ANGER

So I just wrote a really really long blog about Don Quixote! I know that blogs are already due, but I wanted to do it to help me study and just because I can! BUT...Technology sucks and it did not post, some stupid error and now my blog is gone! SO SO SO mad, in case you couldn't tell! It's not getting posted, but I needed to express my anger and let you all know I did have a great blog, but thanks to this horrible modern day technology it has vanished!

Just wanted to intersperse some feedback and comments on Don Quixote...

So this is the blog that got erased...stupid...I am very, very angry so this blog may not be as good as the last that was ERASED!!!!!

Funny parts in this section of reading:
~Mambrino's helmet
~Sancho tied Rocinante's legs together
~Sancho's blanket toss
~Sheep & dust storm mistaken for army by DQ

Storytelling is a large part of literature and DQ shows us how signigficant it is. Sancho believes that storytellling must take on a certain structure in order to be a story. The structure the story is told also helps the reader to understand its meaning. DQ and Sancho have very different ways of telling stories, for example, sancho repeats what he says twice, while DQ finds this to be annoying and nonsensical. Looking at literature and storytelling I questioned: is there such a thing as a fiction novel. Can a work of literature be completely fiction? Doesn't all literature have some truth to it?

I saw a lot of Marxist crticism thoughts in this part of DQ as well. The class struggle brings reality to the novel and makes the characters seem more human and realistic, rather than fictitious and imaginative.

I also examined the story of Marcela and Chrysotomo. Chrysotomo died of lovesickness. Marcela is a very beautiful, intelligent woman and believes that he is the fool for falling so deep in love with her and her beauty. I love this idea. I actually idolize Marcela to a certain degree for making Chrysotomo and example of a weak male because I think all to much it is the women seen as this weak character falling too deep in love. It is risking life for ideaology, ideals, and love. That's not how it should be. We can love, we can idolize and have ideals, but to give our lives for them is foolish, not even imaginative or creative, simply foolish!

I also made a connection between Marcela's beauty pertaining to heaven and chrysotomo's wish to be received by the greeks in the afterlife. Could this be pointing towards fate? Are they meant to be? Would they meet in the afterlife?

The Golden Age (an idea of Vico) is an age in which Knights protect the purity of the virgins, it is an age in which the virgins roam free.

I had a random connection between Dorothea (woman in DQ) and Franny Fern (an american author)- both dress in mens clothing to escape some sort of reality in the world they are living in. Is this completely random and off topic, well perhaps it is, but still- creative connection!

Also, is Lucinda a real person? Cardenio says that she loves chivalric tales and is his love! But...could it be possible that Lucinda is a character that he made up because HE is in love with chivalric works? A thought to ponder...

Don Quixote's insanity is beginning to intensify.
Imitations are turning into reality, while reality is becoming an imitation...Tautological thought
Sancho is caught between fiction and reality, sanity and insanity.

A Tale of Chivalry

Don Quixote is a tale of chivalry. His first real adventure in the novel is a failure. The fact that Cervantes never mentions DQ's town leaves us that more room for imagination. It also leaves us with the question- Is Don Quixote fact or fiction? Perhaps it is both or perhaps it is whatever you make it.

Don Quixote is such a romantic. What man isn't a romantic that recites peotry adn chivalric verses?! He is determined in his quests and finds peace in laying under the stars. I am actually a bit surprised that Don Quixote did not come up with some sort of extreme poem for this romantic moment shared with Sancho. Sancho is such a follower, Don Quixote's insanity really rubs off on Sancho. I cannot help but feel bad for Sancho though because he is just a poor, illiterate little squire, yet he is also like the annoying little brother.

Don Quixote is perceived as being insane, perhaps dangerous. He actually just wants to do well for others. He is a complex, tragic character in the sense that his actions usually do more bad than good. Most of all he is a character full of imagination, seeing windmills as giants, making every realistic circumstance into a fantasy or enchanted quest. This mythical sense in the novel is very powerful and overtakes the characters involved.

There is also a lot of irony in the novel. For example, Don Quixote seems insane to most everyone around him. While this is true, they ust blame themselves partly. The priest and Quixote's niece destroy the books they think make him crazy, but then add to his imagination and feed into his insanity by informing him that an enchanter carried the library off.

I have found that I relate to both Sancho and Don Quixote because like Sancho I take pleasure in the small things in life, I indulge in food and wine and very much enjoy them to the fullest. Yet, I also am able to see a little Don Quixote in me, but only when looking at his romantic side. I must say though I am also nothing like either of these characters because I am not living in parody of chivalry, just Bozeman, MT!

Yes...I find pleasure in reading

I will admit, some have found me to be a little "insane"...I receive strange looks from others in the library when I read Don Quixote. Perhaps because of the mixed emotions it leaves me with. I laugh, I become appalled, but most of all I enjoy it and it is clearly seen upon my face. My face that I turn into a blank slate each time I pick up a new literary work!

Sancho Panza and Don Quixote are two lovers quarrelling. They are romantic too! So I have seen 3 couples fighting in public the past two days and I laugh because I don't deal with silly things like that. But I laugh at them under my breath and find myself calling them Sancho and Quixote! I wish that I'd gone up to them and said it to them outloud. Or perhaps I should be Don Quixote and confront the men..."Sir who do you think you are speaking to this beautiful lady in that tone of voice"
I think I just might do that next time!
Farewell to all! Time flies when you're having fun and let me tell you this semester flew by faster than any other I have endured!!!

Don Quixote and quite possibly my last blog :(

Don Quixote: a masterpiece, a passionate work of literature, addicting, the man of La Mancha!!!

Why was Don Quixote driven to great amounts of sadness, why was he made into a fool by others too stubborn to accept his imagination? It truly is a sad day when a man looks to his imagination and completely loses himself. A man driven mad by literature. It is as if these characters who attempt to save him from sanity simply drive him even further into those great depths of insanity.

Quixote, or shall I say Quixano regains his sanity, but these cruel characters continue to kill him when convincing him he really is Don Quixote.

Sadly, it ends in his death, why does it always have to end in death! Call me bitter, call me a hopeless romantic or you know what...tell me there is something wrong with me for being depressed because of the death of a character! But he is not just a character...he is Don Quixote himself! This ending proves him to be a hero! He may have died somewhat sane (i don't believe in full sanity in anyone), he may have died fragmented from his imagination, but nonetheless he died a hero. no one shall convince me otherwise.

I am in love with a knight errant.. <3

It is a good thing I don't have a boyfriend because quite honestly I am in love with a lot of men right now...almost every book I read, i fall in love with the male characters (well that is at least true in romance novels). NIcholas Sparks novels, "April in Paris"...I am a sucker. But never in all of my imaginative days of reading literature have I fallen in love with a knight errant until Don Quixote! Don Quixote is the quirky character that everyone laughs at, the man who every girl loves because he wants to help others (though he usually does ore bad than good in these instances).

