Lesson Plan- melody

Lesson objectives:
1. students should be able to demonstrate their practical criticism skills by doing close analysis of an assigned poem by John Donne. They should be able to grasp what the poem is about, the themes, identify patterns and rhyme scheme, with the help of poetry devices.
2. students should have some knowledge of John Donne and have a new "enlightened" reading of the previously assigned poem (if they feel there is any).
3. students should be able to relate to Donne's issues (which are essentially eduring issues) at the end of the lesson.

This lesson is to cater to a Secondary 4, mixed ability class.

duration of lesson: 60 min + 30 min (another day)

Students will be given a copy of assigned poem and asked to read for the main idea (individual work) 5 min:

THE FLEA.
by John Donne


MARK but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deniest me is ;
It suck'd me first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled be.
Thou know'st that this cannot be said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead ;
Yet this enjoys before it woo,
And pamper'd swells with one blood made of two ;
And this, alas ! is more than we would do.

O stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, yea, more than married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our marriage bed, and marriage temple is.
Though parents grudge, and you, we're met,
And cloister'd in these living walls of jet.
Though use make you apt to kill me,
Let not to that self-murder added be,
And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.

Cruel and sudden, hast thou since
Purpled thy nail in blood of innocence?
Wherein could this flea guilty be,
Except in that drop which it suck'd from thee?
Yet thou triumph'st, and say'st that thou
Find'st not thyself nor me the weaker now.
'Tis true ; then learn how false fears be ;
Just so much honour, when thou yield'st to me,
Will waste, as this flea's death took life from thee.

when they have finished reading the poem, form groups of 4-5 and ask students to discuss what they thought of the poem and why. 15 min
(draw their ideas out on majong paper to share with the class later on.)

for scaffolding: what ideas were found in the poem? (marriage, death, love, sex ,religion... and more?)
using poetry devices: what patterns are observed? what do they feel is invoked in the consistency of the rhyme scheme? what imagery is there? why the use of the flea? what is the tone?

-bring the class together to share what they thought of the poem and discuss what problems they faced and to bring up questions that they wanted to ask.

next, get class to do pick ONE other poem out of the resources that I provide (John Donne's other poems) and are instructed to find out more about John Donne, the poet.

the other resources:

Death be not proud

by John Donne

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

and

LOVE'S GROWTH.
by John Donne

I SCARCE believe my love to be so pure
As I had thought it was,
Because it doth endure
Vicissitude, and season, as the grass ;
Methinks I lied all winter, when I swore
My love was infinite, if spring make it more.

But if this medicine, love, which cures all sorrow
With more, not only be no quintessence,
But mix'd of all stuffs, vexing soul, or sense,
And of the sun his active vigour borrow,
Love’s not so pure, and abstract as they use
To say, which have no mistress but their Muse ;
But as all else, being elemented too,
Love sometimes would contemplate, sometimes do.

And yet no greater, but more eminent,
Love by the spring is grown ;
As in the firmament
Stars by the sun are not enlarged, but shown,
Gentle love deeds, as blossoms on a bough,
From love's awakened root do bud out now.

If, as in water stirr'd more circles be
Produced by one, love such additions take,
Those like so many spheres but one heaven make,
For they are all concentric unto thee ;
And though each spring do add to love new heat,
As princes do in times of action get
New taxes, and remit them not in peace,
No winter shall abate this spring’s increase.

and

THE ECSTACY.
by John Donne

WHERE, like a pillow on a bed,
A pregnant bank swell'd up, to rest
The violet's reclining head,
Sat we two, one another's best.

Our hands were firmly cemented
By a fast balm, which thence did spring ;
Our eye-beams twisted, and did thread
Our eyes upon one double string.

So to engraft our hands, as yet
Was all the means to make us one ;
And pictures in our eyes to get
Was all our propagation.

As, 'twixt two equal armies, Fate
Suspends uncertain victory,
Our souls—which to advance their state,
Were gone out—hung 'twixt her and me.

