What do happy people know?

So, so much!

I just, like five minutes ago, finished the book, What Happy People Know by Dan Baker.

A little background: Baker is a medical psychologist who runs a ranch where people go to receive help for depression and other mental illnesses. In the book, Dr. Baker promotes positive psychology, or a focus on helping people discover how to be happy rather than just battling mental illness of combating past problems. He shares the experiences of several patients, and his own, to emphasize the power of creating happiness, which is so much more than just positive thinking.

Can I say that I love this book?

Really, reading it has resulted one epiphany after another. I almost want to pack up my bags and run over to the Canyon Ranch right now so I can see him and get the full treatment immediately.

Not that I'm unhappy! In fact, this book has made me realize that many of the problems I've had with depression and anxiety have been rather recent. I would even go as far as saying that the struggle I've had with happiness has developed over the last year. I guess that has to do with my slow trudge into adulthood; the older I've gotten, the more unhappy I've become. I don't think life should work that way.

I think part of that is fear. Baker attributes all unhappiness (quite a claim) to our instinctive fear. I can definitely see that in my life - rather than think of possibilities, I think of consequences- rather than picture my teacher loving the poem I recently wrote or a friend being happy that I am calling them, all I do is imagine them disappointed in my lack of polished diction, or in the middle of an important meeting that my call is disturbing. This was especially true of my last year in college -- all I saw was my friends leaving me and my roommate conspiring against me (they weren't, they were fantastic). What was especially cool about Baker's explanation of fear was that he backed his theories with biological and evolutionary theories. Props for that.

Once he explains his theory of fear, Baker then goes into great detail describing the combatants to this fear. He labels appreciation as one of the best combatants to fear; appreciation, according to Baker, is the purest form of love. I've been trying this out, and I find that it really helps. Rather than being bugged that my friend didn't say the right thing at the right time, I have tried to realize how much it means that they are at least trying! It's not easy to do all the time, in fact, usually I think of it after the fact, but I'm trying.

Another part I really loved was when Baker discussed the importance of personal power. Personal power comes from utilizing your strengths, living your moral values, and knowing who you are. Wow. That is a whole bunch of idealism for one sentence. But yes, my cynical friends, I believe it is TRUE! I mean, if we didn't try to live up to something, then we're not really living.

I guess that is what I love most about Baker's book; he tells us that the most important thing about life is living.

Doesn't that just sound happy? :]
Okay, sorry for the long posts. I just really liked the book.

goodreads.com

Okay, I love my internship. Is there anything better than getting a sweet resume builder that pushes me to explore new features of the internet and then write about it?! Man. I am so lucky.

Today as a result of my fantastic internship with the Internet Safety Project I discovered goodreads!

Okay, maybe I am just way behind in the world because this site apparently has over 3 million members and I have probably only heard of it once before. But, oh my gosh, it is SO COOL!

So basically you just review the books you've read and read other people's reviews of them. Sounds simple, but it is so much more! They have all of these features where you can look through really good quotes, take quizzes on certain books or just answer general trivia questions. You can create books groups and vote on your favorite books. You can become a fan of authors you like and (this is the best part in my opinion) see what books your favorite authors like!

Sometimes I get really sick of reading the classics that I should be reading and want to find something new but don't know where to look. This site is a great solution to that problem!

Does it sound like I'm advertising here? I am just a tiny bit. I have a new dream that my friends will get profiles at this site and then maybe we can easily share new books we like. I know this blog is suppose to help me do that (which I will continue), but I like the idea of a whole social network devoted to it!

So check it out! Be my friend! My username is emmasabaker.

Just to spice it up, here is one of my favorite young adult books ever by Sarah Dessen, who is on goodreads.
Check it out!

I So Wish I Could Dance...

I do not have cable.
This is very upsetting for me.

Why?
1. I cannot watch the world cup without first traversing through a number of shady websites that say they offer free live streaming, but in reality are loading up my sister's laptop with a number of viruses.
2. I have a habit of getting heavily addicted to a number of television shows. I frequently watch whole series in short periods of time. Most recently I have watched Bones nonstop on Netflix. At least with cable I am limited by schedules...without it I am subject to my whims and instant play. Not a good combo.
3. I cannot watch So You Think You Can Dance.

I love this show. The dancing is always incredible! The dancing is amazing because the contestants are actually talented (unlike Dancing With the Stars) and the dances are inspiring, we're talking Emmy award winning here.

