The%20Poets%20and%20the%20Poems

1
The Poets and the Poems

• Marlowe, Raleigh, Shakespeare, and Donne

2
Christopher Marlow (1564-1593)

• The Life of
• Christopher
• Marlowe
• (1564-1593)

3
Life Stats

• BornFebruary 6, 1564 in Canterbury, England
• Baptized Catholic
• Eldest son of a shoemaker
• Lived during the same time as Shakespeare
• English poet and dramatist

4
Education

• At 14 he started at Kings School
• In 1581, Marlowe was granted a six-year
  scholarship to study at Corpus Christi College in
  Cambridge, England
• 1584earned his B.A.
• 1587began his M.A.

• The university was reluctant to grant the degree
  because they suspected that Marlowe was an
  atheist.
• The queens Privy Council intervened and the
  degree was granted.

5
After university

• Did not join the clergy but went to London to
  write plays for The Admirals Men.
• He is renowned for his elaborate style that
  influenced the tragic style used by his
  predecessors.
• Considered by many to be the chief of dramatic
  form.

6
His death

• Died May 30, 1593 during a brawl at a tavern in
  Deptford, England. He was stabbed in the eye.
• Some believe that he was a secret agent.
• Some believed that he was involved with secret
  peace negotiations.
• Some believe his quick temper and lawless past
  led to his demise.
• His life and death are both mysterious but his
  early death provided a preface for Shakespeares
  fame.

7
The Passionate Shepherd to His
LoveChristopher Marlowe

• Setting
• Christopher Marlowe sets the poem in early
  spring in a rural locale (presumably in England)
  where shepherds tend their flocks. The use of the
  word madrigals (Line 8)referring to poems set to
  music and sung by two to six voices with a single
  melody or interweaving melodiessuggests that the
  time is the 16th Century, when madrigals were
  highly popular in England and elsewhere in
  Europe. However, the poem could be about any
  shepherd of any age in any country, for such is
  the universality of its theme.

8
Characters

• The Passionate Shepherd He importunes a
  womanpresumably a young and pretty country
  girlto become his sweetheart and enjoy with him
  all the pleasures that nature has to offer.
• The Shepherds Love The young woman who receives
  the Passionate Shepherds message.
• Swains Young country fellows whom the Passionate
  Shepherd promises will dance for his love.

9
Type of Work

• The Passionate Shepherd is a pastoral poem.
  Pastoral poems generally center on the love of a
  shepherd for a maiden (as in Marlowes poem), on
  the death of a friend, or on the quiet simplicity
  of rural life. The writer of a pastoral poem may
  be an educated city dweller, like Marlowe, who
  extolls the virtues of a shepherd girl or longs
  for the peace and quiet of the country. Pastoral
  is derived from the Latin word pastor, meaning
  shepherd.

10
Theme

• The theme of The Passionate Shepherd is the
  rapture of springtime love in a simple, rural
  setting. Implicit in this theme is the motif of
  carpe diemLatin for seize the day. Carpe diem
  urges people to enjoy the moment without worrying
  about the future.

11
Rhyme and Meter

• In each stanza, the first line rhymes with the
  second, and the third rhymes with the fourth. The
  meter is iambic tetrameter, with eight syllables
  (four iambic feet) per line. (An iambic foot
  consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a
  stressed syllable.) The following graphic
  presentation illustrates the rhyme scheme and
  meter of Stanza 1
• Come LIVE..with ME..and BE..my LOVE,
• And WE..will ALL..the PLEA..sures PROVE
• That HILLS..and VALL..eys, DALE..and FIELD,
• And ALL..the CRAG..gy MOUNT..ains YIELD.

12
The Poems Enduring Appeal

• Over the centuries, Marlowes little poem has
  enjoyed widespread popularity because it captures
  the joy of simple, uncomplicated, love. The
  shepherd does not worry whether his status makes
  him acceptable to the girl nor does he appear
  concerned about money or education. The future
  will take carry of itself. What matters is the
  moment. So, he says, let us enjoy itsitting on a
  rock listening to the birds.

