History Video #15: The National Gallery of Art

This week we learned about Petrarch, a famous philosopher from the Middle Ages who complained that his period of history was dark, dreary, and uninspiring.

Petrarch was also a poet. I asked the students whether they prefer poetry or prose. Here are some of their thoughtful answers:

Malcolm: When I’m trying to read something large and exciting (during a vacation, for example), I prefer prose because there are more words, and it’s easier to convey excitement, making it more fun to read and more suspenseful. 

Caspar: I personally favor poetry because I appreciate how poetry sounds -- particularly if it rhymes.

Reese: I enjoy prose more because it tells more of a story and can go more in depth with its topic.

Marin: I like prose because there aren’t many rules or formats you have to follow, while in poetry you (sometimes) have to follow a specific style or guidelines. Isabelle V. had a similar perspective to Marin's. Isabelle said: I love poetry, but I prefer prose. I feel like you can show more detail without having a specific rubric like rhyming the words or making a haiku.

Austin: I like poetry because I like writing with that technique. I like writing poems about the seasons. I also really like reading poems, especially funny poems that rhyme.

Octavia: When I want to read a book on an ordinary basis, I chose prose because it is definitely the most straightforward and easiest to follow the story. I choose poetry, though, when I want to spend lots of time on a book and fully understand it, because poetry gives much more to think about.

Cadigan: I prefer prose because you can develop the characters and have them build, but most poetry doesn’t have detailed characters.  

James B.: I prefer prose. One reason that I prefer to write prose is that I feel as though you can add more detail and express yourself -- because you have room to write. But when writing a poem, you have less space and have to choose carefully the words you write.

-----------------

As I mentioned during class today, this History Video was filmed last year, so please ignore the reference to a field trip on Monday ... the correct date for our field trip is next Wednesday, April 10.