I am not a dancer. I cannot Waltz without crushing the toes of my partner, I cannot Salsa without twisting myself into a pretzel, and I cannot break dance because I get dizzy easily and have a tender head. But let me tell you a secret...I wish I could dance so so so so badly.

I honestly believe dancing to be one of the most beautiful forms of art possible. It is the most basic form of communication and yet conveys some of the deepest emotions anyone has ever felt.

Here is one of my favorite dances of all time from So You Think You Can Dance. The choreographer created this Viennese Waltz to express the beauty of the world to his daughter who is severely handicapped at the hands of a terrible disease.



I just got chills.

Kindle: Cutting down the sensation of reading?

Don't you just love that new-book smell? You know it; that sweet sensation of fresh, never-creased paper that you know has been just recently sawed off the tree? The slightly tantalizing danger of potential paper cuts from the oh-so-sharp paper? Does it send shivers up your spine? Or maybe you go for that old-book feel. A little excitement always wafts in with those musty yellow colored pages, doesn't it? Don't your fingers tremble as you lift those ancient pages, knowing that someone years ago was reading the exact same thing?

No? 

Okay. Maybe I am exaggerating a bit. I mean, I guess no one really derives pleasure from potential paper cuts. But still, don't you just love books? 

I certainly do. I just ordered a copy of the major works of Gerard Manley Hopkins from Boarders, and definitely scared my sister with my cry of joy when it finally was shipped in the mail. My mom recently told me that she has a copy of poems by Orson Whitney published in the nineteenth century and I am nearly DYING to get my hands on it. 

And I know I am not alone in my obsession. As an English major I have a whole army of compadres in my flowering fetish for books. A girl in my creative writing class wrote a six-page-single-spaced essay on how much she loves the smell of books. When I went to my roommate Rebecca's house for the first time one of her first priorities was to show me her awesome collections of books. 

Books. Matter.

But does their form matter?

As I was working on my internship for the Internet Safety Project I did some research on a popular item -- the Kindle. The Kindle is an electronic reader, created by Amazon.com, that supposedly recreates the experience of reading in a digital form. No lie -- they use this technology called electronic ink that prevents glares that occur on regular screens. Lots of people love this $300 item and products such as the iPad are vying for some action on this electronic reading party.

But what about me? The average, very poor college student who is required to read more books in one semester than many people do throughout their high school career (and possibly post-grad?), what do I think?

I don't know. While I am now embracing all sorts of wonderful technological advances like, gasp!, blogging, I think it will be a lot harder to rip books from my cold, dead fingers. I love the smell of books, I like turning the pages and placing my book mark in the crease, so I know exactly where to pick up the next time. If I were a character in The Day After Tomorrow I would be the annoying library lady who says "You can't burn books!" even in the face of sure death (okay -- I would probably be Emmy Rossum first because she gets to kiss Jake Gyllenhal, but that's besides the point). Whenever I work on the computer for endless hours on research or my internship, my break involves looking at a book. Would a Kindle really offer my eyes the same release? Screens are slowly taking over my life -- can't I keep one thing sacred?

Okay, I am over reacting here. The Kindle does actually have some cool features like subscriptions to newspapers, and it would be really handy to not have to carry around textbooks everywhere, but just in case I ever do marry a millionaire and buy a Kindle, just know that there will be fifty new hardback, leather bound books to accompany sitting in my bedroom right next to it.

Oh, and a plug for my internship -- check out my article and more on the kindle.

More than one story...

So, while I have been studying for my final (which is taking place tomorrow, wish me luck!), I came across this website thanks to another student in my class.
http://www.ted.com/
TED is a non-profit organization that focuses on bringing together and spreading original and innovative ideas. They hold conferences where these ideas can be spoken, heard, and hopefully acted upon. On the website, TED provides the videos of the bests talks and performances for free so anyone can see them. Their mission, more than anything else is to spread ideas (open access here we come!).

I think this website is AMAZING. The topics TED videos cover spread from technology to literature to entertainment, and help me feel more connected to our hard-to-keep-up-with society.

Today I watched this video below, which talks about the danger of isolated experience, or as Chimamanda Adichie says "the danger of a single story."



