D. H. Lawrence in the Classroom

“Readers are made, not born” (Chen)

In the British Literature class, we have been studying many authors and their works, and also one approach to working with literature: the Reader-Response. As I study English pedagogy, one of my main objectives is to incorporate literature in the class. I am very interested in working with literature in the EFL classroom and transmit my passion for literature to my students. The above quote can be explained as the need of introducing literature to students so that they can become good readers. Therefore, giving reading assignments is not enough, so we have to work and deal with literature in the class and help our students grow interested in reading. Consequently, the Reader-Response approach is essential and the most appropriate when my goal is to make readers. In this essay, I will use “The Virgin and the Gypsy” by D.H. Lawrence. I will briefly explain what the reader response is and what the short story’s main plot is. Afterwards, with this piece of art, I will provide various activities that can be used in the EFL classroom.

The Reader-Response approach is the most appealing to me because people get to bring themselves into their own readings. Readers’ experiences play a fundamental role in interpreting and understanding any piece of literature. This approach can be defined as the approach which emphasizes the individual as a reader—responder, the role of the reader as a re-creator who with his/her experience, previous readings, thoughts and feelings enrich any text. Also, the reader interacts with the text mainly because of the objectives of this approach such as encouraging individual readers to feel comfortable with their responses to a literary text, encouraging them to understand themselves better by giving arguments to their responses which will make them be aware of themselves (Chen).

“The Virgin and the Gypsy” is by definition a short story which makes it more accessible for high school students because it contains only one main plot and the language is easy to understand. The main plot of the story is the connection between the girl, Yvette, and the gypsy and the circumstances under which they met. We can also see that she and her sister had problems in her house especially with her aunt Cissie because they could not understand how this lady interfered with everything in the house. They also had to deal with the absence of their mother who left with a younger man. This story is a very accessible one because it is simple and easy to read. We need to consider our students’ proficiency level so that they do not feel overwhelmed by a piece of literature that is too complex for them.

By using the Reader-Response, we are compelled to include the student centered classroom. Most of the activities that I will briefly present need to be developed through group work and the teacher plays the role of a monitor and a guide in the class. This story can be used in the EFL classroom quite easily. We could be using this story for various classes and with many different activities. At the beginning they can build mind maps with characters’ relationships; that will make reading more understandable (Buehl, 2000). That would be the very first glance to the story. This process is completely necessary so that students do not get confused with the story or the characters.

Later on, we can focus on the story by asking different types of questions such as: factual or memory questions, interpretation questions, application questions and evaluation questions (Chen). So that understanding is clearer we should begin by asking factual or memory questions in order to make sure they do know the story and can later on provide an opinion with strong arguments about certain issues by including information and examples from the text. According to what I want to accomplish, the most suitable questions to be used would be application questions because students will draw on their own experiences because they will be relating the story to their personal lives. Their personal responses are essential for answering these questions.

Another activity in order to include this short story into the classroom is by asking our students to role-play different scenes or parts of the text (Chen). This is always fun and challenging for the students because they like to participate in the class. Through this activity, they will be able to show their own interpretations and maybe provide a twist to the plot. They should have as most liberty as possible and be able to disagree with what the writer decided to write in the story.

With “The Virgin and the Gypsy”, students can be asked to write several response journals to different questions so that they can prepare themselves for a conversation class because “selected readings have great potential for stimulating conversation, because once students are exposed to a given reading, they have a new fund of information that can be used as a departure point for discussion” (Dobson, 2005). The idea is that I decide on a few topics that are interesting and accessible from the reading so that students, after being assigned and prepared one topic, can participate in a discussion in groups where they can discuss the different topics presented in the story.

The last activity I proposed for including this story in class is creating their own stories (Chen). They can be about the story itself, for example a different ending or something related to relationships between gypsies and people from other races. This would be a long process and I would include many revisions and editing. They can read each others’ stories and make comments and adjustments on how to improve the plot or the writing. The most remarkable characteristic of writing their own stories is that it makes the writing exercise more meaningful for students (Chen) since they will have freedom for writing and creating whatever that appeals to them.

