Poets write love letters, but how often do the objects of their love write back? Compare Christopher Marlowe's "A Passionate Shepard to His Love" to Sir Walter Raleigh's response, "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd," with an engaging language arts lesson. Tenth graders draw comparisons between the poems, focusing on how the structure and word choice impact each poem's tone.

Concepts

reading comprehension, literary analysis, tone, poetic structure, christopher marlowe, word choice, close reading, compare and contrast texts

Show More Show Less

Additional Tags

english language arts

Show More Show Less

Instructional Ideas

• Prompt your class to share their written responses to the Quick Write with small groups or partners
• Project both poems onto the whiteboard to explicitly draw comparisons between the poems

Classroom Considerations

• The third lesson of seven in a literary analysis unit
• Homework assignment provides time for learners to find an independent reading book, but you can eliminate that part of the lesson if you're limited on time

Pros

• Promotes deep reading and analysis skills
• Video link works and enhances the lesson
• Comes with a full version of the unit, as well as a full version of the module
• Provides copies of each poem in different formats

Cons

• None

Common Core

RL.9-10.4 W.9-10.9.a L.9-10.5.a