I always get worried when I teach this poem because it really and truly is one of the raciest things that you’ll read in high school, maybe even college. Even with my first block, you guys handled everything appropriately. I felt like we had a real discussion yesterday rather than me just lecturing at you. Remember, sometimes talking abut relevant issues might cause some emotional triggers for you, so it’s okay if you need to get a drink of water during any discussions or activities.

First, we printed the lyrics to Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get in On”, listened to the song, and highlighted persuasive language in BLUE, references to love in PINK, and highlighted references to TIME in yellow. Answer the three questions and drop off your highlighted lyrics (if you were absent so I can give you credit for highlighting along with the three questions).

We talked about the speaker and his audience (a girl) and analyzed that relationship. We highlighted evidence of carpe diem (time) in the poem, highlighted IRONY in the song, and highlighted references to LOVE in the song. We also specifically talked about how the song was contradictory and how it related to TIME (“stop beating ’round the bush”, and “this minute”).

We were really puzzled about the lyrics, especially the phrase “threatin’ you, baby”, so I did a little research. First, I wanted to make sure that I got the lyrics right, and it seems I did. So then, I went to Wikipedia and read this little tidbit. It seems Mr. Gaye had a troubled childhood and used his music to work through some of his issues. The power of poetry!

Kelsey in 2nd block also brought up something that I never thought about before: I had always interpreted that lyric to insinuate physical violence, but she said he could be threatening the woman with other consequences, such as infidelity or breaking up.

We talked about consent, and how the audience in the song has obviously NOT given consent. I also mentioned the Stuebenville High School rape case during that discussion.

Students then sat there puzzled as to why we listened to that song, so we read “To His Coy Mistress” to explain. It’s the original “Let’s Get It On”, just much creepier.

You can download my notes in a Word document so you don’t have to copy notes. Just save it wherever you save my stuff.

I showed you eagles twirling and how that fit into the poem.

We talked a lot about consent in my classes, and I found these two images that you might enjoy after the discussion:

 

And lastly, my three classes worked on a TPCASTT of the poem. I e-mailed it to everyone, so check your gmail for the final copy.