Milton was without a doubt a powerful writer and exceptional poet. One of his most famous works, PARADISE LOST, is not just a biblical retelling of the fall of man, but a work in which Milton rewrites Genesis. William Blake was so disgusted by Milton's portrayal of God as inferior and Satan as superior that he referred to Milton as a Satanist. Yet, aptly stated by Stanley Fish, Milton does so to seduce the reader with Satan's tantalizing language in a manner that places the reader in the role of Eve. Milton first emphasizes the prelapsarian world where temporality is non-existent, to after the fall, in which Adam and Eve now exist in a postlapsarian world in which Adam and Eve begin to notice one another in a sexual manner, realize their being nude, and experience feelings of embarrassment and shame. Does Milton glorify Satan and place God in an inferior position, or is he simply utilizing the poem to showcase the ease in which one slips into sin, and the eventual redemption that will occur with the saving grace of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus' death to save mankind? Is this a work mocking the Fall of man, or one that upholds and restores the power of faith?
Though I like a good discussion of Paradise Lost as much as the next guy, something about seeing it here (perhaps coloured your vague choice of subject title) seems a little redundant. Milton criticism is as old as he is; go to any good library with a LCC system, and you'll find literally hundreds of titles between the call numbers of PR 3560 A2 E45 and PR 3597 B8, with Blake, Fish, and countless others among them. With such a rigorous tradition of criticism that has exhausted nearly every conceivable topic concerning the poem, I'm not really sure what you, me, or anyone on this site could really add to all of that.
Sorry for being a downer. – ProtoCanon8 years ago
Milton's intention in writing Paradise Lost was to (at least, according to this poem) "assert Eternal Providence/ And justify the ways of God to men." This might lend itself against William Blake's interpretation and towards the interpretation of Stanley Fish.
Should also be remembered that within the Christian tradition Satan is depicted as a proud and ambitious spirit. Therefore any presentation of him that borrows from this tradition would necessarily show a charismatic underdog fighting against impossible odds - a figure easy to sympathize (and thus tempting to do so).
This might prove helpful should someone decide to write about the topic.
– Mack8 years ago
The epistolary form has long been a way for the young adult narrator to communicate to the audience. It sets up an interesting dynamic between writer and reader and makes the narrators voice more authentic. At the same time it helps mask the irony that occurs when an adult author speaks in the voice of a teenager, ultimately setting up a power dynamic. Does epistolary help or hurt the way the reader perceives a text and its meanings?
Interesting topic. If someone were to pursue it, I think it would be important to emphasize (especially in the title) that the focus is almost exclusively on contemporary YA fiction, because the epistolary form as a whole exceeds that narrow scope. Bram Stoker's Dracula is an epistolary novel; Marilynne Robison's Gilead can be viewed as one as well; arguments can even be made that St. Paul's letters from the New Testament are epistolary novels. If your interest is in how adult authors write from a youth's perspective, it'd be wise to not reduce the entire form into that one box. Likewise, there are plenty of non-epistolary instances when adult authors write from a child's point-of-view. For example, I'm always baffled at how effortlessly GRRM is able to write one chapter about complex feudal politics from Ned's perspective, and then write a Bran chapter that feels so genuinely childlike. To Kill a Mockingbird is also a fine example, telling an adult story of young Scout's perspective. – ProtoCanon8 years ago
Yes, I find it interesting that the focus is purely on YA. I thought that this was gong to be something about the lack of relevance as no-one writes letters anymore. I think if someone were to take this topic, it would have to be more clear in the title if it is going to be YA focused. – Francesca Turauskis8 years ago
You assume an interesting perspective on this topic. When I think of epistolary novels, I immediately think of PAMELA, by Samuel Richardson, or DRACULA, by Bram Stoker, and EVELINA, by Fanny Burney. I guess this comes with having been a literature major, and studying the inception of the novel. Yet, the way in which you introduce this topic, I do now think of many contemporary YA novels written in this form, such as THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER,by Chobsky. As for the aspect of irony, I've never really considered this, as well as the masking you mentioned. I do know that with PAMELA, constant questioning as to her perspective on the actions of the novel were perplexing. She was just so naive and jumped from one contradictory emotion to the next. When the book is written in epistolary form, entirely based on ONE character's letters, the reliability of the "narrator," is constantly in question. As with Dracula, the varying voices provide different perspectives as well as a better key to understanding the dynamics of the other characters. Also, Dracula's format provides such an interesting temporal facet due to the reactions of letter writers occurring after events they're writing about have already occurred. Regarding whether or not the epistolary form disrupts the perception of a reader...I would say that lies in the hands of the author. Sincerity of voice and tone is essential in drawing the reader in and leading he/she to a place of trusting the character's recollection of events. Nice topic!! – danielle5778 years ago
