Jump to content

Menu

Importance of poetry in a British Literature course


Recommended Posts

Hi, all!

 

I'm currently putting together a British Literature course for my 16-year old, dyslexic daughter. She reads well, but much more slowly than her older siblings so I've already removed a number of works (such as Paradise Lost and A Passage to India) that they studied. I feel fairly comfortable with this pared down list:

 

*Beowulf

*Hamlet

*Emma

*Frankenstein

*Jane Eyre

*Tale of Two Cities

*Time Machine

*The Importance of Being Earnest

*Peter Pan

*Pygmalion

*Animal Farm

 

I'm wondering now, though, if I should cut one or two of those in order to make time for some poetry study?

 

I'm a little tired of thinking about this, so would greatly appreciate it if some of you would kindly share your wisdom and insight!

 

Thank you in advance!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My (also dyslexic) son did a course that focused on British novels and short stories.  I just specified that in the course description.

 

If you want to add some poetry without increasing your daughter's reading (or writing) load, you could read it aloud with her, have a discussion, and call it good.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, all!

 

I'm currently putting together a British Literature course for my 16-year old, dyslexic daughter. She reads well, but much more slowly than her older siblings so I've already removed a number of works (such as Paradise Lost and A Passage to India) that they studied. I feel fairly comfortable with this pared down list:

 

*Beowulf

*Hamlet

*Emma

*Frankenstein

*Jane Eyre

*Tale of Two Cities

*Time Machine

*The Importance of Being Earnest

*Peter Pan

*Pygmalion

*Animal Farm

 

I'm wondering now, though, if I should cut one or two of those in order to make time for some poetry study?

 

I'm a little tired of thinking about this, so would greatly appreciate it if some of you would kindly share your wisdom and insight!

 

Thank you in advance!

 

This is all just my opinion.  Take what is useful.

Beowulf - There is an audio version of the Seamus Heaney translation  There is a good chance your library has this.  https://www.amazon.com/Beowulf-Seamus-Heaney/dp/1565114272/ref=mt_audiobook?_encoding=UTF8&me=

 

Hamlet - I'm a huge fan of watching, then reading, then watching a different version.  We have done group readings with friends, buying up bunches of used copies at thrift stores or getting library copies.  We've done Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night and Macbeth that way.  This summer will be Midsummer Night's Dream.  It is way more fun to see or hear the play than just read it by yourself.  Having said that, Hamlet is one of the longest Shakespeare plays because of the way the play was compiled.  Unless you really want to do Hamlet, you might find one of the comedies, Richard III, Henry V or Macbeth are more accessible.  There are some great video versions out there.  The Hollow Crown is a set of many of the history plays.  https://www.amazon.com/Hollow-Crown-Complete-Tom-Hiddleston/dp/B00DQN6IOK/ref=pd_bxgy_74_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=S2ZMW2ATN1GTP61J6K1B

 

I might cut A Tale of Two Cities, Peter Pan and The Time Machine.  Watch The Importance of Being Ernest instead of reading.  That would give you more space for poetry.  Then see if you can find a couple good audios of the poetry.  I think it would help to hear and not just read.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another idea for a "tweak", just in case you do want to include poetry: Emma is the longest of Austen's works; Pride and Prejudice is much shorter -- almost half the length.

 

For what British poets to squeeze in here and there, I'd vote for some of these:

 

Renaissance:

- Shakespeare sonnets

- John Donne

 

Romanticism:

- William Blake

- William Wordsworth

- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

- Lord Byron

- Percy Shelley

- John Keats

 

Victorian:

- Alfred Lord Tennyson

- Robert Browning

- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

- William Butler Yeats

 

20th Century:

- Rudyard Kipling

- Walter de la Mare

- DH Lawrence

- TS Eliot

- WH Auden

- Dylan Thomas

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My (also dyslexic) son did a course that focused on British novels and short stories.  I just specified that in the course description.

