TODAY IN CLASS
Sonnet structure:  14 lines, iambic pentameter, varied rhyme schemes.  Then we went over the details of Spenserian, Petrarchan (Italian), and Shakespearean (English) sonnets.  These details will be on a hand-out that you will receive shortly.

Shakespeare's anti-Valentine sonnet: Sonnet 130 (p. 256).  No, it's not really against Valentine's Day, but it DOES mock the typical stance of praise found in the sonnet sequences; the poet typically idealizes his  beloved by elevating the descriptions of her physical beauty, actions, and character--often comparing her directly to a goddess or to an utterly impossible standard of feminine perfection.  Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 provides a more realistic view of a flesh-and-blood woman; the speaker loves her for what she IS, not for false comparisons to what she is NOT.

FOR TOMORROW

• Study p. 244:  the definition of pastoral poetry and the short biographies of Christopher Marlowe and Sir Walter Raleigh
• Read both poems on p. 245.  Summarize the persuasive arguments stated by the "Passionate Shepherd"--use clear bullet points, not paragraph form. 
• Then provide the response that the "Nymph" makes to each of the Shepherd's arguments; do this in bullet points as well.