First Unit Outlook

I definitely did not achieve all my standards, I managed to complete everything that was required, but I was still attempting to figure out how to do everything at once while I was reading. Blogging what we were reading and our general thoughts was so helpful in the term that it was simple to figure out, and you didn't need to upload anything. Diigo was alright, kind of pointless. I learned about the time period of what medieval times was like, and the social status for some people. I also learned to be more responsible and how to step up and do my work. In class I managed my time well, but outside of class I need to apply myself more. I'm gonna make sure I complete the Unit Plan earlier while reading, and contribute more to my blog posts. I definitely overall learned how to apply writing, and expressing my thoughts more clearly with words when analyzing what I'm reading and learning.

Fourth Entry for the Canterbury Tales 2/27/11

The book was alright overall, some of the stories definitely had their funny, quirky moments. Unfortunately, after your halfway through the book, you get tired of reading tales about how the woman and husbands are cheating on each other, and how most women are very deceiving. It wasn't an torturous book to get through, the reading was interesting, just the fact that it was basically the same story plot throughout the entire book. I would recommend it to a person who wants an entertaining read with laughs, and enjoys learning new English words, and how certain things can be phrased to make an entire sentence completely different. Onto the next book!

Thoughts on English Classes in General

Why is it that we are required to adhere to reading certain "classics" in English literature? Why are we not able to pick what we would enjoy reading, rather then prolong the dreading feeling of having to get through yet another complicated book? We are required to analyze what certain exquisite sayings and words mean that were applied in books hundreds of years ago. Some classic's are easy to appreciate, but most of them are not because the idea's and plots are stretched and difficult to relate with the situations we are faced with today. We are more apt to relate to the morals and lessons when we are older, so why are we reading them now? I think one of the main reason's teachers stick with classics is because of the reason that it's hard to find books parents all agree with, but there are a lot of quality books then people conceive to be out there, we just need to look for them. If teachers picked a more recent classic, or any book that they thought had a good moral or lesson to it, then students, though not all, might appreciate it. With a more situational story, students might be willing to be more involved in discussions with the class, because then they might understand the language with a better concept then with old English. Old Classic's are more appreciated during Junior and Senior years, where students have a choice whether they want to learn about old English, then be required to read at a younger age and expect comprehension. Teachers would have more success picking books that a larger percentage of students in the required English classes would comprehend and wouldn't mind getting through.

Third Entry of the Canterbury Tales 2/23/11

More than halfway through the book, some stories you can clearly see the moral of it, whether good or bad, and others I'm still trying to decipher what the moral actually was. The Cleric had a painful storyline of how a man tested his wife horribly to see if she was true to him. A lot of the tales contradict each other, with some saying how to marry a woman is the greatest thing you can do as a man, and others are saying it's the worst experience being tethered by their wives. It's a lot like life today, where some marriages the husband and wife are extremely dedicated, and all others have known are broken marriages. It's all about perception. I'm hoping for the next couple of tales to be about more than people cheating on marriages, and maybe friendship and whatever other substance tales can be about.

Second Entry of The Canterbury Tales 2/18/11

About halfway through the book and the story's and tales are very interesting to read, although some descriptions carry on a bit too long. As I continue reading, I am discovering who was in what social status and what the general people thought about certain professions. Chaucer is doing a good job of displaying the entire story so you can follow how the traveling is sufficing. Hopefully the rest of the tales keep the comedy and entertainment while reading continues.

Overall View of Britsh Lit so Far

It's actually going pretty good, once we get past the first book I know everything will be much less confusing what we are supposed to do. I like how we have a lot of free time to read, discuss the book, and can relax and have time to get our work done. The disadvantage is a lot of things are still confusing as to the fact that we have to keep up with 5 different accounts, but I'm slowly getting there.

First Entry for Canterbury Tales 2/13/11

I have just finished reading the first two  chapters of THE KNIGHTS TALE and so far the story has started off with a very interesting plot, with two cousins going after the same girl in different situations. Theseus finds them fighting, stops them, and Palamon tells him who Arcite and Palamon are. Theseus only takes pity on them when the woman start weeping when he says they should be put to death. Instead, he gives them 50 weeks to find an army of 100 and fight for emily.

Introduction Blog

HEY! I'm Drea, and you will be reading my blogs if you find them interesting. I have an accent over the 'e' in my name, but i never figured out how to do it on the computer, therefore, we are left with 'Drea.' I'm a Junior.

I'm taking British Literature, and I'm taking it because I am a huge fan of Harry Potter, and wanted to find out how Jk. Rowlings writes the way she writes (besides being a genius). Also a lot of great masterpieces came from British Literature, so why not take a class that reads them? I have a lot of questions about the meanings in Shakespeare, and where authors got the basis of their stories from.

The time periods we are learning about are Medieval, Renaissance,  Neoclassical (<- going to find out that is... )Romanticism, and Modern Age. I know Medieval involved swords and grotesque war weapons.Renaissance, Neoclassical, Romanticism, and Modern Age I have yet to find out what makes them different from each other.

I chose to read Canterbury Tales because a couple teachers who's judgment I so far trust, suggested it. I hope to learn more about how Medieval Periods were, and what the people were like back then. My questions involve what the people all believed in (witchcraft, omens, bad luck etc.)

Have fun discovering everything you've always wondered about in British Literature.