May 2012
4 posts
The Other Narratives
My job made it easy to complete this week’s wildcard. Every day I listen to the stories people tell, about their struggles and their victories. I work as a Pharmacy Technician and have heard countless stories of people overcoming illnesses and also falling victim to terminal conditions.
This week was a continuation of my constant goal of connecting with these people. I have learned that...
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990D... →
Here’s a link to a review of Shakespeare Behind Bars by The New York Times. I always love reading how critics and journalists view these movies too.
The Greatest Gift: "Indulgence"
“All of us in some way need to be redeemed of something that we’ve done.” What do you need to be redeemed of? Everyone makes mistakes. Society often takes it upon them to decide which faults are worse, and what deserves redemption. Shakespeare Behind Bars looked into the soul of criminals that society has decided beyond redemption however that does not make them desire it any less.
What stands...
Can I just say, I think everyone is doing a great job with titling their ruminations!! They all seem so interesting!
April 2012
9 posts
“It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.”
– Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club (via lgoffxo)
Utopia? →
This link goes to someone’s blog that discusses different kinds of Utopia. I think that Sir Thomas More’s version falls into more than just one of these categories.
The Wasteful British
“Agriculture is the one occupation at which everyone works, men and women alike, with no exceptions,” (550). This opening statement for the section regarding “Their Occupations” sets the standard. There is an obvious emphasis on being ecological. In the section “The Travels of the Utopians” they describe the switch from vellum to paper, which was described in the Weekly Blog as taking place in...
New York Tribune - 1842 →
After the reading for this week I wanted to take time to look through some older newspapers from our own country. I found a website that has pdf’s of papers all the way back to 1836. Here is a link to the New York Tribune from April 22, 1842.
I hope the actual sheets of paper they were printed on were large because that font seems very tiny!!
Technology-Dependent
Of course the same week we are supposed to write a letter, I drop my iPhone in water. The past few days I have been functioning without the ability to call, text, tweet, fb, or email from the comfort of my cell phone. Writing a letter really took me back in the past, since it was one of the forms of communication available to me this week.
Interestingly enough, I have enjoyed these few days...
Self-Proclaimed Gods
“Our general … liberally bestowed on them necessary things to cover their nakedness, whereupon they supposed us to be gods,” (932). A common theme throughout the stories of voyaging and discovery is the interaction with natives. Often they are portrayed as barbaric and less civilized. Their customs are misunderstood and seen as primal. As told in the stories, the travelers are viewed as Gods by...
March 2012
9 posts
Best resource for Paradise Lost. →
Ruminating on Ruminations
Throughout the first part of this semester I truly enjoyed all the readings. Being able to ruminate and see other people’s interpretations of these classic readings helped me see them in new light. Also interesting, John Donne is now one of my favorite poets…I’m kind of obsessed.
Is Death Really A Loss?
The death of a loved one is often associated with mixed emotions: sadness, anger, longing, desperation, and sometimes peace. In Holy Sonnet XVII, Donne discusses the recent death of his wife. He struggles with these mixed emotions, especially coming from a religious background. Initially he seems happy to release her to God, feeling that she is in her rightful place. He is also happy she has...
Constituent Structure →
I stumbled upon this website that describes the breakdown of Shakespeare’s sonnets in addition to a lot of other forms of writing. I found it interesting that it claimed these sonnets are written in such a way so that all competent readers will break them down for analyzing in the same way, looking at the pairings of lines. (Of course people will then ascertain different meanings from the...
Blur
joshuasinkler:
I wrote a sonnet for my other Brit Lit class so I figured why not post it up for everyones reading pleasure. The premise was to talk about Newark so I gave it a bit of a comedic spin. I don’t know if I quite got the syllable count down, but trust me, I was clapping like a seal making sure I was close enough. (Plus it’s 1am cut me some slack)
Blur
The lines have blurred, for which...
The Uncomely Mistress
Sonnet 130 takes the common romantic metaphors and pins them against themselves, turning a fantasized love into something much more real and honest. Every compliment that may be bestowed is instead negatively applied to the narrator’s mistress. “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.” He goes through the common list of pleasant analogies and states how nothing about her stands out or fulfills...
February 2012
6 posts
“Senec and Plato call me from thy lore,/To perfect wealth my wit for to endeavor.” - Farewell, Love by Sir Thomas Wyatt
The moment I read those two lines I fell in love. Although it is somewhat cynical, I also found it refreshing. Maybe we all need to focus on improving ourselves instead.
A Lover versus Kinsmen; The Varying Allegiance...
An interesting comparison is that between the Old English lament, The Wanderer, and the romantic poems of Sir Thomas Wyatt and The Earl of Surrey. The Wanderer dates back to around 975, close to the time the manuscript Beowulf was written. Both have a focus on companionship with kinsmen and desire for a homeland. Throughout the piece the man speaks of his sadness in having no companion “His sorrow...
Courage
With all this talk of courage in Beowulf I thought it would be interesting to look at some quotes about courage from people respected in today’s society:
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” - Winston Churchill
Although, personally, I completely agree with this, obviously the authors of Beowulf found such a...
“What we search for in fiction is not so much reality but the epiphany of truth.”
– Azar Nafisi, Reading Lolita in Tehran (via the-bloffice) 