

Yes, this is my hometown, also a famous tourist spot now in England! Now, let me show you around in Stratford. To be more precise, he was born and brought up in a beautiful small town named Stratford-upon-Avon.

:“This is a picture of my birthplace in Henley Street, in the centre of the town.” :“This is the town center, where used to be the marketplace.” Source of Photos: http://www.cv81pl.freeserve.co.uk/stratford.htm

:“This stone bridge, built in the 15th century, stretches across Avon Canal.”

:“This is the old grammar school I attended. Built in 1428, later it was called King Edward VI Grammar School for Boys.” Source: http://www.cv81pl.freeserve.co.uk/stratford.htm :“This is the inside of the school.” http://www.stratford-upon-avon.co.uk/index.htm

A Watercolor of William Shakespeare's Old School, King Edward VI Grammar School for Boys. by John Davis http://www.stratford-upon-avon.co.uk/jdavis.htm

:“After working for many years in London, I returned to Stratford in 1597 and bought this house, the second largest in town.” :“In the last six years of my life, I lived in this house with one of my daughters, Susanna. This is the interior of the house.” Source of Photos: http://www.cv81pl.freeserve.co.uk/stratford.htm

:“This view, looking along Stratford High Street, shows several buildings built in the Elizabethan fashion.” :“This modern red-brick building is the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, housing a theatre, picture gallery, museum, and library.” Source of Photos: http://www.cv81pl.freeserve.co.uk/stratford.htm

:“This is Holy Trinity Church, where I was buried.” :“This is a memorial to me cast in bronze in 1888.” Source of Photos: http://www.cv81pl.freeserve.co.uk/stratford.htm

Shakespeare’s Birthday CelebrationsIn Stratford-Upon-Avon April 23rd (St George's Day) is the anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth, and it is also a time of celebrations in Stratford-Upon-Avon. The celebrations are normally held on the Saturday nearest to April 23rd. Now, let’s take a look of the famous parade among the many activities.

The parade begins with the reed and brass band performance.

Then, local dignitaries are followed by ambassadors to the UK from most nations.

Here com the most colorful procession of the actors and actresses dressed up in Elizabethan costumes. Source of Photos: http://www.cv81pl.freeserve.co.uk/stratford.htm

Procession of Actors and Actresses

The staff and students of King Edward VI's Grammar School (Shakespeare's School) also attract everyone’s attention.

The procession terminates at Holy Trinity Church, where participants place their flowers on Shakespeare's grave, inside the church.

By the way, do you know which king or queen was in power in Shakespeare’s time?Make a guess! King Henry VIII or Queen Elizabeth I

Sorry, wrong answer. Don’t give up! Click on the picture and try again!

Bingo! You’re right! :“Queen Elizabeth I, ruling England from 1558 to 1603 was also an important patron and supporter of theater and literature. And King Henry VIII was her father.” Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I on the Battleship, Aarmda. http://tudorhistory.org/elizabeth/gallery.html

A Film of Shakespearean Romance: Shakespeare in Love http://images.google.com

Major Characters in the Story Joseph Fiennes as William Shakespeare, who is looking for ideas for his play Gwyneth Paltrow as Viola, the muse who inspired Shakespeare to write wonderful plays

The Queen in the Film :“In the movie, Queen Elizabeth, is characterized as a headstrong, witty, and wise woman. The stunning performance of the actress, Judi Dench also won her an Oscar award for the best actress in a supporting role.” Judi Dench as Queen Elizabeth

If you would like to know more about my life, my works, or anything about me, you can log on the following website to look for what you are interested in. http://shakespeare.about.com/ End of Activity II

Activity One Poetry, Sound, and Music