Poetry is...

…the smile of a child.

…a lover’s laugh.

…a sad melody on a rainy Sunday.

…the benefit of doubt.

...lemonade without sugar.

…the cycles of life.

…to be left because of another person.

…to leave someone for another person.

…the smell of a new book.

…to watch your life in a film.

…four ears, one headphone.

…a full moon illuminating the sea.

…a naked body.

…a dead body.

…to do everything wrong and get things right in the end.

…a nightmare that becomes true.

…the death of a pet when you’re a child.

…a philosophical discussion inside a full bus.

…sexual tension.

…medicine for an incurable disease.

…to feel alone in the middle of a crowd.

…to feel glad with your own company when you’re all alone.

…glow-worms at a dark garden.

…the end of a story.

…the thrill of all first times.

…a terrible date with a great companion.

…un coup de foudre.

…to give up and let go.

…a gift from a stranger.

…the suicide of a friend.

…to be afraid of what you know.

…organization within a chaotic mess.

…your favorite song.

…a dew drop on a flower petal.

…to see birds in the window.

…to kill and bury someone in your heart.

…a dozen of red roses.

…to fall in love with a film/book character.

...to fall in love with the right person.

…a promise that was broken.

…a painful truth.

…a sweet lie.

…to regret something you didn’t do.

…to look for yourself in other people.

…to find yourself in other people and disapprove it.

…to write a poem at 1:30 a.m..

That’s what poetry is to me.

Posted by Fernanda Pedrecal.

The Prophet, by Abraham Cowley

It was a real pleasure to watch Dead Poets Society again, since I really enjoy this film. But there is a scene which is my favorite: it is when the boys go to the cave for the first time, the moment when Charlie Dalton shows a picture of a naked woman. He recites a small excerpt of a poem that I like, which is called The Prophet, by Mr. Abraham Cowley (1618 - 1667), one of the most important English poets of the 17^th century.

Here is the full version of The Prophet*:

Teach me to Love? Go teach thy self more wit;
I am chief Professor of it.
Teach craft to Scots, and thrift to Jews,
Teach boldness to the Stews;
In tyrants courts teach supple flattery,
Teach Jesuits, that have traveled far, to Lye.
Teach fire to burn and Winds to blow.
Teach restless Fountains how to flow,
Teach the dull earth, fixt, to abide,
Teach Woman-kind inconstancy and Pride.
See if your diligence here will useful prove;
But, pr'ithee, teach not me to love.

The God of Love, if such a thing there be,
May learn to love from me,
He who does boast that he has bin,
In every Heart since Adams sin,
I'll lay my Life, nay Mistress on't, that's more;
I'll teach him things he never knew before;
I'll teach him a receipt to make
Words that weep, and Tears that speak,
I'll teach him Sighs, like those in death,
At which the Souls go out too with the breath;
Still the Soul stays, yet still does from me run;
As Light and Heat does with the Sun.

'Tis I who Love's Columbus am; 'tis I, Who must new Worlds in it descry;
Rich Worlds, that yield of Treasure more,
than that has been known before,
And yet like his (I fear) my fate must be,
To find them out for others; not for Me.
Me Times to come, I know it, shall
Loves last and greatest prophet call.
But, ah, what's that, if she refuse,
To hear the whole doctrines of my Muse?
If to my share the Prophets fate must come;
Hereafter fame, here Martyrdome.
 
*All the poems that are recited at the film are available in full version at the site http://www.antiromantic.com/ .


Posted by Fernanda Pedrecal.

A little bit about Shakespeare and the Elizabethan Era

A Shakespeare's probable authentic image.

Source: guardian.co.uk

Like Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) is also considered one of the most important writers in the history of English literature. As we saw in class today, he wrote a total of 37 plays – including history plays, comedies and tragedies – and 154 sonnets. He also wrote 5 poems which are much longer in extension than the sonnets. The most well-known of these poems are Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, both with erotic content.