13
Vocabulary

• Dales valleys
• Melodious musical
• Madrigals a short, musical poem about love
• Posies flowers
• Embroiderd sewn
• Swains young boys from the country

14
Analyzing and Interpreting the Poems

• 1. a) What does the shepherd in Marlowe's poem
  offer his love to make his world sound
  attractive and desirable?
• b) What things does he offer her that he
  cannot possibly provide?
• 2. Notice that lines 19 and 20 at the end of the
  fifth stanza in Marlowe's poem almost repeat the
  poem's opening lines.
•  
• a) What effect is created by this near
  repetition?
• b) Instead of ending with this refrain-like
  repetition, the shepherd goes on for another
  stanza. Does the promise of the final stanza
  add anything new to the promises made earlier?
  If so, what does it add?

15
Additional Questions

• 3. What, metaphorically, does the speaker want
  to prove in the first stanza?
• 4. What is the purpose of the Shepherds poem?
• 5. Why has Marlowe capitalized Love when he
  speaks to the young maiden in the poem?

16
Sir Walter Raleigh

• Born October 1552 in Devon
• Died October 29, 1618 in London
• Nationality
• British
• Religion Born to a prominent Protestant family

17
Occupation

• Writer
• Poet
• Soldier
• Courtier a person who attends the court (centre
  of government and residence) of the monarch
• Explorer
• Colonizer (founder of Virginia)

18
Raleighs Life

• Was similar to Marlowe in the sense that both men
  were reckless, free-thinkers who eventually came
  to violent ends.
• Was noted for his charisma, wit, and womanizing
• Was in and out of favour with Queen Elizabeth I.

19
Raleighs life . . .

• Loved by the queen in the 1580s.
• Was frequently at court.
• The queen found out about his secret marriage to
  one of her maids of honor, Elizabeth
  Throckmorton, in 1592.
• Raleigh was imprisoned in The Tower of London but
  regained her favour through military exploits and
  voyages to South America.

20
Raleighs Life . . .

• His success came to a halt when James I, from
  Scotland, came to the throne in 1603.
• James I accused Raleigh of plotting to bar his
  ascension to the throne and had him imprisoned
  until 1616.
• Released to make one last voyage to South America
  to search for gold.
• Voyage was a failure.
• Raleighs men burned a Spanish settlement, Spain
  demanded he be arrested (James I was happy to
  carry out this demand), and Raleigh was executed
  for treason in 1618.

21
Legend says . . .

• On the night before he died he wrote one of his
  best poems, The Authors Epitaph, Made by
  Himself.
• While on the scaffold, he smiled as he ran his
  finger along the ax and said, This is a sharp
  medicine, but it is a physician for all diseases.

22
Legend also says . . .

• In an obvious attempt to impress the queen,
  Raleigh laid his plush and expensive cloak over a
  mud puddle so the queen would not muddy her feet.

23
Legend also says . . .

• Raleigh introduced and popularized the use of
  tobacco in Europe (this is fact, not legend).
• Immediately before his death, Raleigh asked for
  one last smoke of tobacco.
• His request was granted, and it is believed that
  this established the tradition of allowing
  prisoners one last cigarette before their
  execution.

24
Poetry

• Relatively straightforward and easily understood.
• Often appears to express contempt for the world
  around him (as in the poems What is Our Life
  and The Lie).
• Expresses sarcasm and satire at social flaws (as
  in the poem The Nymphs Reply to the Shepherd).

25
The Nymphs Reply to the Shepherd

• Written in response to Marlowes The Passionate
  Shepherd to His Love.
• Speaker of the poem is not the author
• Traditional pastoral modeshepherds, idealized,
  and rustic landscape.
• The nymph may be considered anti-pastoraloppose
  d to the perfection of nature.
• Satirical modethe nymph dismisses the shepherds
  romantic pleas because she does not see happiness
  in terms of material comfort . She also knows
  how quickly promises are broken.

