vanwestervelt
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Good evening, all. It was absolutely wonderful to reconnect with my students this week. I am so glad that we are back in session as we venture to the end of the school year together. Tonight’s sonnet is by the British poet and actress Fanny Kemble. It’s a love sonnet (of course), and it celebrates…
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Hi, everyone. Today’s poem is by John Keats, an English Romantic poet who lived a very short life (a mere 25 years), yet his contributions are many as a poet. The sonnet I’ve selected to read to you today is another favorite of mine: “When I Have Fears.” Enjoy! as always……………….vw When I Have Fears,…
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Greetings, all: Today’s sonnet was written by Emma Lazarus, an American author and poet who lived from 1849 to 1887. It’s a famous one, for sure, as a few of its lines are inscribed on a plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty, and they have been cited frequently by individuals fighting for…
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Good afternoon, all! Today’s sonnet is by Alice Meynell, a British poet who lived from 1847-1922. This poem, “Renouncement,” is in traditional Petrarchan form and captures the bridge between love and religion for Alice, as she recuperated from illness and pondered life in the Catholic Church. Without further ado… Renouncement, by Alice Meynell. Renouncement I…
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Hello! Today’s sonnet is by Percy Bysshe Shelley, titled “To Wordsworth.” Everything about this poem seems like it is a celebration of life of the late poet, but Shelley wrote his poem in 1816, and William Wordsworth lived for another 30 years following the death of Shelley in 1822. So why the faux posthumous ode?…
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Greetings, all: Tonight, I share with you a sonnet by the English Poet, Edmund Spenser (1552-1599), best known for his epic poem, “The Faerie Queene.” This sonnet is titled “Easter,” and follows, aptly so, the Spenserian form that is the least popular sonnet form, behind the Petrarchan and Shakespearean forms. In this, the Spenserian form,…
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Good evening, all: Tonight, I am reading a sonnet by the English poet Lady Mary Wroth of the Renaissance era. She was born in 1587 and died in 1653. This particular sonnet, “Forbear Dark Night, My Joys Now Bud Again,” follows the Petrarchan form. as always……………rvw “Forbear dark night, my joys now bud again”…
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Happy Wednesday, everyone! Today’s sonnet comes from Australian poet Christopher Brennan (1870-1932). It’s in English, or Shakespearean, form, and is filled with alliteration, assonance, and anaphora. 🙂 Enjoy! 🙂 I’m digging deep to offer a blend of the biggies with the lesser-known poets. 🙂 as always……………….rvw
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Happy Tuesday, everyone. It’s Day 7 of National Poetry Month. Today’s sonnet is from William Wordsworth (yay!). It was written in 1802, and as I explain before I read the sonnet, it celebrates, quietly, the ceaseless existence of beauty in nature, accessible to us even when we are not yet ready to receive it. Enjoy.…
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