Blog for Engl. 3204

Final Class: Sensibillity; Sublimity

2008-12-02T08:38:00.000-08:00

I have to be honest and say that much of this poetry flew completely over my head. It was interesting and pretty but my understanding of the poems was minimal and I truly did not got very much from them. I enjoyed the poem "Sensibility" by Hannah More though. From my understanding she is writing about how much she enjoys Sensibility writings because the author can express themselves and their emotions (if I am completely wrong it would not shock me). Sensibility writing from this time seemed to be an emotional expression from the poet. It was a release of feelings and thoughts. To me it seems very personal and private almost like a diary entry.

Good Luck to all in your future endeavors! and especially good luck on the essays!

Prose Narrative: Moralism

2008-11-27T08:33:00.001-08:00

I found Johnson's "The History of Rasselas" rather simple to read which was delightfully surprising. I do enjoy deciphering a poem and analyzing an essay but it was rather pleasant to simply have something sit nicely in front of you, a little dull, but nice in the last few weeks of school. The most interesting part of the narrative for me is the happy valley. It really grabbed me simply because it was the most perfect place. The children could live their lives as they pleased and nothing bad would ever happen. They did not need to work and they could play and learn whatever they wanted. They were given everything and anything that they could possibly want or need. Yet they were still missing something. They were missing happiness and an appreciation of what they had. They had no way to appreciate what they had because they had never had anything else. They never had stress or pain or confusion in their lives only happiness and wealth.
I think that we have all experienced this in our lives. Especially as children we all take advantage of what we have and we do not understand or appreciate how lucky we are. We can all say at the very least that we have been raised in one of the most wealthy countries in the world where we are protected and are able to receive such things as free health care. But when we were young we did not understand how lucky we were or how little other people in the world had. It was only after we grew up and were exposed to the awful things that have, and are happening in our world that we do understand our incredible luck. This is exactly what these children are experiencing in the happy valley. They have no way of appreciating what they have because they have not been exposed to anything else.

Working People's Poetry

2008-11-27T08:15:00.000-08:00

Stephen Duck's poem spoke to many people. It is a poem for the working class, for those who put everything they have into their work and into their families. He describes the back-breaking never ending farm work that must be done. It is almost a bleak thought that the person can never stop and that it is an unclimbable hill of work which they will never reach the top of. It would be very difficult to be a farmer, much more difficult than any other profession of that time I believe. At least we all know that we will have the weekends and holidays to rest and spend time with our families. A farmer does not have that, they must work all year round without a day off because their animals and crops need them.
I was honestly fine with this poem until I read Mary Collier's poem "The Woman's Labour". Once I saw this poem the feminist inside of me went "hell ya what is this guys problem?" But now I think that both parties are correct. Yes woman work so incredibly hard and they have no recognition for their work but I think that this is a separate issue from Stephen Duck's poem. I understand Mary Collier's anger at society and the consensual misguided view of 'woman's work' in that time but I do not think that that is what Stephen Duck was talking about. I believe that he was simply writing about the experiences of a farmer and the tiresome way that they must live each day. His poem was not taking away from the work that woman do he simply was writing about what men do. Do not get me wrong though, woman had so much work to do in those times that there work never ended just the same as their husbands.

Final Essay

2008-11-27T04:52:00.000-08:00

So I know I am a little late in the game to be writing this but I am a little late in the game with several of my blogs so it is what it is I guess. Well this essay was definitly a challenge filled with more research than actual writing. I choose to write about Manley's use of amatory fiction to disguise her political satire. It is mostly about why she would write using the genre of amatory fiction over another less controversial genre. What I found was that she used amatory fiction because it was controversial, that was in a way her cover. She used a controversial subject to portray her even more controversial ideas and satires. It was most definitly an interesting topic and I am glad that I choose it because while it was a great deal of work there were several really strong sources that I found that were full of information. It was also a topic that held my attention and that I found interesting. I was really glad that I spoke to Dr. Jones (through email) because I was having such a difficult time narrowing my topic because I knew I wanted to write about that particular story and author but it was difficult trying to focus my thoughts. Once she gave me a topic that she felt was appropriate it gave me a clear idea of what to do and that is what really helped me. I found that online books were the best thing and that is what ended up being my main source. I have also decided that google scholar is a god send and I will never write another essay without it. The unb website was somewhat helpful but even with our research presentation I still find it rather confusing and I found it more helpful to use google scholar and simply have the google scholar find articles that were linked to the unb website. But even then the unb website was not a huge help with this essay.
I have to say that more than anything I am glad that this essay is done. It was a difficult essay and it was difficult finding strong sources but once it was all said and done I think I have written a strong essay and it is great to have one class out of the way and done.