Stories are what shape our reality–both on a personal and a widespread cultural scale. They directly affect how we understand everything, from everyday occurrences to the larger questions in life. Stories also play a large role in the world religions through both oral and written types of scripture, including myths, historical accounts, poetry, letters, etc. The novel Life of Pi reflects on the impact of stories in relation to religion and history. Examine questions of "truth" and "scientific fact" in contrast to "myth" and "spirituality" and how these themes are presented in both the novel and the movie. Also analyze the apparent human need for fantastical stories as presented in the movie–does this imply that religion is simply a way for humans to cope with the difficult events of life? Or does it have a larger implication, such as that "truth" or "fact" in life is not always tangible, and does not always have the importance we place upon it? There are many philosophical questions that can be explored regarding stories and reality in Life of Pi, and this topic is certainly open to suggestions!
As a teacher, I often hear about the diverse ways that people learn. I.e. some people are better at learning by listening, while others need to see the lesson in writing or experience it on a more kinetic level. In what ways do we engage with a story differently when it is in audiobook form vs. paper format?
I like this topic. It would be nice to add other formats like Kindle or reading from your laptop. For me it is better when I am reading straight from the pages, and it is tough when I have to read in my computer. – Andrestrada8 years ago
On a physical level, reading requires work, so it makes people more tired whereas its easier to just listen to someone recounting a story. Although for audiobooks, there is the issue of a person's voice being too high or too low, making the story hard for someone to listen to.
I once did a presentation in college where I read some of my stories to the class and their feedback was that the experience brought them back to when they were young children listening to their teacher reading stories and how much they missed that magical feeling. – JennyCardinal8 years ago
This is a difficult topic due to the excellent points you bring up regarding the different learning styles of individuals. A story is such a fascinating example due to the use of the imagination in deriving the appearances of the characters, as well as the setting, and even body language. Though many of these facets are provided to the reader, we, as readers, tend to reconstruct--or, at times, deconstruct--what is written or heard. This is the reason why so many people become upset with film adaptations and the casting of certain characters; a level of disappointment arises when the character does not meet the reader's expectations.
While teaching a television series in a literature course, I had students turn on the subtitles, even though the series was spoken in English. By doing so, students were subjected to the actual interactions, spoken words, and character evolutions, as well as "reading," the series as if it were a story (which, it is). I think this is a fascinating topic and I would be quite intrigued to see someone write on this, as I personally do not have a definitive answer for this topic. – danielle5778 years ago
Fantastic topic! I think it's important to also consider the ways we can judge others for their choices, ie. seeing someone reading a paper book versus seeing someone read on their phone. – LilyaRider8 years ago
This is something that I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about as well. I think, in a broad sense, we can get the same story from multiple sources (I firmly believe that you can get as much out of the film Romeo + Juliet as you can from reading the play). However, like LilyaRider said, we make value judgements based on the ways in which people engage with texts of all types. – Derek8 years ago
And there's a misguided assumption in education that after elementary school, lecture is somehow the best method of lesson delivery. When grades become indicators of success, only the auditory are valued. Our world is run by the auditory, and they don't listen to us. – Tigey8 years ago
I suspect that the audiobook form of communication provides a wider margin for distraction. The reader can attend to other necessities while gorging on the side show of the voice behind the audiobook. In the paperback form, the reader has to stop the flow of information in order to acknowledge more urgent or unexpected activity. Although both are reading time, each is unique in the path to the ultimate goal of completion and inspiration. This is a double faceted theme that will require intricate writing to whomever embarks on it. Looking forward to the finished product. – L:Freire6 years ago
Always have in mind that "learning styles" are a myth. – T. Palomino2 years ago
Analyse how recent trends in Young Adult fiction, such as Vampires narratives, Dystopias, etc have both contributed to a more feminist dialogue within these worlds (for example the Hunger Games) but on the other hand also supported older, patriarchal systems (such as Twilight). How can writers address these issues when writing young adult fiction?
