Tale of two (or more) topics

Right now I am oscillating between few ideas for my paper so I wrote a some thesis statements for each.  I decided to go with something completely different than I wrote in my last post about ideas for my paper.  If you have any more suggestions feel free.  There is a good chance my topic will continue to change.

I Hope This Thesis Statement Gets Better...

I have always found it fascinating how the Modernist movement that was founded by Ezra Pound at the beginning of the 20th century changed the way people wrote and viewed literature. After the First World War, Modernism became the most popular form of literature, and for me, the most interesting.

The only rules of Modernism were, as Ezra Pound said, to "make it new." There was a constant alienation after World War I that is present in the different literature of the era. Consequently, this leads most people to believe that the Modernists were void of spirituality, morals and ethics. However, from what I have read, I believe that there is an ever-present yearning for meaningful human connection and spirituality. So, this has led me to ask myself a few questions:

Seeds

As I examined my previous posts I noticed I enjoyed writing about the influence of new media on literature and the world.  What are it's benefits?  How does it negatively us?  How has it changed the way we live?  Technology continues to exert a profound pressure on the modern man and that pressure is only increasing.  Some of my posts dealing with these issues are: Paper or Plastic, Emerging Tools, and, most recently, The Good, The Bad and The Television.



I also found the symbols in Death of a Salesman very intriguing in my post The Wrong Dreams.  Why are the characters endowed with their specific names?  How do each reflect an aspect of the American Dream?  Are there other interpretations other those which are generally accepted?



I have written a lot about music in many of my posts (Drama With Sasquatch and At the neutral milk hotel?).    How do music and poetry (and the other literary categories we have discussed) relate to one another?  Are the lyrics of contemporary music the best poetry around or just the most generally accessible?

These are the most likely contenders for my big literary analysis paper.  Any further thoughts on how to develop these ideas?

The Good, The Bad, and The Television

The morning sun timidly peaks over the horizon, greeting the hills and mountains of the Wenatchee valley.  It is summer.  The fresh dew on the grass anticipates an imminent disturbance from children newly freed from their educational pursuits.   A smiling Columbia River invites all to come and refresh.  Bask in the glory of nature.  All the while, my brother, Cole, plays Call of Duty on his Xbox 360.  I plant myself firmly on the couch, glued to my computer, looking for new music. My sister is downstairs aimlessly Instagramming.  None of us have said more than four words to each other this morning, but this is routine for a Saturday. We will go on like this until our parents decide to wake up and fight the good fight.  My mother comes up stairs, comments on the beautiful day and starts listing all the activities she has planned.  Cole and I cast a look at our screens so forlorn one might think it was our mother's milk from which we were being separated. We are one in thought. "Why would she do this to us?  What did we do to deserve this?  We are not hurting anyone, why can't we just do this all day?"  She is firm in her resolve, "Come on kids, we have to go weed the garden, then we can all go on a hike up Castle Rock."  We consent with an "Uuuuggggg."

The First Book of Andrew

Chapter 1

The Children of God begin to share the gospel with their brethren throughout the world by way of New Media. The righteous strive to use their bounteous good fortune to perform good on the earth. The wicked reject the good and use the New Media to fight against the children of God. There arise many contentions in the land of social media. The work of God prevails and continues to press forward as man prepares to meet his Redeemer.

1 And it came to pass that as a great multitude of people began snap-chatting and writing on people's walls, there arose many things which were great and helpful to the children of God.
2 Yea, even those children who were spread across the great waters and dispersed throughout the land in the latter days were able to partake of the great good in the world and share it with the needy, the sick and the afflicted.

Soundtrack of My Life

I have to admit that I initially overlooked non-fiction as a creative genre of literature. I guess I never realized that there were so many different possibilities when it comes to writing creative non-fiction. From biographies to cook books, non-fiction is a huge component of contemporary literature. In my ignorance, I neglected to realize that about 70% of what I read is actually creative non-fiction. Needless to say, my appreciation for non-fiction has grown and I now tend to notice the creative literary aspects present in most non-fiction writing. I think that making non-fiction creative and engaging is a real skill that most people often overlook.  

I love music. So, when I realized that music reviews are a legitimate form of creative non-fiction, naturally it peaked my interest in non-fiction. I have been reading music reviews from Rolling Stone magazine for a while. I spent a couple of hours reading the most recent reviews from some of my favorite bands. I found that many of the reviews are literary and very creative. For example the reviews I read for Daft Punk's newest album, Random Access Memories, and Vampire Weekend's Modern Vampires of the City were littered with allusions and artistic metaphors. The review for the Great Gatsby Soundtrack even concluded with the final lines of F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous masterpiece. The language engaged the reader and painted a lovely picture of the essence of each album. I continued to read reviews for Phoenix's Bankrupt and The Strokes' long-awaited album, Comedown Machine, among others. In every review I could see the intention to creatively express the essence of each album in its most basic form. I gained a better appreciation for creative non-fiction and now I have more motivation to read different genres of non-fiction.

