World Literature, 1650-Present

I decided to make the video public.  Here it is: http://vimeo.com/42162504

Here’s a link to White Nights and Other Stories, which contains “A Faint Heart.” Click on the link to “Read Online,” find the story in the table of contents, and scroll ahead to the appropriate page.

Please read for May 10 Dostoevskiy “A Faint heart“. It is a short story (25pg). Think of next themes:

– friendship

– sexuality

– woman image

Please read the following poems for Tuesday’s teach-a-text class.

They can be found in volume E of our Norton Anthology book

Emily Dickinson poems 449 and 712

Rosalia de Castro’s poem “Mild was the air”

keep in mind a reoccurring theme in the poems and how the authors compare and contrast in their portrayal, structure, imagery etc.

thanks,

Nayeem

Hey class,

Please read the poem ‘Nineteen Hundred And Nineteen’ by William Butler Yeats.

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/nineteen-hundred-and-nineteen/

We will be concentrating on the following part of the poem more:

Note from Professor Smith: I had to move the video that Yafees embedded here because it was blocking links on the main page.
PLEASE GO TO THE “SOMETHING TO SEE” PAGE TO VIEW TED HUGHES READING “COME LET US MOCK AT THE GREAT”

Please read the poem and I will give a brief talk about poetry in general, the background of William B Yeats and the poem.
All the best guys!

Yafees S.

Hi classmates,
I will be teaching When You are Old by William Butler Yeats. Please check http://www.bartleby.com/101/863.html for the reading.

Hi All,

I’m available next week, in my office (VC 6-249), at the times listed below. Come and chat about your final projects, etc.

Tuesday, April 23, 12-1
Wednesday, April 24, 11-12:30 and 2:30-3:15

If you want to meet with me during the above times, you must email me with the date and time slot (you don’t need to give me the exact time, just the 30-minute “window” during which you plan to come by). Otherwise, I can’t guarantee I’ll be there.

I’m also around during my regular office hour (Thursday 3:45-4:45), of course.

As a courtesy, I’m reposting one part of the instructions below, but be sure to return to the revised syllabus and read all the instructions carefully to achieve full credit.

Part 2: By no later than 9 pm on Wednesday, April 18, choose one question someone else has posted on the blog (not your own question), and answer it. You should compose your answer in a comment to the original post. Indicate the number of the question you’re answering in your comment. Once someone answers a question, it’s CLOSED. No one will get credit for answering a question that has been answered already. Your answer should be a complete, thorough mini-essay of at least 8-10 sentences.

Question 1) How would you describe the institution of marriage that is alluded to in the early portion of the novel?  Is it based on loyalty? Love? Money? Status? etc.  Refer to Liusu’s past marriage, the attitude of Fourth Mistress (pg. 2741), as well as Fan Liuyan’s father and Mr. Jiang (both pg. 2744).  What does this say about the Bai family and Chinese culture as a whole at that time?

Question 2) What kind of role do you think the war played in this novel?  Is it a symbol or a metaphor for something greater such as Liusu’s life or her realtionship with Fan?  Think about her feelings in the beginning of the story as well as her position in the Bai family. Does her survival through this with Fan symbolize that she has defeated all of her obstacles? Also what is the significance of the Wall that Fan refers to both before and after the bombings?