Short Poetry and Prose: Satire

2008-10-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

My favourite writings from this week were Swift's "The Lady's Dressing Room" and Montagu's "The Reasons that Induced Dr. S[wift] to Write a Poem Called the Lady's Dressing Room". I have read Swift's poems several times before but I do not recall having read Montagu's poem before. It was extremely entertaining. I am interested to hear what we are going to learn about the background between Montagu and Swift because I am sure there must be a story behind it. The first poem I actually found quite entertaining on its own simply because of how the man was describing Celia. It struck me funny because there is a very good chance that he is not all that sanitary either. After all this was a time when yearly baths were common place. It was also funny because of the things he was commenting on. He comments on a dirty smock, and her pot that she used for the washroom as if it would be surprising for such things as her undershirt and her excrement to smell bad. Montagu's response is of course entertaining because it describes Swift being with a prostitute and being unable to perform and blaming her. When she says that she will not return his money he says that he will write a poem describing how disgusting her bed chamber is, but this does not seem to phase her. Oh it is funny when men scorn a female poet.

Women Writing; The Education of Women

2008-10-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

I have to say that my favourite piece of writing from this week was Margaret Fell Fox's "Women's Speaking Justified, Proved and Allowed by the Scriptures". I always enjoy reading about the freedom and equality of women; especially when the writer cites examples to prove themselves. It was often the case that women of this time were dismissed and considered to be shrewish women because they voiced their opinion. Sarah Fyge Egerton whom we also read about this week was unwillingly married because of her parent's disapproval of her writing. But this essay about women in the Bible just struck a cord with me. She gave examples that anyone could find, this was incredibly intelligent of her because people would have been unable to dispute her examples because that would be disputing the Bible. They could cite their own examples and ideas but they could not say that her examples were incorrect. She was able even to reexamine the part of the Bible that has been most damaging to women, Adam and Eve and the temptation of the fruit. She explains that God says "he [God] hath put enmity between the Women and the Serpent; and if the seed of the Women speak not, the Seed of the Serpent speaks". This is a really awesome example because it truly challenges the ideas that the world had about women.

Robinson Crusoe

2008-10-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

I found it interesting how in class we were discussing how silly it was that Robinson Crusoe was trying to be so civilised when he was living all alone on an island. I think that if I was on an island all by myself with no connection to the outside world I would be quite similar. Chances are I would not take it as far as Crusoe considering he made himself a complete suit. But I think that I would have to continue some of my regular routine and keep as much connection as possible to the world. I would probably also be questioning God and the reasons I am there and what I was meant to learn from this experience. If I could I would read my Bible simply to keep that connection not only to my faith but also to people and society. To know that I was reading something that my family and friends are also reading and simply that people in general were reading I think would give me a sense of connection and normalcy. While it may have seemed odd that Crusoe was constantly counting the things that he had I understand why he did that. It probably gave him a sense of purpose and a job to do everyday. Again giving a sense of normalcy. I think the psychological aspect of being alone with no social contact is much more interesting than the facts of being on an island.

Presentation

2008-09-30T19:12:00.000-07:00

This is my project on Olaudah Equiano: http://engl3204olaudah.webonsites.com/index.html. This is a free site I found that you can use to make a website www.webonsite.com. It is pretty easy to use and they don't put advertisements on your page. There are very few options of templates but for anyone like me who has never made a website before it was the easiest site I could find.