Interestingly enough, most of what I write is creative non-fiction. I spent Fall semester writing for the The Student Review newspaper in Provo. I had the opportunity to write a couple op-eds and I even wrote a music review of my own. Studying this genre has definitely opened my eyes to the potential of writing creative non-fiction. I thought it sounded boring, but it really isn't. . . unless you're reading the phone book. 

A New Way of Seeing Things

Thinking of scripture as literature is a new concept to me. I first heard of the idea when I came to BYU and realized that there were classes like "The Bible as Literature." The idea sounded interesting to me, but I never really gave it much credit. So, to my surprise and delight, when I read the "Psalm of Nephi" and the subsequent posts regarding scripture as literature, something clicked. I now fully believe that scripture is valuable literature filled with plenty of literary merit. And why not? Does it not make sense that the creator of the universe and all language would want to eloquently communicate with his children on a spiritual level as well as in a perfect, beautifully constructed way?

Nephi's Psalm

Huh, the Book of Mormon is historical non-fiction isn't it?  I never really thought about it that way before.  Maybe my mind places religious texts into their own sub-genre automatically.  When I read 2 Nephi 4:15-35 the profound sincerity of the passage enriches my spirit.  When I add to that the thought of Nephi: the son whose father just died, the brother of some real jerks, the man who has faithfully endured such extreme trials, his words are utterly, beyond description, amazing.  He wants to make sure his posterity has an accurate understanding of his character.  He is a perfectionist, but he admits he is not perfect.  He loves that which is pure, but confesses his impurities.  He loves his Savior and he trusts his Father in Heaven, but he wants to be transparent.  He balances his eloquence with relatable flaws.  I have noticed the precedent he set using this type of rhetoric reflected in the talks of modern-day prophets.  President Monson practices this technique with expert talent.  Reading this passage reminded me of a story told our current prophet’s recent talk in which he recanted a tale from his early boyhood in which he started a forest fire.  Prophets immediately deserve respect, but it is stories like this that gain the love of the people.

Nephi also uses powerful imagery to describe his struggles and redemption.  In verse 21 Nephi says “He has filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.”  He wants all the forthcoming generations to know that it is possible to overcome earthly short comings.  Nephi implements this classic Biblical metaphor in verse 35, “I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness.”  This can be traced back to Deuteronomy 32:4 among other references.

Paper or Plastic?

The internet has arrived and it is not going anywhere.  Newspapers and magazines are becoming a thing of the past.  Journalists everywhere have followed suit by catering to younger readers over the computer screen.  I myself have a habit of staying up on what is going on in the world of music.  Magazines like the Rolling Stone are basically antiques with only septuagenarian readership.  Seriously, how many times can Bob Dylan make the cover of that thing?  True, other magazines like Spin or XXL pursue a younger crowd, but they are seemingly unaware of the fact that nobody in that demographic pays for any of their music!  Much less a ten dollar magazine.

On the other hand, internet-based music publications like pitchfork.com or stereogum.com, once dismissed as a lesser means of musical press, are becoming increasingly relevant.  I am a music nerd so I visit each of these sites at least five times a week.  The articles are fun to read with just the right amount of wit and the writers are just as well versed in musical history as their paper-using counterparts.  Once in a blue moon I might walk through Walgreens, only intending to purchase some toothpaste, and see Led Zeppelin in all their glory grace the front page of Rolling Stone.  I might ask myself “what hasn't already been written about Houses of the Holy?” and I fumble through the pages for a few minutes.  Sadly, my attention span cannot last longer than that.  There are no songs a click of a mouse away.  There is no live footage just begging to be streamed.  So I lose interest, put it back on the shelf, and buy my hygienic necessities. There is simply no need for this situation ever to play out any differently.  Printed news is dead.

Also, I worked on this stuff for 8 hours this weekend while I was at a cabin in Washington with my whole family and a bunch of friends so give me credit!

Mother Knows Best

After reading the personal essay Take, Eat by Teresa Meyer Santiago I decided I should talk to my mom about her experience raising children.  She is one of the strongest, smartest women I know.  She minored in English at BYU and wrote for the local newspaper for ten years before she had me.  I guess I must have been quite a handful because she retired soon after her pregnancy.  She has been a stay at home mom ever since.  That has not stopped her from putting her literary skills to good use.  It would be quite embarrassing to number the times I have argued with my mom over my English homework which I thought was perfect, but had been unmercilously torn apart by her critical eye.  Her picture may very well be next to “Grammar Nazi” in the dictionary… I love her to death. 

I was unsure how she would react to this Take.  I knew she would be sympathetic to Santiago’s experience with a miscarriage since she had had one of her own.  She noted the indescribable sense of loss she felt after the whole ordeal.  She had not thought about it in a long time.  I could tell it was difficult for her to recall those sordid emotions.  They had been dealt with and buried.  She discussed them clearly and coherently, but it was obvious she had very little desire to dig them back up again.  It impressed upon me the tumultuous experience of motherhood.  Never had it registered so deeply the emotional rollercoaster a mother goes through as she bears a child.  A personal essay seems to have a more powerful effect at conveying thoughts and feelings than a work of fiction.  Combining that with my mom’s account made the literature extremely rewarding.

