Break of Day John Donne ‘Tis true, ‘tis day, what though it be?

1. You Want Us to Write on It??Tasha BowlinEast Jessamine High SchoolDepartment of English Language ArtsEKUWP 2011 Summer InstituteJune 20, 2011

9. Break of Day John Donne ‘Tis true, ‘tis day, what though it be? O wilt thou therefore rise from me? Why should we rise because ‘tis light? Did we lie down because ‘twas night? Love, which in spite of darkness brought us hither, Should in despite of light keep us together. Light hath no tongue, but is all eye; If it could speak as well as spy, This were the worst that it could say, That being well I fain would stay, And that I loved my heart and honour so, That I would not from him, that had them, go. Must business thee from hence remove? Oh, that’s the worst disease of love, The poor, the foul, the false, love can Admit, but not the busied man. He which hath business, and makes love, doth do Such wrong, as when a married man doth woo.

10. The Perfect Argument John Donne’s “Break of Day” is a poem in which the speaker is basically begging her partner not o rise from th bed and go on to business. The speaker is termed female because the reader learns in the final stanza that the partner of the speaker is a man (assuming there are only heterosexual relations in this poem). The speaker raises very good points in her argument to her lover as she asks questions and makes claims throughout the stanzas. These points are so strong as to make the reader wonder, why do people do certain things just because it is a certain hour? After all, aren’t the indicators of when to rise and when to sleep to the world only arbitrary? Who first decided when work should be done? Along through the lines of this poem are also several literary elements to assist the speaker in her argument. Everything contributes to strengthen her point that her mate need not get out of bed just yet. The first stanza of this poem seems to take place in a bedroom, supposedly just as the sun begins to peek through the curtains of the window; the mood has been peaceful and romantic, and the speaker may be in a cuddling mood as she playfully whines for her mate to stay. Right off the bat, she opens the poem with a very literal and obvious question that seems to not have a high-quality answer: “Tis true, ‘tis day; what though it be?” (line 1). She seems to have noticed perhaps the sunlight and her lover’s anxiousness to begin the day, but stops him with this unanswerable question. Yes, it is day; so what? Does the simple brightness of the sunshine control one so that one must rise whenever it does? Why, she is asking, must he leave for any reason besides that the sun has risen bringing along the day? Why? He perhaps cannot strike back quickly with a good answer to this possibly rhetorical question.

11. Poems for Explication “Mirror “ by Sylvia PlathI am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.Whatever I see, I swallow immediately.Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislikeI am not cruel, only truthful –The eye of a little god, four-cornered.Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so longI think it is a part of my heart. But it flickers.Faces and darkness separate us over and over.Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me.Searching my reaches for what she really is.Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.I see her back, and reflect it faithfullyShe rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.I am important to her. She comes and goes.Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old womanRises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish. • "The Hound" by Robert Francis:Life the houndEquivocalComes at a boundEither to rend me • Or to befriend me.I cannot tellThe hound's intentTill he has sprungAt my bare handWith teeth or tongue.Meanwhile I standAnd wait the event.

12. Directions: Read the poem again, paying attention to details, point of view, tone, and theme. Answer the questions that follow. Detail • What details contribute to the overall effect or the tone? How? Point of View 2) Who is the speaker? 3) What is the situation? 4) From what point of view is the passage narrated? 5) What is the effect of the point of view? Tone 6) The tone(s) of the poem is/are _______________________________________. Commentary on the tone: Theme 7) Layer 1 (Literal) 8) Layer 2 (Personal 9) Layer 3 (Moral) 10) Layer 4 (Universal)

13. Create an Awesomely Engaging, Thoughtful Title! Introduction—Paragraphs 1-2ish…. • Paraphrase poem’s overall meaning • Introduce/describe the speaker (Reference #2-5 on question sheet) • Identify poem’s tone (#6) • Describe setting/visual imagery Body Paragraphs • Thoroughly explicate lines, quoting specific details for support! (#1) Sample citations: • “Life the hound,” (line 1) is an example of… • …sets up the meaning of “equivocal” (line 2). • • Identify and explain all elements of figurative language (Reference annotation notes) Conclusion • Elaborate on specific layers of theme (#7-10) **Just remember to be sure to explain all of your thoughts and reasoning with detailed specifics from both the poem and your train of thought…

14. Best Practice Principles Cognitive:Expressive Students… • Read the poem aloud • Create visual imagery to represent meaning • Identify diction to support imagery • Annotate poem through creative paraphrasing • Discussall thoughts & ideas in small groups, then as a class • Write extended notes on poem through elemental charts • Reference all notes & annotations to reach synthesis and analysis of poem through written explication, supporting their thinking and reasoning through citations.