Eng2800: Mapping the Ancient World

For our discussion tomorrow, Jason and I will be focusing on four of Du Fu’s poems, “Moonlight Night”, “Spring Prospect”,”Qiang Village” and “Ballad of the Firewood Vendors”. We will be focusing on the themes of these four poems and the effects of the An Lushan Rebellion. We will also be discussing the translations of the poem called CH’ANG KAN or “The River-Merchant’s Wife:A Letter” and comparing the translations to the original Chinese meanings. CH’ANG KAN is a narrative of a woman who was married to a business man. It reflects the ancient time of Chinese women being a wife of a business man’s life. The article we will be using is The Translator’s Invisibility by Lawerence Venuti. It talks about how translations should make the translator appear invisible. This is supposed to facilitate the exposure of the text’s meaning.

Here’s a link to the writing center:

http://writingcenter.baruch.cuny.edu/

In today’s class we looked at students’ past close readings, and worked together to come up with a better sense of what does and does not constitute a good close reading. Here’s what we came up with for a good close reading:

Integrates quotes clearly and meaningfully into sentence

Grammatically correct: Grammar should not get in the way of the clear conveyance of meaning

Explore the passage as the primary focus and then connect it to the rest of the text

Correct formatting of quotes

Close reading should be thorough and analytical — be sure you’ve covered all your bases