The Importance of Reading "Ernest"

First things first. . . let us all just agree that Oscar Wilde was the first "hipster." He probably wore vintage fake spectacles and rode a bike to work, too.

As far as literature is concerned, "The Importance of Being Ernest" is one of the most delightful reads that I have come across in the last little while. I have been wanting to read an Oscar Wilde play for some time ever since I read the prologue to "Dorian Gray." Wilde's aesthetic view of literature, that is, art for art's sake, always intrigued me and I thought, "What better way to learn more of drama and the aesthetic movement than to read 'The Importance of Being Ernest.'" I dare say, I have not enjoyed so completely two and a half hours of reading so much until now. And then it hit me: that realization of why the aesthetic movement was so appealing. Did I learn anything especially critical, helpful or pertinent to my life? No. But I felt really good after I read, as if the art had somehow released me from stress or worry or frustration. In this regard, I understand intimately how art and literature make life so much better. If it were me, I would require all students of literature to review the play as I deem it a masterpiece of aesthetic beauty and comical brilliance.

After reading the first scene of the first act, I endeavored to read the play in its entirety. After a quick trip to the Provo library, I was able to embark on the 73 page journey just as Tuesday night turned into Wednesday morning. The play made such an impression that I called home to ask my mother if she had read it, as I hoped a good literary conversation would come of it. She said that she had not read it, however, she had thoroughly enjoyed the theatrical version with Rupert Everett and Colin Firth. Remembering our previous conversation of seeing and experiencing theatre, I determined that I ought to watch the film. . . and I was not at all disappointed with the interpretation of the play as the film had me laughing throughout.

I honestly believe that Oscar Wilde was inspired to pen such a genius comedy that transcends decades of societal changes and paradigm shifts. The basic themes of triviality, ethics, fraud, fate, irony and unrequited love still ring true to a modern audience 120 years later. The ever-brilliant Algernon and Jack continue to captivate audiences with their witty banter and controversial schemes at being "Ernest." I solemnly swear before all who read this post that I will sieze the first opportunity to see the play performed live. . . whenever that may be.

Drama With Sasquatch

This weekend I will be attending a music festival in George, Washington called Sasquatch.  Yes that's correct, George Washington.  Last week we discussed poetry and this week we are discussing drama so why not talk about a medium that combines the best elements of both?  Maybe reading Death of a Salesman has corrupted my mind with nostalgia, but I cannot help but recall how the Flaming Lips utilized both lyrical and theatrical talent to create the best concert experience I have ever had.  I should mention this was part of the UFO show tour so props played a big part in the theatrics.  There were Teletubbies, giant robots, dragons, confetti shooters, glitter, a man in a bubble walking on top of the crowd (interaction), an large screen behind the band projecting an art-housesque image compilation  and oh so much more.  The venue itself creates a sense of awe for life and the world.  Sasquatch takes place in a gorge overlooking a scenic mountain landscape.  The sunset just as the band began to play. The lyrics are weird, even juvenille, but if you can get over yourself, they become so relatable. They convey all the fallacies and insecurities of the human experience.  Life is fantastic and should be enjoyed.  When people shed their prejudices and self-consciousness life is just more fun.  Obviously, I do not subscribe to the entire Flaming Lips theology, but I can honestly say that every venue, every show, every band that has stirred some emotion in my unreasonably cynical twenty two year-old heart has caused me to say "this is good, but not as good as the Flaming Lips at Sasquatch".

The Wrong Dreams

Seconds make everything better.  I first read the Arthur Miller tragedy, Death of a Salesman, on a whim during my freshman year of college.  I sat in the top floor of the Harold B. Lee library and read from 8 pm to midnight.  Sometimes you do crazy things when you are not taking an English class.  I cannot say I got much out of my initial reading of Miller's masterpiece.  I just wanted to consume something beautiful.  I wanted a break from scientific monotony.  This time, like a supplementary trip to the buffett for another heaping portion of chow mein and general tso's, I intended take it a little slower and to savor my experience.

It took me a good 3 hours to get through Death of a Salesman and all my additional reading, but my real insights came in just the first few pages.  I noticed significance of the names of each character.  I first caught on with Biff's name.  When I think of a biff I think of one who has fallen or messed up in some way.  Then I noticed how ironic it was that his brother Happy is not really happy at all.  Even though he is living what people at that time considered the "American Dream" he is not content.  Will, their father, is willful and stubborn, but his last name (Loman) indicates that he is unable to escape the lower-levels of society.  Understanding the symbolism of these names helped me identify the themes of the play more easily.  Miller wrote Salesman in the 1950's at a time when the American Dream was in full swing.  The Depression and World War II were over and people could devote themselves to their work.  What followed?  Yeah, the 60's.  The American Dream blew up in the face of the masses more powerfully than economic down turn or international conflict ever could.  Why?  Miller prophetically suggests American citizens are operating under two incorrect notions: the past was better than the present and material wealth is more important than true character.  These ideals are contradictory to the nature of the human spirit.  There are numerous points in the play that bring out these themes, but since I do not want to go on and on I will simply recommend reading it. Maybe later I will do a longer literary argument later.