 

If you want to add some poetry without increasing your daughter's reading (or writing) load, you could read it aloud with her, have a discussion, and call it good.

 

Oh, I really like the idea of reading some aloud with her!! Thank you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is all just my opinion.  Take what is useful.

Beowulf - There is an audio version of the Seamus Heaney translation  There is a good chance your library has this.  https://www.amazon.com/Beowulf-Seamus-Heaney/dp/1565114272/ref=mt_audiobook?_encoding=UTF8&me=

 

Hamlet - I'm a huge fan of watching, then reading, then watching a different version.  We have done group readings with friends, buying up bunches of used copies at thrift stores or getting library copies.  We've done Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night and Macbeth that way.  This summer will be Midsummer Night's Dream.  It is way more fun to see or hear the play than just read it by yourself.  Having said that, Hamlet is one of the longest Shakespeare plays because of the way the play was compiled.  Unless you really want to do Hamlet, you might find one of the comedies, Richard III, Henry V or Macbeth are more accessible.  There are some great video versions out there.  The Hollow Crown is a set of many of the history plays.  https://www.amazon.com/Hollow-Crown-Complete-Tom-Hiddleston/dp/B00DQN6IOK/ref=pd_bxgy_74_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=S2ZMW2ATN1GTP61J6K1B

 

I might cut A Tale of Two Cities, Peter Pan and The Time Machine.  Watch The Importance of Being Ernest instead of reading.  That would give you more space for poetry.  Then see if you can find a couple good audios of the poetry.  I think it would help to hear and not just read.  

 

I agree that watching Shakepeare really adds to one's understanding. We love doing that! She's read Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night, but maybe I'll look into another Shakespeare. I just happen to already have material that I had prepared for my older kids to study Hamlet (which is my fave) so would really like to use what I've got!!

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 You're so awesome, Lori.

 

Thank you for this list!

 

She's read Pride and Prejudice a number of times on her own, so I'd rather not use that one. Come to think of it, I think she also read Emma! Maybe we'll go with Sense and Sensibility...

Another idea for a "tweak", just in case you do want to include poetry: Emma is the longest of Austen's works; Pride and Prejudice is much shorter -- almost half the length.

 

For what British poets to squeeze in here and there, I'd vote for some of these:

 

Renaissance:

- Shakespeare sonnets

- John Donne

 

Romanticism:

- William Blake

- William Wordsworth

- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

- Lord Byron

- Percy Shelley

- John Keats

 

Victorian:

- Alfred Lord Tennyson

- Robert Browning

- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

- William Butler Yeats

 

20th Century:

- Rudyard Kipling

- Walter de la Mare

- DH Lawrence

- TS Eliot

- WH Auden

- Dylan Thomas

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

For poetry, you could get audio versions and listen to some too, in lieu of reading aloud. Audible has collections. For free, there's Librivox.

For example, while in the car or on the couch or lying in bed, she could have the text and y'all together, or just her, could listen to an audio version. Talk about themes. The Norton Anthologies would be useful here for their annotations and author bios. Plus, there's short stories.

 

I concur with listening to Beowulf, too. It was meant to be experienced via oral transmission; like Shakespeare is meant to be seen and heard.

 

Roar on the Other Side is a good intro to poetry study which you could incorporate into her English studies concurrently.

 

Personally, I'd choose Great Expectations over Tale of Two Cities. Plus, the BBC version with Gillian Anderson is excellent.

And the version of Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson is wonderful after she reads it.

 

I vote for keeping Peter Pan.

 

Oh, and be careful with DH Lawrence- since at least one of his novels was banned and others were scandalous for a reason.

Edited by historymatters
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, and be careful with DH Lawrence- since at least one of his novels was banned and others were scandalous for a reason.

