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1st 6 weeks 1st Semester

Oliver Cromwell: England's first and only dictator. 

King Charles I

John Donne

Monday December 1st-Friday December 5th

The Seventeenth Century

Due THIS lab day: Hamlet paper must be typed, stapled and ready to go. This is the biggest paper of the year. No excuses on this one!

Your seventeenth century poem must be ready to be presented in class. Make sure you have carefully reviewed and studied the poem well enough so that you can explain all aspects of the literature accurately to your classmates. Be prepared to take notes on what is said as I will be writing a test with the information specifically given from students in each class. Once again, the format is below and is due this lab day.

1. Read the poem clearly and precisely to the class. This should be done using proper articulation and sound as if you have practiced reading it several times.

2. Discuss what the poem is implying. Summarize the poem, explain who the poet is addressing, emotions involved, protests, etc., and what makes the poem stand out. 

3. What is the rhyming scheme of the poem? What types of literary devices such as alliteration, metaphors, etc., are used?

4. Research the poem to find out as much information as you can as to why it was written, what it is saying about the poet who wrote it, where it stands in history and any other important information that distinguish this poem as a classical piece of literature.

5. When you are called, be prepared to clearly TEACH your poem to the class. Hint: use the white board to write down key terms so the class can write notes on what you have said and be prepared to eventually take a test on these poems. If you do not teach the poem well, the class may be confused and not be able to perform as well on a test as they should, so it is your duty to fully inform them on all details on the poem you are teaching.

Also, make sure you have not just read, but studied the information about seventeenth century history from your text book. 

In-Class:  Presentation of poems. Test on historical information from the seventeenth century. You will want to write down as many notes as you can about these poems. There will be a heft test based upon what was taught and the notes can be used during the test time. 

Assignments: Continue working on your seventeenth century poem if you have not presented yet.

Links: The Luminarium Web site with info. about the 17th century. 

          Information on Oliver Cromwell

          Information on Cavalier poets

          Numerous links explaining Puritanism

Background Information: The seventeenth century was a time filled with much political turmoil in England. England became divided as a clash between religious values resulted in two major views of the church: Anglican vs. Puritan. It was during this time that a new ruler came about through this turmoil. Oliver Cromwell became England's first, and to this day, only dictator. While his reign was short, it did end rule of a monarchy temporarily in England, and his strict conservative rules changed many of the English cultures while Cromwell was in power. Eventually, Cromwell's rules would be too much for anyone to handle, and he would be overthrown and the country would return to having a king on its throne again. 

The literature of this time involves mostly poems. There were two types of poets to emerge during this era: The Puritan poet and the Cavalier. The Cavalier poet sided mostly with the king and told stories about romance; the Puritan poet, on the other hand, would tell about religion and God, and sided with Oliver Cromwell.