so what

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compare and contrast Augustan and Romantic poetry?

― Ayesha, Saturday, 3 September 2005 06:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Well, one thing is the subject matter. Augustan poetry is about that laziest month of the summer (the one that comes after July), while Romantic poetry is about love and sex and shit.

― SRH (Skrik), Saturday, 3 September 2005 15:45 (twenty-one years ago)

august is a good time for that shit though, there's not much else going on

― Josh (Josh), Saturday, 3 September 2005 16:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Augustan and Romantic poetry

― Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 3 September 2005 17:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Is this some specialized form of spam?

― Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 3 September 2005 17:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, Josh. Let me revise my position: Augustan poety == Romantic poetry.

I think we're going to ace this.

― SRH (Skrik), Saturday, 3 September 2005 17:39 (twenty-one years ago)

SRH, let me sit next to you during the test, okay?

― pr00de descending a staircase (pr00de), Saturday, 3 September 2005 17:59 (twenty-one years ago)

If only they'd join forces. We could have some awesome Augantic poetry! Or maybe Rogust?

― Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 3 September 2005 18:11 (twenty-one years ago)

What are you kids learning in that school of yours?

― k/l (Ken L), Saturday, 3 September 2005 21:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Apparently they're not learning the difference between Augustan and Romantic poetry! Which is perhaps for the best.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Sunday, 4 September 2005 00:37 (twenty-one years ago)

But they are apparently being asked to write essays about this difference.

Anyway, my wording was slightly off in the other post - the correct question is:

What are they teaching you at that school of yours?

― k/l (Ken L), Sunday, 4 September 2005 01:35 (twenty-one years ago)

From my experiences with college English classes, nothing important enough to take classes for.

They're teaching us a canon of certain authors and anthologized poets, along with an impartial approach of criticism where we're supposed to analyze authors for their impact in the time they wrote and what made them so great. Or revolutionary, or groundbreaking, etc. They also like to drill items such as symbolism, grand or overarching themes, and irony in our heads.

In short, everything that takes all of the fun out of reading for me. And it doesn't help that I'm not a big fan of 19th century British and American literature. Not that it's all bad, but there are many more interesting things to read, too.

Well, that's just my take on it. Reading, books, and literature became much more fun after dropping classes about them.

― mj (robert blake), Sunday, 4 September 2005 03:11 (twenty-one years ago)

All well and good, mj, and I agree with most of what you say, but the original poster's essay is not going to write itself, is it?

― k/l (Ken L), Sunday, 4 September 2005 03:13 (twenty-one years ago)

No, of course not. And I realize that the question wasn't directed at me.

I just felt like I had to vent about this.

Good luck to the original poster who has to write this essay.

― mj (robert blake), Sunday, 4 September 2005 03:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Sounds like you just had some bad classes. Not all english classes are bad, of course, but a lot of intro ones are.

― pr00de descending a staircase (pr00de), Sunday, 4 September 2005 04:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Tell me of this "good English class" you had, once, long ago.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Sunday, 4 September 2005 16:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Er, I dunno, I've had a bunch. Recently, too.

― pr00de descending a staircase (pr00de), Sunday, 4 September 2005 17:32 (twenty-one years ago)

one of the few things that was impressed upon me during my time as an english major was the imperative to focus on the text.

― Josh (Josh), Sunday, 4 September 2005 19:34 (twenty-one years ago)

So you learned that in order to read well, you need to, uh, read well?

― Casuistry (Chris P), Sunday, 4 September 2005 19:46 (twenty-one years ago)

I mean it is true that a lot of undergrads, when talking about a text, will bring in all sorts of stuff that is purely in their minds and not in the text at all. But then again I think a lot of "symbolism" teaching works similarly.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Sunday, 4 September 2005 19:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Chris OTM.

― k/l (Ken L), Sunday, 4 September 2005 22:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, people develop a lot of bad habits in high school, I think. Like, if you point out a character is a "christ figure" then that's good because your teacher praises you for it. But so what? You can call any character a christ figure if you try hard enough, but what's the purpose of doing that? Of course, I tend to feel the same sort of thing goes on with "serious" literary criticism, treating the novel/poem/whatever as little more than an opportunity to demonstrate what a clever boy you are.

― pr00de descending a staircase (pr00de), Sunday, 4 September 2005 22:03 (twenty-one years ago)

By the way, Ayesha, I hope you're enjoying this discussion.

