Despite the sleepless night beforehand, despite the hour and a half of going over the meaning and structure of sonnets, despite the countless comparisons and contrasts between Italian, Spenserian, and Shakespearean sonnets, despite my fear, anxiety, and nervousness upon entering the classroom yesterday to take my first Sonnet Timed Writing…I have to say, it went over pretty well. This isn't to discount the puzzling nature and the mysterious aura that sonnets bring to the table (literally and figuratively), but when we took the dreaded writing test I found myself enjoying the thrill of the wordy chase, astounded and pleased with the amount of analysis that I did, despite the high-pressured situation. Despite the big impact it could have on my grade.
So what made it so much more enjoyable than other Timed Writings? Maybe I was just having a good day? Maybe the teacher had give us an-- God forbid-- easy sonnet? Nah. None of the above. When I walked out of the classroom with an unusually light heart, I started to ponder the nature of such Sonnet Timed Writings. They were just as difficult as short story analysis, just as frustrating as poetry comparisons, but I had the most fun with it. Unlike all those other horrifying Timed Writings, where you feel as if you're on the edge of a cliff, forced to explore an ocean that you barely know of--but are expected to cartograph (is that a verb?)--sonnets have that one descriptive similarity across all types that we can connect to easily: love. We know beforehand, before we even get the sonnet, what it is going to be about, and from that point on it's up to us to find those creative ways the poet uses his vernacular and wit to construct an idea of love to send across.
This made me question my capabilities not only as an AP Lit student, but as a person in general. I've always thought that connecting academic concepts in real-life applications was time-consuming and only provided busy work, a distraction from the true concepts at hand. But what is the point, really, of learning such concepts if you don't apply it in the first place? I'm not saying I know the true secrets of love to a fine point, but I felt myself connect with the sonnet in some way, and this connection facilitated the reading and analyzing process. By connecting the sonnet to me instead of to a so what statement, I could find its meaning easier and the pieces fell more firmly in place. It was a great feeling. This got me wondering about all those dreadful timed writings in the past, and I made the same type of progress with the one other writing that I felt proud of: the Grendel timed writing. I found its content of existentialism so invigorating and so relatable that writing a timed writing was like blogging about my experiences with the book.
That being said, I probably shouldn't treat every timed writing like a blog post. Using excessive first-person pronouns, cursing once in a while, and complaining aren't going to get me much higher than a 3 on the AP exam. But the attitude that I enter the writing with, the connection that I'm looking forward to explaining, will lead me to the so what and the analysis that I need for a great essay. It worked wonders for my sonnet essay, regardless of what grade I get--I'm proud of my work. Who's to say it wouldn't work for every other essay?
No comments:
Post a Comment