What we know

Hey everybody,
I got to thinking about all of this Rime of the Ancient Mariner and began to make connections to modern day literatures and films that deal with the same issue of the guilt-ridden "hero" that must atone for sins and had an idea to see what you could come up with. I immediately thought of my favorite two Mel Gibson movies - "Braveheart" and "The Patriot". In both, the hero, decides to join the fight only after losing some of his loved ones - he feels the pain of those memories and wants justice, but I think it's mostly because he feels if he had acted sooner, his family would still be intact (not exactly like the mariner but along the same lines).

Can anybody think of more??? Person with the best example (closest would help and please explain) will get five extra points on his or her test.

Ancient Mariner

I'm not real sure that the majority of my class is understanding the texts in their full context. I'm seeing a constant desire to only look at the surface level of the things we are reading. Application to self is one of the driving forces (if not the driving force) of poetry. I've got to find a way to help them apply - then we can move deeper.

For instance, the Mariner is a picture of man - we all make mistakes that have to be "paid for" in one way or another. Some people are ok with having others pay for their mistakes. What does the mariner feel, knowing that he is the direct catalyst for these deaths? His penance is that he now has to tell this story forever . . . a story in which he is the guilty. Every person he tells knows this by the time he is done. Not only does he have to repeat it, he has to relive it. He can never . . . never . . . get past this . . . He's not allowed . . . Consequences do have a rippling effect . . . as Donne says, "No man is an island".

So what good can come out of tempting God or fate or nature? Ask the mariner.

Wordsworth

I think that Wordsworth is probably the most widely known Romantic poet. I also think he was a very perceptive man. In other words, I think he "gets it". He focuses so much on the simplistic things in life that it makes me value them as well. I mean, how many times during the day do I stop and reflect on those simple things that make life valuable - my kid wanting to sit in my lap, my wife's crooked smile, spending time with my parents on their back porch, lying on the trunk of my car and staring at the stars . . .

No I'm usually focused on what I've got to do . . . ironically getting my students to understand Wordsworth's point that we should live for those simple things. Maybe teaching by example is better than teaching with words. I'm pretty sure that's what Wordsworth would do.

Welcome

Welcome everyone . . . This will be a new venture for me, but in an attempt to "keep up with the times" (even though I am a few light years behind), we are going to try something different. Each week I'll post two or three blogs regarding something we've read in class. These blogs will cover my own personal thoughts about the subject as well as any personal experiences that may go along. Your job will be to keep up with and respond to each blog in your own way. Of course, make sure I know who you are or the credit will go to someone else . . . probably me. Hope you can keep up. Everyone start by sending an introduction of yourself to me . . . be creative . . . don't just summarize yourself.