Chidiock Tichbourne - Elegy Today’s lesson Objectives are: To be able to explore and comment on a writer’s choice of structure. To be able to recognize how the social and historical context of a poem affects its meaning. Rally Robin • • • • • Pupil A starts with an answer Pupil B rallies one back Pupils A rallies back again Until the teacher calls stop What is the opposite word? Why do writer’s use opposites? Thinking about Structure? • Your task is to attempt to piece together the first verse of the poem “Elegy”. My prime of youth is • HINTS: • Think Rhyme Scheme • Think opposites. • You have to piece together the lines and put the lines in the right order My prime of youth is Help? Don’t just work with the metaphors – pick key words! Dish…. Feast – opposites? Look carefully at the rhyme at the end… alternate rhyme is used Let’s •S •M •I •L •E • Structure • Meaning • Images • Language • Effect of them all! Structure My prime of youth is but a frost of cares, My feast of joy is but a dish of pain, My crop of corn is but a field of tares, And all my good is but vain hope of gain. The day is past, and yet I saw no sun, And now I live, and now my life is done. Structure PEE • The poem “Elegy” follows a form similar to a Sonnet as it has….. • Evidence • Explanation of the effect on the reader Structure My prime of youth is but a frost of cares, My feast of joy is but a dish of pain, My crop of corn is but a field of tares, And all my good is but vain hope of gain. The day is past, and yet I saw no sun, And now I live, and now my life is done. • The poem “Elegy” follows a form similar to a Sonnet as it has….. • Evidence • Explanation of the effect on the reader Let’s •S •M •I •L •E • Structure • Meaning • Images • Language • Effect of them all! Meaning My prime of youth is but a frost of cares, My feast of joy is but a dish of pain, My crop of corn is but a field of tares, And all my good is but vain hope of gain. The day is past, and yet I saw no sun, And now I live, and now my life is done. Who? Where? What? why? Who? Where? What? Why? • Who is the author? Male / female? Age? What kind of stage of life is he at? • Where is the author? When did he write the poem? What time period are we in? • What is this poem all about? • Why did the author choose to write this poem? Chidiock Tichborne's Elegy My prime of youth is but a frost of cares, My feast of joy is but a dish of pain, My crop of corn is but a field of tares, And all my good is but vain hope of gain. The day is past, and yet I saw no sun, And now I live, and now my life is done. My tale was heard and yet it was not told, My fruit is fallen and yet my leaves are green; My youth is spent and yet I am not old, I saw the world and yet I was not seen. My thread is cut and yet it is not spun, And now I live, and now my life is done. I sought my death and found it in my womb, I looked for life and saw it was a shade; I trod the earth and knew it was my tomb, And now I die, and now I was but made. My glass is full, and now my glass is run, And now I live, and now my life is done. Chidiock Tichborne (1558-86) • He was a Roman Catholic conspirator. • In 1586 he became one of six who formed a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth I. • The plot was discovered and Tichborne was arrested on August 14th 1586. • At his trial a month later he pleaded guilty, and on September 20th he was executed. • He was disemboweled, while still alive - but when the queen learned of this, she forbade the continuing of this practice. • On the eve of his execution, the 28-year-old Tichborne wrote a letter to his wife Agnes, containing the poem that became his own elegy. Meaning • When you consider the meaning of this poem – you need to always consider the circumstances in which it is written. • This man KNEW that he was going to die. • He knew that it was likely that he would suffer an agonizing death. • The process of disemboweling meant that whilst he was tied to a table and still alive, he was slit open and all of his insides were ripped out. How does this new information affect the meaning of the poem? • Social & Historical Context is essential when we analyze the effect that anything has on us. • Initially, it seemed that this poem was about… • However, when you consider that the poet was…. • This line takes on a different meaning, “…” • This now means….. Chidiock Tichbourne - Elegy Today’s lesson Objectives are: To be able to explore and comment on a writer’s choice of structure. To be able to recognize how the social and historical context of a poem affects its meaning.