It is true, I love Don Quixote and I am not afraid to admit it. I tell all my friends about him! I tell my family about him (though I have not formally introduced them...maybe Christmas)!

Sancho is his annoying, yet hilarious friend that you cannot help but feel bad for.

But why am I attracted to Don Quixote as a character? Well, why not...I mean he is not your usual guy! He makes me laugh, makes me mad at times for being so stupid, and I almost cried when he died! But through my blog he lives on, I can re-live every moment with him again for as long as I want, all I have to do is pick up Cervantes novel and there is Don Quixote!

Don Quixote as seen through a Marxist Critics eyes!

Well, as you all know from the video "I am George Lucaks...no, no, no, not from star wars you fools! The marxist critic!" Haha! Ok...anyways! I very much enjoyed becoming a marxist critic, but only temporarily! I was honestly puzzled at first...how on earth does one connect marxist criticism and Don Quixote?! Well, consider it! Don Quixote wants to be a knight errant- marxist look at social hierarchy! Don Quixote does not want to pay for his stay because of his status (Well sancho pays for that one with the blanket toss!), but marxist are very concerned with economic stance and this is reflected wonderfully through the inn keepers mind!



Don Quixote is imaginative to a ridiculous extent. He has no idea what is going on through a marxist's eyes! What is this fool thinking? No...as a literature student WHAT are the marxists thinking. I had a tough time with marxism because it does not involve imagination and romanticism, it is all about the typical literature! Real life issues such as money, society, economy, class struggle with no fiction whatsoever incorporated in it!

Last Day of Literary Criticism...

The last day of literary criticism was a sad one, yet one of exulting happiness! Sad because I thoroughly enjoyed this course! I enjoyed the people, the excitiement and the passion for literature! I cannot even begin to express how much I have learned from this course. Don Quixote... a creation of a whole new world. A world of imagination, romance, and triumph!

I think that this could very well be my favorite class at MSU so far. Dr. Michael Sexson has absolutely allowed me to open up my mind in so many ways when reading literature. He is an amazing professor and I look forward to many more intriguing classes with him in the future!

Never have I read a book as large as Don Quixote, but thank God I did.

I never laughed so much in a class, I was able to use my imagination, give opinions without being judged. I couldn't bear to miss a class for fear that I would miss out on a great multitude of knowledge and it is so true, had I missed I would have missed out.

I still am sad that I will no longer be in Literary Criticism. Am I happy the semester is over? well, yes in some regards I suppose I am, but no I a truly sad! Literary Criticism needs two parts. I want more, I am left with a deep desire, a yearning for more knowledge from Dr. Sexson's Course!

Je suis triste...

English, Literature and my praise to all of you!

This semester I have really fallen completely in love with my major! I love going to classes, reading non-stop (although that I have always loved) and telling others about it! It is tantalizing, pure bliss! I can find literary works to fit my moods and have spente endless hours in bookstores the past few months. Some would say this is a waste of time, but i would tell them that whatever they are doing instead is a waste of imagination and knowledge.

I am sincerely happy with my choice to become an English- Literature major. I am able to express excitement about it, which I think almost draws people in. I definitely agree with Dustin as well, everyone else is just jealous! It's true!

Seriously, I commend all English majors and even those who are majoring in other studies, but love literature. Literature carries you away to a whole new world. One must begin with realizing that literature holds innumerable value, your love for literature only grows from there!

So congratulations to everyone this semester- especially those who have stuck with this course. Yes, it is a lot of work, but so worth it! And good luck in the future- who knows where we'll end up!

Defending literature- apologies

I have been very impressed with the apologies thus far! I really enjoy listening to everyone present. I also think that it is important to focus in on all the different ways in which people are presesnting and writing their apologies! Some are dialogue, some more like formal essays and many humorous, but most importantly all of them are creative and unique to the individual! I love that! I feel like no one had a very clear understanding of what to write or how to write, which made it nerve racking! Thankfully, it seems that everyone has figured it out and added their very own personal touch!

I loved Judson's way of incorporating the word threnody into his apology. It was so huorous the way that he choose that word as well! Very creative! And it is so true...literature is an addictive, masochistic engagement! Great description!

Victoria's touchstone was brilliant- i thoroughly enjoyed it! I have actually looked at some other quotes now from Catcher in the Rye.

We have all chosen to be literature majors because it does give us freedom- it takes us everywhere, teaches us, touches us, influences us in infinite ways! We are a mystery to other departments, as Dustin said "People are curious about us."

Even if we are apologizing by saying I am sorry, it's not true- we don't mean it. But I must admit I did apologize in my paper, but only for humor. We are not sorry, we never will be and we will all be true defenders of literature from now until forever!