I really appreciate this video, especially as an English education major at BYU. This video made me think about the BYU English curriculum. I am required to take three American literature courses, two British Literary courses, and one Shakespeare coarse. The rest of my English classes are electives such as Film and Literature. There are no requirements in my major for comparative literature, or international literature. As an education major I am only required to take one multicultural education class. If I wanted to, I could probably get through my college career without ever reading a book by an author from Africa or Asia.

Is that right? I mean, one can argue that recent American literature includes many other cultures, but they are still American. I was in an international program in High School, and I have just realized that I had more international exposure in the 10th grade alone than I have in all of my academic career at BYU. Is BYU producing English majors whose international interests span only to Britain and the East coast? Why don't we have more required international literature classes? Why have I never even heard of Chimamanda Adichie?
Wouldn't I make a better teacher if I understood the literature of other cultures beyond just one class? Shouldn't I have more than one class worth of exposure to multicultural learning if the students I am going to teach are going to be from other cultures themselves?

New Goal: Don't just read the classics, read everything. I want more than one story.

 

Lesson Plan: Gulliver's Travels

So, I wanted to continue with my lesson plans, because I think it will help me next Fall when I actually begin the teaching program.

However, these past few days have been pretty intense with the finals and what not, so I have just done some research online and found a few ideas on how to teach students Gulliver's Travels.
Here is what I found:

1. http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/gulliver/ 
I like this one because it emphasizes the themes of Gulliver's Travels, and points out Swift's commentary on society. Too often in high school students get caught up in the plot and forget that these books are talking about their own times. This is especially important in Gulliver's Travels where Swift's main purpose was to evaluate the society he lived in. I also like how this lesson plan employs other important texts to emphasize the importance of social commentary in literature.

2.http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/from-seuss-jonathan-swift-936.html
This one is less detailed, but I like it because it emphasizes defining Satire as a genre. By teaching students about the whole genre of satire and then using Swift as an example you give them the tools to identify other works that fall within that genre. I also really like the use of Dr. Seuss. While it may seem gimmicky, I remember in high school really enjoying the connections my teachers made to non-literary texts. Plus, who doesn't like a little Dr. Seuss every now and then?

Unfortunately, these were the only two useful links that I could find after searching for a bit. All of the other links or lessons plans cost money, like $20. Ugh. Frustrating. This is definitely a plug for open access.

 

Book Review: Shannon Hale

Typically, I am not into fantasy. Other than a little dabble with Harry Potter and Twilight (yes, I admit it) I have not ventured too far into the genre. This week however, I have been eating up Shannon Hale's Bayern series, Goose Girl, Enna Burning, and River Secrets. Add this to The Princess Academy and I have pretty much covered the young adult writings of Shannon Hale.

The books have a mildly cookie cutter feel to it. All of the books have a female protagonists with special abilities, usually involving nature. For example, Isi, the main character in Goose Girl,  can speak the language of the wind and birds. The only break is in River Secret, where the main character is actually male (although he does have a female counterpart who does have special ability). The plots are surrounded around these main females overcoming the impossible obstacles, etc., etc.
Don't get me wrong, the plots are definitely interesting; a surprising amount of political intrigue is involved. However, I don't dwell on the plot because it isn't Hale's strongest point. Without a doubt, the best part of Hale's writing is her character development. While the books are told from third person, Hale steps into the mind of her main characters with a third person limited view. She elaborates on their feelings of fear, intimidation, infatuation, and hope. And her characters, despite their supernatural abilities are actually pretty believable. Now, I admit that I am easily swayed by some good character development, but these characters were so endearing that I read two more books after the first one just to see them again.

Also, I think Hale did a good job with the setting. She didn't push the fantasy too far with a bunch of fantastical elements. And it was really cool how she developed the cultures of the various countries through subtle elements such as clothing, trading products, etc.

Really, Hale did a great job creating her world and characters. I recommend all of these books. Although I saw a few of her adult novels and they didn't look so good. Approach with caution.

Can I also mention that Hale is a Mormon author? A good Mormon author? THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Proclamation:

I

AM

IDEALISTIC.

"Hallelujah"

You know how sometimes you just come across the right song?

I do.

I was sitting in the Library on Thursday, plugging away at research when this song came on my Pandora station. It was just, perfect. I looked it up on playlist.com and listened to it at least 20 times. I've listened to it several times everyday since.