And whilst our souls negotiate there,
We like sepulchral statues lay ;
All day, the same our postures were,
And we said nothing, all the day.

If any, so by love refined,
That he soul's language understood,
And by good love were grown all mind,
Within convenient distance stood,

He—though he knew not which soul spake,
Because both meant, both spake the same—
Might thence a new concoction take,
And part far purer than he came.

This ecstasy doth unperplex
(We said) and tell us what we love ;
We see by this, it was not sex ;
We see, we saw not, what did move :

But as all several souls contain
Mixture of things they know not what,
Love these mix'd souls doth mix again,
And makes both one, each this, and that.

A single violet transplant,
The strength, the colour, and the size—
All which before was poor and scant—
Redoubles still, and multiplies.

When love with one another so
Interanimates two souls,
That abler soul, which thence doth flow,
Defects of loneliness controls.

We then, who are this new soul, know,
Of what we are composed, and made,
For th' atomies of which we grow
Are souls, whom no change can invade.

But, O alas ! so long, so far,
Our bodies why do we forbear?
They are ours, though not we ; we are
Th' intelligences, they the spheres.

We owe them thanks, because they thus
Did us, to us, at first convey,
Yielded their senses' force to us,
Nor are dross to us, but allay.

On man heaven's influence works not so,
But that it first imprints the air ;
For soul into the soul may flow,
Though it to body first repair.

As our blood labours to beget
Spirits, as like souls as it can ;
Because such fingers need to knit
That subtle knot, which makes us man ;

So must pure lovers' souls descend
To affections, and to faculties,
Which sense may reach and apprehend,
Else a great prince in prison lies.

To our bodies turn we then, that so
Weak men on love reveal'd may look ;
Love's mysteries in souls do grow,
But yet the body is his book.

And if some lover, such as we,
Have heard this dialogue of one,
Let him still mark us, he shall see
Small change when we're to bodies gone.

After they have chosen a poem, they are to do close analysis before doing their research on Donne. (15 min)

After which, they will discuss the new poem in their groups and try to see if there are patterns with "The Flea". (10 min)

Research on Donne's background (15 min)

come back as a class to round up what they thought were the issues in Donne's life, the conflicts he experienced.

homework: look at "The Flea" and do close reading of the text again and see if they gain any insight.

Next 30 min class...

Question: are the issues that Donne faced still applicable today?

look at this quote by Steven Kleine on Lady Gaga's video "Alejandro"

"The religious symbolism is not meant to denote anything negative, but represents the character's battle between the dark forces of this world and the spiritual salvation of the soul".

what similarities or differences are there?

these activities are aimed at getting students to question the themes of life, death and love at a deeper level and to see how these concepts have changed or remained the same over time, and also pervade cultures, gender and race. It should be a meaningful discussion to them because it is relevant to them as individuals as well.

The assumptions I make about the purpose of education are thus that education should in essence, be meaningful, and connect to the students' own lives, whether in a personal way or in a way that it occurs around them. Perhaps the underlying curriculum ideology is then Dewey's idea that "education is life". Getting them to work in groups assumes that they will share ideas and that Kilpatrick's "project method" would work to an advantageous outcome where students practice collaborative learning and negotiating their ideas to reach not a consensus, but a deeper understanding of what they are reading about.

I suppose I feel that sometimes students haven't had the time to sit down and think and make the connections to issues around them and that these issues/concepts pervade time. in this way, I also assume that students should know about these because it makes an impact on their lives and that it is important.

by getting them to discuss their ideas and readings on the poem, bringing their own take and baggage to the table (in a Frerian way), i assume that students have the potential to make understanding of another's writings. i believe that they should learn about what others think and thus, should learn as a group- not to have a collective idea (once again), but to have varied ideas and then reflect on what they believe to be "true" or "applicable" to themselves.

I assume that I have rather mature learners (as secondary 4 students- almost O levels!) who are able to communicate their ideas and feelings to the class. I also assume that they are willing to share their knowledge. I also think that the classroom setting would be relatively quiet when necessary and that they would be active participants when they need to be.

melody