My Apology

Lisa Meyer
November 24, 2008
English 300

Lisa Meyer's Apology


I must begin by saying that I am sorry. I am sorry for working towards a degree in English- Literature. I am sorry for loving literary works of all times and genres, for gaining insurmountable knowledge from various works of literature and English courses in general. Most of all, I would like to apologize to those not pursuing a major in English. It is a shame, to say the least that you are missing out on an abundance of knowledge the world has to offer you. I am saddened to see that you are not only blind to most literary works, but that you are ignorant in wondering what their value is.
The question of where I begin in my apology is overwhelming. Why am I an English major? Where am I going with this? My response to these questions came easily and quickly. I am an English major because it is the most valuable and rewarding major, in my opinion. It comes naturally to me just as “poetry should not come at all if it cannot come naturally.” (Keats) With literature I can go anywhere. One day I could be with Alice in Wonderland, the next I could be in The Emerald City with Dorothy; you’d be surprised where literature can take you. But right now, it doesn’t matter, I have books to read, knowledge to gain and an imagination to feed.
I suppose I shall begin with a thought I have regarding Keats’ chambers in which the individual begins to form. The first being the “thoughtless chamber”, the second being the “chamber of maiden”. I feel as though peers in other departments are stuck in the “chamber of maiden”, this dark chamber. The “chamber of maiden” is a chamber of “heartbreak, pain, sickness and oppression” in which our peers are constantly trying to walk through the mist to discover the mystery (Keats). The mystery is hidden beyond this chamber. I like to think of the English majors as the mystery, an exciting thought I would say.
As an English major I am aware of how I can make my work and the work of others everything, while allowing myself or the artist to become nothing. This idea of negative capability, also an idea presented by Keats, allows us to appreciate the work itself. My peers do not know how to make their work everything, perhaps because they are not willing to become blank, nothingness. I find it intriguing that if I asked my friend to name one very famous playwright who captures negative capability with outstanding skill, they’d be thunderstruck. Needless to say, they would not even be able to tell me what negative capability is. Had they given the thought to absorb a fragment of knowledge from Keats, they’d have no trouble.
To have the experience of becoming breathless and one with literature is not only a unique experience, but one you must come to appreciate. Only English majors can accept the fact that, yes, we can become “high on literature.” We can allow art, music and literature to become one with us, to enter our soul and awaken every emotion inside of us. This is a poetic, dreamlike and imaginative experience. There is a sort of ecstasy when indulging in a piece of literature. How on earth is an individual able to experience the divine if they do not immerse themselves in literature?
Following the path of English- literature has taught me to look beyond what is right in front of me. There is the surface of things and then there is the center of things. I am now able to look past the veil, to realize what literature has to offer me. This is what I call my very own apocalypse. The unveiling of my life, my path to the future through majoring in English- literature has all become a moment of unveiling, a moment of truth. While others may not be able to look beyond the veil and accept the truth that English- literature is constructive and inspiring, I am. Perhaps they don’t even see the veil as I and my fellow peers studying English do.
As a lover of English, literature and language I have found that figure of speech is extremely important. Language is essential and highly valued by those who are aware of its importance. Rhetorical expressions are widely used among those of us in the English department and usually not understood by those involved in other departments. The fact that these rhetorical expressions are overlooked and incomprehensible to others is upsetting, yet quite humorous. Figures of speech make life more interesting and are able to create a magnificent world of comedy, tragedy or irony.
The ability to answer a complex question such as “what is literature?” can be daunting, though it is simple; literature is what it is, exactly what is says. My peers very successfully display the age of chaos, one of Vico’s concepts. This age of chaos represents the language of jibberish. We are all a part of the age of chaos, but there are some that represent it best. Those would be students in other departments whose vocabulary consists mainly of “like”, “dude”, “awesome” and “cool”. I would like to point out that students in departments such as engineering are stuck in the age of men. This age consists of economic language and language in commerce.
As an English major you often get asked the question of “Why read it if it won’t impact you?” or “What’s so important about it?” As these words reach my ears and I process them, my mouth drops. All literature impacts you in some way; you gain a new experience, point of view and knowledge. A new world is presented to the reader, a world of magic. Literature allows you to live in another world to the extent that you allow it, as if you are given the experience of another life. Do textbooks for statistics or economics provide you with this experience? Doubtful.
This new life experience can be very imaginative, yet Don Quixote has provided a sort of cautionary tale. While we can read literature, love it and live within it, we must be careful how much we let it control our life. Not only do those of other departments miss out on brilliant literary works, but baby name ideas. Mythos, ethos and dianoia are more than just baby name ideas; they are major components of tragedy. I urge you to set out on an adventure of your own. Confound others by being didactic. I guarantee you will enjoy the challenge and the experience.
Before I conclude my apology, I would like to add a few things. First, when describing this idea of apologizing for choosing and pursuing an English major my friends were astonished. They’d respond, “That’s so sad.” But truly it is not sad; it is thrilling, exciting and particularly engaging. On the other hand, my mother is ecstatic that I am apologizing. In fact, she can’t wait to get her hands on this piece of work. The various reactions are entertaining to me, my apology has shone a new light on many aspects of my life.
All of this knowledge I have gained I apologize for. With all my heart and soul, I apologize for being an English major. I apologize for all these things, but must also point out that if you were bored with this clearly you are the boring one. Also, if my apology is read and the reader is left with a feeling of depression there is either something wrong with me or them. I blame the reader. Lastly, I consider this to be my remembrance of English and the reason I chose it as my major, as my future. Before an individual of another department judges me or my fellow English majors, I hope they think twice because my rhetorical rebuttal will leave them stumped. They will be confounded. I leave you with this apology and that is it; no more and no less.

My Touchstone- Reinvented!

I was looking through my touchstone blog...sure, those passages are great and motivating, but what novel have I read that I think of constantly? Siddhartha! I read Siddhartha for the first time a few years ago for high school. I read it so quickly- then read it again, and again...still, I read it!

If you have never read Siddhartha, I highly recommend it! It is by far one of my favorites!

Siddhartha, the son of a Brahmin, lives in India and struggles with his spiritual identity. His religion should allow him happiness, wisdom and peace, but it doesn't. He always feels that something is missing from his life. Siddhartha takes a journey to achieve enlightenment. This journey takes him through many religions and ways to achieve enlightenment including fasting, prayer, meditation and his connection with nature.

This whole entire book could be my touchstone, but here are a few of the most noteworthy passages:

"One must find the source within one's own self, one must possess it."
~SIddhartha is a strong believer that in order to find the truth one must go through many experiences. The truth lies within those experience. To be able to seek out the truth though one must "possess" the ability to experience and immerse one's self in their own life as an individual. It seems for Siddhartha that truth and happiness are very much related.


"All this had always been and he had never seen it; he was never present. Now he was present and belonged to it. Through his eyes he saw light and shadows; through his mind he was aware of moon and stars"
~ Siddhartha has a significant connection to nature- largely through the religion he grew up practicing. Though he had this connection with nature, he never truly saw the beauty in it. Living with minimal material throughout his journey, Siddhartha begins to see the beauty innature and appreciates the aesthetic value of it. The beauty of nature becomes central to the novel, Siddhartha's life and his search for truth and beauty.


This love of nature and beauty reminded me of the "3 apologists" that we read (Arnold, Pater, and Shelley). This idea of beauty first brought Shelley to mind because he is such a romantic. Siddhartha is very poetic and his search for truth and beauty is very intriguing.

~Illusion and Reality~

I googled illusion and reality and quite honestly was a bit overwhelmed with the results it came up with. I was puzzled as to where to start. Wiki was the one I turned to. One thing I discovered was that Reality and Illusion is a movie having to do with a multiple personality disorder. Interestingly enough, guess who came to mind? None other that Don Quixote himself. I thought of him because of the many stories he believes himself to be living in. He is simply Don Quixote, yet also a knight. He sees "battles" or "events" in which he needs to help people, but is he really helping? So, I found this very interesting that I could somehow connect Don Quixote to this documentary film made in 1999 dealing with multiple personality disorder.

I then looked further into Wikipedia to find that in Indian religions, "Maya" is an illusion, but also has many other meanings as well. I was very fascinated by this. Maya is also "the principal deity who creates, perpetuates and governs the phantasmagoria, illusion and dream of duality in the phenomenal Universe."(Wiki) Apparently, it may also be a sort of representation of truth. As I googled Illusion, I found many of the results dealt with philosophy.

Reality, as wiki puts it is "the state of things as they actually exist." Philosophically, reality is "nothingness". Poetry immediately came to mind when I read the definition of reality. Poetry is similar to reality in the sense that it is what it is. Also, the fact that reality is nothingness brought to mind Keats' idea of negative capability, when the artist becomes NOTHING, so the work becomes EVERYTHING.

