Goodbye High School: Final Poetry Assignment

Your final writing piece for this class is a 14 lined poem that will be based off of Shakespeare’s monologue from his final play called “The Tempest.” The speech is given from a man who is about to leave an island he has been living on for 15 years as he realizes all things must come to an end and he must return to his homeland. The speech is also supposed to reflect Shakespeare’s retirement from the stage and from being a playwright since this was the last play he ever wrote.

Our revels now are ended. These our actors,

As I foretold you, were all spirits and

Are melted into air, into thin air:

And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,

The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,

The solemn temples, the great globe itself,

Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve

And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,

Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff

As dreams are made on, and our little life

Is rounded with a sleep.

Requirements:

·         14 lines. Your poem must begin with the line “Our revels now are ended,” and should reflect on your experience in high school (or as a student overall) and the fact that you are leaving this place and this experience as an adolescent behind. 

·         Your poem must be written in iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line), although whether you want to write it in blank verse or have it rhyme is entirely up to you. 

·         You may not have language degrading individuals from the school (students or teachers: no bullying in meter), but feel free to reflect on both positive and negative experiences if you want to.

·         Decide what mood or message you want to send. Is this a bittersweet ending to your high school career? Or is it more defined? Will you miss certain people, classes, qualities of your adolescence? Are you excited of what is to come? What is the biggest impact this change is having on you?