I'm not exactly sure why this song has struck me so much. I did some research and originally "Hallelujah" was written by Leonard Cohen in 1984. It has since been remade by Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, John Cale, Kate Voegele (the version I love), and several others. It was recently performed by Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris during the Hope For Haiti telethon. It has also been used on TV shows such as House, The West Wing, and more.

As far as the lyrics, Cohen said of them: "All the perfect and broken Hallelujahs have an equal value. It's a desire to affirm my faith in life, not in some formal religious way but with enthusiasm, with emotion."

I like that.

Anyway, here is a recording of the Kate Voegele version:



Sometimes, songs just speak to me. I hope they do to you too.

Nightmares and Leeches

So, I hear the trend is the older you get the less nightmares you have. This is definitely not true in my case.

Exhibit A:

Last night I had a really creepy nightmare. I was in my old bedroom back in Charlotte. It was the one I shared with my sister Andrea. Some of the details were really vivid. I was laying in bed with the covers up to my chin when I felt something wriggle under my right arm, close to my arm pit. I lifted the covers and I saw a leech attached to my arm. It was kind of small for a leech, and closely resembled a large caterpillar. I screamed. I tried to pull the leech off, but it was already attached to my skin, sucking my blood. That was weird. I could feel the leech sucking the blood from my body. I pulled harder, and harder until the body of the leech ripped off, but the head stayed attached. I remember the head. It was covered in blood. 

I was really scared, and suddenly I realized that there could be more. I lifted the covers off further and they started appearing. Out of thin air, one appeared on my neck, another on my left forearm and another on my right calf. I started panicking. 

Then I woke up. I was way freaked out, so I lifted my covers and checked everywhere for the leeches. I thought for sure they would show up. Ugh. Even now, when it seems so far away, I still feel like it could happen. When I saw a spider in the bathroom this morning, I screamed. 

I have never had a nightmare about leeches before. I don't think I've ever dreamed about bugs actually. Usually my nightmares involve tornadoes, or someone dying, or something I dread - like the guy I like at the time hooking up with my best friend - stuff like that. These leeches seem out of place. 

I looked up a few dream interpretations online, the one below was the most comprehensive. Do I buy it? Not really. However, I do think dreams can sometimes hold meaning, especially if we pay attention to them. What do you think? Do you think I have any friends harboring ill feelings towards me? Is a strange illness in my future? Do my leeches mean anything? Should I pay attention to my many nightmares?

Leeches in your dream bear a double significance: as energy and positive emotions' drainers - and here we have a negative significance - or, when used for medicinal purposes, as tools to help us improve our life and condition.

If in your dream you see leeches glued against your skin who suck out your blood and make you weaker, they stand for things, situations or people in your waking life that drain you out of your energy and resources and do not let you 'function' properly. The leeches may also stand for negative emotions and overall pessimism which dominates you and keeps you from evolving. You should try to eliminate these 'leeches' from your life if you want to achieve happiness and attain all your goals more quickly.

If you see your body covered all up in leeches which hurt you this means that the little sticky and disgusting animals represent your remorses or the 'stains' on your soul, your feelings of guilt, regret etc. Or that you are simply not at all satisfied with your body.

Leeches which bite you in your dream may also forewarn you of hidden danger which lurks just around the corner and is anxiously waiting to attack you. This may refer to false friends who plan treachery on you or to unhappy events to come up soon in your life. One way or the other, if not extremely careful, you will meet sorrow, grief and disappointment soon.

On the other hand, we should not forget that leeches have been used since centuries ago to drain infection from a sick body and make an individual healthy again. Therefore, the leeches may be the tools to 'suck out' the negative emotions and pessimism out of you and let you in a positive state of mind which is going to further allow you to accomplish and fulfill all your dreams and ideals.

But leeches against your body in order to cure you may also announce poor health and sickness. If they are glued against your body, this means that you are going to suffer soon from health disorders and if the leeches are stuck against the body of your friends, then they will experience ill health and complications.  http://www.inoutstar.com/dream-interpretation/leeches-165.html

People Who Matter

In high school I was a part of the ECHO Foundation. It is an organization created by Elie Wiesel, meant to spread awareness of human suffering around the world. In the eleventh grade I had to amazing opportunity to go and actually hear Elie Wiesel speak to about three hundred high school students from the Charlotte area. Before we went to see him speak, we read his book, Night.

