Just as a quick warm-up post, I want to share something that crossed my mind in class today. When Professor Wenthe was talking about how "ichot" was a combination of "ich" and "wot," and how the language was carried down to even Shakespeare's era in Hamlet's speech, "God wot," I mis-wrote in my notebook, "Godot." God knows? Of course my mind immediately jumped to Beckett's Waiting for Godot: Waiting for God Knows...? Perhaps a knowledge of Middle English was one of Beckett's reasons for picking the name. In addition, there are evidence that the phrase "God wot" is in the consciousness of modern artists, such as in the 1868 song "A Bone, God Wot!" and even a 1964 TV series, "Channing: Freedom is a Lovesome Thing God Wot." Just an interesting sneak peek at the continuation of history. I am very interested in the allure of Old/Middle English in the modern world. I am thinking along the lines of inspirations for J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, as well as the genres of fantasy, magic realism, romanticism, and even realism.
I'm still trying to get a feel for my concentration in the class. My future (actual) posts will be more formal...
Julia
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Audio alternative for "Sumer is icumen in"
If for any reason you have trouble gaining access to the recording of "Sumer is icumen in" on the Broadview Anthology website, you should be able to launch a recording of it here. This page is maintained by Elly van Gelderen and can also be reached (more circuitously) via her History of English website, which offers a lot more information and many more links.
The recording on this site begins with the Latin lyrics "Perspice christicola" (the latter word is abbreviated xpicola in the manuscript, using "x" and "p" to represent the chi and rho from the Greek spelling of christos); then it shifts into the Middle English lyrics that are more familiar today.
The recording on this site begins with the Latin lyrics "Perspice christicola" (the latter word is abbreviated xpicola in the manuscript, using "x" and "p" to represent the chi and rho from the Greek spelling of christos); then it shifts into the Middle English lyrics that are more familiar today.
Some lyrical links
Click on the poem names below for links to online images of their texts in manuscript:
"Sumer is icumen in (The Cuckoo Song)"
"Bytuene Mersh and Averil (Alisoun)"
These images are hosted by the Wessex Parallel WebTexts Project, edited by Bella Millett (English, School of Humanities, University of Southampton). I recommend exploring the WPWT site more fully! (It's also linked to the right, under "Useful Online Resources."
"Sumer is icumen in (The Cuckoo Song)"
"Bytuene Mersh and Averil (Alisoun)"
These images are hosted by the Wessex Parallel WebTexts Project, edited by Bella Millett (English, School of Humanities, University of Southampton). I recommend exploring the WPWT site more fully! (It's also linked to the right, under "Useful Online Resources."
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Protocols for posting
Ideally, an entry posted to this blog should both record an interesting thought on the part of its author and strive to provoke further thought on the part of its readers. An entry should be clear and concise, and when appropriate it should make use of the Web-based resources available to blogs (for example, links to specific other pages under discussion or to sites hosting texts or forums of interest, and images that illustrate relevant points of interest).
Posts can vary in length. A paragraph can suffice, provided it offers a complete idea or raises an interesting problem in a fully intelligible way. But a post may also constitute a brief essay in itself, if you are moved to pursue the thread of a particularly interesting topic. Given the screen-based interface, however, you should avoid posting lengthy entries that would require scrolling down for more than a few screens. If you want to sustain an argument that's longer than that, you should really break it down into a series of separate posts. That will both ease readability and help to ensure that comments are focused on discrete points of interest.
As for the topics of your posts, all I ask is that they relate to the subject of our course. How they relate is up to you! You may choose to write a response to a current text under discussion, or you may prefer to continue an argument about a broader theoretical approach. You may also use this space to solicit feedback on your own research interests, or to explore other aspects of our topic that couldn't fit it into our syllabus. Reviews and recommendations of other texts (including articles and books of criticism) are also appropriate, but make sure to avoid mere plot summary or paraphrase—give your readers a sense of the work's value and tackle its claims.
The main purpose of these blog entries is to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information among participants in our class. The exchange can be as lively and as wide-ranging as you want it to be, as focused and as deeply-considered as you can make it. I expect that we'll all learn what posts work best by simply continuing to post, read, and comment regularly. I look forward to following the progress of our blog!
Posts can vary in length. A paragraph can suffice, provided it offers a complete idea or raises an interesting problem in a fully intelligible way. But a post may also constitute a brief essay in itself, if you are moved to pursue the thread of a particularly interesting topic. Given the screen-based interface, however, you should avoid posting lengthy entries that would require scrolling down for more than a few screens. If you want to sustain an argument that's longer than that, you should really break it down into a series of separate posts. That will both ease readability and help to ensure that comments are focused on discrete points of interest.
As for the topics of your posts, all I ask is that they relate to the subject of our course. How they relate is up to you! You may choose to write a response to a current text under discussion, or you may prefer to continue an argument about a broader theoretical approach. You may also use this space to solicit feedback on your own research interests, or to explore other aspects of our topic that couldn't fit it into our syllabus. Reviews and recommendations of other texts (including articles and books of criticism) are also appropriate, but make sure to avoid mere plot summary or paraphrase—give your readers a sense of the work's value and tackle its claims.
The main purpose of these blog entries is to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information among participants in our class. The exchange can be as lively and as wide-ranging as you want it to be, as focused and as deeply-considered as you can make it. I expect that we'll all learn what posts work best by simply continuing to post, read, and comment regularly. I look forward to following the progress of our blog!
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