1. Reporter: Bernard Tandayag
Topic: Introduction to English History, Cultures, Traditions and Beliefs
References:
Soriano-Baldonado, R. Readings from World Literatures: Understanding
People’s Cultures, Traditions and Beliefs ( A Task-based Approach).Quezon
City: Great Books Publishing. 2013
http://www.slideshare.net/pradheepxing/an-introduction-to-the-history-of-
english-literature
Lesson Proper:
England its Location and Geography
England is a country that shares borders with Scotland to the north and
Wales to the west. The Irish Sea is to the north west of England, while the Celtic
Sea is to the south west.
England became a unified state in AD 927 state, and since the Age of
Discovery, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world.
England's terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, However, there are
uplands in the north (for example, the mountainous Lake District, Pennines) and
the Southwest. The ancient capital of Winchester was England until the 12th
century and is now London
Law
It Is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary system. There has not
been a Government of England since 1707, when the Acts of Union 1707, putting
into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union Joined England and Scotland to form
the Kingdom of Great Britain.
England and its Climate
England has a temperate oceanic climate and humid, with temperatures
not much lower than -5 ° C in winter and not much higher than 32 ° C in summer.
The coldest months are January and February being the warmest month
is July. Rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year so, being that the
western region has the most rainfall
2. England and Its Culture
Cuisine
Since the Early Modern Period the food of England has historically been
characterized by its simplicity of approach and a reliance on the high quality of
natural produce.
Architecture
Many ancient standing stone monuments were erected during the
prehistoric period, amongst the best-known are Stonehenge, Devil's
Arrows, Redstone Monolith.
Literature, poetry and philosophy
Early authors such as Bede and Alcuin wrote in Latin. The period of Old
English literature provided the epic poem Beowulf and the secular prose of
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
Music in England
England has produced some of the world’s best music throughout
history. In fact, as a country, England has spearheaded some of the world’s most
significant musical movements and trends. Since its earliest days, English music
has been particularly diverse and culturally relevant. It was made up of religious
music, folk music, classical music and many other styles.
England and Its Literature
The story of English literature begins with the Germanic tradition of the
Anglo-Saxon settlers. Beowulf stands at its head. This epic poem of the 8th
century is in Anglo-Saxon, now more usually described as Old English. It is
incomprehensible to a reader familiar only with modern English. Even so, there is
a continuous linguistic development between the two. The most significant
turning point, from about 1100, is the development of Middle English - differing
from Old English in the addition of a French vocabulary after the Norman
conquest. French and Germanic influences subsequently compete for the
mainstream role in English literature. The French poetic tradition inclines to lines
of a regular metrical length, usually linked by rhyme into couplets or stanzas.
German poetry depends more on rhythm and stress, with repeated consonants
3. (alliteration) to bind the phrases. Elegant or subtle rhymes have a courtly flavour.
The hammer blows of alliteration are a type of verbal athleticism more likely to
draw applause in a hall full of warriors.
Both traditions achieve a magnificent flowering in England in the late 14th
century, towards the end of the Middle English period. Piers Plowman and Sir
Gawain are masterpieces which look back to Old English. By contrast Chaucer, a
poet of the court, ushers in a new era of English literature.
England and its Art
English art is the body of visual arts made in England. Following
historical surveys such as Creative Art In England by William Johnstone (1936
and 1950), Nikolaus Pevsner attempted a definition in his 1956 book The
Englishness of English Art, as did Sir Roy Strong in his 2000 book The Spirit of
Britain: A narrative history of the arts, and Peter Ackroyd in his 2002 book The
Origins of the English Imagination.
Although medieval English painting, mostly religious, had a strong
national tradition and was at times influential on the rest of Europe, it was in
decline from the 15th century. The Protestant Reformation, which was especially
destructive of art in England, not only brought the tradition to an abrupt stop but
resulted in the destruction of almost all wall-paintings. Only illuminated
manuscripts now survive in good numbers.
4. Reporter: Teoly Gay Caspe
Topic: Piano
Author: D.H. Lawrence
References:
Soriano-Baldonado, R. Readings from World Literatures: Understanding
People’s Cultures, Traditions and Beliefs ( A Task-based Approach).Quezon
City: Great Books Publishing. 2013
http://www.slideshare.net/npaliterature/piano-46141470
Lesson Proper:
Piano
D.H. Lawrence
Structure
Poem is in rhyming couplets – these create a sense of harmony.This is
built upon with the use of three equal quatrains.