The Importance of Wit

What stood out to me in the first scene of "The Importance of Being Earnest" was the lively and sharp wit of the dialogue. From the very beginning, the characters make little jabs at eachother which not only create the comedic tone, but highlight the underlying tensions between the characters as well as their personalities. Upon entering, Algernon asks Jack what brought him to town to which Jack answers, "Oh, pleasure, pleasure! What else should bring one anywhere? Eating as usual, I see, Algy!" to which Algernon says, "[Stiffly.] I believe it is customary in good society to take some slight refreshment at five o’clock." This first exchange reveals Jack's character as perhaps more flippant than Algernon's because he jestingly talks of his motivation as being pleasure and immediately takes a jab at Algernon's over eating. Algernon's character is seen as more reserved and serious because he becomes defensive towards Jack. This exchange also shows possible tension or antagonism between the characters. I'm not sure this early in the play if their underlying antagonism is deep or if it's just all in good fun, like when best friends are able to make scathing remarks to eachother in good humor and camaraderie. Another priceless comment is where Jack tells Algernon that he is in town because he intends to propose to Gwendolen. To this Algernon says "I thought you had come up for pleasure?… I call that business." He says this because he doesn't "see anything romantic in proposing" because of the "certain" nature of proposal. He believes that "The very essence of romance is uncertainty" and "If [he] ever get[s] married, [he'll] certainly try to forget the fact" to which Jack responds, "I have no doubt about that, dear Algy. The Divorce Court was specially invented for people whose memories are so curiously constituted" --Ouch! This type of witty, biting banter continues on probably for the whole play, which, besides being endlessly amusing/impressive to me, is a form of dialogue that says a lot about the characters and their hidden agendas without requiring extensive background summary. Humor is such an effective and enjoyable device!

Does anyone know if there's a specific literary name for the kind of wit used in the lines I include? I'm not sure!

A Mid(Spring) Night's Dream

Drama is probably the one aspect of literature with which I am least familiar. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate drama so much, but I never really had the opportunity to relate. I always enjoyed acting and making movies, etc. but I never lived in a place that had a credible drama program, and I was always tied up in sports and music. Nevertheless, I remember the day when Shakespeare began to resonate with me and ceased being some sort of foreign jargon created solely to taunt my every attempt to comprehend it.

My grade twelve English class read "Macbeth" and, what I expect was an attempt to make the dialogue relatable to the class, my teacher, Bob Csongei, read out loud and performed the various voices of each character. Maybe it was just me paying more attention, but I had an epiphany of sorts and gained an appreciation for drama. I have attended a few plays and musicals since then and I even read Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" just for fun.

Even with my amateur status with regards to drama, I had never experienced quite anything like Shakespeare in the Park. After walking right past it several times without realizing and meandering through several baseball diamonds, I finally spotted Richard and a few other classmates right as the show's prologue concluded. I had previously seen "A Midsummer Night's Dream" done by a High School drama club, but this experience was unique.
The quality of the acting and the interpretation of the play exceeded my expectations. The characters of Puck and Nick Bottom were hilariously performed and the 2-hours-long play seemed to go by quickly as the sun set and cool shadows stretched out over the park. Overall, I think the experience has inspired me to go see the other plays from the list (Urinetown seems to be a big hit with everybody) and I have more motivation to read plays outside of class. I think I will read one of Oscar Wilde's plays as I have always had the curiosity, but never the drive to crack open the cover.

I am excited to learn more about drama and explore its significance within the literary world. I have a good feeling about it and can't wait to get started.

Urinetown--A Delight

At first I was dubious about the play Urinetown due to the name. I didn't want to take a break from my homework (I spent 2 hours reading for this class). However, when I got there I was so happy that I went! I was pleasantly surprised by the hilarity of the production--I was laughing out loud most of the time! I have seen a couple of plays before and the comedy was always excellent, I always end up being 'that person' who cackles loudly at everything but I really can't help it--plays are in the highest echelon of comedy for me. Both the wit and the slap-stick humor blend together to create the perfect comedic atmosphere. It just gets soo silly. There was this one scene in which the rag-tag towns people get together and sing this epic, intricate song that seems like a parody of Les Miserables and they get all riled up. It's sort of hard to explain, you literally have to be there to get the full impact of the hilarity, which is part of the magic that is theatre. But the play not only had humor but deep underlying questions and ideological conflicts as well. The play addresses issues such as the manipulation of the poor masses as well as the need for liberation in contrast with the need for control. The premise is that these people must pay to pee and if they don't they are sent to 'Urinetown' a.k.a. killed. They successfully rise up and kill their oppressor, but without him and their 'pee tax,' their water is depleted and they suffer from extreme thirst. What is so brilliant is that the play makes you acknowledge these deep questions through comedy. It doesn't force you to think one way or another about these issues, but lets you make your own conclusions. I think that is one indication of good art. My point to all of this is that I am obsessed with plays and find them extremely amusing and was delighted with Urinetown. Go see it! See Caitlyn's post for more information and tickets.