As a conclusion, I can say that we should always try to find time to include literature in the class. The stories we can access can be of any kind as long as they are adequate for our students’ skills in the language. As you can see, the activities are quite varied and easy to develop because you only need to engage your students with the different processes. By using the Reader-Response approach students will be encouraged to provide their opinions about what they read and the process will not be as that of reading for a comprehension test. They will be reading for learning, for getting to know themselves better and for growing.

Bibliography

Buehl, Doug. Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning. Delaware: International Reading Association, 2000.

Chen, Chi-Fen Emily. Teaching Literature to Children. <http://www2.nkfust.edu.tw/~emchen/CLit/Teaching.htm>.

Dobson, Julia. Effective Techniques for English Conversation Groups. Washington: United States Information Agency, 2005.

Outline

D. H. Lawrence in the Classroom

1. Introduction
2. Reader Response Approach
3. The Virgin and the Gypsy
4. Activities
5. Conclusion

Invasion to Poland

I really liked the poem “September 1, 1939” by Auden. I liked it because it is a very political poem. It deals with the feelings of the people when the Second World War began. After reading it, I felt touched by his way of expressing the fear of each family, mother, father, child and people in general of the uncertainty of never knowing what will happen with the country and themselves. This highly connected with the idea of the governments making decisions across Europe which did not consider people’s opinion. The hopelessness was so immense and it is like that when you know that no matter what you think or do, nothing is going to change and nothing is in your hands. In the poem, Auden is questioning many things that we as humans have done wrong. For example, he questions that humans are always craving for what they cannot have. Nowadays, it is seen that we are craving for what the advertisements in the mass media are offering. Many times we cannot have everything and our priorities are not well arranged because we do not prioritize education and health in order to buy the new flat screen.

In conclusion, I would definitely use this poem as a cross-curricular activity with the History subject when students are being taught the World Wars.

Oscar: A boy alone in the city

While I was reading Oscar’s entry, I was remembering one time when I was at the subway station and a person had fallen to the rails. I heard some other people saying:” couldn’t he throw himself somewhere else or at another time”. Oscar’s perception of why we do not see children wandering around the city is pretty similar to my understanding of the dehumanized world we live in.

It is true that sometimes hopelessness of getting a job leads people to steal. However, we should encourage our students to go to the last honest and legitimate resource to face the situation instead of committing crimes. It is hard, but otherwise it can be considered as encouraging the students to do illegal deeds.

I also think that sometimes we have to create opportunities for our students so that they can become autonomous subjects who can create their own opportunities as well. Our teaching will make our students be better able to face the society we live in and then their opportunity of changing it will come.

I really liked Oscar’s entry because it really made me consider topics present in Oliver Twist as well as different things we see daily. It is really interesting to see how he relates everything to our Chilean society and ,at the end, that makes it more real.

The Waste Land

As part of our course, we read T.S. Eliot. He was an American poet who later changed his nationality to British. He as many others experienced war in an England which was very involved in it. After reading Eliot’s poem “The Waste Land”, I felt quiet shocked and confused.

Shocked simply because it is amazing to see in one poem how the war affected people’s lives specially in Europe. Here we understand the concept of existentialism. After the war, people were left with a feeling of nothingness. There was nothing in their hands to change their lives or society: all decisions were made by others.

I felt confused because Eliot presented a new way of writing. The sudden change of settings and narrators makes the poem very confusing, but, at the same time, a very rich one. During the different stanzas we can see that the settings are constantly changing. For example, in the first stanza, he begins in spring and unpredictably changes to summer.

Another feature present in the poem in the incorporation of other languages because he includes most of European people and countries in the concept of the waste land. Therefore, using different languages makes us understand the point he was trying to make.

I am now left with a feeling of lack of understanding. There is definitely much more to understand in this poem and I have not been able to get it. I guess, I need to work more with this poem, so that I finally understand it.

Lawrence Himself

In my opinion, D. H. Lawrence has an exquisite way of writing. It was so easy to read his stories: “The rocking horse winner” and “Odour of Chrysanthemums”. I very much enjoyed them.

It is also very interesting to see how most of his writings are autobiographical. Consequently, the fact that most of his male characters, particularly the man of the house, are miners is not coincidental. His father was a miner; therefore, he transmits that and puts his early life setting and context into his stories. We can see this especially in “Sons and Lovers”, one of his greatest novels and probably his most autobiographical one and in “Odour of Chrysanthemums”.

