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Thread: Oh Sonnet, My Sonnet

  1. #1
    HB Forum Owner MrBranchAPLit's Avatar
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    "On the Grasshopper and the Cricket"
    by John Keats

    The poetry of earth is never dead:
    When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
    And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
    From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;
    That is the Grasshopper's--he takes the lead
    In summer luxury,--he has never done
    With his delights; for when tired out with fun
    He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
    The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
    On a lone winter evening, when the frost
    Has wrought silence, from the stove there shrills
    The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,
    And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,
    The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills.

    1 - Identify the type of sonnet
    2 - Explicate in a short paragraph
    3 - How does structure affect meaning
    4 - On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being lowest, 10 being highest) how well do you understand the sonnet form (in general)?
    5 - any superfluous comments

    Get ready for Hamlet!!

    <font color="#a62a2a"><font size="1">[ September 14, 2007 12:03 PM: Message edited by: Mr Branch ]</font></font>

    <font color="#a62a2a"><font size="1">[ September 14, 2007 12:18 PM: Message edited by: Mr Branch ]</font></font>

    <font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 14, 2007 02:06 PM: Message edited by: Mr Branch ]</font>

  2. #2
    Inactive Member montanaro.g's Avatar
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    1. "On the Grasshopper and Cricket," poem written by John Yeats, is an Italian sonnet. The rhyme in the poem follows the Italian sonnet's (ABBAABBACDEDCE). Also, the sonnet looks more like a square, since all verses form one stanza. This poem is composed of two sentences, just like the Italian sonnet. This sonnet is also divided into an octave and a sestet.
    2. This poem deals with "the poetry of the earth:" the natural songs that arises from nature. For example, in summer, the grasshopper is the one that sings, while during winter, the cricket is the one that sings its melodious songs. Nature is poetic in that it never ceases to do poetry, since the natural world, not just by its beauty, but by its component makes up a perfect and melodious poem.
    3. The the division between the octave and the sestet proves to be very effective. In the octave, the poem deals with summer and the grasshopper, while in the sestet, the poem deals with the cricket and winter. In my opinion, I think that Keats attributes two more verses to summer and the grasshopper because summer tends to be more poetic, more happy, while winter is harsher and gloomier.
    4. Around 8 - 8.5.
    5. None. I'm tired.

  3. #3
    Inactive Member rcln's Avatar
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    "On the Grasshopper and the Cricket" is an Italian sonnet. It is composed of fourteen lines, separated into an octave and a sestet. The pattern for its rhyme is ?A-B-B-A, A-B-B-A, and E-F-G-E-F-G?, although ?dead? and ?mead? are forced to rhyme as ?lead? and ?weed?. It follows the iambic pentameter. At last, the sonnet looks like a square □.

    The theme of the sonnet would be the immortality of poetry, which is the sound that never dies nor ceases. The narrator demonstrates this through the two opposite seasons?summer and winter?where in the former the Grasshopper sings and in the latter the Cricket relays the melody and such musical cycle goes on and on along the seasonal cycle. Thus, poetry is able to achieve its quality of ever-lasting regardless of the scorching summer and the freezing winter.

    Summer is narrated in the octave, while winter is illustrated in the sestet. Such structure separates the sonnet into two parts. Starting at the sestet, there?s a change of tone: the narrator takes his praise to a higher level. It functions as a ?Not only?but also??

    I would say an 8.

  4. #4
    Inactive Member alberto_dacosta's Avatar
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    Keats' poem is a Petrarchan sonnet (Italian sonnet for the laymen), something that is evident by the familiar fourteen-verse structure divided into an octet and a sextet that address different themes.

    The poem essentially addresses the infinite continuity of the earth and its "poetry", a word which perhaps alludes metaphorically to life. Nature is a continuous and omnipresent element of the world, and it can therefore not be quieted. Be it winter or summer, nature will still be present in some form -- in this particular case that of a grasshopper and, later, of a cricket -- to perpetuate its "poetry". In this particular poem, the poet associates the songs of birds and the chirps of insects as melodic tones that carry beauty and peace, and in that sense they are made legitimate poetry as well. The poetry of the earth -- not only the sounds that allude to its liveliness, but also its beauty of form and essence -- is immutable and perpetual.

    Like other sonnets, Keats' can be thought of as an octet and a sestet intertwined together to form a single sonnet. The first period to appear in the poem is located on the eighth verse, where the author concludes the development of the idea of the grasshopper during summer to then address the nature of the cricket's song duiring winter. Through this apparent dichotomy of settings and contraposition of ideas -- summer and winter, hot and cold -- the author successfully imposes the concept of the timelessness of the "poetry" which his discourse is based on. While the octet and the sestet are thematically antagonistic in what pertains to ideas, their conjunction allows the author to imply the constancy of nature.

    On a scale of one to ten, I'd wager that I'm around a nine out of ten. As far as superfluous comments go, I think I'll just reiterate that this is quite a nice sonnet indeed.