Fast Times at Brigham Young University

I decided to consume a little appetizer play before the main course of A Midsummer Night's Dream and actually found myself enjoying it more than Shakespeare.  It was a little one act comedy called Moby Dude, OR: The Three-Minute Whale by David Ives.  This weekend I spent a solid 8 hours reading and writing papers, so I was nice to have a little comic relief.  Since the play is only one act the action plays out pretty fast.  In the exposition the only character with lines, a seventeen year-old with Jeff Spicoli diction, must give a verbal book report to his teacher, Mrs. Podgorski, on Moby-Dick.  Conflict is immediately established as the he defends himself against Mrs. Podgorski's accusations that he did not read the novel.  The action rises as he alternates between surfer dude lingo and high brow literary commentary using phases like peerless alegorical saga and metaphysical ambiguity to describe the book.  Is there more depth to this narrator than meets the eye?  Do we judge others too quickly based on their appearance or delivery or words?  This protagonist, slang and homophobic inferences aside, sums up the plot and symbolism of Moby-Dick quite well.  His teacher appears to think so too.  His summary climaxes in triumphant fanfare and our Spicoli awaits Mrs. Podgorski's response. The play's denouement is brought about with him agreeing to go out to coffee with his teacher!  So is he just a Moby Dude?  Is this just some high school fantasy or is he really a whale?  Is he a verbose Hercules of literature who merely chooses to express himself as he pleases?  If anyone has ever seen Fast Times they will recognize the scene from which the photo above was taken and know what I think.  It's nice to dream, but the conclusion just seems too far-fetched to be real.

Coming around to drama

Maybe my pun is a cheap knock off of Dr. Burton's, but so what?  It will all makes sense.  Theater and I have an on again, of again relationship that has never quite reconciled.  It all started when I was 9 and I got rejected in an audition for Peter Pan... too melodramatic?  Nevertheless, I was excited to see Urinetown, everyone I had talked to about it said it was great.  I had also never been to a theater in a round.  In this sort of arrangement the crowd encircles the stage as opposed to the proscenium stage that I am used to.  I first want to discuss the cons of this form of seating.  There were a few times when characters would make a dramatic gesture or humorous face that I could not see because the actor was not facing my direction.  This also made it difficult to hear the actors at some points as their voices projected away from me.  On the other hand, this setting allowed the audience to be more involved in the play.  Those in the very front row got up-close and personal with the actors.  The play itself was witty, self-aware (the narrators frequently point out flaws and holes in the story), and not lacking moral substance.  The music was great and the story was entertainingly original.  There were a few refences to Les Mis too!  Urinetown combines elements from many genres: satire, comedic music with tragic scenes, and elements of high and low comedy.  Although there were numerous points when the actors fumbled with their lines, I came away very pleased with what I saw.

Gorgeous People in a Gorgeous Adaption

When I first saw Franco Zeffirelli's 1968's adaption of Romeo and Juliet, I was 15. It quickly became one of my favorite films not only because of the gorgeous actor who played Romeo, but because of the story itself. The tale of forbidden and tragic, young love could melt anyone's heart, as it did mine-- I shamelessly cried when the movie came to it's heart wrenching denoument. This was my first experience with a Shakespearean play and acted like a gateway drug, if you will, to my Shakespeare addiction . I thankfully have an uncle who shares my thespian interests and who works for the LA Met. He took me and our families down to the Shakespeare festival in Cedar City, Utah soon after I discovered Shakespeare. There I saw my first actual Shakespearean play in the city's version of the Globe Theatre, replete with renaissance garb and delightful tarts (which are, besides the plays, by far my favorite thing about the festival). My love of Shakespeare's plays has continued to this day, thanks to Zeffirelli's Romeo and  Juliet and my fellow Shakespeare-loving uncle.

Let's Go Drama Week!

I absolutely love drama and the magic element of performance that it brings to art. It is much more interactive than film and more subject to the whims of reality. I adore the example one of my english professors gave about the unique atmosphere of a live performance. While at a play, he let out a massive sneeze during a crucial (and quiet) part. The actor responded by briefly pausing in the middle of his monologue to say "bless you," and then continued on amidst the laughter of the audience. It's priceless moments like those that you don't get in film or anywhere else. I can't wait to study this delightful and powerful mode of art!
Some things I want to do during the drama unit include:

Read a Shakespeare play, I think I want to read Much Ado about Nothing.

See Urinetown tonight and enjoy a good chuckle.