For those of you who have not read Night, please do. It is a recount of Wiesel's experience surviving in a concentration camp. Elie Wiesel suffered through things that I could barely read. Yet, he lived, and more importantly he shared his story, he started organizations, he fights against the horrors he faced. Hearing him speak was remarkable. His hair splayed across his head, in an fashion quite similar to Einstein. His European accent was thick, although I could understand every word. I remember how he laughed when one of the students asked a really stupid question. I loved that. He didn't pretend like the question was intelligent, or even made sense, he just laughed. Years later I still remember that sensation of inspiration, that momentum that built up inside of me as I listened to him begging us students to make a difference.

Elie Wiesel isn't the only man who made a difference; Nelson Mandela, Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa. They made a difference; they changed the very fabrics of the worlds they have been born into; they rip the seams and created something better.

But you know what? They aren't the only ones. Has anyone ever read Three Cups of Tea? That is another fantastic book where the author, Greg Mortensen, really made a difference by building schools in Pakistan (I got to meet him in high school as well). There are lots of people like Mortensen.

But you know what else? Even people like Mortensen aren't the only ones. I can think of twenty people right now who have dramatically changed my life, just by being examples.

You know what all of these people have in common?
They care about human life. The ones who have really changed the world around them, who have really changed me, care about people. They know, unlike so many others, that when a person dies, anywhere in the world, a ripple runs through. Or when a person suffers unnecessarily whether from hunger on the streets, or starvation in Africa, it matters. They know that people everywhere hurt, and that pain matters.

I think the older I get, the more I know that as well. I'm glad there are people to teach me.

A logo from Elie Wiesel's organization, The Echo Foundation

Poem!

So, here is a little poem I wrote for my creative writing class. I was channeling Ezra Pound when I wrote this :)
Let me know what you think!


Romance

Red-lipped flowers droop
Beneath frost, born of night,
And kiss the blades
Of spring-green grass, who reach
To return the favor.

                     Red Poppies in Grass painting by Luiza Vizoli 

The moment I knew I was going to be an English Teacher...

Today for my class I read some material by Francis Bacon and John Locke. As I was reading I just couldn't help but wonder how on earth these guys started thinking about this stuff...I mean, really, when did Francis Bacon decide to redefine the scientific method? When did he decide to work in science to begin with? Was he a prodigy? Or maybe it came to him with time?

I don't know.

But this got me thinking about my own life...(as all great literature does)
When did I decide I wanted to be an English teacher? Was it really at the beginning of Winter semester when I changed my major from history because I figured out that I get better grades in English classes than I do in History classes? Was my future really determined by a lower decimal point on my GPA?

No.
I remember when I first realized that I could make English my life, and it is actually a pretty cool story.

I approached my last day of AP English in anticipation. That class was one of the best classes I had taken, all because of my teacher, Mrs. Pasli. I could never figure out if she died her hair that deep redish-purplish color or if it was just a natural representation of the intense passion she held for literature; I figured God knew that red hair matched perfectly with the voice that had stirred up the words of King Lear in my mind until they finally made sense, and, more importantly, meant something.
I sought all year to earn Mrs. Pasli's respect. I actually read every single book assigned, I agonized over the practice essays we wrote in class, I studied endlessly for the AP test in hopes that I might not let her down and get that coveted 5. I needed, thirsted, and almost begged for her to notice me and respect me as a student.
The night before that last class, I realized that I earned it.

It was senior awards night, and I wasn't expecting much. I was number six in my class (or seven? I've forgotten), so I sat on the stage with the other over achievers while the awards were dolled out for the best football players, best musicians, best academics. As I sat on the stage watching the other students receive their awards I felt doomed to mediocrity. Then, Mrs. Pasli took the stage to give the award for the best English student. I didn't pay attention. I knew that my best friend, Lori, had been doing much better in the class, and I thought for sure she was a shoe-in for the award. I prepared myself for another "And the award goes too..."

But Mrs. Pasli broke tradition. Instead of just handing out the award, she talked about passion, about how an English class was, more than anything, about passion for literature. And, she said, there was one student who had shown true passion for literature.
She called my name.
Stunned is a great way of expressing my sentiments. Overwhelmingly joyous is probably better. She respected me! She knew I existed! Mrs. Pasli knew I cared!