He also played with premonitions in both the stories. The sense of premonition is presented in “The rocking horse winner” every time the child rides the horse and hears the name of the winning horse. In “Odour of Chrysanthemums”, he introduces premonition when the wife feels something is wrong with his husband’s arrival. I really liked that in these stories.

In conclusion, male characters as miners and the small miner town as settings are definitely landmarks to his works.

Jane Austen

For a long time, I have been a fan of Jane Austen’s novels. I have read almost all of them, and I really admire her for everything she accomplished. Virginia Woolf made me appreciate Jane Austen much more than I did. Woolf was the author I needed to support me in my enjoyment of Austen.

Jane Austen lived in a time where women could be nothing but daughters and housewives. She was a writer in a time where nothing could be expected out of a woman. However, she wrote 6 of the most beautiful novels in English although she had no money and no room. She is world-wide recognized and dearly loved. Woolf states in many parts of her essay that Jane Austen proved the world, and men, that women could perfectly write as good as men. In some extent, Woolf compares Austen to Mozart in the following quote: “For while Jane Austen breaks from melody to melody as Mozart from song to song...” Therefore her genius is as Mozart’s or Shakespeare’s, to whom she also compares Jane Austen.

“Here was a woman (Jane Austen) about the year 18oo writing without hate, without bitterness, without fear, without protest, without preaching.” Thus, Jane Austen could write as the best of men and none of her conditions such as having no room, being poor, being interrupted and being a woman interfered in the complexity and richness of her writing.

19th century or 21st century?

As we have seen in class, London back in the Victorian age suffered many changes especially because of the modernity which has its roots on industrialization. London’s population increased more than the double in the 19th century because the employment market was at the big towns like London. One of the big issues of the time was the amount of population and overcrowding which was very well depicted in the movie "Oliver Twist" . We could see how so many people were at the markets and streets. Parks were also full, and over 10 people inhabited a house. What is more shocking was to see so many children alone in the streets. My question is: were they orphans just as Oliver? In the movie, we could see all the children that lived with Fagin and “worked” for him stealing. That sounds familiar. How many kids do we see “working” for other older people in the streets of Santiago? Or how many children are used as hooks for people to give them money?
All these issues depicted in “Oliver Twist” are present until today, and we can see them by just taking a Transantiago bus, subway or by going to Ahumada Street. It is almost incredible to believe that after over 150 years we still have the same problems in society.

Premonition

I must admit I still cannot understand what “The Signal-Man” is about. Anyhow, I could relate some of its key words while discussing it in the class.

The opposition between isolation and community was well depicted in the story by using this box in a trench and the train which moved from one city to another full of passengers that traveled to be in the community of their relatives or acquaintances.

Again, we could see that the fear of the unknown is very present at the story in the character of the signal man. He could not decipher this supernatural phenomenon of seeing a ghost warning him. At the end, I could understand the visions as a premonition of what would happen next.

I would relate the character of the ghost and the premonition with the Grimm in Harry Potter since it has the same effect. Seeing the Grimm was a premonitory sign of your death. As we have discussed all writers include references to previous works of others. We can see that in almost every literary work. Anyway, I really liked the story because it was continually playing with our own fears, and it kept the mystery until the very end.

Junior

I felt very nostalgic while I was reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I think it is a heartbreaking story because for most of the time I felt very sympathetic with the creature. While I was enjoying the story, I realized of many things that happen every day in our lives. Among many things, the story has proved that humans need to live in society with other humans. The story has also proved that rejection can cause many problems in the minds of the people. Frankenstein was “born” and was abandoned by its own creator. This abandonment caused him to feel rejected although he continued trying to find good people that could accept him. He found a small family in a cottage and during a long period of time they were his family. But, when he encouraged himself to go see them, he encountered rejection again. His need of being in society made him seek for people who could accept him. However, this need of being accepted and in the company of other people disappeared after being rejected by several people again and again. He also found that he had no roots, he came from no place, and he had no name: he was not as the rest of the people. He began thinking that he should make his creator pay for what he suffered. Rejection made him be revengeful and this is shown in our society. Children who have suffered a great deal of problems and abandonment show themselves to be, in the worst of cases, criminals. I think Frankenstein is a story that leaves so much room for discussion. It definitely provides food for thought since you can easily identify problems that are present in the story which still happen nowadays. It would be great to bring Frankenstein to the classroom and discuss many of the issues depicted in the plot such as: identity, self-esteem, marginalization, family and regret.
I very much enjoyed reading Frankenstein junior story.