Watch some plays or good adaptations of plays. Not sure which   ones to watch, but am taking suggestions!

Midterm Part 1

Here are my thoughts on what I have achieved thus far.

1.  Know basic literary terms and methods for analyzing and writing about fiction, poetry, drama, and creative nonfiction.   

Throughout the majority of my blogs I have mentioned various literary devices.  This was the more prominent subject of my posts Prosetry, Found It!, At the neutral milk hotel?, and Little League.  I came into this class feeling a little insecure about my grasp of literary terminology.  Writing about it one a consistent basis has helped my fluency in describing an author's use of these tools.  Now I have a good foundation laid and can expand my discussions more complex terms.


2.   Know basic literary genres and representative texts in fiction, poetry, drama, and creative nonfiction.

Although my first Personal Learning Plan post did not include many specifics, my updated personal learning plan discussed focusing my studies specifically on studying closed form poetry and memorizing two poems that are sub-genres of the closed form.  In my post Parallel Lines Touching I compared two James Joyce works of fiction.  My goodreads profile also demonstrates the wide variety of genres I have read.  In future blogs I will put more emphasis on pointing out the specific genre of the literature I discuss.

3. Write literary arguments.

Little League suggests a few possible interpretations of the poem and makes an assertion based on my current knowledge of the poem.  At the neutral milk hotel? argues the merits of the album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and a misunderstood poetic mastermind Jeff Mangum.  In This Post Sucks I took a pretty firm stance against the majority of the reviews on the internet, but expressed my appreciation for the critiques on goodreads.  Emerging Tools (my poetry adaptation analysis) provided an opportunity for me to express my disinterest in YouTube's visual poetry collection.  Overall, I feel like I am doing well so far as taking a stand in my posts and will continue to do so.

4. Engage literature creatively and socially

This has been one of my favorite parts of this class.  After Andrew commented on my post Little League he wrote a follow up post.  I was really glad to see that something I said got him thinking and he was able to write a great post detailing his knowledge.  I really appreciated Lindsey's feedback on my Emerging Tools post.  It was great to get her two sense on my thoughts since her spoken word post was the original reason I decided to look into what YouTube had to offer.  Leah always has good insights.  I liked her different perspective on my Personal Literary Narrative.  I had never really thought about applying Sylvia Plath's poem in the way she described.  I do try to respond to people whenever they comment on my post.  When I comment on the posts of others my main purpose is to prove thought in others so they will respond back to me.  Sometimes it is difficult to keep track of all the posts on which I have commented so I have decided to keep track of those in my notes.

5. Use emerging communication tools and pedagogical methods.

I have written three posts on the topic of emerging learning tools.  Doing it the hard way: the easy way discussed the benefit of ebooks and the iPhone, This post sucks  focused on internet reviews and goodreads, and Emerging Tools considered the pros and cons of poetry on YouTube.  I enjoy exploring these new ideas for sharing art and giving my opinion on their merits.  

I have done my best to keep all of the learning objectives in mind as I have written my posts.  I feel like I have come a long way from having never written a blog in my life prior to this semester.  I intend to continue to hone and refine my skills so that the report will be even easier for me to compile at the end of the semester.

Midterm 1

Well, what can I say, times flies when you’re having FUN!! If I had to express to you everything I have learnt already this semester we would be here all day, so I am just going to stick to the learning outcomes and tell you how far I have come since I made my own personal learning outcomes at the start of the semester…

Know basic literacy terms and methods

Before every class I have been reading the terms list for the specific unit that we are focusing on to try and get a broader knowledge of terms that will be used in class, this has really helped me in class, on the midterm and just when it comes to analysing any kind of literature in general. I have also highlighted or bolded all the literacy terms that I have used in my blog posts. A lot of my blog posts are heavily based upon literacy terms, for example, my blog post ‘Vultures’ talks a lot about imagery, while ‘The Marriage of Two Minds’ concentrates on word choice and ’Gender, God and Glory’ has theme as its main focus. Literacy terms are scattered throughout all my posts.

Know basic literary genres and representative texts

Well I can safely say that I have never felt more ‘well read’ in my whole 21 years of life. Wow, we have read a lot of good stuff already this semester. It feels good to read from a variety of different genres that I would never usual pick up before taking this class. I have come to every class having read all the assigned readings and I have also been reading my own literature on the side, as you can see from my Goodreads. I also have a very clear knowledge of what the literary genres are as you can see from my ‘What I Want To Read This Semester’

Write Literary Arguments

I made some literary arguments about some of my own reading such Vultures and Judith and also on some of the common readings we did in class such as Beowulf.

Engage Literature Creatively and Socially

I have tried to engage literature creatively firstly by trying to make my posts as creative as possible, with catchy headlines and interesting content.  I have also put a picture or a video on every single one of my posts and I have also tried to make them look aesthetically pleasing with different font sizes and different colours. Socially I have tried to comment on my peer’s blog posts, I have shared the link to this blog on my goodreads and also onto my facebook page so my friends can have access to it.  I have got creative by sharing personal poems that my family members have written and also by sharing my personal literary narrative.