The idea of illusion and reality could become rather complex, but perhaps if we look at it simple as what it is rather than what it "could be" we can make sense of it. Then again...is reality simple? Hmmm....this is something to ponder as my week-end comes to an end!

My Touchstone

The one book that comes to my mind often is Randy Pausch's "The Last Lecture". There are so many touchstones for me throughout this book. It was impossible for me to put it down! Passages became stuck in my head- I would randomly think of them and smile! Bad days, happy days, these passages made a difference! I cannot pick just one and if I could post the whole work on here, I would! Some that strike me most:



"Wow, this is the epitome of a person appreciating this day and this moment."
~ This passage simply refers to seeing someone with a smile on their face, enjoying life and the moment they are in! I immediately thought of Walter Pater and the idea of living in each moment because there will never be another like it- living for each pulse. To see someone appreciating the finite moments they have in life is like a breath of fresh air. A person appreciating life and the beauty within it really is an epitome, but sometimes we are blind. We do not always take notice of these epitomes. But if we break out of our daily routine, we will see the epitomes we never had before!


"So today, right now, well this is a wonderful day. And I want you to know how much I'm enjoying it...That's the way the rest of my life would need to be lived.."
~This also reminds me of Pater. Indulge in the arts of life and love every moment of it!


"...The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They're there to stop the other people."
~ I laugh when I read this now because sometimes I feel as if this class is a lot of work. I think to myself "I will never get it all done!" Thinking about this passage though...ya know what! If I want to get it all done and do well, I WILL! So, needless to say, the workload of the semester is my brick wall, at least for the time being. Just a wall though.

Perhaps, these are more words of encouragement, words of wisdom, but these are the words that spoke to me. Siddhartha is a novel that also presents many touchstone moments of which I shall add soon!

*VICO- Central Idea*

This is the one central phrase I would like to emphasize while representing Giambattista Vico:

"Truth itself is constructed"

This quote from Vico states that truth is socially constructed. Vico's theory of knowledge all leads up to this one quote. Truth is verified by creation, not observation.

Matthew Arnold- "The study of Poetry"

Matthew Arnold takes a very interesting approach to the study of poetry in the way that he realtes it to religion, or rather makes it into a religion. Arnold also believes that poetry is a "world of illusion, of divine illusion." This notion is very poetic and really hit me as believable. Peotry is a divine world in itself because of its beauty and also because there is so much life wrapped up in poetry.

Poetry is ideas, love, experience...poetry is every component of life. I enjoyed Arnold's metaphor- poetry as a stream. Poetry is constantly moving and ever changing. Each stream is a new experience, but Arnold thinks that no matter which stream we choose to follow, our thought(s) on poetry should stay the same. We should think of it "worthily, and more highly than it has been the custom to conceive of it."

Some of Arnold's ideas seem a bit extreme, but I cannot help but attempt to take in everything he says. For example, in his discussion of philosophy, science, etc. he implies that soon they will not mean anything and that what they have to say is false without poetry. Also, "the more we perceive their hollowness, the more we shall prize 'the breath and finer spirit of knowledge' offered to us by poetry."

I then came across this idea of "Charlatanism", which I had no idea what it was. So, searching online i came across the definition from thefreedictionary.com. According to that site, it is "a person who makes elaborate, fraudulent, and often voluble claims to skill or knowledge; a quack or fraud." It is said that in poetry charlatanism has no entrance. I am still pondering this idea.

Poetry is thought and art, combined- working together.

Walter Pater's Conclusion

Walter Pater's conclusion from "The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry" was very short, but also very intriguing. He takes an indepth look at physical life and how it is affected by each moment we are living, each pulse we are giving. The way to make the most of these moments is to immerse ourselves in art and poetry.

Scientifically, our physical life is composed of many elements, "our physical life is a perpetual motion of them...processes which science reduces to simpler and more elementary forces." To me, this means that science gives credit to just the physical life of what keeps us living to a certain extent, but it does not give show any notion of what else keeps us breathing...passion!

Pater's idea of "inward world of thought and feeling" is poetic in the way that he describes experience. It is "a drift of momentary acts of sight and passion and thought." Experience is defined as "a group of impressions" that really strike us during the experience. Each moment has its own impressions, senses and those moments are limited.

Passion is key in making the most of our limited moments, "a counted number of pulses only is given to us of a variegated, dramatic life." Forming habits in our everyday life may be a failure, according to Pater because we miss out on other experiences if we are always doing the same thing, not paying close enough attention.

One of my favorite passages from Pater's conclusion is:
"To burn always with this hard, gemlike flame, to maintain this ecstasy, is success in life."
~Pater gives a very concise and simple definition of life. All that we must do is burn with passion inside. A passion for life. A passion for new experiences. A passion for the things which give us passion...the things that keep the fire aglow.

Pater also believes that "instruments of criticism" help us to make the most of our experiences by paying greater attention to things. It helps us to see the things that we may not see throughout our life and experiences. Most importantly, Pater believes that the wisest people experience this passion "in art and song". Art gives life to the senses, "for art comes to you proposing frankly to give nothing but highest quality to your moments as they pass, and simply for those moments' sake."

Clarification of Keats

I was so thankful to see that Dr. Sexson was able to clarify for me what Keats meant by "negative capability". Keats belief: Beauty is truth and truth is beauty. When a man is capable (pare example: Shakespeare), he has emptied himself out so he could represent all other points of view. The "negative" simply means eliminating yourself- he becomes nothing so that the work can become something. Dr. Sexson for example told us that Shakespeare is irrelevant, it is the world in which he creates that is relevant.

So, in part I was right about a man being nothing or seeing nothing, but was very wrong at the same time. So, a HUGE thanks to Dr. Sexson for this clarification (and for my gold star...it's that feeling as if you are 4 again receiving your favorite piece of candy).

Keats

I finally got the chance to read Keats and loved every second of it. He is very poetic, even though his spelling and speech in general is somewhat incoherent. Keats has this idea of "authenticity of the imagination" which I must take a deeper look at before attempting to blog on it (which I must say I am really looking forward to). Keats openly admits that he is not certain of anything ata ll exceot the heart's affection and the truth of the imagination. Keats believes that beauty must be truth...another point I shall ponder on when I have more brain power.

My first lightbulb moment came when Keats said that passions are all in the sublime. This immediately struck me because Kari did a fabulous presentation of her critic and explained the sublime to us. It is an expression, a flash of light (and oh so much more)! So this is what Keats views all passion to be? Wow!