 

The poems below are not scandalous. The first 2 poems are frequently anthologized. While he rejected Christianity early in his life, he wrestled with Christ all his life, and he described himself as "a passionately religious man [whose work] must be written from the depth of my religious experience". The first three poems below very overtly reveal that aspect in Lawrence's writing:

 

Snake

Tortoise Shell

The Inheritance

Butterfly

Self-Pity

Beautiful Old Age

A Winter's Tale

 

 

ETA:

A bunny trail for sure, but DH Lawrence would be a very interesting author to study as a "crossroads author", working between older traditional Christian western authors and his contemporaries who were moving towards secular modernism. I've only listened to just a few minutes of lecture #3 of these audio lectures, but this series of 7 lectures on Lawrence sound good: University of Oxford: Great Writers Inspire: DH Lawrence.

Edited by Lori D.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is all just my opinion.  Take what is useful.

Beowulf - There is an audio version of the Seamus Heaney translation  There is a good chance your library has this.  https://www.amazon.com/Beowulf-Seamus-Heaney/dp/1565114272/ref=mt_audiobook?_encoding=UTF8&me=

 

Hamlet - I'm a huge fan of watching, then reading, then watching a different version.  We have done group readings with friends, buying up bunches of used copies at thrift stores or getting library copies.  We've done Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night and Macbeth that way.  This summer will be Midsummer Night's Dream.  It is way more fun to see or hear the play than just read it by yourself.  Having said that, Hamlet is one of the longest Shakespeare plays because of the way the play was compiled.  Unless you really want to do Hamlet, you might find one of the comedies, Richard III, Henry V or Macbeth are more accessible.  There are some great video versions out there.  The Hollow Crown is a set of many of the history plays.  https://www.amazon.com/Hollow-Crown-Complete-Tom-Hiddleston/dp/B00DQN6IOK/ref=pd_bxgy_74_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=S2ZMW2ATN1GTP61J6K1B

 

I might cut A Tale of Two Cities, Peter Pan and The Time Machine.  Watch The Importance of Being Ernest instead of reading.  That would give you more space for poetry.  Then see if you can find a couple good audios of the poetry.  I think it would help to hear and not just read.  

 

Yes, to Sebastian's suggestions. I would probably do Hamlet because it is referenced in so many other works and it is really a magnificent play.  I would agree with the cuts as well, but might replace A Tale of Two Cities with Hard Times if the class is strictly British Literature. While Tale of Two Cities is set partially in London, I personally think Hard Times is more reflective of British culture. Just a thought.

 

Paradise Lost  is an epic poem that has elements of lyric and pastoral poetry.  I do think it is important to cover it a bit, especially as it greatly influenced Mary Shelley in writing Frankenstein. In fact, it is one of the books that the monster reads. I am a bit stumped as to what parts you could read to keep it from being overwhelming, but still give your student the idea of why it's important. Let me do a bit of research on that if you are interested.

 

ETA: Here is a potential lesson plan to tie Paradise Lost and Frankenstein together.

 

Seamus Heaney's reading and translation of Beowulf is lovely.  There is a wonderful assignment that an AP English teacher put together that ties Beowulf with contemporary English poet, U.A. Fanthorpe's poem, "Not My Best Side," and Paolo Ucello's painting, St. George and the Dragon.  

 

You can read Beowulf and then even just read the poem and look at the art. The discussion will be obvious. I love for students to see how one major work of art or literature will influence or spur the creation of another work. It's an added advantage that Fanthorpe's poem is both contemporary and humorous.

Edited by swimmermom3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The poems below are not scandalous. The first 2 poems are frequently anthologized. While he rejected Christianity early in his life, he wrestled with Christ all his life, and he described himself as "a passionately religious man [whose work] must be written from the depth of my religious experience". The first three poems below very overtly reveal that aspect in Lawrence's writing:

 

Snake

Tortoise Shell

The Inheritance

Butterfly

Self-Pity

Beautiful Old Age

A Winter's Tale

 

 

ETA:

A bunny trail for sure, but DH Lawrence would be a very interesting author to study as a "crossroads author", working between older traditional Christian western authors and his contemporaries who were moving towards secular modernism. I've only listened to just a few minutes of lecture #3 of these audio lectures, but this series of 7 lectures on Lawrence sound good: University of Oxford: Great Writers Inspire: DH Lawrence.