Using emerging communication tools and pedagogic methods

I have used various different communication tools in my blogging, I have given examples of poetry in Prezi (and I also created the Prezi for our group presentation) YouTube videos of spoken poetry and in my poetry adaptation analysis I showed examples of typography in poetry.  I have spent hours searching the web for examples of different types of poetry presented in a cool and quirky way also.

All in all I think I have met a lot of my learning outcomes but still have a very long way to go.  After writing this all out and taking a step back and actually analysing my progress I have made 3 new learning outcomes

1. Don’t procrastinate…it is of the devil

2. Make more in depth analysis on the common readings we are given

3. Try to engage in more conversation on other groups blogs as well as my own

The Marriage of Two Minds

Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 is by far my favorite Shakespeare sonnet, which is saying a lot coming from someone who is not a 'sappy' person in the slightest. This poem is all about nothing standing in the way of true love and that love should never change through trials. I love the idea of true love lasting forever...and ever...and ever, just you and your other half against everything. 

Let me not to the marriage of true minds


Admit impediments. Love is not love


Which alters when it alteration finds,


Or bends with the remover to remove:


O no! It is an ever-fixèd mark


That looks on tempests and is never shaken;


It is the star to every wandering bark,


Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.


Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks


Within his bending sickle's compass come:


Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,


But bears it out even to the edge of doom.


If this be error and upon me proved,


I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

When analyzing the poem I realized why I liked it so much, it is because of its simplicity. Approximately 75% of the words used are monosyllables and only 3 words throughout have more than 2 syllables. It consists of only 3 run on lines and has only one pair of double endings. Here Shakespeare has skillfully picked 110 of the simplest words in the English language and has created something simply beautiful. 

I found this Prezi/YouTube Video of the poem and think it is very tasteful and well done, you guys should check it out! 

Midterm #1 Here it goes!!

 1. Know basic literary terms and methods for analyzing and writing about fiction, poetry, drama, and creative nonfiction. In my post Henri 2, Paw de Deux, in the discussion below, I identified parody as the main literary device in the movie clip, which pokes a little fun at French existentialism/culture, but is not scathing enough to be called satire. I also look at the rhythm and repetition in my The Poetry Found in "Beloved" and analyzed Fahrenheit 451 in Does anyone feel like they're a Robot? post. I also analyzed Whitman’s poem “When I hear the learn’d astronomer” in regards to my personal reading response: Standing "rapt in awe" at Literature. In addition, I did a formalist analysis of “The love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock” in "Do I dare disturb the universe" with this post? .

2. Know basic literary genres and representative texts in fiction, poetry, drama, and creative nonfiction. In my posts The Poetry Found in "Beloved"and Does anyone feel like they're a Robot?, I wrote about two very prominent works of fiction, Fahrenheit 452 and Beloved. In my other posts Standing "rapt in awe" at Literature, "Do I dare disturb the universe" with this post? and The Magic of Performed Poetry, I discussed various styles of poetry. Haven’t gotten to the other two genres yet.

3. Write literary arguments. In all of my posts, I come to some sort of conclusion, which I back up by citing certain aspects of the text. For example, in my post The Poetry Found in "Beloved", I said that the language found in the book is very rhythmic and this is partially because of repetition. A couple times I use reader's response to provide reasons for my arguments.

Well, let's see what I've learned...

It's hard to believe that the semester is nearly at the halfway point. If it were not for our learning outcomes and my personal learning plan, I doubt I would have been able to learn so much thus far. I have had good experiences with Goodreads because I have been able to analyze where I stand as far as literary familiarity is concerned, and I have also been able to organize my desire to read more books. I plan on checking more novels off of my list by the end of the semester and I will definitely continue to use Goodreads after the end of the semester. As far as the five learning outcomes are concerned, I have made improvements in some aspects while I am still striving to progress in others. My personal learning plan has evolved over the last three weeks, but I feel like that is a good thing.

As far as knowing basic literary terms, I have been able to view the "Terms to Know" list over the past few weeks and check them off as I grasp their meanings fully. I try to employ the literary terms that I notice in all the works that we read. I specifically tried to do this in my Personal Literary Narrative where I analyzed Lord Byron's "She Walks In Beauty."

Gender, God and Glory

So for my English 291 British Literature class we are reading Beowulf and Judith and I decided to examine the gender portrayals through a religious lens.  My teacher put forth the following thesis…Although Judith and Grendel’s Mother embodies similar masculine qualities, their feminine characterization is nonetheless polarized. This polarization correlates with their relationship to Christianity. I found pieces of evidence in the texts to look at both points of view and thought I would bullet point what I found for you.

Background

Both were included in the same 10^th Century Manuscript

Both were by Christian authors

Written within the same historical and cultural context

“Females were to be protected, secured, bartered, and exchanged…Women warriors were titillating phantoms from a re-imagined and very distant past.” (Bitel).

