[personal profile] always_succesful
1) Now that we're at almost the half-way point in the term, reflect a moment. What has been the most useful or interesting aspect of studying literature for you, so far? What do you still want to learn? Any concerns or fears?
The most interesting and useful aspects that I have found studying literature is the development of critical reading skills. Throughout this course, we are asked to read stories, make deductions about them and provide evidence to support our conclusions. What is very nice about this online course is that we are given the questions about our stories beforehand. This allows us impress the questions into our subconscious mind and direct our reticular activating system toward our goal. Then, when we read our assigned story. We immediately see the correlation between the question asked and the content in the story. I have found that this course has increased my ability analyze writting significantly.

What do I still want to learn? I would like to learn to become more decisive of my opinions. Every time I read a story, I always find myself with multiple opinions, some which contradict each other. This can make it difficult to write a paper or a blog.

Concerns? Yes, my major concern is the in class final essay. I never write well in limited time period. I find I must read a story three times before I have a clear understanding in my mind of what I want to write about. On top of that, I need time for editing. I usually edit my writing a least fives times before submitting it. Time management for this in class essay is my main concern.

2)Define the following terms:
1. Hamartia 2. Hubris 3. Catharsis 4. Peripeteia 5. Anagnorisis
Then determine whether they are in the play, Antigone, and where or how they occur.

1. Hamartia
Definition: A fatal flaw.
Happened when: Antigone going to bury her brother directly after her uncle Creon decreed that he would put anyone who attempted to do so to death.
2. Hubris
Definition: Excessive pride or self-confidence.
Happened when: The king showed excessive pride in himself and his rule from the very beginning of his appearance in the play. He speaks of upholding the laws of the state yet he speaks more about his own opinions for how the country and its laws should be run. His hubris is portrayed strongly when he ignores all advice from his nobles his son.
3. Catharsis
Definition: The process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.
Happened when: Ismene admits to being apart of her brother’s burial. Her guilt of refusing her brother the right to pass into the underworld caused her so much grief that, even though she had no part in the actual burying, she readily admitted to it.
4. Peripeteia
Definition: A sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances.

Happened when: Tiresias comes into the play and warns Creon about what is to come of him in the future. Immediately when Tiresias mentions what is to become of his loved ones, Creon regrets everything he has done and takes immediate action to rectify his mistakes.
5. Anagnorisis
Definition: Is a moment in a play when a character makes a critical discovery.
Happened after: Creon made a small a series of discoveries. First, Creon discovered that he was too late to bury his nephew’s body properly. Second, when Creon realises that it was his actions that caused his son to commit suicide in front of him. And lastly, when Creon discovered his wife dead by her own hands because of his stubbornness. Only then, he realises that his only true happiness in life came from his family. That’s when Anagnorisis occurred

Peer Comments

Date: 2012-02-17 12:25 am (UTC)
wintersound: (Default)
From: [personal profile] wintersound
I had no idea the final essay was in class and timed. Now this also concerns me! I agree, I must edit my work multiple times before I am pleased with it. Therefore the idea of minimal time to edit my work scares me as I know it is not near what it could be. I agree with you about enjoying developing critical reading skills. They can project to all types of reading, making us more informed and thoughful individuals.

Date: 2012-02-17 04:39 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] litblogger
I agree with you about managing the time to write a paper. I found it difficult to receive our essay topic on Monday and have the story read, analyzed and written by Sunday. Like you, I reread things and think about what I see and how it is significant. I have no doubt that the challenge of the short time we had will eventually make us better and faster at analysis and writing, but it sure made me sweat!

blog 6 reply

Date: 2012-02-20 06:40 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] rocky580
I have the same concern as you for the class final essay, especially after completing the mid-term. I started that essay three different times and finally ran out of time and just had to pick one idea. I found that story extremely complex, with some many binaries, it was difficult to decide which theme/topic to chose from. I find it easier to write essays on the computer since it is much easier to move the ideas around to produce the flow - this is not as easy, or fast on paper, so I am also concerned about the time factor.
Good Luck!

Date: 2012-02-24 05:23 am (UTC)
From: [personal profile] amac
I agree about the final!

Date: 2012-03-09 08:52 pm (UTC)
literarybean: (Default)
From: [personal profile] literarybean
All of you, don't worry too much about the final. It will have a combination of question types, and if you keep up with the course, you'll be well prepared for it.

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