Poetry, Poetry, Poetry!

I just read "The Wasteland" by T.S. Eliot and "The Dead" by James Joyce. Neither really did that much for me. I suppose I was impressed by the complexity and vast scope of "The Wasteland," (he alludes to many works, some old, some ancient, some new, like Dante's "Inferno," "Tristan and Isolde," and Ovid's "Metamorphoses") but for the most part I was lost. I know Eliot has said that poetry should be difficult and complex, but that certainly doesn't add to its "enjoyability factor." "The Dead" took a while to get going, but over time I started to relate to the main character Gabriel (once I knew he was the main character, there's so many) and really felt for him by the end, but I think the story is uneven. The ending shows that it should be about Gabriel and his wife's relationship, but there are too many diverting subplots about various attendees at the party and other things that make it difficult to understand what the reader's really supposed to be looking for. That's my opinion, though. Still, it's been good to get into some "new" works. Well, they're new to me.

New Territory

By "new territory," I'm referring to my creating a web page. For my English Lit class I've had to create a page related to the material we've been going over, and my page is dedicated to Samuel Taylor Coleridge, writer of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. I used Google Page Creator through Geocities and it really wasn't that difficult. Mind you, it's not a very elaborate page, but it has text and 6 links as well as a picture! Isn't that nifty. It can be found at http://www.geocities.com/wolvie2004/coleridgelit.html . So enjoy!

What else have I been reading?

I just read "Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti. It was an interesting poem about a group of women who are tempted by "Goblin Men" to buy and partake of their fruits, which seem to have a "forbidden fruit" effect reminescient of the Garden of Eden in the book of Genesis. One of the women gives in to the Goblin Men's spells and buys their fruit, resulting in her near demise due to the fruit's effects. Her sister saves her by resisting the extreme pressure of the Goblin Men to force their wares on her and gains the antidote. Though there seems to be several possible real world themes behind the story such as women empowerment and anti-conformity (and I can definitely see both), it was still an engaging read on its own. The poem was also well developed in terms of metre, rhyme and lyrical quality. It often felt very much like a song, which always makes poetry easier to enjoy for me. I had never heard of Rossetti and very much enjoyed this piece. On to the weekend!

Great Expectations?

In case you haven't guessed the point of this post's title, then I'll just say it: I've been reading Great Expectations again. For some reason I don't remember it to be near as rich, funny or dense as it's turned out to be. I read it once before in ninth grade, I think. I liked it okay then, but now I see a whole lot more depth in Pip and his character, as well as in his surrounding characters like Joe, Biddy, Magwitch, etc. I'm also finding a lot more humor in the novel, and a lot of its fairly dark humor, which I enjoy. I've been reading "Adventures of Huck Finn" by Twain and I admired how Twain captured the youth's voice in the first person in that novel, and I think Dickens nearly does as good as a job with that by using the third person in this novel, especially in the early scenes. Anyway, I've definitely enjoyed revisiting a lot of these old works. Though I'm enjoying the book again, I have to close with a quote from one of my favorite comedies: "What are you reading?" -"Great Expectations." -"Is it any good?" -"Ah, it's not all I hoped for."

As the Weekend Dawns...

It's 4 AM and I just went through some more poetry, including Matthew Arnold's "The Forsaken Merman" and Robert Browning's "The Last Duchess." I enjoyed "Merman" just fine; I really felt sorry for the lonesome seaman. Moving on, I have to say "The Last Duchess" is darkly entertaining to read - the guy's calmly rationalizing why his former wife deserved to be disposed of, and he's also quite obvious about how he's in the market (unless I'm interpreting this thing wrong, then let me know) for a new bride! I'm sure this fellow is quite easy to please. I'm pretty positive the Duke had something to do with the Duchess' demise, though I'm sure there's some interpretation out there that can show the opposite. Regardless, I liked the poem about as much as I liked it the last time I read it, which was a few years ago. Well, I'm yawning more wider and louder by the second, so....*snore*

Tennyson, Browning, and more!

Good evening! I've had quite the busy week so far. I got my first ten pages of my screenplay completed, and finished a short story I'd been working on here and there since the start of the summer. In my online class, we're looking at poets such as Tennyson, Elizabeth Browning and Robert Browning. By this point, I've read by Elizabeth Browning's "Say over again" and "The Woman's Cause is Man's" by Alfred Tennyson. Browning's sonnet includes a plea for true, requited love, and I felt it it's a well constructed and powerful poem that wasn't too cryptic or difficult to interpret, which is a plus for me. "The Woman's Cause Is Man's" was also a strong statement to read, albeit a more politically charged one, though this isn't a bad thing. It brings up some very good points about how better the world would be if men and women were allowed to work hand in hand. So there's some examples of my literary explorations this week. The weekend's coming!