Moon

“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” represents what people feel when they have a little treasure. In Wordsworth’s case: Daffodils were his treasure. If we start asking people what is something very special for them they will come up with the most strange and peculiar things. Therefore, I could draw to a conclusion: Daffodils were to Wordsworth what the moon is to me. Whenever I feel sad or happy or excited, I look at the moon and it sooths me. It is an enriching feeling which overcomes solitude, and I think it is how the poet felt when he gazed at the crowd of daffodils. It is clear that the poet had a very close relationship as well as all the other romantic poets with nature. In his poem, he mentions various elements of nature such as cloud, hills, daffodils, lake, trees, stars, Milky Way, bay and waves. Nature was a key element of all the romantic poets, and it is absolutely clear that Wordsworth rejoiced with it. I do enjoy staring at the moon as I think Wordsworth enjoyed gazing at the daffodils.

Fears

Having read Keats’ “When I Have Fears that I may Cease to Be”, I completely identified myself with its words because I do have feel fear when I think about my death. Also, I could immediately relate his poem with the desire of transcend after dying. Keep living in the world, not physically but by being remembered. That is why there is a saying that reads “Every man needs to have a son, plant a tree and write a book”. These three are ways of transcending in the Greek fashion. I am sharing my thoughts about death (written almost a year ago).

Thoughts...
I seriously have no idea of why this thought comes to me once in a while. Anyway, I don't like it, it makes me feel rotten. Actually, I just hate the way it makes me feel! This stupid thought is about death. When it comes to my mind I ask myself whether life is really worth the trouble of living it.
I have this restlessness desire to know what happens after death. Where do we go to? Is there any place to go? Why have I taken all the trouble to live my life and do my best doing it if I will day and that's it, it will be over? This thought really worries me, and when I am thinking about it I feel so cold and my stomach gets tense. I mean, Death frightens me. And it makes me feel scared of wasting my time in silly things. I really think we have to live our life and take the most of it without wasting any minute.

Today, I was in the bus and this stupid thought came to me... I said, I don't want to die, I don't want to! But you can't live forever, right? Eventually, we will all die. What right does death have over me that take away my possibility of living forever? For me, dying is the most horrible thing in life, but we all know it will happen, any day since your birth.
I hope to feel a bit more relaxed about this topic that is a big issue for me!

Just a question,
What do you feel when you think about dying?

Coleridge

“It is essential to poetry that it should be simple, and appeal to the elements and primary laws of nature; that it should be sensuous, and by its imagery elicit truth at a flash; that it should be impassioned, and be able to move our feelings and awaken affection”.

After reading some poems, we can see that nature is essential for the romantic poets. Kubla Khan by Coleridge is full or references to nature, but not any type of nature, nature that goes beyond concrete seeing. The above quotation relates to Kubla Khan because it describes poetry as appealing to the elements of nature and also the importance of imagination which undoubtedly is present at Coleridge’s poem. Can we read without portraying characters, settings and images? Imagination is indispensable for reading. As his description of nature does not involve reason, we need our imagination to depict the beauty of Xanadu while reading. He has taken me into a journey to a place that exists only in me because none of us could have seen the same place. We all have very singular images of Paradise.

The Little Black Boy

After reading “The Little Black Boy” by Blake, I felt he wanted me to feel we are all the same in Eternity. Thus, I was drawn to entitle the poem as “Equal”. Choosing a painting was effortless because Renoir’s “Mother and Daughter” is very explicit. It shows a tree which was an element in his poem. However, it presents a girl whereas his poem presents a boy. The words in Blake’s world are highly represented in the poem. For instance, the tangible is shown with the sun that gives his heat and light away so that every soul can feel it. The intangible is depicted with eternity. These two key elements in his poem constantly move, and the tangible becomes intangible and vice versa. Past is present also as it is continuously influencing the present and it portrays the fact that there has always been white and black.