Feminine Qualities of Grendel’s Mother

“looks like a woman”- 1351

She’s a mother

Feminine Qualities of Judith

“elfin beauty” -14

“illustrious maiden” -43

“braided locks”, “adorned with bracelets, decorated with rings”-78, 36

Always referred to as a woman or maiden

Uses powers of seduction

Masculine Qualities in Grendel’s Mother

Follows Heroic Tradition

Exacts the blood-price

“driven to avenge her kinsman’s death” -1340

“has taken up the feud” -1333

 Exhibits Strength

“she rose quickly and retaliated,/grappled him tightly in her firm embrace.” -1541-42

 Powerful

Solitary ruler of “her court”

Fights with “bare-faced defiance”

Judith’s Masculine Qualities

Killing of Holofernes -98-111

Physical prowess and unflinching determination

Gory description

Dominant, acting character

 Heroic Tradition

“Judith had won illustrious glory/in the battle”-122-123

Received armor as an award and “more illustrious treasures than any man.” -129

“daring maiden”-134

Grendel’s Mother’s Connection to Christianity

Associated with the Devil, she is called a “demon” and a “monstrous hell-bride.”-1378,1259.

Subhuman: she “pounced” on her victims.

Descendant of Cain, who chose to serve the Devil over God.

God was not on her side although she was avenging her son.

“Holy God decided the victory.”-1553

Judith’s Connection to Christianity

An Israelite woman with a relationship with God

“holy maiden,” “Lord’s woman.”

Attributes her victory to God

“thanks to the Lord of hosts, who had given her…the reward of victory… because she possessed true faith in the Almighty.”

Conclusion

Grendel’s Mother’s ambiguous gender traits correlate to her connection to fallen religious characters such as Cain. Judith’s femininity is accentuated by her relationship with God. Within this manuscript, a female can be a warrior, with masculine qualities, and still have a feminine portrayal only if she exhibits a strong connection to Christianity. 

Updated Personal Learning Plan

I don't know if I ever formally posted my personal learning plan or if I just wrote about what I expected out of my experience this semester in my first post. . . At any rate, I have an updated personal learning plan in order to fulfill that requirement and put into a post all that I desire from the course.

Know Basic Literary Terms:

Study basic literary terms and get to the point where I can point them out while reading a specific work.
Notice literary elements and devices as second nature.

Know Basic Literary Genres and Representative Texts:

Read works from each genre and become familiar with the different literary movements.
For example, read Romantic Poetry by Wordsworth, Whitman, Coleridge and Blake and understand the ideas of using nature and the sublime to find the true nature of things.

Write Literary Analysis:

Read something for or outside of class each week and analyze it for its literary arguments.

Engage in literature creatively and socially:

Create posts that are enjoyable to read and make useful and thoughtful comments on others' posts.

Use communication tools and pedagogical methods:

Become more familiar with blogging and push myself to become more familiar with blogging methods in order to create the best posts possible that engage teach the reader.

So far, I have been able to keep up with my plan and progress in my knowledge of literature and social media. I have read a novel from my list and a couple books of poetry. I aim to continue to follow my plan and revise it as need be.

What I Want To Read This Spring Semester...

After being very distracted for the past hour exploring goodreads, reading the reviews and rating and searching book lists, I have come up with some Fiction, Poetry, Non-Fiction and Drama pieces I want to have read by the end of the semester, this is going to be a challenging goal but I know I can do it. If any of you are planning on reading anything on my list I'd love to discuss them with you!! 

Fiction

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Sophie’s Choice by William Styron

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

Poetry

A Poison Tree by William Blake

Don’t Go Far Away by Palbo Neruda

Invictus by William Ernest Henley

Fire and Ice by Robert Frost

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

A Dream Within A Dream by Edgar Allan Poe

If by Rudyard Kipling

Non-Fiction

What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Apiegelman

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X

How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Drama

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wild

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

A Doll’s house by Henrik Ibsen 

Grey Skies and Goodreads

To the average American eye today’s weather is probably just miserable, but being from Britain this grey sky makes me feel right at home.  I decided to make the most of the weather and be daring enough to explore Goodreads and write my first review. I wrote it on my all time favourite piece of literature, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, its nothing special and I’m still trying to get my head around Goodreads but it’s a work in progress, you should all for sure befriend me because I would love to see what you’re reading and what books you rate!

Which Generation Do You Belong To?

I was doing some research on different types of poetry and was trying to revise different literary terms and I stumbled across the word ‘palindrome’, unsure of what it meant I did a little digging and learnt that it is a phrase that can be read both forwards and backwards. I searched examples of this using Google and a poem called “Lost Generation” came up, I clicked on it and was truly inspired so I wanted to share it with you all. A man called Jonathon Reed who is a graduate student from Harvard in his late twenties wrote it, he really conveys a great positive message that makes you want to change the world for the better. He really puts things into perspective using a paradigm shift when reading it backwards, I really think what he has done is so skillful.