@academic-vampire / academic-vampire.tumblr.com
E. E. Cummings and T. S. Eliot’s poetry are in the same font, but one is italicized, and the other is bold and also on fire
My trying to retell a story to someone:
-Dante, Inferno
(This is how I am introduced, too^)
-William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
Why does my keyboard sometimes offer French words? Like why are you suggesting an imaginary language? ??
Are you even an English/Lit major if you’re not reciting sonnets to your professor in his office for extra credit?
So there’s a film major in one of the ENGL creative writing classes I’m taking, and I don’t think he has ever read a book above a second grade level.
He always interrupts my professor (MULTIPLE TIMES) during the lecture to say that none of the material makes sense to him. This girl I have never even spoken to before looked back at me with a bewildered look on her face when he did this once. All of us are so embarrassed for him.
He argues with our professor the whole time whenever we review a passage from literature, claiming the work to be ineffective and worthless (just because HE doesn’t understand it). I am honestly wordless when this happens.
I’m waiting for my professor to snap and chew his ass out. He needs a good scolding ahaha. So far my professor has been very patient, but direct. I’m waiting for him to tell the kid to drop the class.
D. H. Lawrence was a furry. You cannot convince me otherwise.
(Here is one of my short essays looking at James’ Agee’s depiction of a childhood memory. Agee wields lucidity and the human senses to his advantage, crafting the scene for the reader in such a way that readers may even wonder if Agee’s memory is their own. I highly recommend reading the essay on your own, too.)
Writing a Memory
(Jack. C. February, 2024)
James Agee accomplishes something in his essay, “Knoxville: Summer of 1915,” that many writers can never do: Agee writes a memory. But not just any memory—an accurate one. Not often can authors convey the essence of a dreamlike memory without having it feel patchy or even unrealistic. Meanwhile, Agee cleverly uses language and style tactics to his advantage in order to poetically describe his memory of the Knoxville summer of his youth, so readers feel as though they were there themselves.
(This is a speech I gave to my class in Korea about the importance of adequately directing and interpreting literature. J. R. R. Tolkien has the perfect allegory on this topic. Literature majors, and the common reader, can learn a lot from Tolkien’s advice. I hope you enjoy it. Have you experienced this reckless dissection before?)
The Tower and the Sea Allegory
(Jack C. December, 2023)
What does it mean to interpret a piece of literature? J. R. R. Tolkien was firmly against the reckless academic scrutiny of literary works. Yet, it is not uncommon in today’s academic realm to peel apart literature in hopes of uncovering a deeper meaning. The act of attempting to find flaws and hidden context in literature leads to careless academia. Oftentimes, this can be seen most clearly when it comes to allegory. Instead of appreciating the story for what it is, readers are often pushed to dig too deep into the material of the story, which leaves the story itself set apart from the interpretation, now insignificant and forgotten.
How do you analyze a book, this is the first time for me reading classics (ie philosopie) and I want to understand the ideas in there. One Idea I have that could help me is to write mini essays to keep the idea in mind but if you have any other suggestions please tell me
(If it wasn’t for maths I would’ve been a philosophy major)
Hi, I’m currently writing a long post about how I read and analyze literature, so you can expect that soon. :)
Although, absolutely—mini essays are a great way to help better understand what you’re reading. When I did this in the past, I would rotate between three essay/writing styles:
1. Commonplace entries: I would write out a large passage I found interesting and then analyze it. I would note what I liked about it and what I didn’t like. Just write your thoughts, basically. It doesn’t have to be extraordinarily deep.
2. Discussion question: I would write one question I have about the literature, and then try to answer it. Sometimes, I couldn’t answer it right then, and that’s fine. It’s good to ponder literature. It keeps it alive that way.
3. Reading notes: I would write down anything I found interesting (quotes, ideas, themes, character descriptions, word choices, etc.) for a few pages.
(It’s also interesting to note that I hand-wrote all of these in a journal. I think the act of handwriting helps solidify ideas in your mind).
Those are just some things that I write about if I really need to study a piece of literature. But you can expect my longer and more detailed post soon. Ahaha, I wish you luck with math, and I hope you can study literature and philosophy in your spare time. :) Thank you for asking.
I feel proud of myself as a literature major when my professors ask me to buy books for the classes… but I already own and have read all of the books they call for.
I have gotten to the point where I don’t even need to look at the rubric for literature class essays—I know my paper is good, lol
(Edit: imagine I get an F)
-A line from the essay I wrote today (sounds pretty neat so I thought I’d share). @xojack
I just wrote a 1666 word essay in one sitting. 쳇…
(not to mention the total word count is 2702 because it has my notes and ideas/ramblings too…)
(Here is a short discussion post I wrote about Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “The Birth Mark.” In the post, I compare the short story to the fall of man written about in Genesis. Do you think this is a valid comparison? I’m curious to hear others’ thoughts.)
Birth-Marks and Forbidden Fruit
(Jack C. May, 2024)
In terms of surface-level allegory, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “The Birth-Mark,” depicts an allegorical interpretation of human mortality and imperfection; nevertheless, I believe that an even darker allegory lies beneath the surface. One thing truly stood out to me as I read the story, and that is how the first sentence of dialogue is phrased. The sentence reads, “‘Georgiana,’ said he, ‘has it never occurred to you that the mark upon your cheek might be removed?’” (1). The key here is that the sentence is posed as a question. I was immediately reminded of Genesis 3:1, where the serpent in Eden asks Eve, “‘Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” (New International Version).
I love when I’m reading literature, and I understand the deeper meaning. And then I find a sECOND, DEEPER MEANING… and I feel so proud of myself.
𝔐𝔶 𝔣𝔞𝔳𝔬𝔯𝔦𝔱𝔢 𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔦𝔰 𝔴𝔞𝔩𝔨𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔞𝔫 𝔢𝔵𝔠𝔢𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔈𝔫𝔤𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔥 𝔠𝔩𝔞𝔰𝔰 🪐
