English I continued with “Sonnet 29,” looking today at the second half of the poem and examining it for two elements:

• Two examples of inversions (there are four in the final lines);
• One long phrase we can bracket out of the poem

After doing so, students were able to make some sense of the final lines:

We came up with an understanding something along the lines of this:

When I’m in disgrace with everyone and my luck has deserted me, I sit all alone and cry about the fact that I’m an outcast, and bother God with useless cries, which fall on deaf ears, and look at myself and curse my fate, wishing that I had more to hope for, wishing I had this man’s good looks and that man’s friends, this man’s skills and that man’s opportunities, and totally dissatisfied with the things I usually enjoy the most. Yet, as I’m thinking these thoughts and almost hating myself, I happen to think about you, and then my condition improves—like a lark at daybreak rising up and leaving the earth far behind to sing hymns to God. For when I remember your sweet love, I feel so wealthy that I’d refuse to change places even with kings. (No Fear Shakespeare)

Once everyone understood the general sense of the poem, the sentiment was unanimous: “Ah, that’s sweet.”

English 8 students worked on the second half of their analytic essays about Nightjohn and voice. Students should now have the first two paragraphs completely planned.

Homework

• English 8: 
  • work on Nightjohn paragraphs if you are not done with the planning phase.
  • work on the article of the week as necessary;
  • work on No Red Ink as needed.
• English I Honors: 
  • look for two patterns within the sonnet (pay close attention: what rhymes? what pattern does the punctuation make?);
  • work on the article of the week as necessary;
  • work on No Red Ink as needed.