Picture: http://k43.pbase.com/u34/selvin/upload/24572152.impressionist02.jpg

Bringing Literature to our Classroom

“Women need to be free and have the same rights as men”

This statement was constantly repeated in our literature class presentations. After reading The Tempest (Shakespeare), The wife of Bath (Chaucer), Sense and Sensibility (Austen) and seeing The Merchant of Venice (directed by Michael Radford), we have discovered that within literature we can find thousands of topics and current issues to discuss with our peers and students. Being in this class has shown us that literature is a must in our teaching. It can bring so many topics that can initiate discussion because these issues are somehow meaningful for us and our students and may develop critical thinking. In this essay, I will answer the question is it important to bring literature to the class? And why? After answering to these questions, I will present different techniques and strategies to include literature in my future planning. Throughout our literature class, I have discovered that written texts can be used not just for reading comprehension, but for speaking activities, debates, discussions, creating a sketch or a video and some written responses. Also, teachers can start developing students’ critical thinking by asking them to reflect and question the several reading passages. Consequently, we must include those activities in our daily planning: as Judy Richardson has stated, “Constructing lessons that are interesting and relevant should be every teacher’s goal. I will demonstrate how seamlessly teachers can add literature to a lesson” (2000). Apart from all these reasons, students can also learn English through reading by increasing their vocabulary, encountering new structures and writing styles. For all these reasons, literature is indispensable and must be brought to the classroom.

As we have to bring literature in the classroom, we ought to find different techniques and strategies, undoubtedly considering the context of your students, in order to make this possible. There are several strategies that we can use so as to bring literature to the classroom. For instance, you can ask your students to build mind maps with characters’ relationships; that will make reading more understandable. Moreover, you could also ask them to bring several interesting quotes from the different readings they have read, if necessary, depending on the level, in Spanish, for in-class discussions. These, among other strategies such as: story impressions, vocabulary overview guide, word family tree, follow the characters and brainstorming, can unquestionably bring literature to your classroom (Buehl, 2000).

Certainly, there are other techniques that can be used to include literature in our classes. As to exemplify, we could use story-telling with more basic levels as they will not have to read the complete book which could be overwhelming, but one or two chapters each student. After reading, they will report on their chapters to the class. They could also read a short story without reading its end and inventing their own end: later, compare their end to the real one. Another good technique is to bring read alouds to the class so as to give your students the first glance at a book, and they can later be engaged in reading the entire book. For instance, you could read a summary of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and make your pupils decide whether they would like to continue reading or not. This must be systematic process in which you bring different summaries every week (Richardson, 2000).

How can we include these in our planning? If you would like to have a conversation group to practice students speaking skills you could use some readings because “selected readings have great potential for stimulating conversation, because once students are exposed to a given reading, they have a new fund of information that can be used as a departure point for discussion” (Dobson, 2005). Another way of including books in your planning is having your students read abridged books or penguin books and later present written and oral reports. From the same extensive readings, they can keep a vocabulary notebook with words from the selected readings. Activities based on poems, short stories, essays and fables can be developed in about 30 minutes of your class while you integrate more skills than just the reading one. If you are a good reader, you must share your experience so as to motivate your students to start reading, learning and growing with literature. As Clifton Fadiman said, “When you re-read a classic you do not see in the book more than you did before. You see more in you than there was before.”

During this second semester in my school, I am trying to develop a project on bringing literature to the class. As I am a good reader, I am always buying books; therefore, I have many books I can lend to the students to do their extensive readings. Briefly, my idea is to have each student choose a different book and encourage them to write a book report in which they can write a summary, a comic, an interview, a piece of news or a dialogue. Thus, students will practice and develop their reading and writing skills. I am looking forward to executing this project at San Juan Evangelista’s school. Bringing literature to the classroom and everyday classes is of the utmost importance in order to create a more interactive environment based on the readings. It can also help students build and increase their vocabulary and command of English, as they will be constantly reading in and outside the classroom. Different techniques as the ones shown above can help us include, little by little, literary work in our teaching. Fortunately, there are several books on how to bring literature to the classroom such as: Teaching Reading with Literature by Gail Tompkins and Lea McGee, Read it Aloud by Judy Richardson, Reading Interaction (International Reading Association) and Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning by Doug Buehl. In this essay, I have briefly shown its relevance and, to some extent, how to do it.