26
Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His
Love"andRaleigh's "The Nymph's Reply to the
Shepherd"

• It's important to note that the narrator is not
  necessarily the poet Marlowe is no more the
  "Shepherd" from the first poem than Raleigh is
  the "Nymph" in the second.
• Both poets are using traditional voices from
  pastoral literature which uses shepherds and an
  idealized rustic landscape to indirectly explore
  a range of ideas and themes.

27
Analysis Name the

• Rhyme Scheme and Meter
• Theme
• Figures of Speech (find two)

28
Analyzing and Interpreting the Poems

• "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd"
•  
• 1. a) What assumption made by Marlowe's shepherd
  does Raleigh's nymph begin by attacking?
•  
• b) How does she follow up this attack?
•  
• 2. As in Marlow's poem, lines 19 and 20 of the
  fifth stanza of Raleigh's poem sound like a
  summarizing refrain. Yet the nymph, like the
  shepherd, goes on for an additional stanza.
•  
• a) Why does this last stanza begin with "But?"
•  
• b) How are lines 19 and 20 transformed in lines
  23 and 24.
• c) Describe the change in attitude in the last
  stanza in the poem, and how it affects your
  evaluation of the nymph's reply.

29
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

• Born in Stratford-on-Avon (a small town about 90
  miles from London)on April 23, 1564.
• Father was John Shakespeare, a glove maker. His
  mother, Mary Arden, came from a good family with
  considerable land and fortune.
• Average student who focused mainly on Latin
  grammar but also on French later in London.
• Traveling players came to Stratford this was his
  introduction to drama.

30
Marriage and Children

• Married Anne Hathaway, a woman 6 years older than
  him, at the age of 18 on November 27, 1592.
• May 26, 1583, their first child, Susanna, was
  born.
• February 2, 1585, they had twins, Hamnet and
  Judith.
• 1587-1592 (The Lost Years) Shakespeare left his
  family (people believed he was running from the
  law) to go to London to earn fortune and fame.
• It was believed that Anne did not join him
  because she was a Puritan (a Puritan being a
  religious fanatic who believed that the stage and
  actors corrupted people's morals). Puritanism
  was so strong in London that eventually all the
  theatres were closed.

31
Poet Playwright

• Joined a theatrical company (sponsored by Queen
  Elizabeth herself) and became a noted actor,
  playwright, and poet.
• By 1592 he was an established actor but his money
  was earned by gate admissions, not from the sale
  of his plays.
• Theatres were reopened in 1594 after closing
  temporarily during a plague epidemic.
• After this, Shakespeare focused on writing plays.
  He wrote 37 by the time of his retirement in
  1610. He wrote comedies, histories, tragedies,
  and many sonnets.
• Throughout his career, he was a member of the
  Lord Chamberlain's Men (later the King's Men) and
  worked closely with Richard Burbage.

32
Death Details

• Dies on April 23, 1616, but was predeceased by
  his son, Hamnet.
• Left his property to his daughter and his
  "second-best-bed" to his wife.
• Remains unmatched as a writer because of his
  ability to understand the truths of the human
  condition and his skill of expression. Perfectly
  communicated profound, universal concepts in
  creative, lyrical language.
• Introduced the concept of "Blank Verse" there
  are 5 feet to a line and each foot is written in
  Iambic Pentameter.
• Used other stylistic tools such as puns,
  metaphors, soliloquies, asides, similes,
  apostrophes, and personification.

33
Why Study Shakespeare?

• The Reasons Behind Shakespeare's Influence and
  Popularity
• Ben Jonson anticipated Shakespeares dazzling
  future when he declared, "He was not of an age,
  but for all time!" in the preface to the First
  Folio. While most people know that Shakespeare
  is, in fact, the most popular dramatist and poet
  the Western world has ever produced, students new
  to his work often wonder why this is so.
• The following are the top four reasons why
  Shakespeare has stood the test of time.