She gave me a hug after the ceremony and whispered "I have something for you tomorrow in class."
So the next day, I was eager. Throughout the class I kept imagining what my gift was. My first guess was a book, or maybe a gift card to get a book. Or maybe it would just be a pep talk. I didn't know, but I counted down the minutes nonetheless.

Mrs. Pasli called my name as class ended and the other students were walking out. As I approached her she pulled out a small red-velvet bag with white draw string. From it, she took a golden chain with an attached pendant. The pendant, I noticed, had "ENGLISH" engraved on it and a few golden books engraved above.
"This," she said "was the English award I received my senior year of high school. It has traveled with me across the world, and I hope it does the same with you."

And I knew I would be an English teacher. Now I did get distracted for a time with thoughts of a career in History (which is now my minor), but I figured it out in the end. When Mrs. Pasli gave me that pendant, she taught me that teaching English not only offered the opportunity to engender passion for literature in students, but the chance to become someone who students could look up to, grow from and maybe, if I'm lucky, actually love. My passion, like Bacon's for the scientific method, was found and has been my goal ever since.

Study Guide: Renaissance

Sorry to all other readers, but I have to take care of things for my Brit Lit class. Here is a study guide for the Renaissance Unit.

But this makes me think, what are the study habits people usually have? I have to study for hours in advance usually, and I have to write everything down, usually in the form of a study guide that I can hopefully use for the final. Does anyone else have new ways to study? I would love some new ideas to spice up this incredibly time consuming part of my life.

Renaissance Study Guide

Themes & Ideas

Humanism & Rhetoric

-Humanism (philosophy): "Man is the measure of all things" Man is God's crowning creation and therefore to be emphasized and gloried in.
                -Christian Humanism: Focus on Man's personal relation with God. Man as a reflection of God. (Translates to man protestant ideas)
                -Man can become as God; self-fashioning, self-reliance (Paradise Lost- Satan). But man can possibly push it too far (Dr. Faustus).
-Humanism (education): Emphasis on RHETORIC
                -Erasmus: great Humanist teacher, De Copia, manual to Humanist teaching, used amplification, debate, made language a game.

 - Lorenzo Valla: expert in philology; published On the Donation of Constantine, proved that the document was false using solely linguistic analysis.

                -Queen Elizabeth: taught by Roger Askum (trained by Erasmus), taught the art of Humanist rhetoric. Used in her “Golden Speech,” established ethos, logos, and pathos.

                -Listed Characteristics: secular, neo-Latin, based in literature, Focus on classical literature (Cicero, Vergil, Homer), Rhetoric emphasized over Grammar and Logic.

                -emphasized Imitation

                -Shakespeare an example of Humanist education; “To be or not to be” an amplification

                -also emphasized Oratorical education, would hold open debates, etc.

New Worlds

-Literally: age of exploration began during the Renaissance

-Beginning of travel writing; Sir Walter Raleigh

                -exaggeration

                -conquest

                -ideal

                -“the other”

-Encouraged new literary forms; as people could explore new geographical worlds, they could also explore new literary worlds (Herbert, Sonnet, Faustus, Reformation)

-emphasized the importance and power of language: style of language determines style of society?

-encouraged the organization of language (increase the art of rhetoric)

-Utopia

                -Sir Thomas More

                -Ambiguous, flaws shown in both Utopia and society

                -U-topia = no place or Eu-topia = good place

                -example of how conversation (or rhetoric) leads to debate

                -As things began to change in Renaissance world people naturally sought for something better or new in society (and perhaps even in their literature?)

Protestant Reformation

-Prepared for: John Wycliffe, Lorenzo de Valla, Gutenburg Printing press, Erasmus (translation from Greek to Latin), John Calvin

-Vernacular translation of the Bible

                -John Wycliffe: Lollard Bible

                -Erasmus: New Testament translation (imitated techniques learned from Valla)

                -Luther: German translation

                -Tyndale’s English translation (1525)

                - Geneva Bible (1560): chapters/verses, more readable, more transportable, open to masses

                - King James Version (1611): most based on Tyndale

-Colet v. Latimer

                -Colet: pre-reformation, clerical, logos, authoritative, diplomatic, lacks personality, given in Latin, more Catholic

                -Latimer: 1548, post-reformation, higher tensions, English, popular venue, organized around conceit, pathos, alliteration, personification, smaller metaphors, self-effacing, more protestant in nature

-Donne: devotional poetry, Satire 3: conflict between which church is right and the motivations behind new church members

-Henry VIII: divorces from church for a personal divorce

-New religious art developed; the emphasis on personal relationships with God influenced protestants to have more personal reflections within their literature (George Herbert "Jordan 2"). 