    <font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 19, 2007 08:56 AM: Message edited by: alberto_dacosta ]</font>

  5. #5
    Inactive Member juanmax's Avatar
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    1. The poem is clearly an Italian sonnet.
    2. John Yeats? poem emphasizes the beauty and poetry innately present in nature. The first eight lines (the octet) mainly talk about the poetry present in summer. The grasshoppers? tunes during summer make poetry. The last six lines of the sonnet (sestet) mainly talk about the poetry that continues even in the cold winter. The cricket sings its tune and creates poetry. The poet?s intentions are to tell the reader that poetry is always alive in nature and the world.
    3. Structure organizes the sonnet very well. The octave deals with the poetry in summer. The sestet offers an explanation to how poetry in present in the winter. This structure organizes the sonnet very well and gives it a clear meaning. The other general structures such as rhyme and the square appearance do not make any noticeable difference.
    4. I understand 80% of the poem. That would be an 8.
    5. The sonnet is interesting, but I think I have read a poem very similar to this one. It may be that I am crazy, but I think the topic of poetry always being alive in nature is a pretty classic topic (meaning BORING!)

  6. #6
    Inactive Member alexiacalo's Avatar
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    1. the poem is an Italian sonnet. It is easily identified by the octave and sestet.

    2. The poem is about the earth or?the poetry present in nature. This natural poetry is eternal or infinite. verses such as: "The poetry of earth is never dead" or "The poetry of earth is ceasing never" make the theme quite clear. bird and cricket songs are part of the natures beauty wchi in turn is poetic. So, this poem mainly describes and explains how different aspects of nature graciously join to form beauty, art, poetry, whatever you may want to call it.
    3. The octave'sestet division is very helpful and effective. The octave describes summer and the grasshopper, while the sestet describes winter and the cricket. This separation then proves to be useful in separating the different aspects of nature.
    4. 8 out of ten.
    5. none

  7. #7
    Inactive Member mariaceleste's Avatar
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    1.Italian Sonnet
    a. 1 octet
    b. 1 sextet
    c. rhyme A B B A
    2. Nature?s poetry is uninterrupted because, regardless of the season, nature?s creatures sing incessantly. Their songs are nature?s poetry. Thus, poetry is unending.
    3. The octet describes summer and the sextet, winter. The structure marks the transition from the song of the grasshopper to the song of the crickets.
    4.7.
    5. None.

  8. #8
    Inactive Member mrodriguez's Avatar
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    1. This is an Italian sonnet.
    2. We know this is an Italian sonnet because the rhyme is A B B A A B B A for the first octave. The rhyme is not perfect, but we can see this pattern clearly. The poem is also structured into an octave and a sestet, another characteristic of Italian sonnets. The poem deals with opposite seasons: where poetry is always present, though either the grasshopper or the cricket. The grasshopper and cricket I believe are just symbols of the everlasting nature of things since they are present always, but are very similar as if they were the same thing.
    3. The structure separates summer and winter in the sonnet. Summer is in the octave while winter is in the sestet. Additionally, the cricket is talked about in the sestet while the grasshopper is talked about in the octave.
    4. An 8.
    5. I really don't like poems that talk about poetry much since I can't relate. This poem does that, and so do many others and I have trouble enjoying it because poetry as a subject matter is not something im particularly passionate about.

  9. #9
    Inactive Member hcaceres's Avatar
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    1 - Identify the type of sonnet

    1. On the Grasshopper and Cricket, by John Yeats, is an Italian sonnet. It can be clearly seen by its specific format. It follows the rhyme scheme of an Italian, which is ABBAABBACDEDCE. Also, it is composed of 14 verses, each grouped into one octave and a sestet.

    2 - Explicate in a short paragraph

    2. This poem talks about poetry and how it is eternal through nature itself. It does so by using natural elements in different seasons to compare how poetry is always present. An example is how the author uses the grasshopper in the summer and the cricket in the winter. With this in mind, this sonnet is elegantly tying to demonstrate how poetry is immortal.

    3 - How does structure affect meaning

    3. This poem uses the structure to divide winter and summer. It does so by discussing exclusively the grasshopper in the first octave, and the cricket in the sestet. This proves to be very effective because it establishes a direct division between the distinct parts of the plot.

    4 - On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being lowest, 10 being highest) how well do you understand the sonnet form (in general)?

    4. 7.5

    5. None

  10. #10
    Inactive Member cjkb90's Avatar
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    1 - Identify the type of sonnet
    2 - Explicate in a short paragraph
    3 - How does structure affect meaning
    4 - On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being lowest, 10 being highest) how well do you understand the sonnet form (in general)?
    5 - any superfluous comments

    1. Italian sonnet,ABBAABBA octet, followed by a CDEDCE sextet.

    2.This poem talks about the cyclical ways of nature. Life is present at all times, and at the extinction of one stage (summer), another one succeeds it (winter). Life is present in both, the grasshopper predominantly in the summer and the cricket during winter.

    3. The poem has two periods. The first period is at the end of the octet, and the second is at the end of the sextet, the end of the poem. In the poem, the first sentence talks about summer and the grasshopper, while the second sentence refers to winter and the cricket. In the second sentence, which talks about winter, it is mentioned that the cricket brings warmth, giving the poem a positive tone in life.

    4. I think there is a lot more to the poem than I have understood. I give myself a 6.

    5. Further analysis of the poem would be necessary to understand it.

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