Perhaps the regular rhyming structure sounds musical?
Moves between past and present – look for the time words – ‘Now’, ‘back’
etc.
Stanza 1
Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;
Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see
A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings
And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.
5. Speaker listens to the piano and recalls his past.
Belongs to warm and stable family.
Nostalgic/Sentimental – ‘Softly’ Line 1, ‘Smiles as she sings’ Line 4.
Music – Contrast between strong and weak sounds, like the struggle between the
two singers. E.g. ‘softly’ and ‘boom’.
“pressing the small, poised feet” shows sense of touch and closeness.
Aura around her of grace and beauty.
Adoration and admiration – watches her as she plays.
Metaphor “the vista of years” compares the events of his life to a long road
indicating how far in time he is recalling
Stanza 2
In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song
Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong
To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside
And hymns in the cosy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide.
Moves from happy to bittersweet - ‘Betrays me’.
“old Sunday evenings … with winter outside” - contrast used to amplify security
felt in warm home setting.
“the insidious mastery of song” indicates the overwhelming power of the music.
“till the heart of me weeps” shows the extent of his being moved by his
memories.
Mood is depressing and sad as tone intensifies to a passionate cry for his lost
past.
“In spite of myself” – lack of self control.
“Insidious mastery” – subtle effect of music.
Stanza 3
So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour
With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour
Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast
Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.
6. Moves into sadness as nostalgia builds in Stanza 3 – ‘glamour of childish days’, ‘I
weep’.
Climax “I weep like a child for the past” (simile) - speaker compares
himself to a child, shows openness and childlike sincerity.
Unable to control emotions any longer and breaks down.
Stuck in the present but like the child, he longs to return to security and warmth
of his past.
“glamour” suggests beauty and grace.
Childhood is glamorous because it is one of security and beauty.
Overwhelming longing – tears compared to ‘flood’ and ‘cast’ indicates strength of
his emotion destroying his façade of pride.
THANK YOU SO MUCH
Reported by:
Teoly Gay Caspe
7. Reporter: Teoly Gay Caspe
Topic: Daffodils
Author: William Wordsworth
References:
Soriano-Baldonado, R. Readings from World Literatures: Understanding
People’s Cultures, Traditions and Beliefs ( A Task-based Approach).Quezon
City: Great Books Publishing. 2013
Spark Notes (2010). I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud. Retrieved from
http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/wordsworth/section7.rhtml
Mathew, P. (1997). Academy of American poets. [Web log post].
Retrieved from http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/2968
Samuel, K. (N.P). Biography of William Wordsworth. BBC. Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/wordsworth_william.shtml
Lesson Proper:
Daffodils
by: William Wordsworth
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was born on April 17, 1770, just outside the Lake
District in the quaint market town of Cocker mouth, Cumbria.
William Wordsworth
He was one of the greatest romantic poets in the 19 – century England.
8. He belongs to the Romantic school of poetry. Poets of this school are very
interested in nature, which has a great effect on their poetry.Studied at
Cambridge University Death Date: April 23, 1850
Introduction (about the poem)
William Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud " also known as “
The daffodils” is a lyric poem focusing on the poet's response to the beauty of
nature The final version of the poem was first published in Collected Poems in
1815. An earlier version was published in Poems in Two Volumes in 1807 as a
three-stanza poem. The final version has four stanzas.
.Setting and Background Information
The poem recaptures a moment on April 15, 1802. when Wordsworth and his
sister, Dorothy, were walking near Lake Ullswater in Grasmere, Cambria County,
England, and came across a "long belt" of golden daffodils.
Wordsworth sister Dorothy, played an important part in his life and she
also influenced him with her love of nature.
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
I wandered lonely as a Cloud (Daffodils): Rhyme, Form & Meter
"I wandered lonely as a Cloud" has a fairly simple form that fits its simple
and folksy theme and language. It consists of four stanzas with six lines each, for
a total of 24 lines.
The rhyme scheme is also simple: ABABCC. The last two lines of each stanza
rhyme like the end of a Shakespearean sonnet, so each stanza feels
independent and self-sufficient.
Figures of Speech (stanza one):
‘I wondered lonely as a cloud.’