This idea of "Negative Capability" was also new to me. According to Keats, Shakespeare "possessed this so enormously"
~"When man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason--"
All I can take from this is that some beings see reason and clarity after being in such situations, while others who possess "negative capability" do not see anything- no reason, no clarity, nothing after being in these situations...I am unsure about this one...any other ideas?

When Keats began to discuss poetry in his letters was when I really sparked some interest. I was a bit apprehensive to accept Keats' statement that poetry should not come at all if it cannot come naturally and still do not know what to think of that. Maybe it takes some work to get the truth out? Perhaps some poets have to work at expressing their emotions so honestly. Is it not poetry then if it does not come naturally? And what exactly does naturally mean? Does this mean that there are no drafts? Raw material? I loved these passages from Keats regarding poetry:

~"Poetry should surprise by a fine excess and not by singularity"

~The idea that poetry should leave the reader breathless is also magnificient...very well
put. Poetry at its best should leave us breathless and it should "shine over him and set
soberly although in magnificience leaving him in the luxury of twilight"

~"Poetry should be great & unobtrusive, a thing which enters into one's soul, and does
not startle it or amaze it with itself but with its subject"

Lastly, Keats began to discuss two chambers in which the individual begins to form, I believe. the first chamber being the "infant" or the "thoughtless chamber". This is the chamber in which there is no thinking- no thought process whatsoever. There is however one door visible that leads to a light-filled passage. The second chamber is the "Chamber of Maiden". Thought begins here, but this chamber gradually darkens due to this thought. In this chamber we are convinced that the world is full of "misery & heartbreak, pain, sickness and opression". When in this chamber "we are in mist"and feel a "burden of the mystery"- this mystery being the unknown world of those dark passages. All doors visible in this "chamber of Maiden" lead to dark passages. We remain in this second chamber for quite some time...a long while. And this is where my next major lightbulb came!!! Keats began to describe us as being in a "vale of tears", "the vale of soul making". Perhaps to in order to get out of the darkness of the chamber of maiden we need to look past these "vales". The curtain of tears that is keeping us in this soul making world needs to be opened in order to see past those dark passages. If we venture through the dark passages this chamber leads us to we will eventually be lead to a curtain in which we can choose to look past and see the light. Or we can choose to not open that curtain and stay in those dark passages, never knowing the mystery of that unknown path past this "soul making" chamber.

~Giambattista Vico~

Giambattista Vico:

~ "Truth itself is constructed"
~ Italian philosopher, rhetorician, and historian
~ Truth is shown through construction or creation, not observation
~ "The New Science"- focuses on civil life and its construction
~ Civilization is a cyclical development: the divine, the heroic and the human; Each of these ages is characterized by tropes

~The divine age relies on metaphor
~ The heroic age relies on metonymy and synecdoche
~ The human age relies on reflection and popular democracy through irony

~ Not well taken during his age, but influenced many after him including Northrop Frye, Samuel Beckett and James Joyce

~ Placed in humanist tradition
~ In reference to poets, Vico intentionally evokes Greek sense of "Creators"

~Vico considered himself his own teacher
~Today Vico influences humanities and social sciences
~ Because of Vico's 3 year absence from school he developed a melancholy and irritable attitude
~ Vico first began publishing poetry, then moved on to publish philisophical works
~ He composed and delivered lectures (including those on rhetoric and rhetoric eloquence)
~ "Necessity of nature"- with time societies and human beings move increasingly to realize their
"full potential"

Critics- Individual presentations

I must say that all of the individual presentations for the critics were great and very creative!
During these first few presentations I jotted down as many points as possible as did everyone else. I was happy to see that the way in which these critics were presented were humorous to say the least and definitely caught my attention...as Dr. Sexson would say, "The bar has been raised."

Samuel Johnson- (Dustin)
Poetry should be simple and easy to understand, while biographies should be exactly the truth and not praise. Everyone should read and try to understand literature. Manuscript is good and original. We must remember though that what is good is not original and what is original is not good.

Longinas- (Kari)
Deeply influential, Longinas focuses on the sublime and wrote a piece titled just that ("On the sublime") in response to Cecilias. Literature should be judged on whether or not it reaches the sublime. The sublime is that which cannot be expressed. Homer and the poet Saco (Spelling?) are examples of those that reach the sublime- memory grasps onto. The sublime is an exulted expression of language, control of metaphor. It is a flash of lightning that's always there...that is the sublime

Michel Foucault- (French) (Erika)
Emphasis upon social institutions and the modern world. Interacted with prisons and prisoners. Some consider him to be a structuralist or post- modernist, but he considers himself neither. His repression hypotheses focuses on the history of sexuality. Some consider the history of sexuality to be the history of regression, but Foucault thinks otherwise. We define ourselves through our sexuality and are not regressing anything. We should not categorize or define anything. Another great literary work by Michel Foucault would be "Archaeology of Knowledge".

Julia Kristeva- (Jake)
From Southern Bulgaria, a psychoanalyst. Moved to France in the 60's, the age of structuralism. Structuralism, considered to be similar to Frye's archetypal. Semiotics- everything has absolute truth to it.
-Seminalysis
-Intertextuallity- applied to text, but not words

Helene Cixous- (Heather)
Began with contemplation of the verb "to be", what does it mean? She had a jewish father and a german mother, this experience led her to writing perhaps. Her work could be classified as feminist, but she aimed to combine masculinity and femininity. She believes that the miniscule makes a great difference. She wrote "L'ecriture feminine". Writing itself embodies humans.

Wolfgang Iser-
He studied literature and received a Ph.D.. He focused upon the exploration of contemporary philosophy and literature, loved travel and culture as well. He came up with and studied the "reader response theory". This focused upon the reader's contact with the text, process of the first reading. Dialogue and text work together.

Sigmund Freud-(Kyle N.)
He started the psychoanalytic school and was very into the interpretation of dreams. Freudian criticism was also obviously thought of by Freud himself. Freud is an egocentric character. The fallic symbol in the text can be conscious or unconscious. Freud was also interested in the Oedipus Complex and how it may play into text.

Edward Said- (Jiwon)
~Difference between Eastern and Western
~Any history is not standardized, but something dynamic
~Holding general public by act of persuassion unconsciously
~Provide Foundation- Civilization

Don Quixote...

Oh, Don Quixote. I do love reading Don Quixote, but I am slowly getting through it! I need to speed up! I am loving the humor that we are given in Don Quixote, that kind of helps it go by a little faster. There are some parts of this novel that I find to be dry...or perhaps it is just all the stops that Quixote and Sancho make throughout the story and their descritptions of the many people they meet. Sometimes I feel as if I am re-reading certain parts.

I thought that it was quite clever how Sancho Panza tied the horses legs together in order to keep Quixote from traveling through the night and getting himself involved in another battle. Sancho Panza's character really comes out once I get more into this work of literature.

