I think today was the worse drive home ever. Once I got close the city the conditions were okay, at least manageable, but most of drive was white-out/near white out conditions. It was a day when I truly wished I'd had someone else in the car with me. Somehow things don't see as crappy when there's someone to keep you company. For some reason, the soothing pessimism of Badly Drawn Boy didn't do much for me.
Come to think of it, the whole day was kind of crappy. Not sure what was up, but people seemed busy. No one showed up for lunch so I ate alone. Oh well, it's not like I think they were purposely avoiding me ... at least I didn't until I typed that!
I taught some Victorian poetry today - Elizabeth Barrett Browing, Robert Browing and Tennyson. While I thought I had lots to say about the Brownings, that portion of the class felt awkward and disjointed. I'm pretty sure a number of them studied "My Last Duchess" last semester, yet it was hard to get the conversation going: "Okay, yes, he is a crazy and controlling Duke who killed his wife. And how do we know that?" The Tennyson ("The Lady of Shallot") went much better. I started with explaining the Victorian interest in medieval stories. I even had some of Julia Margaret Cameron incredible 1875 photographs of Tennyson's Idylls of the King, like this one, "Passing of Arthur." 
I was surprised how few knew who Lancelot was. Wasn't he in that crappy King Arthur film from a few years ago for cryin' out loud? Speaking of "out loud," students even read "The Lady of Shalott" out loud without me having to "Buller? Buller?" it. Getting them to read is usually like pulling teeth, despite being the easiest form of participation known to humanity.
10 comments:
Did you talk at all about the form of "My Last Duchess"? When I took the poetic form class (graduate level only, I fear) at U. of Toronto, one of the things our prof did was read some poems aloud (including M.L.D.), and ask us to identify the form. And I remember that it was the one poem I got wrong. I thought it was blank verse when, of course, it's couplets. But the rhymes are awfully well hidden in the enjambment through some parts, and we were all fooled.
Yes, I should simply have remembered, but I hadn't read it for some time. And I still feel dumb about it, even though I got the rest (which I don't remember now, anyhow). Do you teach prosody at all when doing the Romantics or the Victorians?
I did, in reference to the Duke's controlling nature - the carefully constructed metre and rhyme that is easily forgotten or missed but it's there.
I try to introduce prosody, but have done so sparingly, epsically this semester. I did it more in the first half of this particular course, which covered Beowulf to Pope. About half the class took that first section and learned about metre and form. I didn't want to go over it all again, so take it on a poem by poem basis.
It's as much a matter of my inability to make such things accessible to a survey course. Of course, now that I've discovered Stephen Fry's The Ode Less Travelled, which has given me a better language to explain such things, I'll be working more and more prosody in.
My theory is that Anne of Green Gables has something to do with them reading-willingly "The Lady of Shallot"
And while I didn't understand most of what you wrote, I definitely know who Lancelot is, and it wasn't because of the movie King Arthur, more likely I learned of him from Monty Python. (Actually I think I even knew who he was before I was introduced to the Holy Grail) Don't your students watch Montsy Python?
Oh, Anne. Is there nothing you can't do?
Apparently, no Python for these students.
That's so sad!! Do you need to borrow some DVDs to show them?
Aw, I miss your class! I would totally read aloud - I'm a keener that way.
And yes, thanks to Anne I was very familiar with The Lady of Shallot from a young age - though I did know about Lancelot before that because I believe I read about him in a Childcraft book or something.
They did know who Ricky Martin was though. I couldn't remember his name and called him "The Livin' La Vida Loca Jackass". They all chimed in with his name.
Mike!
No longer a lurker - you have compelled me to comment.
I feel guilty for snubbing you yesterday. It's just that it was Ash Wednesday, which is a fast day, and so my lunch hour was spend otherwise engaged (deep prayer and meditation if you must know)
I'm sorry you ate alone.
BTW - I agree with Mandy - of course the Lady of Shallot knowledge is from Anne, AND Anne made a much better Elaine then Ruby Gillis which would have been ridiculous even though Ruby had the alabaster brow. I didn't like Ruby Gillis but then she died of the galloping consumption, so I always felt bad about my dislike. Apparently Ruby made the most beautiful corpse, or so Mrs. Lynde said. Yes, L.M. Montgomery factored prominently in my formative years, so what?
And of course everyone knows the 14 stanza Loreena McKinnett Lady of Shallot song. Your students need some Canadian culture!
Kara: Welcome a board. I am very glad to have you here.
I knew you personally had a lot of your mind and plate (though apparently not food), and I certainly don't think you did anything wrong. It was just everyone seemed uber-busy. Apparently there was some lunch thing in the sem, which cut out all the other lunch people.
You have terrified me just a little with your thorough recollection of the death of Ruby Gillis though.
Loreena who? :)
it's funny that I was nodding in agreement the whole time.
My formative years were also much influenced by L.M....and yes, Ruby was only likeable in her death scene, which I unabashedly bawled over, by the way.
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