Time, Eyes, and Cupid

After vocabulary, we returned to the world of Petrarch by reviewing Italian sonnet structure and how iambic pentameter creates a rhythm - the heartbeat Johnny shows Baby to feel during their Mambo - to add to the structure and flow.  An iamb is a combination of 2 syllables, the first unstressed and the second unstressed. Pentameter reflects the number of feet in a line, in this case five. Hence, a standard line of iambic pentameter features 10 syllables, starting unstressed and ending stressed. (I emphasize standard as Shakespeare likes to throw in an extra syllable or make a trochee here and there to emphasize various points in a text.)

Back to Petrarch, we looked at two more of his poems and the building motifs that occur. As a small group, you were then assigned one of the Petrarch's poems to analyze in the following manner:

1. Identify the theme/problem/question/argument proposed in the octave and analyze its significance.
2. Identify the conclusion/solution/answer/response given in the sestet and analyze its significance.
3. Identify and analyze the theme of the poem.
4. Identify the tone changes and analyze the purpose(s).
5. Select 3 literary elements and analyze each for its purpose/significance/etc.
6. Compare and contrast this poem with the other Petrarchan poems.

In class tomorrow, you will teach the above information to your classmates.

It's on the board -- Book Card 3 is due on October 17, first grade of second quarter.