~I will admit I am excited to say that I COMPLETED Don Quixote...and that day shall come rather soon, I hope.

~Anagogy- The Anagogic Phase~ Let's dig in!

Anangogy:
~Wordplay
~a mirror for language
~Mystical interpretation
(*Thanks to Encarta Dictionary)
or is it what Frye calls as "Universal Meaning"

Maybe it is all of these things, maybe it is not- I guess I don't know and unfortunately I have not gotten too in depth with Mr. Northrop Frye to engage myself in a more extensive definition.

The allegorical level is the second level of The Middle Ages. Allegorical in medieval times is "what one believes" (Frye 116).

"In the anagogic phase, literature imitates the total dream of man, and so imitates the thought of a human mind which is at the circumference and not at the center of its reality"
~The point at which things become something else.

Anagogy also presents us with the idea that "nature becomes, not the container, but the thing contained".

Oh wow, now I remember talking about this stuff! Sometimes my mind wanders (more often than I would like), but I have just gotten to the "apocalyptic" definition...for some reason I am very keen on Dr. Sexson's definition of this and I know that I have mentioned in one of my previous blogs also...but just to emphasize its importance or my liking to it:

Apo-- to take away
Calypse-- to remove the veil/ pull back the curtain

Apocalypse is not the end of the world, but a revelation. It is the point at which we move beyond the curtain into what we have not yet known or seen before...it is a moment in which all the lightbulbs one's brain turn on.

With that being said or reiterated, that is my brief concept of anagogy for the time being...

The Seasonal Pattern

I do not know what to make of this diagram of "The Seasonal Pattern" I am sure we will go through this in class soon, if I remember right that is what it shows on the syllabus.

I find it interesting though that each season (Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer) all correspond with Literary Archetypes, characters and either fits in Comedy or Tragedy.

The four phases to The Seasonal Pattern include:
~Mortification
~Purgation
~Invigoration
~Jubilation

*I shall complete this blog as we discuss further in class*

Wallace Stevens- "The Idea of Order at Key West"

The moment that Dr. Sexson recited Stevens' poem in class I was taken aback. I do not know whether it was the way in which he recited it- with so much passion, or whether it was the poem itself I fell in love with. I am going to have to gamble and say that it was a brilliantly beautiful mixture of both.

"She sang beyond the genius of the sea"
Was her voice so beautiful that her song carried over the waves of the sea and all the chaos of Key West that surrounds it? Indeed, it was.

Wallace Stevens' poem uses a creative combination of both myth and realism to some extent by describing the realistic senses of nature (the sea) and the mythic through her song and the story itself. Imitation is also used cleverly in this poem through the mimic motion.

I am still working on memorizing this poem...I am optimistic that I shall!!! :)

Sir Philip Sidney

I must begin with my favorite, most memorable passage from Sidney:
"The poet never affirms anything, therefore the poet never lies"

Sidney represents the neo-classical/ renaissance world view, the pragmatic. This world speaks to the audience, who in turn asks, "Why read it if it won't impact us?"

Sidney raises poets to a level higher than nature, "the poet's world is golden". Sidney as well as Shelley rates poets highly (superior).

"But thus much at least with his no few words he drave into me, that self- love is better than any gilding to make that seem gorgeous wherein ourselves be parties."
~ Self- love is better than pretending to...better than wearing an armor that does not expose
your true self. Poets do not wear an armor under which they hide, through their poetry they
expose themselves, their self- love.

"Or rather they, being poets, did exercise their delightful vein in those points of highest knowledge which before them lay hidden to the world."
~ The mood of the poet is hidden to the world, until that curtain is pulled back and we are
lucky enough to gain a portion of the knowledge that they have shared with us through
their poetry.

My Book and Heart Shall Never Part

I was thoroughly looking forward to seeing the film "My Book and heart shall never part" at The Emerson Cultural Center all week long. I had read about it on-line, was given a brief overview by Dr. Sexson in class, yet still did not know exactly what to expect!
I was completely amazed at what a large crowd they drew for the premiering of their film, it was rather exciting!
I must say that I was so impressed by the way this film was put together and was delighted that I was able to attend. The music was very fitting for this spectacular piece of work and the actors did a wonderful job as well (adorable I must say)!
So, with that being said...it is so interesting to think that these chap books from so long ago are still surviving in our world today. Perhaps the books themselves have been damaged in some way or another (ahem...dogs?) but we continue to read these stories, reference them, trace the morals we have learned from them and orally pass them on. I also found myself thinking while biking home that I knew all these stories from the film, yet never once took the time to trace back their origins or even ponder the question as to how or where these stories began.
The recitiation of "The house that Jack built" performed by Dr. Sexson and his wife was utterly amazing. The way that they recited it that quickly, it reminded of the tongue twisters (say some ridiculous saying 3 times really fast), it was amusing and astounding all at once. Right when I thought the last line had come, it continued! I loved it!
This film also opened my eyes to what we have been talking about in terms of "apocalypse" and what it really means. Why of course we have figured it out in class... no, not the end of the world, but to unveil, pull back the curtain (with some help from Frye). This became a lightbulb moment for me. Perhaps that is when we lose our innocence. When we decide to look beyond what we are being told.
"My book and heart shall never part" was filled with so much, but I was not jotting down notes as I watched...I simply enjoyed! But the moment I had pen and paper I took off jotting down the things that stuck with me the most, even if it was simple passages left in my memory or ideas! Here are those components of the film I remember most and why they struck me as interesting.

~"To read is to know"

~The 3 things children's books show us:
-Death
- Comedy (Laughter)
- Nature

~What is Nature? What is a child? How do they read each other?
- I wish I could answer all of these questions, but it will take some thinking and I will be
sure to blog my ideas when they come to me!

~Animals play a role in human dramas:
- Wow, it is so true...let's think about some children's books in which this is done: Little Red
Ridinghood, Goldilocks and the 3 bears, Where the Wild things are, to name a few.

~ABC- D.E.A.T.H.

~The Sparrow story: the narration and imagery of this were amazing. I enjoyed this story!

~The 3-fold cap

~A- how to say "A"...apple, ass, anvil
-Dr. Sexson's recitation of these many words was also astonishing and brilliant

~Books as treasures:
-All books really are treasures and it is sad how many people do not realize this. The chap
books in which the film focused upon are treasured more it seems because of their rarity,
but truly all books must be considered treasures because each one is unique...or should I
say a unique imitation....

Aristotle's Poetics

Aristotle's poetics was so hard for me to work through! Not only was it dense, but long...complex to say the least. Thankfully, Dr. Sexson provided us with a summary of each chapter in hopes that we would understand it more clearly.

Aristotle not only lays out the generals of poetics, but includes an in depth analysis of the differences between tragedy and comedy in poetics.