"When once the itch of literature comes over a man, nothing can cure it but the scratching of a pen. But if you have not a pen, I suppose you must scratch any way you can."- Samuel Lover

Work cited

Buehl, Doug. Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning. Delaware: International Reading Association, 2000.

Dobson, Julia. Effective Techniques for English Conversation Groups. Washington: United States Information Agency, 2005.

“Quotations About Literature.” Welcome to the Quote Garden. 14 October 2007. 9 July 2009 <http://www.quotegarden.com/literature.html>.

Richardson, Judy. Read it Aloud: Using Literature in the Secondary Content Classroom. Delaware: International Reading Association, 2000

Outline

Bringing Literature to the Classroom

1. Introduction: Reflection on our literature class
2. Is it important to bring literature to the class? Why?
3. How to do it?
   -Techniques
   -Strategies
   -Planning
4. Conclusion

What a woman!

As many other plays and novels, William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice became a movie under the eyes of director Michael Radford. The movie depicts the fine characters and points out all the complex relationships between characters Antonio, the Merchant of Venice, Bassanio, a gentleman, Shylock, a Jew, and Portia, a fair heiress.
In Venice, Jews were being extremely discriminated against. Shylock was a usurer Jew and incredibly offended by Antonio a Christian. Being Bassanio’s friend, Antonio had to put his Christian pride aside and ask Shylock for money so that Bassanio could go to Belmont and have an opportunity with fair Portia who was a beautiful heiress. She could not choose his husband because his father stated in his will that Portia should marry the man who chose the right casket among the gold, the silver and the lead ones. Shylock lent Antonio 3000 ducats for three months without interest and the bond was that if in the 3 months Antonio did not pay the money, the Jew would take a pound of Antonio’s flesh. Jessica, the usurer’s daughter, was in love with a Christian and she eloped with him, in the ship with Bassanio, taking some of Shylock’s money and leaving him hateful.
While Bassanio succeeded choosing the right casket, Antonio’s time has come. Losing his ships at sea, he did not have the money so as to pay Shylock; therefore Shylock asked for a trial in which he would be able to take Antonio’s pound of flesh. After hearing what happened, Bassanio told his future wife how great his friend was and what he did for him. Portia gave Bassanio 6000 ducats to save his beloved friend and asked him to marry before leaving. After his departure, Portia left to his uncle’s house where she asked for advice to defend Antonio. At the end, Bassanio asked Shylock to accept 6000 ducats but his revengeful spirit did not allow that. Antonio was judged by Portia dressed as a young lawyer and sentenced to pay his bound. When Shylock was about to cut Antonio’s chest, wise Portia stated that he could take nothing but an exact pound of flesh without any drop of blood. Shylock lost all his possessions except his religion even though Antonio demanded Shylock to become Christian his Jewish faith was greater than anything else. What must be pointed out about this film is the high quality cast. Actors Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes and actress Lynn Collins were able to depict and perfectly portray Shakespeare’s characters. Al Pacino performed Shylock outstandingly and his speech will certainly be remembered. Lynn Collins introduced a very strong and intelligent Portia, and also made her quite witty. Irons highlighted Antonio’s pride and Fiennes depicted Bassanio’s passion. As a whole, the cast was extraordinarily well chosen. Through their performances we were able to feel what the characters felt in every minute of the movie. The movie, as well as the actual play, gives you plenty of things to think and discuss about. The repeated questions Is it a tragedy or comedy? Who wins at the end? Certainly do not have a finite answer as they might be seen from various perspectives. Therefore, the movie is good in the sense that does not give you those answers.

Portia’s character; however, was, in my opinion, underappreciated in both the movie and the play. If we think about it, it was her who using her wit and intelligence could save Antonio’s life. Bassanio was not able to do anything and probably, without Portia’s existence, would have seen his most beloved and dearest friend die. Although I would like to encourage everybody to read books and Shakespeare’s plays, masterpieces like this movie make me agree that if you lack time you can watch a movie instead of reading. The merchant of Venice by director Michael Radford is 100% recommendable.