Print Culture & Vernacular Literacy

-Gutenburg printing press

-Translations of the Bible into the vernacular (see above)

-More wide spread literacy resulted in development of literary canons, enabled people to have a collection of written works to which they could respond.

-Pamphlet craze as a means of political motivation (Milton's Aeropagitica)

Wit

-The Renaissance emphasis on eloquence, or the ability to present a concept in a new or innovative manner.

-Think metaphysical poetry:

            -Donne: "The Flea," the Holy Sonnets, creating new connections 

            -Herbert: "The Alter" "Easter Wings" experimenting with new forms of poetry

-Development of new print form, with which poets could play with as a reflection of their poetry (Herbert, "The Alter" and "Easter Wings")

-Sonnets carried around in small books, The Book of Common Prayer; literature becomes more transportable and therefore more influential on everyday people. 

-Literature, and literacy becomes more personal; reinforces the personal habits developed as a result of the Reformation

Court Culture

-Henry VIII: Various reactions to his political take over of the church; Thomas More executed as a result.

            -With Henry's change, followed an era of inconsistency in the monarch in regards to religion; Edward: protestant, Mary: catholic, Elizabeth: protestant (Elizabeth was the most religiously tolerant, said that as long as people went to church they could believe whatever they wanted). 

-Elizabeth: educated in a Humanist manner, therefore used rhetoric in her political affiliations

            -Some artists not in favor with court; Philip Sidney (disliked by Elizabeth, found more favor with James)

-Stuarts: ushered in a new era of political tension as conflict erupted between the monarch and parliament. Resulted in the civil war (effects seen in Paradise Lost)

            -Rise of Parliament: Aeropagitica

-Also some cultural cues found in Sir Walter Raleigh's letter to the queen

Sonnets!!!

Okay. This is my sonnet. I don't like it very much. I wrote one a little over a year ago that I like a lot more. I will post both up here.


I really love sonnets. The first time I remember hearing about sonnets was in A Wrinkle In Time. 


Mrs. Whatsit asked Calvin, "In your language you have a form of poetry called the sonnet...There are fourteen lines, I believe, all in iambic pentameter. And each line has to end with a rigid rhyme pattern. And if the poet does not do it exactly this way it is not a sonnet, is it? But within this strict form the poet has complete freedom to say whatever we wants, doesn't he?"
Calvin responded, "You mean you're comparing our lives to a sonnet? A strict form but freedom within it?" 
"Yes." Mrs. Whatsit said, "You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you." (198)


For some reason this always stuck out in my mind as a really excellent representation of what is impossibly cool about sonnets. 

Here are my sonnets:


O night has come while still my search prolonged
An strain my eyes I must 'gainst gath'ring haze.
I stumble, my path, once clear, now thronged
With fog that clouds my mind 'til in a daze.
I lay my head upon the cobbled stone
For no new steps can take these weary feet. 
Alone I lay, soft rain does batter my bones.
I hold no hope for kindly man to meet.
But wait, what light has pierced this blinding mist?
And what is this that strokes my rain soaked head?
A hand, but whose? Now pulled up by the wrist
I stand, with strength newfound, my fear now shed.
I look about, my savior sudd'nly gone,
Yet now I step, my prior fears withdrawn.


I've fallen from the saving light of day
In dismal deep, my feeling's fallen short
Now numb I sit, awaiting slow decay
A mocking drink serves steward to my sport.
The liquid's bitter with the taste of ash,
With every sip, another shard of glass
That cuts my tongue and leaves a telling lash.
Oh heart, don't fear the cuts to come to pass
For surely there is still a ways to fall.
And though this drink goes down with burning ache,
There's one more cup, most bitter of them all.
Though prone to doubt, with fear about to break,
Take, heart, this cup will prove they saving grace,
and let the holder lift your weary face.


I also thought I would share my very favorite sonnet, which I have recently discovered:


Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you
As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend ;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy ;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.


Have you ever tried to write a sonnet? Do you find it more difficult than free verse? 
Is anyone else as fascinated as I am by the ability of poets to play with language and create innovative images within a very strict form.