Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Transformation stories . . .
Our culture is rife with stories of transformation and metamorphosis, like but also unlike Kafka's story. Why are we fascinated with these kinds of stories? How does Kafka's Metamorphosis both repeat these stories and revise them?
For our next class - - Thurs., April 26 - - read Ovid's account of the transformation of Arachne. How does the transformation in this story resemble and differ from Gregor's transformation?
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Kafka, Metamorphosis
Thursday, April 12, 2007
The Tempest Performed . . .
It took me a while (technical obstacles) - - but here at last are your renditions of The Tempest, Act III, Scene i and Scene ii. They're very impressive. With a little more practice, I think we'd be ready to put the whole thing on stage! (Click on the links below and the file will load in a player window.)
Act III, Scene ii
Cashme, Atira, and Kiron
Carmine, Sherifa, Danyel
Act III, Scene i
Enkela, Lester, and X
Anne, Christine, Frederick and Peng
Jacqueline, Eleanor, and Maria
(Some of you may be represented by ann "X" now - - only because I lost track of the group members. I'll correct this after class on Thursday.)
Monday, March 26, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
Simile Assignment
Recall how on Thursday we discussed the ways in which similes use "like" or "as" to transfer qualities or traits between different kinds of things. We also speculated on why writers, especially Homer, use similes (to make something vivid, to create an image, to underscore something important about the person, place, thing, or action being described).
Your goal in this assignment is to locate all of the similes used in Book 22 of the Odyssey, and to explain how each of these similes works - - especially to explain what qualities the similes transfer from one thing to another. You should list all of the similes that you find in Book 22. Then you should add a paragraph or two explaining how the simile works. Type up your analysis.
Important: Some of you may be using editions of Homer where the translator has eliminated similes from the text. If you can't find any similes in your translation, I have posted a simile-laden translation here. (Note: if you are using a printed book version of the Odyssey, you may still want to check out this online version - - because you can perform a simple "find" search of the page to locate all instances of "like" or "as," and hence all possible similes.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Starting "The Tempest" . . .
An online version of "The Tempest" is available.
However, before you begin reading Shakespeare's play, for Tuesday, March 20, I want you to read Christopher Columbus's famous letter about the New World. After you've read Columbus's letter, read ACT I of "The Tempest."
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
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