What a woman!

This is my outline for the film review

1. Introduction
2. Summary
3. Opinion
4. Portia
5. Conclusion

Why the Faerie Queene

Having discussed in class all these questions, my mind is clearer about the different aspects of this letter. Before the class I felt really confused and I did not understand many of the questions.
Firstly, we have that the Faerie Queene is an allegory because it is a story with a moral and a hidden truth. It is to implicitly state an opinion.

This allegory was based to celebrate the Tudor dynasty and the Faerie Queene suggests that King Arthur is related to the Tudor lineage. In addition, he wanted to have a character embodying all the 12 virtues and for that he chose Prince Arthur.

Spenser is trying to emphasize the 12 virtues; however, he only discussed Holiness, Temperance, Chastity, Friendship, Justice, Courtesy and in six books. Magnificence (represented by Arthur) and Truth (represented by Una) were other virtues he wanted to show in the Faerie Queene. These were the main characteristics he tried to emphasize using characters such as the Red Cross knight, Britomartis, Gloriana, Prince Arthur, Una, Arthegall, Calidore and Sir Guyon.

Duessa represents evil in the story especially when she, an ugly witch, was trying to separate Red Cross from Una. She is also representing Mary Queen of Scots and the Roman Catholic Church.

He mainly wrote the letter because he needed protection in case something was misunderstood by Elizabeth I. Sir Walter Raleigh was really powerful and respected which made him the perfect candidate to have protection from.

Source: Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Faerie_Queene

Independence?

According to Chaucer, women want to do whatever they want. In other words, they want to have control over other people. Although I do want to do what I please and have control over other people, I disagree with him because I want something else. Definitely, I cannot generalize about every woman because we are quite unique and our requests may differ; therefore there is not a universal truth for all of us. Thus, I can only express my desires. During my whole life I have thought of myself as being very independent, but what I want the most is protection. I want someone to be there for me every time I need; I want someone I can rely on. And that is what I have been looking for in my entire life. I simply want to depend on somebody.

Are we being truthful?

Honestly, I do not really enjoy reading poetry. This might be a consequence of my lack of connection with my inner emotions. Anyway, I have to understand that I cannot prejudge poems. I might find some of them completely interesting.

Chaucer, in my opinion, is proclaiming truth as a way of living. He is stating that if you are honest, you should have no fear. He is advising people to be honest to each other apart from other things such as “be satisfied with what you have” and “Restrain yourself from controlling other’s deeds” (Truth, Chaucer).


Nowadays, we can observe that envy plays a fundamental role in our societies. Therefore, we can very well apply this phrase: "for greed entails hate and social climbing uncertainty”. It is very interesting to notice that religious is present in this poem. He definitely sounds like a priest. It does make sense in my life because I highly appreciate truth as an incredibly relevant value in my life.


This poem was written a long time ago, but we can still recognize some key elements present in our society. Should we follow Chaucer’s advice?

Epic Poem

When we talk about an epic poem, I immediately think about “El Cantar del Mio Cid”. Epic poem is the type of poem which consists of different heroes and antiheroes. However, in English, the best example of an epic poem is Beowulf. After reading this poem I can present some features that define an epic poem. Firstly, it is supposedly to be part of history; although, that cannot be proved. It also shows a story with heroic characters. Usually, it talks about kingdoms and wars.

Literature: What is it?

Always wanting to study Literature, I never really asked myself waht it was. Discussing about it, I have realized that I do not have an explicit meaning; however, I am sure nobody really does. Literature is everything that makes you react. The following quote by Thodorov called my attention because it supports my definition:

“The texts that I was reading- personal narratives, memoirs, historical works, testimonies, reflections, letters, anonymous texts from folklore- did not have, like literary works, the status of fiction, because they directly described lived experience. However, like literary works, they let me discover unknown dimensions of the world, they moved me profoundly, and they made me think” (page 16 and 17)

Literature is everything that after reading and even hearing makes you react, feel, disagree, and many more. It causes an impact and that is the only reason of its existance. Literature only exists when you make it yours!