What do you mean "How can writers address these issues when writing young adult fiction?" The point of most YA fiction is to tell a story. Telling a story from a strong, Independent women lends a story a certain feel but does not fit every character and the personality the writer is imagining. Not every writer wants their characters to come from a strong feminist perspective. I don't think you should include that last sentence because it makes it sound like all non-feminist characters in novels should never be written. Newsflash: there are still extremely sexist people in this world and they are the audience books are written for. I agree that there are books out there that are so blatantly sexist it makes me sick but they aren't all bad. After all, you cite twilight as part of the problem yet it is beloved by many girls regardless of some pretty sexist parts. I think that a better direction to take this is not why authors should change ow they write, but how the writer uses a variety of narrators to create an effect and what this effect is doing to young adults. – Jutor8 years ago
It becomes clear with times that the Romanticism holds an internal contradiction. These disagreements have a very humanistic nature. Thus, the theme of the concealed self plays particularly integral role in works of some romantic artists such as Emily Dickinson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, and etc.. The role of artist, the role of artist’s self can be considered as a one of main themes of the romantic age. Although, the new limitless artistic and creative possibilities begun with understanding of their godlike nature, the faith in the absolute “thereness”, in the man’s transcendental origin faded. Did it lead to the logical conclusion that faith in the God needs to be replaced with the faith in the man, his mind, his creative powers and possibilities, his nobleness, dignity, and his ability to “self-rely”?
Looking at many modern top-selling video games the focus on plot development is a key selling feature. An analysis on different genres of video games should be taken into consideration. Do many gamers, both casual and dedicated, rely on plot when choosing their games; does it effect the industry to base the game on plot and do they help us learn things more effectively than reading?
Video games/cyber games seem to offer a future literary path. There is something literary to them. I think it is the future. – Jeffery Moser8 years ago
Looking into the ludology versus narratology debate could be helpful for this article, particularly in answering the question of whether gamers rely on plot when choosing what to play. – Prongsley8 years ago
There's a whole other level to story telling in games that books don't allow for. While readers can get invested in the plot and characters of a novel, video games allow for the player to take control of the story. At best, books will grip you and have you speculating what might happen next, while games allow the player to decide what to do, and experience the consequences of the chosen action. While I don't think that games will replace books or that either medium if better than the other, I think the individual experiences of reading and gaming are what make them unique and enjoyable and need to be considered when you compare the two. – tbarker8 years ago
With science fiction being popular enough in the American media to have it's own channel on most cable/HD tv services, it's become quite the commodity, but a lot of this science fiction is based around America or European powers, with a few exceptions, but there is actually a rich history of using science fiction to depict political unrest and situations under dictators and during war. I'd just like to throw out a list with some interesting stories with their summaries and maybe a bit of analysis.
Not only one can find such lists and analyses in articles, but also in books and compilations, many available for free online. Although it may look like Latin American fiction is an unexplored field or a diluted copy of Western science fiction, it has been largely explored and there are many people studying the topic. – T. Palomino2 years ago
