Donne Questions (secular)

ENGL 520

Dr. Fike

Day One:

We need to talk about a number of poems on pages 103-14 today.  Work in groups of three to prepare the following poems:

1.  “The Flea” and “A Valediction: forbidding Mourning”

2. “The Good-Morrow” and “The Sun Rising”

3. “Air and Angels” and “The Ecstasy”

4.  “The Relic” and  “The Canonization”

5. “A Nocturnal upon S. Lucy’s Day being the shortest day” and “The Anniversary”

Group activity:  Give your pair of poems a title based on something they have in common, figure out what your poems say about (romantic) love, generate some questions that you can ask the class about your poems (have answers in mind too), and figure out at least one question that your poems ask us.  Note:  For those still fishing for a term paper topic, some of these poems are suitable for the research project.  One thing further:  Some of these poems are brutally difficult.  It is very okay to tap into criticism as you are preparing them.

Day Two:

Each of you (or groups of you if we have enough students in class) should prepare one elegy apiece.  You will present your elegy to the class.

1. “Elegy VI”
2. “Elegy VII”
3. “Elegy VIII: The Comparison”
4. “Elegy IX: The Autumnal”
5. “Elegy XIX: To His Mistress Going to Bed”
6. “Elegy XVIII: Love’s Progress”

What should you be sure to do with your elegy?

• Since all of them deal with male-female relationships, see if you can build on what you said last time about (romantic) love in your group of Donne poems.
• Be prepared to present your elegy to the class:  provide a paraphrase and/or summary, point out key passages.  A handout would be a good idea, since it is hard to imagine how we will be able to cover six elegies AND “Satire III” in a single period.

Everybody should carefully prepare to talk about “Satire III.” 

• How might you apply the elements of critical thinking to this poem?
• Can you divide the poem into sections?
• Can you make any connections between this poem and Donne’s other religious writings, which we studied previously?
• Read the poem carefully a number of times.  We will dedicate a whole period to explicating it.