LitMUSE

When reading poetry, particularly a new and difficult poem, you might need a bit of help accessing it. Consider the following questions as guides for beginning to understand poetry. Answers to these questions can be used as the basis of classroom or forum discussions.

What do you know about speaker of this poem?
Describe what is happening. [...]

As we head into midterm, I just wanted to give you some reminders before you’re off to spring break.
The drop date is this Wednesday, March 3. I would recommend speaking to me before dropping, especially if you’re unsure about your standing my the class.
I’d like to say a few words about my World Lit class’ [...]

Another aspect to consider when writing about literature is getting your quotations correct. When incorporating quotations from poems into your writing, you must keep the lines exactly as the poet has set them down. Remember, this is what a quotation is: an exact reproduction of the original writing. Take, for example, this quotation from Pope:
What [...]

The following links are my notes about some of the literary theory that we’re discussing this semester. They are offered as thoughts about our readings, not definitive interpretations of these challenging texts. I will likely be adding to this list all semester, but you might wish to subscribe to the Humanities Index RSS feed.

Plato’s Republic: Book X Notes
Plato’s [...]

I have posted the final exam for my World Literature 1 online section. The exam is in two parts: part one is an objective exam that will test your knowledge of vocabulary, themes, characters, and other literary elements associated with our texts this term. Part two will ask you to answer ten questions about the [...]

For my World Literature 1 (ENGL 2111) online class: I am working on getting an alternate version of the Jason and the Argonauts video posted, as well as a production of Medea. I hope to have these up by early next week. Sorry for the delay.

By this point, all students in my online World Literature I class (ENGL 2111) should have complete two units: Gilgamesh and the Iliad. What follows are just some random notes on the class’ progress.
Generally, you all are doing your reading, as evidenced by fairly strong performance on the quizzes. Keep up the good work.
On the [...]

In posting to the forum, please keep the following in mind. Please note: a “forum” contains “posts” or, even more accurately, “threads.”
Write using paragraphs. No big blocks of rambling text. Yes, this is an informal response, but you must still consider good writing. Have a point to make; this is called a thesis statement in [...]

An ironic literary creation detailing the defeat of decency and virtue and the triumph of folly or vice. The work may utilize any literary form — either fictional or nonfictional — relying heavily upon parody, paradox, and anti-climax, and is usually infused with wit and high spirits. Because of its mix of jaunty vigor and [...]