Amatory Fiction

2008-09-24T17:26:00.000-07:00

So this week I have decided to write about Manley's "Secret Memoirs and Manners of Several Persons of Quality of Both Sexes From the New Atlantis, an Island in the Mediterranean" (could this title be any longer). I found it interesting that this story was put under amatory fiction. It is very possible that my "modern" perspective does not allow me to look at this from a romantic point of view but in many ways I found the story rather creepy (for lack of a better term). The simple fact that the Duke falls in love with the young women that he is preparing to be his son's wife is strange enough. His love for her seems quite pedophile like. He yearns for her but knows that he cannot have her but cannot stop himself from seeing her. While she is the one who allows herself to kiss him passionately he most certainly encourages the situation. But he also mentions things such as "his eyes [...] wandered over her snowy Bosom, and saw the young swelling Breasts just beginning to distinguish themselves". He is supposed to be a man who is advanced enough that he is a widower who has a child about her age and he is looking at her in a sexual manner when her breasts are only just beginning to show. He also shows her books that she should never see because she is much too young. It is similar to how a pedophile may show a child something sexual in nature to have them be more comfortable when they first approach them as well as making them feel guilty and therefore less likely to tell someone what is going on. Of course in the last few paragraphs the Duke becomes physical. He tells Charlot he is leaving when actually he stays and waits for her to undress and then comes out and surprises her and rapes her. Granted it does not seem that she is truly fighting him off but nonetheless she is a child and therefore it is most certainly rape. This story more than anything made me feel uncomfortable and awkward. If it was about a young man who was teaching her so that she could marry another man that would be different but this "love" story simply seemed wrong to me.

Life Writing

2008-09-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

This week I have decided to focus on Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and her letters to friends and family. I have to say that I truly loved her writing. She was very elegant in her speech and her letters interested me from beginning to end because her passion and her eagerness to gain knowledge shone through. Her letter to "the Lady X" was truly interesting to me. Her descriptions of the nuns and their home and wardrobe was so descriptive and in depth but also interesting and well thought out. It seemed to me through out her letters that she was writing in real time almost like she was making up a story rather than retelling an event because her descriptions were so vivid and detailed. It was obvious that she had a true love and interest in other women. I am not applying that this was sexual (we got enough of that last week) but I think that she really liked being around women and found them more interesting then men possibly because she could be more herself around women then men. She also had a very obvious love of new and different cultures, again this goes back to her love of gaining knowledge. Her writing causes you to wish you could be there with her in these fantastical worlds she is seeing and living in. Her letters to Alexander Pope surprised me because they were very different from her other letters. The beauty in her description and story telling were gone and it almost seemed that she was more careful with her letters to him. I wondered if this could have been because she regarded him so highly because of his great skills in writing or if it was because he is a man and therefore she was not as comfortable with him as she was with the others.

Poetry of the Restoration Period

2008-09-10T13:27:00.000-07:00

Katherine Philips seems to be the "softest" writer of the week. Her poetry is soft and pretty and regards sex and love as the meeting of two people who respect and are committed to each other. The Virgin is a poem that concentrates on a women (presumably) whose focus is not on love and sex. Because she is a virgin her whole demeanour is pure and innocent. She enjoys the simple things in life, "beauty [...] Rather agreeable than great" (line 3-4). It seems as if the poet is giving a warning to women or a "heads up" about life and love for example she is "nor slave to Love" (line 20). It seems that Phillips is showing the world the positives to virginity or at least to committed relationships.

Behn in comparison to Philips seems harsh and bitter. Her feelings towards love do not seem to be positive, in fact it seems as if she has given up on love. "The Disappointment" is poem about two young lovers who end up not being able to consummate because the man is unable to perform. The message seems to be that love is not successful and leads to disappointment. in "An Ode to Love" Behn blames cupid for love spoiled and for basically not having done his job and allowing the two lovers to go unsatisfied.

Wilmot is obviously the most vulgar of our lovely trio. It seems that Wilmot does not view sex and love together. His poems are about sex without love and simply the human desire that all people have to be sexually involved with someone else. "The Imperfect Enjoyment" is about a man who is unable to perform (same as "The Disappointment") but in this poem the women is not simply giving in after being chased but rather she also has experience same as the man and has the human desire without the need for love or commitment. This could possibly be the biggest difference between Wilmot and the other poets, his women are all looking for (or thinking about) sex rather than relationships. The perfect example is "Signior Dildo" a poem about pretty much how all women want sex.

First Post

2008-09-07T18:49:00.001-07:00

I am testing to see if my blog is working and how it works