Reflection on my Lead for Frost's "The Silken Tent"

My lead went well today.  I was proud of the outcome.  Like last time, I felt good about the delivery, but this time I also felt great about the content of my lead.  I believe that I implemented a nice balance between discussing form and exploring meaning in the poem.  This lead was also a breakthrough for me, because I was nervous to teach poetry.  However, after teaching "The Silken Tent," I feel ready to plan more lessons on poetry!  I feel as if I have been getting better with each lead, and I hope that I nail my last lead.

Tips for Future Leads/Lesson Plans:

• Find a critic who articulates the message of the story the best; the critic can make or break the paper.
• Do not look for the most interesting/unique angle on the reading, but look for one that is most beneficial for the reader.  In other words, I should focus on the main themes in a story before comparing the story to an obscure Star Trek Episode.
• Relax and Smile.
• Anticipate Questions.

The last one is important.  As David Garvin explains, "Preparation . . . now means exploring multiple paths of inquiry, rather than mapping out a single linear flow . . . for in-class dynamics, preparation is a far more complex task than it was when content alone was king" (qtd. in Showalter 53).

Below are my Lead Notes for "The Silken Tent":

Frost’s “The Silken Tent”

Brief Contextual Information

·      “The Silken Tent” was presented to a close friend and secretary, Kay Morrison, in 1938 after Frost’s wife, Elinor, died.

·      Most likely, the poem was inspired by Elinor; Frost’s daughter claimed to have typed a version of it before her mother’s death (Fagan 306-307).

·      Its original title was “In Praise of Your Poise.”

·      Frost often depicts women as powerful.  Literary critic Katherine Kearns explains,

“ . . . Frost’s world is controlled by a powerful femininity.  As brides or as keepers, women dominate households” (191).  For instance, in “A Servant to Servants,” both men and women have the power to make the other mad, but the men are locked away.

Metaphor

·      According to literary scholar Mordecai Marcus, Frost’s metaphors vary in structure.  He explains:

Usually a scene achieves coherence through its realistic descriptions, and thus a structure of scene and activity suggests a structure of experience, but sometimes one thing is systematically compared to another so that the scene dissolves into a metaphorical base.  This happens in “The Silken Tent,” which describes not a tent but a woman, who is systematically analogized to a tent swaying in the breeze. (17)

·      Questions:

1.    Is the woman portrayed positively or negatively?  Why?  Find specific words to support your answer. 

Possible Answer: In many aspects, she is portrayed positively, as her soul is sure and pointed heavenward (lines 6-7) and she feels free for the most part, as she “gently sways at ease” in line 4.  On the other hand, she is reminded of her bondage at the end (line 14).

2.    How does the language “toughen” or become more constrictive in the sestet?  Point out at least 4 words that suggest constriction.

Possible Answers: “bound” in line 9, “ties” in line 10, “taut” in line 12, and “bondage” in line 14.

3.    What do the modifiers of these words suggest (SLIGHTLY bound, SILKEN ties, SLIGHTLY taut, SLIGHTEST bondage)?

Possible Answer:  They tell the reader that the woman does not notice (or at least does not harp on) the extent of her bondage.  In fact, until the air tightens the rope, she seems unaware of any constraint.  She is enjoying an illusion of freedom and handling the tension well.

·      Marcus suggests that tautening represents tensions in relationships and adds that “the slightness of the bondage shows that the woman’s tender dutifulness responds not to compulsion but to loving necessity” (167).

·      While some critics read the poem as sexual in nature, such as H. A. Maxson (who suggests that “slightly taut” suggests a sexual naïveté [104]), I would probably mention this reading as a possibility but focus on Fagan’s assertion that the “ties grow taut when strained, but these are the only times the woman is even ‘of the slightest bondage made aware of her responsibilities’ and that the poem praises the woman who is “gentle while strong, stable while flexible, and at all times has a ‘sureness of soul’ that points heavenward” (307). [1]

Form and Structure

·      The poem is a sonnet, with elements of both a Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnet.

·      Frost often let form imitate statement, such as in “Silken Tent” and “The Vantage Point” (Maxson 68).

·      Questions:

4.    In what ways does the form of his poem imitate his statement?

Possible Answer: the poem is written in one long sentence, giving it a flowing rhythm uninterrupted by full stops.   This corresponds to the freedom and sway of the woman/tent.  We simultaneously reach the period at the end of the poem as the woman becomes (slightly) aware of her bondage.  Furthermore, the woman and the poem are both “loosely bound” (the poem is loosely bound by the conventions of a Shakespearean sonnet).

5.    What characteristics does the poem share with Shakespearean and/or Petrarchan sonnets?

Possible Answer:

Petrarchan Sonnet	BOTH	Shakespearean Sonnet
Epiphany or “turn” occurs in line 9, where Petrarchan sonnets turn.	14 lines	Rhyme scheme is Shakespearean (ABABCDCDEFEFGG)
	Contains the theme of “praising woman’s loveliness” (Fagan 306)	Written in iambic pentameter like a Shakespearean Sonnet

Assignment:  Compose a sonnet that utilizes an extended metaphor.  Like Frost’s “Silken Tent” you may use any combination of characteristics from Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnets (but make sure that you provide a “turn” or “epiphany” in either the 9^th or 12^th line).  Bonus points will be given to those who successfully implement iambic pentameter.  Also, follow your poem with a 350-word (minimum) explanation about how your poem shares or diverges from the characteristics common in Frost’s poems.

Works Cited

Fagan, Deidre.  Critical Companion to Robert Frost: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts on File, 2007. Print.

Kearns, Katherine.  “‘The Place is the Asylum’: Women and Nature in Robert Frost’s Poetry.” American Literature: A Journal of Literary History, Criticism, and Bibliography 59.2 (1987): 190-210. Web. 20 March 2011.

Marcus, Mordecai. The Poems of Robert Frost: An Explication. Berkeley: Apocryphile, 1991.  Print.

Maxon, H. A.  On the Sonnets of Robert Frost: A Critical Examination of the 37 Poems. Jefferson: McFarland, 1997.  Print.

Smith, Evans Lansing.  “Frost’s ‘On a Bird Singing in its Sleep,’ ‘Never Again Would Birds’ Song be the Same,’ and ‘The Silken Tent.’”  Explicator 50.1 (1991): 35-37.  Web. 19 March 2011.