Commonplace Book Assignment

Commonplace Book Assignment

Patricia Taylor, Briar Cliff University

Background
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, one of the most important tools of a writer was a commonplace book. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a commonplace book is “a book in which ‘commonplaces’ or passages important for reference were collected, usually under general heads; hence, a book in which one records passages or matters to be especially remembered or referred to, with or without arrangement.” Commonplace books (CPBs) were something like diaries or journals, but instead of recording the events of the day or one’s emotions or feelings, they served as places to record quotations or sum- maries of information that one might use in future writings, along with reflections on those quotations and information. Famous people who have kept CPBs included Francis Bacon, John Milton, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, Mark Twain, and Virginia Woolf.

Robert Darnton writes in the New York Review of Books (Dec. 21, 2000) that commonplace books both required and encouraged different forms of reading:

Unlike modern readers, who follow the ow of a narrative from beginning to end, early modern Englishmen read in fits and starts and jumped from book to book. They broke texts into fragments and assembled them into new patterns by transcribing them in different sections of their notebooks. Then they reread the copies and rearranged the patterns while adding more excerpts. Reading and writing were therefore inseparable activities. They belonged to a continuous e ort to make sense of things, for the world was full of signs: you could read your way through it; and by keeping an account of your readings, you made a book of your own, one stamped with your personality. (47.20)

Oddly enough, this pattern of taking in bits and pieces of information and recombining them parallels the patterns of reading practiced by many in the age of the Internet—from Evernote to fan sites to blogs, commonplace practices are alive and well.

Keep a commonplace book modeled on the early modern practice of reading and recording quotations. Each author kept track of topics of interest to them; the content might differ from reader to reader, though there were standard terms. For this assignment, you will keep track of at least 5 different topics chosen from the list below, plus any additional ones you desire.
Kingship
Tyranny
Justice
Freedom
Love
Marriage
Women
Sex
Friendship
Loyalty
Ambition
Jealousy
Knowledge
Truth
Language
Poetry
Power
God
Church
Prayer
Grace/mercy
Faith/Devotion
Honor
Time
Nature
Imitation
Revenge
Failure

• Start by purchasing a blank book that you can use as a commonplace book. I recommend something relatively small; most students in past classes have preferred 5x9, but others have gone smaller. You may want it to be completely blank, or you might want it lined or with graph paper. Some students prefer spiral bound books; others like hard bound or paper back. Some people even prefer mini 3-ring binders, so they can add pages and move them around. I recommended Paperblanks (if you want a pre-existing and pretty design) and Moleskins (if you want something sleek and practical), but there are plenty of other blank books producers out there. 
• Decide if you plan to organize your book topically or chronologically. If topically, you will need to create different sections of your notebook dedicated to different topics. Chronological organization will require more careful noting of topics for each quotation. 
• For each class, record quotations from each day’s readings, providing citations (author, title, and page or line numbers). Aim for four quotations each day if you want to earn an A or B; 3 if you want to earn a C; 2 if you want to earn a D. 
  • Note: if you want to transcribe a whole poem (10 lines or more), you can count it as two quotations.

• Keep an index of your quotations or topics at either the front or the back of your book.
• You should also keep track of which requirements you have satisfied in the index so I can easily check that you have fulfilled them.
• Check the list of additional readings for authors or topics that might be of interest to you; over the course of the semester you will need to read and record quotations from at least 1 to earn a C, 2 to earn a B, and 3 to earn an A.
  • Henry Howard, Early of Surrey (661-671)
  • Sir Thomas Hoby, translation of Castiglione’s The Courtier (704-721) 
  • Elizabeth I (749-766)
  • Spenser, “Epithalamion” (990-1000)
  • Samuel Daniel, “Delia” poems (1014-15) and Thomas Campion poems (1017-1021) 
  • Philip Sidney, “The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia” (1037-1044)
  • John Donne, “The Canonization” (1377), “Air and Angels” (1380), “A Valediction: Of Weeping” (1381), “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” (1385), “A Hymn to Christ, at the Author’s Last Going into Germany” (1416), “Hymn to God My God, in My Sickness” (1417), “A Hymn to God the Father” (1418)
  • Ben Jonson, Epigrams (1439-1446)
  • Mary Wroth, “Pamphilia to Amphilanthus” (1566-1571) 
  • Francis Bacon, Essays (1662-1674)
  • Thomas Browne, Religio Medici (1696-1705) 
  • Henry Vaughan, Silex Scintillans (1728-1740) 
  • Richard Crashaw, Steps to the Temple (1745-47) and Carmen Deo Nostro (1747-1756) 

• Over the course of the semester, keep an eye out for quotations, images, or other materials you can include that come from outside our course readings—they might be from class discussion, readings from other courses, research, news articles, popular culture, etc. To earn an A, you will need quotations from at least 10 such outside sources.

• Experiment with early modern composition practices of collection and invention
• Develop collections of passages related to topics that may be useful in your research project.
• Develop systematic awareness of the major themes and concerns of early modern literature
• Understand the variety of different perspectives and attitudes on topics across the early modern period
• Increased ability to pay close attention to and interpret nuanced language and lines of thought

A: 4 entries per class day, missing no days; citations for all materials; complete index; 3+ entries from 3 extra readings; 10+ entries from non-class sources; 500+ word reflection

B: 4 entries per class day missing no more than 2 days; citations for all materials; complete index; 3+ entries from 2 additional sets of readings; 5+ entries from non-class sources; 400+ word reflection

C: 3 entries per day, missing no more than 4 days; citations for all materials; complete index; 3+ entries from 1 additional set of readings; 1+ entries from non-class sources; 300+ word reflection

D: 2 entries per day, missing no more than 6 days; citations for all materials; full index; 200+ word reflection

Extra Credit: 5% for brief annotations (phrases or 1-2 sentences) or reflections on each entry; 2% for a personalized artistic cover or relevant artwork in the book