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Feb. 23rd, 2007 05:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beccaelizabethThe lit essay that was annoying me yesterday continues to annoy today.
It just said "all poetry is about love and death".
!
And then it goes on to say "all good poetry", and I'm like, aha, there's your weasel word. Because then the ones that are actually about flowers are just not good. Or, of course, *secretly* about love and death.
I know I've *said* all poems are sex and/or death, but I was in fact *joking*.
This muppet is putting it down as a rule for all students to start their analysis from.
And the way they write... they've said the same thing in approximately the same words so many times now I've stopped bothering to highlight the damn thing, because it's already had the exact same phrases highlighted half a dozen times already. Why! Why why why bother?
And it keeps spending time on what not to do, like, 'students start with the life and opinions of an author. instead start with the poem' and I'm like "hello, only have the poem! Authors aren't relevant anyway! Death of the author, dude, keep up!" And, er, yeah, I'm getting obnoxious at a textbook. Meh.
Also it just started a section with 'of course I can't tell you how to read a poem' and then of course goes on to do exactly that.
Wretched thing is reminding me of all the reasons I disliked studying poetry in high school. I'm pretty sure teach said that was exactly what this intro was trying to undo. Make us like poems.
Well, yeah, I like poems, but then this twit starts telling me what they're all about and how everyone reads them.
Different! Not-same! IDIC!
I'm pretty sure poems are about as many things as humans can think of
and humans can think very many indeed.
To say it's all love and death is just his philosophy showing.
Says it's because death is the one thing all humans inevitably face.
Presumably is implied that love is the one solution all humans inevitably come up with, and, well, maybe if you draw the definition wide enough, but.
Also calls love the good and death the bad, which admittedly is the position of all humans judged mentally healthy by society, but not all poetry is written by the sane. I'm just saying.
Also, if you're Buddhist, death is neither the problem nor the solution, just one more damn thing in a big cycle of impermanence. So it isn't half a binary there. That would be compassion vs suffering, thanks.
... so it irritates me on many levels.
... I'll go away now.
It just said "all poetry is about love and death".
!
And then it goes on to say "all good poetry", and I'm like, aha, there's your weasel word. Because then the ones that are actually about flowers are just not good. Or, of course, *secretly* about love and death.
I know I've *said* all poems are sex and/or death, but I was in fact *joking*.
This muppet is putting it down as a rule for all students to start their analysis from.
And the way they write... they've said the same thing in approximately the same words so many times now I've stopped bothering to highlight the damn thing, because it's already had the exact same phrases highlighted half a dozen times already. Why! Why why why bother?
And it keeps spending time on what not to do, like, 'students start with the life and opinions of an author. instead start with the poem' and I'm like "hello, only have the poem! Authors aren't relevant anyway! Death of the author, dude, keep up!" And, er, yeah, I'm getting obnoxious at a textbook. Meh.
Also it just started a section with 'of course I can't tell you how to read a poem' and then of course goes on to do exactly that.
Wretched thing is reminding me of all the reasons I disliked studying poetry in high school. I'm pretty sure teach said that was exactly what this intro was trying to undo. Make us like poems.
Well, yeah, I like poems, but then this twit starts telling me what they're all about and how everyone reads them.
Different! Not-same! IDIC!
I'm pretty sure poems are about as many things as humans can think of
and humans can think very many indeed.
To say it's all love and death is just his philosophy showing.
Says it's because death is the one thing all humans inevitably face.
Presumably is implied that love is the one solution all humans inevitably come up with, and, well, maybe if you draw the definition wide enough, but.
Also calls love the good and death the bad, which admittedly is the position of all humans judged mentally healthy by society, but not all poetry is written by the sane. I'm just saying.
Also, if you're Buddhist, death is neither the problem nor the solution, just one more damn thing in a big cycle of impermanence. So it isn't half a binary there. That would be compassion vs suffering, thanks.
... so it irritates me on many levels.
... I'll go away now.