The Scop and his Song: Poetry as performance

In his celebrated "How a Poem Means," John Ciardi, arguing against much of the free-verse nonsense that goes under name of Modern poetry, says that poetry is "a performance." He likens it to dance, wherein all the parts of form and content cohere in beauty, as Yeats says, "how shall I tell the dancer from the dance?"  Today and the next few days, as we continue our study of Beowulf, we shall look deeper into the poetic merits of this most amazing work. 

Agenda:

1. Faeder ure.
2. Latin Proverb: "Semper gaudete. Sine intermissione orate."
1. Rejoice always. Pray without intermission. (1 Thess. 5:16-17)
3. Poetry Assignment:
1. Choose at least 20 lines that you like from lines 490-1061 of Beowulf.
2. Practice reading them out loud. Get your rhythm and pronunciation down.
3. Perform a dramatic reading of your passage tomorrow.
4. Hand back work and discuss:
1. Essays: Bede
2. Exams: Bede
3. Quizzes: Beowulf
4. HW/CW: RJ on Beowulf
5. Review HW:
1. Practice reading them out loud. Get your rhythm and pronunciation down. Perform a dramatic reading of your passage tomorrow.
2. Read Beowulf, lines 489-1061. Study Beowulf notes.
3. Study your Notes on Anglo-Saxon England
4. Be wise; be perfect.