Shakespeare was born in a town called Stratford-upon-Avon, at a time in which the English language was gaining more prestige in Europe between the other European languages. It was the period known as the Elizabethan Era, since England was being governed by Queen Elizabeth I (1533 – 1603), a very important character in the history of England.  

Besides being extremely skillful in the task of ruling the country, Queen Elizabeth I was also a powerful and bright woman who encouraged intellectual activities. Because she was particularly fond of arts in general, this period is known as the one in which drama and poetry flourished in England. This fact was particularly good for William Shakespeare, since he was a playwright who knew how to benefit from this favorable setting and managed to become very successful with his works.       

Here is the complete site for the image I used in this post: 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/mar/15/shakespeare-lost-play-double-falsehood

 

Posted by Fernanda Pedrecal

Daniel of Beccles, a medieval author

Daniel of Beccles was a medieval author and also a knight in King Henry II’s court. At the end of the 12^th century, he wrote a very interesting book of manners called The Book of the Civilized Man – also known as Urbanus Magnus –, which is actually a 3.000 lines poem teaching men and boys how to behave properly in court society. It seems that this was the first manual of etiquette written in English.  

The Book of Civilized Man has advice for typical social situations that have to do specially with social hierarchy, self-control and sexual morality in medieval times. For example, the lines about social hierarchy usually address those men who want to be part of the nobility, and Beccles advises them:

“Dining at a rich man’s table, say little.”

When it comes to self-control, one of Beccles suggestions is that it is better for a man to keep his thoughts to himself by advising:

"Be careful to whom, what, why and when you speak".

And finally, advice about sexual morality teaches how men should behave with their own wives, with other men’s wives and with prostitutes. Beccles advises his readers that if a lord’s wife makes a sexual proposition to a man, for example, the best solution for this man is to pretend to be ill.

These were the sites I researched at: 

http://www.foxearth.org.uk/daniel_of_beccles.html 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_of_Beccles 

Posted by Fernanda Pedrecal

The Wife of Bath

One of the most famous images for The Wife of Bath

In our last class (March 25th), we discussed about Geoffrey Chaucer. We talked mostly about his short poems, but what got me curious was something Professor Sandra mentioned about The Wife of Bath, one of the stories from Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. She said it was very interesting and funny, so I went on a little research about it.

In very brief terms, The Wife of Bath is a tale about independent women in the Middle Ages (seems that some women managed to be independent at that time!). Like all the other stories in The Canterbury Tales, is has a prologue before the tale itself. The prologue is told by a woman named Alison - the wife of Bath -, and she considers herself a very experienced woman, since she's been married five times. The whole prologue is about her telling the pilgrims about her relationship with each one of her husbands and how she felt pleased to control and torture them.

The tale starts with the condemnation of a knight from King Arthur's court accused of rape. But because his lovers intercede on his behalf, the queen decides to give him a second chance by challenging him: he has one year and a day to discover what women want more than anything else. The only way to save his life is bringing the queen a good answer; otherwise, he dies.

So the knight starts the quest, but finds no answer. One year later, when going back to meet the queen, feeling sad because he had failed, he meets a very old hag that promises to help him if she gets a reward from him at a proper time. He agrees and they go together to the court. When they arrive there, he tells the queen that what women want the most is sovereignty over their husbands. The queen accepts the answer and sets him free.

But then the old hag asks him for her reward! She demands that the knight marry her. Under his protests, they get married the next day. That night, during their honeymoon, he tells her how sad he feels because of her poverty and ugliness. The hag tells him to choose between an ugly and faithful wife or a beautiful and unfaithful one. Because he decides to leave the choice up to her, the hag becomes a beautiful and faithful woman, and then the couple lived very happy until the last day of their lives. The end!         

These were the sites I researched at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wife_of_Bath's_Tale

http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/gchaucer/bl-gchau-can-bath.htm
http://www.teachit.co.uk/armoore/poetry/wifebath.htm#life
http://www.gradesaver.com/the-canterbury-tales/study-guide/section7/

Posted by Fernanda Pedrecal