34
1) Illumination of the Human Experience

• Shakespeares ability to summarize the range of
  human emotions in simple yet profoundly eloquent
  verse is perhaps the greatest reason for his
  enduring popularity. If you cannot find words to
  express how you feel about love or music or
  growing older, Shakespeare can speak for you. No
  author in the Western world has penned more
  beloved passages. Shakespeare's work is the
  reason John Bartlett compiled the first major
  book of familiar quotations.

35
Here are some examples of Shakespeare's most
popular passages

• The seven ages of man Shall I compare thee
  to a summer's day? We band of brothers The
  green-eyed monster What's in a name? Now is
  the winter of our discontent If music be the
  food of love Beware the ides of March We are
  such stuff as dreams are made on Something is
  rotten in the state of Denmark To be, or not to
  be that is the question

36
2) Great Stories

• Marchette Chute, in the Introduction to her
  famous retelling of Shakespeares stories,
  summarizes one of the reasons for Shakespeares
  immeasurable fame
• William Shakespeare was the most remarkable
  storyteller that the world has ever known. Homer
  told of adventure and men at war, Sophocles and
  Tolstoy told of tragedies and of people in
  trouble. Terence and Mark Twain told cosmic
  stories, Dickens told melodramatic ones, Plutarch
  told histories and Hand Christian Andersen told
  fairy tales. But Shakespeare told every kind of
  story comedy, tragedy, history, melodrama,
  adventure, love stories and fairy tales and
  each of them so well that they have become
  immortal. In all the world of storytelling he has
  become the greatest name. (Stories from
  Shakespeare, 11)
• Shakespeare's stories transcend time and culture.
  Modern storytellers continue
• to adapt Shakespeares tales to suit our modern
  world, whether it be the tale of
• Lear on a farm in Iowa, Romeo and Juliet on the
  mean streets of New York City,
• or Macbeth in feudal Japan.

37
3) Compelling Characters

• Shakespeare invented his share of stock
  characters, but his truly great characters
  particularly his tragic heroes are unequalled
  in literature, dwarfing even the sublime
  creations of the Greek tragedians. Shakespeares
  great characters have remained popular because of
  their complexity for example, we can see
  ourselves as gentle Hamlet, forced against his
  better nature to seek murderous revenge. For this
  reason Shakespeare is deeply admired by actors,
  and many consider playing a Shakespearean
  character to be the most difficult and most
  rewarding role possible.

38
4) Ability to Turn a Phrase

• Many of the common expressions now thought to be
  clichés were Shakespeare's creations. Chances are
  you use Shakespeare's expressions all the time
  even though you may not know it is the Bard you
  are quoting. You may think that fact is "neither
  here nor there", but that's "the short and the
  long of it.
• See Handout/Assignment

39
Shakespeare's Sonnets

• Published in 1609 but most were written in the
  1590s
• 154 sonnets in total and suggest an elusive and
  mysterious "story
• Sonnets 1-126 are addressed mainly to a young man
  of great beauty and promise. The speaker
  expresses affection and admiration for the young
  man, urges him to marry and have children, and
  warns him about the destructive power of time,
  age, and moral weakness.
• Sonnets 78-86 are concerned with a rival poet who
  has also addressed poems to the young man.
• Sonnets 127-154 are addressed to a lady with dark
  hair, eyes and complexion. Both the speaker and
  the young man seem to be romantically involved
  with her.

40
Sonnets continued

• There is no evidence to connect these sonnets
  with the facts of Shakespeare's own life though
  some speculate that they are auto-biographical in
  nature.
• The situations and relationships suggested in the
  sonnets are a means through which Shakespeare
  explores universal questions about time and
  death, about beauty and moral integrity, about
  love and about poetry itself.