 

Lori, thanks for linking this fabulous resource. I am painting the main floor of our daylight basement as well as all the new trim and doors. Listening to lectures has been a wonderful way to pass time while prepping and painting. This gives me new options.

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lori, thanks for linking this fabulous resource. I am painting the main floor of our daylight basement as well as all the new trim and doors. Listening to lectures has been a wonderful way to pass time while prepping and painting. This gives me new options.

 

 

I know! I *just* now stumbled over this resource, and even though I am an extremely visual learner and a very weak auditory learner (so I struggle a bit with audio-only lectures), the bit I listened to was very comprehensible, engaging, and interesting!   :w00t:

 

You'll have to come back and post a review if you end up listening to anything from this site. ;)

Edited by Lori D.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you all so much for sharing your thoughts!

 

I'm probably going to have to stop reading them, though, as I tend to second-guess myself and then take forever on the merry-go-round of decision making. LOL! Unlike her older siblings, this daughter simply won't be able to indulge in a feast of British Liiterature. She'll have a nice meal, and that will be fine...right?( In addition to being dyslexic, she's also extremely gifted in the performing arts and has to have time for voice, dance and theater.)

 

Someone please tell me that a light British Literature course will not scar her for life!

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you all so much for sharing your thoughts!

 

I'm probably going to have to stop reading them, though, as I tend to second-guess myself and then take forever on the merry-go-round of decision making. LOL! Unlike her older siblings, this daughter simply won't be able to indulge in a feast of British Liiterature. She'll have a nice meal, and that will be fine...right?( In addition to being dyslexic, she's also extremely gifted in the performing arts and has to have time for voice, dance and theater.)

 

Someone please tell me that a light British Literature course will not scar her for life!

 

You have a wonderful, varied, and rich selection of literature for DD!

 

NO one can "read it all", much less read it all in the 4 years of high school. So she'll have lots of good reading ahead of her in all of her adult life. :)

 

And there are always good movie adaptations of classic literature that you guys can enjoy watching here and there throughout the year if you really feel you NEED to get "more" in there. ;)

 

Enjoy! And have a wonderful literature journey together! Warmest regards, Lori D.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you all so much for sharing your thoughts!

 

I'm probably going to have to stop reading them, though, as I tend to second-guess myself and then take forever on the merry-go-round of decision making. LOL! Unlike her older siblings, this daughter simply won't be able to indulge in a feast of British Liiterature. She'll have a nice meal, and that will be fine...right?( In addition to being dyslexic, she's also extremely gifted in the performing arts and has to have time for voice, dance and theater.)

 

Someone please tell me that a light British Literature course will not scar her for life!

 

Your plan won't scar her at all! :D

 

With her interests in voice, dance, and theater and the dyslexia, I would definitely utilize the audio and visual suggestions in this thread. If you can though, do show her examples of how works of art and literature influence each other. As an artist herself, seeing how others take an idea and craft into something new and yet familiar will be a valuable skill.

 

Also, for Shakespeare, we like the Oxford School Shakespeare editions, but often there were times when the Shakespearean company we like put on plays that weren't on our reading list for the year, so we would utilize Leon Garfield's books to familiarize ourselves with the plot and the language.

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shakespeare tip: Look into the Arkangel audio productions - they are EXCELLENT! Most public libraries have them on CD, and they are also available ~ $15ish on Amazon . . . former high school English teacher, and these have drawn MANY a kid right through the language and directly to the IDEAS that Shakespeare offers. It's true to text, audio only, with fantastic sound effects and differing voices; it *sounds* like a movie (so kids can read along, listening, and maximize their comprehension). 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...