The idea of having to complete a “digital essay” excites me yet daunts me at the same time. I’m glad we were assigned a digital essay because it seems intriguing and it’s a definite diversion from writing class normalcy. Writing papers bores me to death, so I’m looking forward to the challenge of having to take the intrinsically dull paper and add a dimension of digital-ness to it. However, I think it would be helpful if we could view some more examples of digital essays in order to obtain a clearer idea of what we need to do (and to get some inspiration).
Even though I am psyched at the prospect of creating a digital essay, I have a few questions: 1) How can we find the perfect poem to write about? 2) The writing portion of this assignment seems like it will ultimately rest upon a foundation of concrete analysis of the poem we choose. What are some ways we can analyze our poems without making our essays seem like balderdash? Is there a standard way of analyzing poetry that we should adhere to, or should we just pick some lines and interpret them? 3) Can you please explain the group aspect of this project a little more? If we choose to do the digital part of this assignment in groups, how are we supposed to come up with a coherent video if each group-member’s poem is different?
Even though I feel like this digital essay assignment is kind of ambiguous, I think it is a great way to end the semester. This project seems like it will be fun.
Hi James–You ask a lot of great questions.
1–The perfect poem…just cruise around the web sites I gave you and find something that you LOVE. I think that is the best way to go. The Poetry Foundation site has a lot of tools to help you search.
2–For the paper, you need to have a thesis/argument that you will prove by using quotes from the poem.
3–You can work with a group if you want–you don’t all have to do the same poem, but your poems should have a common theme that the video will revolve around.
That said–what are you thinking you want to make?