41
WHAT IS A SONNET???

• A lyric poem that is 14 lines long
• Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnets are divided into
  two quatrains and a six-line sestet with a rhyme
  scheme of abba abba cdecde (or cdcdcd)
• English (or Shakesperian) sonnets are composed of
  three quatrains and a final couplet with a rhyme
  scheme of abab cdcd efef gg
• English sonnets are generally written in Iambic
  Pentameter

42
Sonnet 18 - Background

• Sonnet 18 is the best known and most well-loved
  of all 154 sonnets. It is also one of the most
  straightforward in language and intent. The
  stability of love and its power to immortalize
  the poetry and the subject of that poetry is the
  theme.
• The poet starts the praise of his dear friend
  without showiness, but he slowly builds the image
  of his friend into that of a perfect being. His
  friend is first compared to summer in the octave,
  but, at the start of the third quatrain, he is
  summer, and thus, he has metamorphosed into the
  standard by which true beauty can and should be
  judged.

43
Sonnet 18 - Background

• The poet's only answer to such profound joy and
  beauty is to ensure that his friend be forever in
  human memory, saved from the oblivion that
  accompanies death. He achieves this through his
  verse, believing that, as history writes itself,
  his friend will become one with time. The final
  couplet reaffirms the poet's hope that as long as
  there is breath in mankind, his poetry too will
  live on, and ensure the immortality of his muse.

44
Sonnet 18 Questions

• 1. How does Shakespeare use language and
  metaphor to present the young mans beauty in
  Sonnet 18?
• 2. What question does the poetic speaker ask
  himself in the opening lines of this sonnet? What
  does he ultimately decide about whether or not
  this comparison is a good one?
• 3. What are some of the problems with a summer's
  day that the poet discusses in the first eight
  lines? What does the poet mean when he says, "But
  thy eternal summer shall not fade"?
• 4. The poet also promises, "Nor shall death brag
  thou wander'st in his shade." Does this seem
  possible or plausible as a promise?
• 5. The last two lines, however, limit the
  promise to "So long as men can breathe, or eyes
  can see, / So long lives this, and this gives
  life to thee." What does the "this" refer to? How
  does "this" continue to give this young man/woman
  life--even four hundred years after Shakespeare
  wrote the poem?

45
Sonnet 29 - Background

• Sonnet 29 shows the poet at his most insecure and
  troubled. He feels unlucky, shamed, and fiercely
  jealous of those around him. What causes the
  poet's anguish will remain a mystery as will the
  answer to whether the sonnets are
  autobiographical.
• However, an examination of Shakespeares life
  around the time he wrote Sonnet 29 reveals two
  traumatic events that may have shaped the theme
  of the sonnet.

46
Sonnet 29 - Background

• In 1592 the London theatres closed due to a
  severe outbreak of plague. Although it is
  possible that Shakespeare toured the outlying
  areas of London, it is almost certain that he
  left the theatre entirely during this time to
  work on his sonnets and narrative poems. The
  closing of the playhouses made it hard for
  Shakespeare and other actors of the day to earn a
  living. With plague and poverty looming it is
  expected that he would feel "in disgrace with
  fortune" (1).
• Moreover, in 1592 there came a scathing attack on
  Shakespeare by dramatist Robert Greene, who, in a
  deathbed diary, warned three of his fellow
  university-educated playwrights "There is an
  upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that
  with his Tygers heart wrapt in a Players hide,
  supposes he is as well able to bombast out a
  blanke verse as the best of you and, beeing an
  absolute Johannes fac totum, is in his owne
  conceit the onely Shake-scene in a countrey."

47
Sonnet 29 Questions

• 1. In Sonnet 29, what two moods are contrasted?
  
• 2. What kind of men does the speaker say he
  envies?
• 3. What causes his change of mood in the last
  few lines of the poem?
• 4. Judging from the reference in lines 11-12,
  what would you say the lark symbolizes?

48
The 7 Ages of Man

• 1. What, according to Shakespeare, are the acts
  in a mans life?
• 2. What is Shakespeares concept of life?
• 3. Lines 152-153
• a) Name the stage in mans life.
• b) What is the figure of speech in the first
  line?
• c) Why does the lover sigh?
• 4. Lines 155-157
• a) Who is referred to here?
• b) What are the distinguishing features of the
  soldier?

