Grave Poems

The classroom was a mess today because of drama, but we cleaned up real quick and got right into talking about the essay on Thursday. We decided by the end of class that Thursday would remain the day we write it, and Friday would be another learning period.
We moved on and talked through Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave? This was followed by the Study and Discussion questions for The Darkling Thrush and AAYDOMG. We focused on the romantic aspects of the latter, and how they are satirized through Hardy's portrayal of the people the dead mistress thought would still remember (and even her dog, who forgot as well that she was buried there and was only going to bury a bone for later).
Following the questions, we talked about A.E. Housman and read his work To an Athlete Dying Young. A discussion on the blessing or ill-fate of dying young ensued. We read through the S&D questions and spent time focusing on the last stanza, which we tried to make sense of even though there were no hints in the text or any commentary. One blogger says this regarding it: "In life the laurel crown — meaning victory and fame — is all too brief, shorter even than the quickly-wilting garlands of flowers the village girls weave in spring and summer to wear in their hair." It would seem, then, that Housman was in fact comparing the literal duration of the laurel to the duration of the garland girls placed in their hair. The fact that it lasts shorter than those, yet continues to be "unwithered on its curls" shows how the young athlete's fame will continue long after his death, since he died in his prime and did not see his fame dwindle during his own life.
With the discussion coming to a close, class ended and we moved out, eager to get home and do home-stuffs!

FOR HOMEWORK:

• Read the Biography for Elizabeth Barrett (beginning with the second paragraph on page 668)
• Read How do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways (page 669, second sonnet)
• I believe we were also supposed to read Is My Team Ploughing, but I do not recall exactly
• Prep for the Romantic Era in class essay, to be written during Thursday's class
• Choose a topic from the number given out a few classes ago (the title is Victorian Era, but we realized our mistake and ignored it because it doesn't change the topics on the sheet!)
• Prepare an outline, key phrases or words to help you direct your thoughts, or just think about it for the next two days
• DON'T come to class with an essay already written; the point of this assignment is to do it in class

If I missed anything, I apologize. Please correct any mistakes.
Have a goodnight, all!