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).
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
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.
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"
~ "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
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
Sunday, October 26, 2008
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.
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...
~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*
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!!! :)
"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.
"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....
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....
Saturday, October 25, 2008
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Friday, October 24, 2008
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.
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?
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?
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