Page 4 Sonnets


 Parabolas and Poetry



Usually, the word "parabola" is used in a conversation about mathematics.

However, in this poem, the poet elevates the word to the realm of art in his description of the flight of the football: "spiralling over his head/ in perfect parabolic flight".

Poets select words for their precision, or exactness, as mathematicians demand in their formulas, equations, and graphs.



View the following video to learn more about parabolas outside of math class!  How many parabolas can you find?

 

 



Flexible thinking requires us to see things in a new way every day.

Writers use analogy to explain a similarity between two unlike things, such as a parabola and the lamp post or a parabola and an egg.

Think flexibly about the following comparisons:

  • How is rain like a clock?
  • How is truth like an equilateral triangle?




Read about "Sonnets" on page 64 of ResourceLines 7/8

A sonnet is a formal 14 line poem with a definite rhyme scheme, often with a turning point or climax in line 9.


The title, "Ragged Sonnet #64", is ironic because "ragged" suggests something rough and imperfect, yet "sonnet" implies the opposite.

This poem is "ragged" because it lacks the traditional rhyme scheme and metre (beats per line) of a sonnet.

It does have fourteen lines and a turning point in line 9: the coach's practical focus on a win contrasted with Jim's focus on beauty.


When you have completed all parts of Assignment 6,

  • be sure you have renamed your file (YOURNAME) la 8-3-6 
  • upload the completed assignment into the 3.6 Assignment file on the next page
Check in two to three days to retrieve the marked assignment and review the feedback from your teacher.