It's Frahnkensteen!

I'm about done re-reading "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley. I last read it somewhere close to my early high school years, meaning it could have been in 8th grade, but it could have been up to my sophomore year. I'm thinking the latter. That's probably what it is. Anyway, it's been hitting me again how what a great, well-conceived tale it is, and how vastly unlike and different it is from the pop-culture stereotype, be it the Peter Boyle or the Boris Karloff kind. Even though there's hardly any dialogue to break up the narration in the novel, Shelley just writes each of the main character's reflections so well that the audience keeps reading to see what happens to them next. We really sympathize with them, especially the monster and his creator. Shelley avoids worrying about trying to explain the scientific methods on how the monster was created and roots everything as close to reality as possible so the audience can deeply connect to the story and its characters' plights. I guess I had been so used to the pop-culture images associated with Frankenstein that seeing the real deal so differently really had an impact and gave me new respect for the story - Shelley's story, at least.

Not Just An Awesome Song

I recently read the classic "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," by Coleridge. Before now, I had only been exposed to the actual text once before in my senior AP English class. We watched a video in which the verses were read by some typical "scholarly" British voice (if you know the kind) while still paintings and drawings drifted lazily across the screen. Needless to say, it almost put me to sleep. So up until now the only manner I ever enjoyed the poem was the superb, head-banging adaptation of the song by Iron Maiden (13+ minute long song!). Listening to a heavy metal song adapting a classic work of literature is having a neutral balance of brain cells; I gain new ones from the story and lose them rocking out to the music. So this time I read the actual poem fully expecting it to be wholly non-engaging. Actually, I was plesantly surprised. I was struck by the excellent flow and often song-like quality and feel of the rhymes as well as the vivid imagery and symbolism throughout the work. It's overall a very powerful tale of how a man nearly loses his life and soul, and then in the end revives both. Yes, I'll admit that the themes of redemption and respect of nature hit me much stronger encountering "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" in its original form. I still really like that song, though. (On a smaller note, I also discovered that the Maiden song left out a lot more of the narrative than I knew about.)

Later that morning!

Yes, it is catch-up time. I warned you! But seriously, I'd say I've had an interesting week thus far. Besides the usual readings (which include many things I've read before like Frankenstein and Henry IV part I), I've mainly started writing a screenplay which is something I've never tried before, but for the most part I'm finding it pretty fun. My short stories and longer fiction tend to be weak or lacking on the dialogue side, so this is giving me some good practice. I also don't have to worry so much about narration. I don't want to give too much away (I know, that's a lot of fun) but I think it's going to be a kind of dark comedy, though how dark I'm not sure yet. I'm trying to adapt a slightly more realistic but more inventive version of a short story I did where...I can't talk about it now, sorry. Just can't. I've never been good at planning things out before I write them. I always have to just start typing. Even that's not enough sometimes. I'll quote my favorite actor, the Holy Scotsman (don't laugh...please?), Sean Connery: "The first key to writing is to write, not to think." My few and humble experiences seem to agree.

And awaaaay we go!

Well, here it is, ladies and gentlemen-my first ever Blog post! I hope it works. I don't have much of a pedigree of experience with these things, so we'll see how it goes. Could be fun. Well, I've said it on other things (i.e: Myspace, facebook), but I'm a young man cursed by his father's baldness well before his time. I'm a senior studying English Creative Studies right now. . . it wasn't the plan when I started college, but I didn't have much of one anyway. I was one of those, yes - one of those who took a bit to declare a major because I didn't really know what I wanted to be - I knew I liked film and video games, but where I'm from there isn't a lot to help you there. But I know I used to like to write, so I'm slowly tapping back into that and finding out what I can do now. I'm a proud Eagle Scout who tries to stay true to the image and associations that accompany the title/award.

It's 2:00 AM here and I'm trying to play catch-up with some online class work. Joy of joys! The weekend's almost here, which is always somewhat good, regardless of the work that still needs to be done. Hope I can make this thing interesting for random visitors, however few (or many, who knows what could happen) that might be. So welcome one and all!