49
The 7 Ages of Man

• 5. Lines 165 166
• a) In which act is the man playing this part?
• b) What features of old age are mentioned here?
• 6. Lines 143-147
• a) What poetic device is used in these lines?
• b) To what in mans life does the poet compare
  the exits and entrances of the stage to?
• c) Explain the phrase one man in his time.
• 7. Lines 149-151
• a) Which stage of human life is described in
  these lines?
• b) What are the words or phrases which indicate
  that the boy is not willing to go to school?

50
The 7 Ages of Man

• 8. Lines 154 157
• a) Which stage of human life is described in the
  above lines? What are the main characteristics
  of this stage?
• b) What is the bubble reputation and how is it
  linked with the cannons mouth?
• 9. Lines 157-161
• a) How does a man look in this stage of life?
• b) What does he do to show his wisdom? Why?
• 10. How is the last stage of a mans life
  described?

51
John Donne 1572-1631The Original
Metaphysical Poet

• He was a new kind of poeta Copernicus in
  poetry (Carey xix).

52
Family

• John Donne was born in London in 1572.
• He was the son of a wealthy ironmonger.
  Unfortunately, his father died when he was only
  four years old.
• Johns family was strongly Catholic, a cause of
  some conflict for the family because of
  anti-Catholic feelings in England.
• (Jokinen)
• As a Catholic in England, his birthright was
  persecution and rejection.
• (Carey xix)

53
Education

• John was well educated by Jesuit priests as a
  boy.
• He later attended Oxford University but was not
  granted a degree because of his refusal to take
  the Oath of Supremacy (that the King/Queen is the
  supreme head of the Church in England).
• Donne later studied law.
• (Jokinen)

54
Poetic Style

• While associated with the Inns of Court ( an
  institution that specialized in the study of
  law), Donnes love lyrics and satires circulated
  among students.
• (Abrams)
• The speaker of his love elegies is a swaggering
  nonconformist he is a lewd yet intelligent
  seducer of women of the bourgeoisie out to take
  his pleasure and their fathers money.
• The speaker of the satires is serious,
  responsible, moralistic and deplores vice and
  corruption he is especially critical of
  courtiers and state officials seeking power and
  success by climbing Englands social ladder.
• (Carey xx-xxi)

55
Faith

• In 1593, his brother Henry died in prison.
• He had been imprisoned for harbouring a Catholic
  priest.
• It is speculated that this event may have lead to
  Donnes questioning of his Catholic faith.
• (Jokinen)

56
Career

• In his youth, Donne spent his money on
  womanizing, books, theatre and travel.
• He joined naval expeditions against the Spanish
  in Spain and the Azores.
• In 1601, at age 29, he became a member of Queen
  Elizabeths last parliament. (Jokinen)
• His career suffered a set back, however, due to
  his secret marriage to Ann More, niece of Lady
  Egerton and daughter of Sir George More, Lord
  Keeper of the Great Seal.
• He lost his job and was imprisoned for some
  weeks because of the scandal, he would struggle
  financially for a decade while endeavoring to
  re-establish his reputation.

57
Religion

• In his 40s, Donne converted to Protestantism,
  thus winning the favour of King James I.
• With the kings encouragement, he took holy
  orders in 1615 and became the Royal Chaplain.
• He was greatly admired for his preaching style
  which used elaborate metaphors and religious
  symbolism to great dramatic effect.
• (Jokinen)

58

• In 1617, when she was just 33 years old, his wife
  Ann died after giving birth to their 12th child.
  Unfortunately, the child was stillborn.
• Many of his later poems would demonstrate an
  apprehension of death, especially as he struggled
  with his own illness.
• His Holy Meditation 17 is a good example of this
  preoccupation with death. (Jokinen)

"No man is an island, entire of itself every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is
the less... Any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind and therefore
never send to know for whom the bell tolls it
tolls for thee." John Donne, 1624, Meditation
XVII
59
Death

