Comments on: Back to lit crit

By: CmdrSlack

CmdrSlack — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 21:14:09 +0000

Well, the English portion of my convoluted double major/degree was largely focused on writing. I had essentially maxed out the school’s writing curriculum by my Junior year and was forced to take grad level workshops too. While a MA in crit would be fun, I’d rather write a ton and also get some more depth to my crit background — which is exactly what the MFA would be.

I like workshopping. It’s either a flame war or it’s produtive — if you do it right, it’s a bit of both.

By: Raph

Raph — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 16:33:55 +0000

OK, so I was wrong about how many of you would be interested in this stuff.

As I recall, the randomized order essay wasn’t all that good. I am unsure that I have the actual file any more, I will have to hunt for it.

CmdrSlack, you’d more likely be going back for an MA, not an MFA…? The reason I had all these papers to write was because most MFA programs consist in part of lit crit… but a very large chunk of it was workshopping.

By: Prokofy Neva

Prokofy Neva — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 15:47:51 +0000

I’m glad you took on Modernism. Revolution is a powerfully conservative force in our time lol. Yes, the Four Quartets appears to be hypertexted, before the Internet. I once had a professor who put in all the links for us, wish I still had all those notes. Yes, the Internet couldn’t have come into being without the Four Quartets, that’s for sure. In fact, if we ponder a bit more, we might come to conclude that World War I was fought in order for the Internet to come into being.

By: CmdrSlack

CmdrSlack — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 15:29:00 +0000

As a former English major and lit crit nerd, I’m glad to see this stuff go up. Now I don’t feel as bad about writing papers about the Hegelian master-slave paradigm as applied to Paradise Lost and describing 1970s U.K. punk as social protest literature — while comparing and contrasting to pieces like “To A Louse” by Burns.

Dammit, now I want to go back for my MFA again. Damn you, Raph! I thought that this LL.M. and follow-up J.S.D would have been enough, but no, now I’m looking at getting my MFA when I turn 40.

By: JcMaverick

JcMaverick — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 14:33:03 +0000

I would love to see this also. It sounds very interesting.

By: Faith

Faith — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 09:11:30 +0000

[...] Comments [...]

By: Lobosolitario

Lobosolitario — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 06:01:38 +0000

Interesting essay on Arthurian Unrealism. Funnily enough, some of the earliest Arthurian works (Le Conte du Graal, Chrétien de Troyes, La Mort le Roi Artu, author uncertain) do not use the knights as role models at all. In fact they are used to illustrate the failings of the old justice system (trial by combat) as an argument for the new (at the time) justice system of trial by law. La Mort the Roi Artu is a great read for anyone who has time, it's also one of the earliest psychological dramas ever written.

By: Charles Ellis

Charles Ellis — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 05:51:25 +0000

I’m not much of a literature buff or anything, but Michael does have a point. That randomized-order essay sounds interesting from a technical standpoint, I would love to see it too.

By: Michael Chui

Michael Chui — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 04:08:13 +0000

the one essay that was designed to be read with all of its pages in randomized order.

Whoa, whoa… wait a second… I want that. You should have access to my email addy.