Activity 1
Click this link to review a brief introduction to poetry.
Authored by: Tom Chester. Provided by: Ivy Tech Community College. License: CC BY: Attribution
Activity 2
Click this link for a helpful and insightful article on the American Academy of Poets, “How to Read a Poem”
Activity 3
Please watch this short video, which explains the difference between English and Italian sonnets and discusses common themes that are usually the subject of these highly structured poems.
Activity 4
Please enjoy an interactive reading of Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare, “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day.”
You are not required to complete the assessment questions but doing so may enhance your understanding of the poem.
Activity 5 (Optional)
Relax and enjoy this Youtube reading of Sonnet 18, “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day.”
Activity 6
Click this link to access Sonnet Number 130, “My Mistress’s Eyes Are Nothing like the Sun” by William Shakespeare.
[OER Source:
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/my-mistress-eyes-are-nothing-sun-sonnet-130
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
Activity 7
Click this link to access the Italian sonnet, “How Do I Love Thee” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning on the Commonlit website.
Activity 8
Click this link to access a reading of the Italian sonnet, “What My Lips Have Kissed and Why and When” by Edna Saint Vincent Millay.
Activity 9
Click this link to access “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” on the Poets.org website. Click the audio icon, and you will hear a very memorable and dramatic recitation of the poem by the author himself.
“The Lake Isle of Innisfree” is characterized as a lyric poem. In ancient Greece lyric poems were sung to the music of a stringed instrument called a lyre. Today, however, a lyric poem is generally considered to be a short poem, expressed in vivid language and imagery, which conveys the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker.
Activity 10
Click this link to access the poem “My Last Duchess” on the Commonlit website. This is written as a monologue and is an example of a dramatic poem.
Activity 11
Click this link for my video lecture on “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning.
Activity 12
Click this link to access the poem “White Lies” by Natasha Tretheway. This is an example of a narrative poem.
Activity 13
Please read “We Real Cool” and “The Mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks.
Activity 14
Quiz 4 on Oedipus the King and Ancient Greek Theater
The quiz covers checks your knowledge of Oedipus the King and the conventions of Ancient Greek theater. The test is timed, and students have 90 minutes to complete it. The quiz will be available from 9:00 a.m. Monday, August 8 to 5:00 p.m., Sunday, August 14. The quiz will not be reopened after the closing date.
To access the quiz, navigate to your Blackboard course. Click on Links to Quizzes. Then click on Quiz 4.
Activity 15
Essay 3
Due: Sunday, August 14
This week you will write a 3-4-page final draft of the essay project you have been working on. For this last step, you will expand your corrected first draft essay by including at least one secondary source relevant to your thesis. Click here to access complete Essay Final Draft directions.
Also, please review the formatting guidelines below. To submit your essay, return to your Blackboard course and Click the Essay Submission Links folder on the black navigation panel. Within the folder, click the subfolder labeled “Essay Final Draft.”
BMCC Library Guide to MLA Format
Activity 15
Click this link to access the Week 4 discussion