― pr00de descending a staircase (pr00de), Sunday, 4 September 2005 22:04 (twenty-one years ago)

you will note, chris, that i did not say that impression was unequivocally positive. and still, it seems to be an imperative many people never learn to love (and put up with).

― Josh (Josh), Monday, 5 September 2005 04:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Actually I would pass over the Christ symbolism in favour of the student who takes the trouble to overthrow Christ and install Buddha instead.

There are multiple redemption stories, right? Why should we be happy with anything other than the oldest known? All the others are simply ~~rip-offs~~ intertextual treatments.

You wait until my shamanistic treatment of Kubla Khan comes out. We'll put paid to this Jesus nonsense, one and for all.

(I'm waiting until I have enough time to research and write my shamanistic treatment of Kubla Khan.)

― SRH (Skrik), Monday, 5 September 2005 15:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah man, go for it. I was just talking about christ figures because that seems to be a popular topic amongst freshmen eager to appear "significant."

(How is the Buddha a figure of redemption, by the way? I could see how he could be, but not in the same way that Jesus is. I don't know if that was a serious example or not, anyway...)

― pr00de descending a staircase (pr00de), Monday, 5 September 2005 15:54 (twenty-one years ago)

apparently american english first-years are a bit different to our kind.

― tom west (thomp), Tuesday, 6 September 2005 23:04 (twenty-one years ago)

How so?

― pr00de, where's my car? (pr00de), Tuesday, 6 September 2005 23:11 (twenty-one years ago)

For one thing, they're not called "first-years".

― Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 6 September 2005 23:28 (twenty-one years ago)

and for another thing, they're only different to tom's kind. otherwise they're different from tom's kind, to anyone else.

― Josh (Josh), Wednesday, 7 September 2005 01:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Did anyone else get a mildly abusinve email from the orginal poster's address?

For God's sake! I try to help, and this is the thanks I get...

― SRH (Skrik), Sunday, 18 September 2005 17:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Haha! What'd she say?

― pr00de, where's my car? (pr00de), Sunday, 18 September 2005 17:32 (twenty-one years ago)

What pr00de said -- I second his inquiry!

― mj (robert blake), Sunday, 18 September 2005 19:47 (twenty-one years ago)

She told me to get lost. :(

― SRH (Skrik), Monday, 19 September 2005 04:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Tell her you are too befuddled to successfully get lost.

― Aimless (Aimless), Monday, 19 September 2005 04:39 (twenty-one years ago)

When a web spammer sends you an abusive e-mail, they are flirting with you.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Monday, 19 September 2005 06:11 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm wondering if she stole our ideas and handed them in to her prof. That would explain why it took her so long before she emailed me.

I like the thought, anyway.

― SRH (Skrik), Monday, 19 September 2005 15:01 (twenty-one years ago)

I hope she did better than the kid who asked about "Frankinstien."

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 19 September 2005 15:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, really. If they're in a class on Augustan and Romantic poetry, they're probably smart enough to sufficiently BS a paper. If you don't know what the name of the doctor in Frankenstein is, though...

― pr00de, where's my car? (pr00de), Monday, 19 September 2005 15:34 (twenty-one years ago)

It's Victor :)

― , Tuesday, 20 September 2005 06:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Crap! There goes my 4.0

― pr00de, where's my car? (pr00de), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 06:57 (twenty-one years ago)

That's OK, you can still get a B+ if you know the difference between Augustan and Romantic poetry.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 16:00 (twenty-one years ago)

I did a British Lit course last semester. Augustan/Neoclassicist and Romantic poetry are generally compared as opposing styles:
Augustan: formal rules and emulating the past greats Virgil, Ovid, Horace etc
Romantic: rejecting rules and creating the future - anything is possible!

― salexander, Tuesday, 20 September 2005 23:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Who cares?

― Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 20 September 2005 23:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Well I certainly don't but that's where the thread started - so what indeed.

― salexander, Tuesday, 20 September 2005 23:57 (twenty-one years ago)

(I hope you got my joke and didn't think I was being snippy at you.)

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 00:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Now I do. It's so difficult with modern communication ie internet - so much gets lost "in translation" such as tone, body language and laughter. Besides, have come across some snotty bookish types before so you can never be too certain ... I'm new here, an ILB virgin infact - now have been corrupted and sullied (j/k - see so you know that was an IRONIC comment :)

― salexander, Wednesday, 21 September 2005 00:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Well, welcome aboard! I think if you search we have an "introduce yourself" thread...

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 21 September 2005 01:57 (twenty-one years ago)

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