Mutant Pigs!

[annundriel]

Intertextuality is possibly the first time I've had a class and have not spent at least 15 minutes (all together) glancing at the clock. Today I didn't even think about the time until it was practically over. Love it.

We've moved on to John Donne. I love Donne.

The Apparition.

When by thy scorne, O murdresse, I am dead,
And that thou thinkst thee free
From all solicitation from mee,
Then shall my ghost come to thy bed,
And thee, fain'd vestall in worse armes shall see;
Then thy sicke taper will begin to winke,
And he, whose though art then, being tyr'd before,
Will, if thou stirre, or pinch to wake him, thinke
Thou call'st for more,
And in false sleepe will from thee shrinke,
And then poore Aspen wretch, neglected thou
Bath'd in a cold quicksilver sweat wilt lye
A veryer ghost than I,
What I will say, I will not tell thee now,
Lest that preserve thee'; and since my love is spent,
I'had rather thou shouldst painfully repent,
Then by my threatnings rest still innocent.

Heh. So funny.

Also really like the Lucille Clifton poetry we've read.

the story thus far

so they went out
clay and morning star
following the bright back
of the woman

as she walked past
the cherubim
turning their fiery swords
past the winged gate

into the unborn world
chaos fell away
before her like a cloud
and everywhere seemed light

seemed glorious
seemed very eden

We looked at her Lucifer/Creation story related poems and they're all very provocative. I really like these re-workings of the Creation story. I may even have to (re-)read Paradise Lost.

I also like Clifton's Superman poems. I was going to say "particularly this one" in regards to the one behind the cut, but now that I look at all of them, that's not entirely true.

note, passed to superman

sweet, jesus superman,
if i had seen you
dressed in your blue suit
i would have known you.
maybe that choirboy clark
can stand around
listening to stories
but not you, not with
metropolis to save
and every crook in town
flithy with kryptonite.
lord, man of steel,
i understand the cape,
the leggings, the whole
ball of wax.
you can trust me,
there is no planet stranger
than the one i'm from.

I think I'm going to use her series of poems about Lazarus from my pretext analysis paper.

*

Spent yesterday re-watching my SGA tapes. Stopped partway through "Letters From Pegasus." I love that episode, like, a lot. Think I finally figured out the movement of the Ancients that had me confused for a bit. (Earth --> get sick --> Pegasus --> get Wraith --> back to Earth.) At least I think I get it now.

Gotta go to Theology. Wonder if we'll talk about the new Pope...?

Comments

[trademybike.livejournal.com]

We're tackling Donne in McDowell's Renaissance Lyric and the man (Donne, that is) drives me batty, in a good way. His poetry is... well, interesting, to say the least. Most of it I understood (we read all songs and sonnets, some elegies, and other miscellaneous stuff) and now we're reading the prose that was thought to be written at the time when he had typhus and thought he was dying.... Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions. I read half of it last night for class today and I have so many notes in the margins and so much highlighting. For once, I felt like I was the only one that understood the stuff because McDowell said it was really heavy and hard to understand. You'll realize how disallusioned I was once I realized I didn't know what the hell I was talking about.... hehe

Oh John Donne... you loony loony bastard. :}

[annundriel.livejournal.com]

I like Donne because there are so many layers to it. You can enjoy some of it as just hilarious and bawdy and then look at it again and see some real human insight or some deep spirituality or whatever.


But, yes, he's a nutty bastard. :)

Have you seen the movie Wit with Emma Thompson? It's about a professor who's expertise is in Donne. She's dying of cancer and dealing with all of that stuff he likes to write about later in life. I think that was my first exposure to Donne...It's a gooooood movie. We're going to read the play and then watch it. I'm going to bawl and make a fool of myself infront of my classmates. It'll be great.

donne is a cool guy

[(Anonymous)]

i`m right now taking an english lit. class, where we just saw Donne, Shakespeare, Herbert, Herrick, and we are gonna check out John Milton tonight, it`s VERY interesting, i love it. I loved Shakespeare, i think those guys are really geniuses. :D

check out my blog if u want, i like to write and i post it over there. http://oddwords.blogspot.com

please tell me if u liked it! :) i sure don`t write as them, but i wanna get better :( bye!!! :)

Rodolfo

Re: donne is a cool guy

[annundriel.livejournal.com]

In my experience, English lit classes can be either really great or incredibly boring. Your's sounds more like the first one. :) I don't think I've ever read Herbert before. Milton's very interesting.

I also really like Alexander Pope. He's a bit later (18th century), but he's wonderful to read.

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd

I read some of your poetry. I really like how some of it just flows. I'm hopeless when it comes to writing poetry.