Imitation is of much importance in Aristotle's poetics. Imitation is what really distinguishes comedy from tragedy in poetry. Poetry can even be traced back to the makeup of imitation psychologically, according to Aristotle.

Plot (mythos), character (ethos) and thought (dianoia) play a major role in tragedy. The plot is of the most importance and is also where emotions are heightened. The character helps to form the moral or expression in Tragedy. Thought is expressed through rhetoric and diction is expressed mainly through the delivery of the poetry.

Percy Shelley- "A Defence of Poetry"

Shelley's A Defence of Poetry, is a piece of work that brings about MANY lightbulb moments. Shelley's entire piece becomes one large lightbulb. The work as a whole is of interest to me and really drew me in because I myself am a fan of the romantics and poetics in general.
As we discussed in class, we have to lift the veil to see what has always been there, which Shelley helps us to do in regards to poetry.

"Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds."
While I agree with Shelley, I must also disagree to some extent. I have read some poetry which is not the happiest, but may have certainly come from the best minds. Perhaps, we could consider the sad moments leading to happy moments though in which case Shelley's statement would me absolutely correct.

"Poetry is indeed something divine."
Poetry indeed could be considered heavenly and exquisite. I myself consider it that way. For poetry to strike me as divine it must evoke emotions. I may not necessarily have to relate it to "real" life (whatever that is), but to simply connect with it on some level. Poetry allows you to live in the life that it describes (wow, that sounds errily similar to Don Quixote).

This is a "divine" moment where Shelley's Defence took me away and it was as if I had so many lightbulb moments they all went on at the same time and created a spark...which was so quickly lost.
"What were Virtue, Love, Patriotism Friendship, etc.- what were the scenery of this beautiful Universe which we inhabit- what were our consolations on this side of the grave- and what were our aspirations behind it- if poetry did not ascend to bring light and fire from those eternal regions where the owl-winged faculty of calculation dare not ever soar?"
~If poetry did not allow us to lose ourselves in our experiences and those of the Universe, then what of them would we know or have to sustain our knowledge. Where would our knowledge of these things if we only went so far as to where the veil allowed us to? The veil is there to be snuck around, to open so that we may gain knowledge. As Shelley did and many poets have, the veil was lifted and their knowledge of what was hidden has come out through poetry and literature.

"Poetry turns all things to loveliness; it exalts the beauty of that which is most beautiful, and it adds beauty to that which is most deformed; it marries exultation and horror, grief and pleasure, eternity and change; it subdues to union under its light yoke all irreconcilable things."
~Poetry does make all things lovely, even those things that may augment sadness within us. All of the above things mentioned in Shelley's Defence are made beautiful through poetry. But how? Is it through the language? The images which are created through the poem itself? Or do we possibly create beauty for it through poetry in order to accept it? Unison can somehow be created between opposites and contradictions.

Shelley opened my eyes to poetry and its beauty more than any other piece of work I had read that defended or supported poetry in some way. Shelley's use of language evokes a sense of understanding, beauty and relation to poetry.

Marxist Criticism

A brief overview of Marxist Criticism (group 5):

Marxist Criticism is a reflection of social institutions paying close attention to the background and ideology of the author when looking at literary works. Literature influence by Marxist Criticism sometimes clearly reflects the author's class. Class struggle plays a large role in Marxist views and there is a lot of emphasis put economical/ ideological state of affairs. Marxist Criticism influenced western writers such as James Joyce and Richard Wright to name a few. Marxist Criticism does address economical, social/ political issues, yet also addresses cultural sciences.

Recurrent terms in Marxist Criticism include:

Base Vs. Superstructure: the economic base- superstructures emerging from this base include philosophy, religion, art, law and politics

Ideology: a culture's shared beliefs or values. What the culture finds to be standard and valuable. Ideology is influenced by economics in Marxist Criticism.

Hegemony: Influences the way things look and their meaning. This influence also leads to the way people within a particular culture believe reality to be.

Reification: The way people are changed into "commodities" and found beneficial in Market Exchange. The media will express pathos, yet underneath that "fake" expression of emotion they flourish upon sad/ tragic events economically.

Glossary of Literary Criticism

So...I was looking on-line and found this interesting "A Glossary of Literary Criticism". It is basically a compilation of terms, many of which we have learned/ used in class this semester. It also seems to mirror much of what Northrop Frye brings to our attention in "Anatomy of Criticism".

These are just terms and definitions, but honestly sometimes the language in class goes over my head so I have found this to be useful.

Here is the link if you'd like to check it out:
http://web.mac.com/radney/humanities/litcrit/gloss.htm

Dante- Epistle to Can Grande

Dante was easy for me to read through, but very difficult to understand. I tried to summarize each major point to help myself better understand it.

Dante addresses friendships and the inequality within them. Friendship is very important to Dante and is made clear when he says refers back to moral philosophy "that friendship is returned and preserved by similarity."

Dante also refers to philosophy- metaphysics...well, that right there goes over my head! It is so clear, yet so complex the point that is being made. Each thing (being) depends on something to survive. Each relationship that things have with each other lead to some sort of dependence upon another thing. This to me sounds tautological, yet makes sense...

Dante seems very poetic in his explanations and at the end of Epistle to Can Grande, I felt as if he was getting at the point that we cannot always express vocally what we see in our mind. Perhaps, in writing the imagery becomes stronger therefore it is easier to express what we see in our mind, but vocally will no talways cut it.

Northrop Frye- Symbols

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Northrop Frye's Theory of Symbols chapter in Anatomy of Criticism. I could not seem to put it down, even though I had a very difficult time trying to understand it! I found myself highlighting a lot of passages from Frye. I continuously found passages that I felt were interesting, intriguing and of course unknown material to me.



One of the passages in the symbols chapter that I actually seemed to understand:

"...the criticism of literature can hardly be a simple or one- level activity." (page 71)

This seemed very clear to me, of ocurse criticism is difficult and complex because it must be done with respect to what it is critiquing (in my opinion), while also paying close attention to not contradict itself. Criticism of literature should also look at the work of literature as a whole, yet it seems that it may also be appropriate for a critic to pick apart the work piece by piece so as to assure the work as a whole has been evaluated.

Northrop Frye- Modes

My introduction to Northrop Frye was captivating, yet I found it problematic to absorb all the information I was being given. While reading Frye's modes chapter at the beginning of the semester I was inquisitive to see if a majority of the class was in my position also. Thankfull, some were and still are as we move have just moved through "The Theory of Symbols".

I was overwhelmed with how much I did not know when reading the "Theory of Modes"- that was until Dr. Sexson gave us the much needed advice of "Do not pay attention to what you don't understand, but rather what you do understand". So I was determined that in the whole entire chapter, there had to be at least one thing that made sense to me or that I could at least attempt to make sense of.