• In 1621, Donne was appointed Dean of St. Pauls
  Cathedral.
• Obsessed with the idea of death, Donne posed for
  a portrait in a shroud. The painting was
  completed a few weeks before his death and later
  used to create an effigy.
• He preached what was called his own funeral
  sermon, Deaths Duel, just a few weeks before
  he died in London on March 31, 1631.
• He was buried at St. Pauls Cathedral. Donne's
  monument is the only one to survive the Great
  Fire of London in 1666 and can still be seen
  today at St. Paul's. (Jokinen)

60
Holy Sonnets
XVII. Since she whom I loved hath paid her last
debtTo Nature, and to hers, and my good is
dead,And her soul early into heaven
ravishèd,Wholly on heavenly things my mind is
set.Here the admiring her my mind did whetTo
seek thee, God so streams do show the headBut
though I have found thee, and thou my thirst hast
fed,A holy thirsty dropsy melts me yet.But why
should I beg more love, whenas thouDost woo my
soul, for hers offering all thineAnd dost not
only fear lest I allowMy love to saints and
angels, things divine,But in thy tender jealousy
dost doubtLest the world, flesh, yea, devil put
thee out.

• Thankfully, Donne left us powerful love poetry,
  divine poems and holy sonnets reflecting his
  religious struggles, and satires.
• (Jokinen)

61
His Style

• His writing shows a mind that was restlessly
  energetic, highly individualistic, and
  essentially dramatic.
• It challenges his readers minds to be as daring
  and agile as his own.
• He began a trend in poetry he was the original
  METAPHYSICAL POET (Abrams).

62
What are Metaphysics?

• of Greek origins meaning beyond (meta) the
  physical (matter in Aristotles works).
• is a branch of philosophy that investigates
  principles of reality transcending those of any
  particular science.
• A central branch of metaphysics is ontology, the
  investigation into what types of things there are
  in the world and what relations these things bear
  to one another.
• The metaphysician also attempts to clarify the
  notions by which people understand the world,
  including existence, objecthood, property, space,
  time, causality, and possibility.
• Before the development of modern science,
  scientific questions were addressed as a part of
  metaphysics known as natural philosophy.
• The scientific method, however, made natural
  philosophy an empirical and experimental activity
  unlike the rest of philosophy, and by the end of
  the eighteenth century it had begun to be called
  "science" to distinguish it from philosophy.
• Thereafter, metaphysics became the philosophical
  enquiry of a non-empirical character into the
  nature of existence.

63
The Metaphysical Poetic Style - Content

• Metaphysical poets wrote both love poems and
  deeply religious devotional poems.
• The poetry categorizes human love and more
  specifically, human romantic passion, as a Divine
  experience comparable to the Afterlife.
• It is concerned with defining the entire human
  experience (love, romantic and sensual man's
  relationship with God, and to a lesser extent
  pleasure, learning and art).
• Metaphysical poetry is considered great because
  of its scathing wit, wordplay, and irony.
• It is always meditative and lyrical in nature.
• It often presents complicated arguments to
  confront lifes complications.
• (Abrams)

64
The Metaphysical Poetic Style- Imagery and
Structure

• Uses elaborate, intellectualized images (often
  called conceitsa figure of speech where a
  parallel is drawn between two dissimilar things
  to create striking imagery).
• Extensive use of paradox (a statement or
  proposition that seems self-contradictory or
  absurd but in reality expresses a possible
  truth).
• Multi-layered use of symbol and metaphor.
• Rhythm and meter is irregular to reflect the
  irregular and unpredictable movements of an
  active mind and of an informal speaking voice.
• (Abrams)

65
Holy Sonnet Death Be Not Proud

• Title and Publication Information
• The poem first appeared as Holy Sonnet X in a
  collection of 19 sonnets by John Donne
  (1572-1631). However, its title came to be known
  as Death, Be Not Proud (after the first four
  words of the poem). It was written between 1601
  and 1610the exact year is uncertainand
  published after Donne died.
•  
• Type of Work
• Death, Be Not Proud" is a sonnet (14-line poem)
  similar in format to that established in Italy by
  Petrarch (1304-1374), a Roman Catholic priest who
  popularized the sonnet form before it was adopted
  and modified in England. Petrarch's sonnets each
  consist of an eight-line stanza (octave) and a
  six-line stanza (sestet). The first stanza
  presents a theme, and the second stanza develops
  it.