Simile: The poet compares himself to a cloud walking without an aim.
The poet used alliteration in:
-Line 2: ‘That floats on high o’er vales and hills’.
The ‘h’ sound as in high, and hills.
Line 5: ‘Beside the lake, beneath the trees,’.
9. The ‘b’ sound as in beside, and beneath.
Stanza one
‘Golden daffodils.’
Metaphor: The poet compares the yellow daffodils to gold in their bright
color.
‘Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.’
Personification: The poet personifies the daffodils to people who can move
and dance.
Figures of Speech (stanza two):
1- ‘Continuous as the stars that shine’
Simile: The poet compares the daffodils to stars in their huge number and
their shiny appearance.
2- ‘Tossing their heads in sprightly dance’
Personification: The poet personifies the daffodils as human beings
moving their heads quickly.
Figures of Speech (stanza three):
‘The waves beside them danced’ & ‘they
outdid the sparkling waves in glee’
Personification: The poet personifies the waves as human beings dancing
and feeling happy.
The poet used alliteration in:
-Line 1: The ‘b’ sound as in beside, and but.
-Line 1: The ‘th’ sound as in the, them and they.
Line 6: The ‘w’ sound as in what, and wealth.
Figures of Speech (stanza four):
The poet used alliteration in:
-Line 1: The ‘o’ sound as in often, and on.
-Line 3: The ‘th’ sound as in they, and that.
10. -Line 6: The ‘d’ sound as in dances, and daffodils.
2- ‘my heart …. dances with the daffodils’.
Personification: The poet personifies his heart as a human being who is
dancing
Figures of speech(Apostrophe: ):
“I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; ”.The poet apostrophizes the daffodils
and describes them in their large number as a crowd of people. Also , “In such a
jocund company “The poets addresses the flowers as human beings and
describes them as a happy company of good friends .
Repetition:
In third stanza, poet repeated the word “gazed” two times.
The word "dance" is repeated 3 times in this poem. In the 1st stanza, it denotes
the happiness and liveliness of the flowers. In the 2nd stanza, it creates a sense
of harmonious relationship between the daffodils and the waves. In the last
stanza, it refers that this harmony is advanced to include the poet himself.
Nature of literary communication
In this poem, poet himself is an addresser or sender. Through the whole poem,
poet explaining his thought as monologue.
There is no addressee appears in this poem. Poet directly talking with his
audience and sharing his feeling and thought about nature (daffodils). So, we are
the receiver here.
Grammar And Sentence
William Wordsworth uses a complete sentence with subject and predicate.
There are six sentences Unit and Trunk in the entire poem.
The title of the poem itself is in a complete sentence. Aside from using complete
sentences, the author also makes a vivid description of the daffodils by using
several predicate to describe the scenery.
11. Wordsworth likes to begin each stanza by using a complete sentence and he
expands it by using elaborate predicates and clauses.
I wandered lonely as a Cloud (Daffodils) semantic analysis
The poet starts his poem by painting a picture of himself walking
aimlessly, like a cloud in the sky when suddenly he saw a group of beautiful
golden daffodils This whole poem was powers of imagination. Whatever he say,
all came from his imagination. By his imagination power, William Wordsworth
wrote this romantic poem where we find his romance with nature.
Semantic (Main Theme of the poem)
Nature' s beauty uplifts the human spirit .
Theme of { Happiness } :” Fluttering and dancing in the breeze “ maybe
the poem just makes us feel good about life by using the power of imagination .
the theme of loneliness : 'I wandered lonely as a cloud.' that could be affected by
daily routines theme of rejecting city life and going back to the Mother Nature .
Memory and the Past: the poet can always draw on his imagination to reproduce
the joy of the event and to remember the spiritual wisdom that it provided
powers of imagination .
Semantic analysis (City life vs. Nature)
Wordsworth try to explain the difference between city life and nature (rural).
Through the lines, the shift of the poet feelings is very clear.
Firstly, he complains about the corrupted world, which lacks cooperation and
harmony, so he wanders lonely and hopeless.
He prefers to get away from other people as if being with them brings him
nothing but more sadness and loneliness.
12. However, seeing the golden daffodils cheered him up because they welcomed
him. "A host, of golden daffodils" shows that the poet ran away from city life and
took nature as a shelter to protect him from the world's corruption.