"New comedy normally presents an erotic intrigue between a young man and a young woman which is blocked by some kind of opposition, usually paternal, and resolved by a twist in the plot which is the comic of Aristotle's 'discovery'..."
-I found some sort of connection to this passage of Frye's in "Anatomy of Criticism"
because it reminded me of so many romantic comedies or romantic dramas in the
theaters that I have been a sucker to go see. The boy and girl fall in love, but are kept
from each other because their parents hate the other one or vice versa...am I on the right
track here?

Giambattista Vico

The link here provides a picture of Giambattista Vico. I could not figure out how to upload the picture onto my blog...not too computer savvy!

http://www.ildiogene.it/EncyPages/Immagini/Vico.jpg

M.H. Abram's 4 elements applied to "The Idea of Order at Key West"

To what extent does this poem involve M.H. Abram's four elements?

• Universe: The world- the sea is the element of the world that Steven's is focusing on; we slowly get pulled away from the sea as the poem goes on, as she continues to sing her song.
• Audience: The audience is the reader, so...us! There is a line in Stevens' poem which states "...of ourselves and of our origins...", and there is a mention of "we" in the poem as well
• Work (text): The song that the woman is singing in the poem and the poem itself is the work, "word by word...". The text also consists of the sounds of elements such as the earth, sea and sky (to name a few).
• Artist (creator): the singer herself; emotional almost (I find this poem to be similar to romatics in the sense that it really absorbs emotions and creates an almost internal meaning in a way). Her song is very expressive of elements and spirit. She creates her own world through her singing/ song.

English 300- notable notes

These are some of the notes I find most interesting from class...just something I wanted to post:

• Critics are parasites- parasites end up killing the host
• The whole of Northrop Frye: "All literature is displaced myth"
• Pseudo Criticism: subjective, descriptive, emotional, objective
• Sun rise/ sun set: rhetorical; we use them, even though they're not right
• Myth: a collection of stories that help people to live their lives
• Pharmakos: scapegoat
• Mimic- to copy- to imitate

The History of Literary Criticism in two minutes:

• Ancient- world- Mimetic
• Neo classical- audience- pragmatic
• romantics- artist(s)-expression
• modern-work- objective

(M.H. Abrams)

Chart

Romance- Tragic



Sometimes consisting of a lyrical poem of mourning. According to Frye, the hero of a romance tragedy is sometimes spent with animals and the romance setting is typically a forest. Romantics communicate most often internally and easily absorb emotions. Frye also points out that "characteristics peculiar to form are less obvious" (Frye 37). Romeo and Juliet are a fine example when discussing inevitable death as a theme, "it works against the marvelous and often forces it into the background" (Frye 37).



Other Romance-tragic authors/ works of literature...

I was wondering if perhaps, Aphra Behn's Oroonoko, would fit into this category.

*Still working on adding the chart...

Marxist Criticism

What is Marxist Criticism?

Marxist criticism, named after Karl Marx, focuses upon literary criticism as a refelction on a piece of literary work itself, while challenging social order. Marxist criticism also focuses upon economy, politics and art, linking all three of them together. In marxist criticism, Economics is the base of society.
It is a reflection of social institution(s) and is based off the background and ideology pertaining to the author. Class struggle is also outlined a great deal in marxist criticism and arises through economical/ ideological circumstances, while trying to get at what the text is "hiding". It argues that in literature the author's class is visible and the work of literature itself is a social institution.

Terms commonly found in Marxist Criticism:

• Base Vs. Superstructure- base signifies the economic base, where as superstructure grows from the bas and consists of cultural sciences.
• Ideology- very powerful, ideology is shared beliefs or values in a culture determined largely by economics
• Hegemony- widespread grouping of meanings (of texts), values (as culture) and assumptions
• Reification- way in which people are influenced into being "articles" which would be most useful for market exchange

First Impressions of Don Quixote

I am shocked to see myself sometimes absorbed in Don Quixote. Yes, I am an english literature major, but Don Quixote was intimidating, or perhaps the length was intimidating. I don't quite know what it was anymore. I had no idea what Don Quixote was about when I first looked at it and was not that eager to find out.

Well, I am now on page 65 and quite honestly would rather be reading it than completing this blog. I am amazed at the many novels, poems, works of literature in general this man has. I almost feel as if I can understand why he went "crazy". I love the outrageous and certainly unrealistic ideas of Quixote at times. He is going through his life, not living his own adventures, but those of characters in literary texts he has read. It is not even as if Quixote relates to all these characters naturally. In a most unnatural way he forces himself or rather perhaps something inside him to act as these people he does not know or relate to or for that matter people who don't even exist except for in literary texts. I find it almost amusing at times because it is so crazy and unbelievable that this man has lost his sanity to literature.

Thoughts on "Archetypes of Literature"

Two main points that I was left thinking about after reading archetypes of literature dealt with his approach and four causes. His approach is centripetal (in), rather than centrifugal (out). His causes are very much like a series of questions we would get asked in elementary school regarding the plot or characters, except regarding literary criticism.

How does Frye want us to read literature?

Frye discusses "archetypal symbols" as well and I found this to be very interesting. I found some interest in it because I understood what he was getting at, it was familiar. I was very easily to think of many poems in which archetypal symbols were used such as the sun, moon, and natural elements. Frye uses the sea as his example. Archetypal symbols are used in many poems and come to have many different meanings, meanings that the readers, critics and creator give them.

Dante

I finally got around to reading "Epistle to Con Grande," which Doug had attached as a link to his blog. I took interest in this reading, especially point five in which truth and dependence are discussed. The statements became somewhat confusing, but simply states that there are such things that depend on something else. the differences and similarities between comedy and tragedy clearly outlined. I liked in which he throughly described each one.

*Some vocab from the reading:
Exordium: opening section
Proemium: preface
Compendiously: full; concise
Circumlocution: using more words than needed to describe something
*(With thanks to Encarta Dictionary)

Engl. 300- first blog

So...I have never made a blog before and am at a loss for words at the moment. The first day of class was very informative and it has been quite awhile since I have thought about the rhetoric or structure of words.

When I think of rhetoric, I think of words that really speak to you , and leave you pondering. Words that persuade you to take some sort of action or leave you with some sort of strong impression.

Although I have this idea of rhetoric, I sometimes feel as if I do not know how to give it an exact meaning. Frye's passage stating that "...all structures in words are partly rhetorical, and hence literary, and that the notion of a scientific or philisophical verbal structure free of rhetorical elements is an illusion" (350), kept me thinking for quite awhile. All I could do was read it over and over.

I am going to end on that note in hopes that tomorrow's class will present some more thorough ideas on what rhetoric is and what Frye's passage is telling us.