66
Donne Assignment 30 Marks Total

• Theme
• Rhyme Scheme
• Meter
• Figures of Speech
• Questions
• Personal View of the Poem

67
Analysis 10 Marks

• Theme (3 Marks)
• Rhyme Scheme and Meter (7 Marks)
• Figures of Speech (name two) reference the
  line(s) in which the figure of speech is found
  and explain. (2 marks each)

68
Questions 5 Marks

•  1. Why does Donne consistently capitalize the
  word death?
• (1 mark)
• 2. What is the tone in Donnes poem? Defend
  your answer.
• (2 marks)
•  
• 3. Give an interpretation of the title of the
  poem.
• (1 mark)
•  
• 4. Why would the poet write thinkst and
  swellst instead of writing thinkest and
  swellest?
• (1 mark)

69
Summary What is this poem about???

• Complete a 1/3-1/2 page paragraph summary of the
  poem. (10 Marks)
• Make at least 3 specific line references as
  evidence to support your claims.
• Do NOT use the internet for this assignment.

70
Analysis Answers

• Rhyme Scheme and Meter
• The rhyme scheme of "Death, Be Not Proud" is as
  follows ABBA, ABBA, CDDC, EE. The meter varies,
  although most lines are in iambic pentameter.

71
Theme

• Death Be Not Proud is among the most famous
  and most beloved poems in English literature. Its
  popularity lies in its message of hope couched in
  eloquent, quotable language. Donnes theme tells
  the reader that death has no right to be proud,
  since human beings do not die but live eternally
  after one short sleep. Although some people
  depict death as mighty and powerful, it is really
  a lowly slave that depends on luck, accidents,
  decrees, murder, disease, and war to put men to
  sleep. But a simple poppy (whose seeds provide a
  juice to make a narcotic) and various charms
  (incantations, amulets, spells, etc.) can also
  induce sleepand do it better than death can.
  After a human beings soul leaves the body and
  enters eternity, it lives on only death dies.

72
Figures of Speech

• To convey his message, Donne relies primarily on
  personification, a type of metaphor, that extends
  through the entire poem. (Such an extended
  metaphor is often called a conceit.) Thus, death
  becomes a person whom Donne addresses, using the
  second-person singular (implied or stated as
  thou, thee, and thy). Donne also uses
  alliteration, as the following lines illustrate
•  
• Line 4 Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst though
  kill me
• Line 6 Much pleasure then from thee much more
  must flow
• Line 13 One short sleep past, we wake eternally
  (Note One begins with a w sound thus, it
  alliterates with we and wake.)
• Donne ends the poem with paradox and irony
  Death, thou shalt die.

73
Works Cited

• Abrams, M.H., ed. The Norton Anthology of English
  Literature.
• New York W.W. Norton Company, 1987. Print.
• Boldt, Danielle, Sarah Carlin, and Erin Maguire.
  "The Life of Christopher Marlowe." Christopher
  Marlowe (1564-1593). LtWr 308 A, n.d. Web. 28 Mar
  2010.lthttp//public.csusm.edu/marlowe/index.htmlgt.
  
• Carey, John. Introduction. John Donne A
  Critical Edition of the Major Works. Toronto
  Oxford University Press, 1990. xix-xxxii.
  Print.
• Jokinen, Anniina. "The Life of John Donne."
  Luminarium.22 June 2006. Web. 27 May 2010.    
• Mabillard, Amanda. Why Study Shakespeare?
  Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. (January 31st,
  2011) lt http//www.shakespeare-online.com/biograph
  y/whystudyshakespeare.html gt.