I'm a university student in Dutch(native) & English(non-native) literature, in Belgium. Really love it! I would like to take a degree in performing arts too.
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I'm a university student in Dutch(native) & English(non-native) literature, in Belgium. Really love it! I would like to take a degree in performing arts too.
To Cassiel240: First of all, enlighten up a bit. I had four and half years of college (Catholic U. and Temple U.) and never graduated but really it only means what you want it to. Get the MA; it is a great thing to do. Then get the PHD; they are not near as hard as they used to be (except for Math, Science, Astronomy, Physics, Medicine and about twelve others. In lit however, you must do something original in that field (but you knew that). How hard can that be...just another twist on literary criticism. You got it made and besides that you are still young. I do rant a little myself. quasimodo1
I am an English literature major, living in Norway, though my first language is English. One thing I do to make the study easier and clearer is look up any words I don't understand in a dictionary. There are some advanced learner's distionaries like the one published by Longman publishers, and others. In addition, I get study guides to many of the works I read, from publishers like Cliffnotes, and York Notes. These often have good glossaries to explain unusual words, something which really helps. Speaking of study guides, here is a message I'm putting out in various sections of this site's forum:
I was wondering if you or anyone out there can tell me where to get reputable study guides / glossaries for E.A. Poe's "The man of the Crowd" and Charles Boudelaire's Essay "The Painter of Modern Life" I've gone through cliffnotes, york notes, you name it, and cannot find guides/glossaries for either of these central works (whch I'm studying in a university course on modernism). The Poe work for example has words which I've had a challenge to define precisely. It's easy to find study guides with good glossaries for more well known stories, like "The fall of the House of Usher" or "The Dubliners" but where do you go for the something like "The Man of the Crowd"????
Can you recommend a repudable study guide for Poe's "The Man of the Crowd" and the French poet Boudelaire's essay "The Painter of modern Life" ?? I need good glossaries that define some of the more unusual words used in the Poe story, and possibly in the essay (I have only started reading the essay).
I have been looking in the usual cliff notes etc. Since you have a PhD, maybe you have found some good sources of information regarding this.
I am a graduate English Literature student, waiting for my degree. I am from Greece, I've always loved reading, my father studied Theatre. When I was twelve years old, I realised I began to love English, as well, so the result came naturally...
i'm still in high school and my english teacher asked me to give an introdutcion to world literature. loved reading but that report just made me love literature all the more. even before that, though, i already listed literature as one of the courses i'm interested in taking on my college application forms. english is my mother tongue, by the way:)
I'm very glad to know that your one of us... By the way, I'm also a new member of this network...One effective strategy of inclining in Literature is to read and reab and read literary documents(e.g. books, magazines...etc) or better yet surf in the internet for some great authors and try to decipher every techniques they are using....:idea:
Hi..........
This is Ashwinkumar wish you best wishesh.
I am working as lecturer in english. I wish to share your views regarding literature. Please feel comfortable to communicate with me.:) :thumbs_up
I kind of am. English and German, hoping to do Masters in Comparative Literature. This poll is a riot, by the way. I'm saying this even though I know you won't get this, because you've been inactive for 5 years. Quite fun poll, all the same.
I'll be starting next year after taking a break touring some of the American South. I can't wait. High school English classes were always the ones that stuck with me anyways.
hi everybody, this is my first participation.
i'm an English literature student, but i can never think about teaching, i believe that the good teacher should be patient and this can never be one of my characteristics.
hi! it's the first time i post anything. I actually became a member yesterday. I study english literature (well, it;s not just literature because i am a freshman year student, so i also study linguistics and other subjects). I like literature in general so, i don't just read english or american literature just because i have to. After all, it was my choice!. I don't believe that you need to study something in order to understand it better. What you can do, except from improving your knowledge on the english language, if you are not a native speaker of course, is to learn more about the history of england. This would be good for understanding the content of the text, the facts that are discussed and the culture that is presented. That's the best advice i can give you in terms of comprehending the context. I hope you did not mean something different, unless of course you meant understanding an untranslated version of an english novel. Well, if that counts, i am not an english native speaker. I hope you finally manage to have an excellent understanding of english literature. good luck!
Nope, but I am off to university next year to study Comparative Literature - therefore I will not be studying specifically Anglistics and English Literature, but it will be a part of my studies. :)
I am an English Literature student, too. I love my major and really enjoy it and I am a fresh(wo)men, we studied Old English Period, Medieval English Literatue and some selections. I really love Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and adore writers of these periods although most of the writers are not known :( I think Piers Plowman is also a real magnum opus. Using seven deadly sins as allegorical characters, Langland was very creative and with characters' confessions he tells people what they should not to do. I really enjoyed this year and I sat the literature final exam. Now,I am waiting for next semester's literature course impatiently :)
I'm an English Literature student too - I'm only in secondary school but we were given a choice to study what we wanted, though the combinations were rather limited, and I chose the combination with Lit in it, since I did badly (and also because I lurve it) and one of the combinations that had Lit in it was for a "weaker" class.
I am a student of English literature too and am currently finishing my first year at university.
I'm in University, studying English (literature of course, since I am a native speaker) Italian (just language right now, I cannot yet read well enough), and probably French later on. I plan to teach, but I am going to get as many degrees as I can first, before I go anywhere. Maybe I can get the Ph.D. and get a lecturing position at a university. I'd have to get Ejlert to kill himself first though...
No, I'm not an Eng Lit student but I used to be one in the Dear Dead Days Beyond Recall. Now that I have retired I can go back to read the books I always meant to read or re-read the ones I enjoyed first time round.
I realise this makes me old enough to be Grandma to most of you. :D
Nope. Well, not on an academic level. I only studied it at school, though I may drop philosophy so I can take it up in college next year.
LoveyDovey ~ I am a current part-time student involved in theatre. I fell in love with English lit when I found the trench poets Sigfried Sassoon & Wilfred Owen just to name a couple. I was active duty in the military at the time, and they helped me make sense of some things I was struggling with. I went on to discover Virginia, Dylan and Orwell.
I have some great books that help with understanding the times, like: London in Dicken's Day (Jacob Korg/Prentice Hall); Shakespeare's Critics - from Jonson to Auden (U of Michigan Press); Shakespeare of London (Marchette Chute/Dutton); Samuel Johnson's Lives of the English Poets (Gateway); and A Hundred English Essays (Nelson). I bought a Johnson's Dictionary to help with words I found in Shakespeare's dialogue that I wasn't familiar with too. He used slang like "pard" = leopard.
IMHO, to understand ourselves as literate (and hopefully progressive) humans, we should understand the epics of Gilgamesh, Chaucer and so on. I recently found a hilarious play that was resurrected. Originally written by Englishman George Farquhar (1707). Thornton Wilder began a revision but it went unfinished until Ken Ludwig recently finished and produced it on stage -- The Beaux' Stratagem.
Hope this helps. Literature helps to make us richer as a human race if the race will only realise it. I know it's helped me through the insanity. Peace to all of us -- Carl
Finance/ accounting double major in senior year of undergrad. I have a feeling I may be in the minority here. Anybody else in this or a similar sector?
I'm first year uni doing English Lit, I'm considering doing further study after my degree.
I was graduated a few months ago, but want to continue my studies. To be a good reader of literature, i think you have to know it academically. by acamdemically i do not mean to study english literature at the university, but following the way.
I'm an English/History major, and I guess that had I not studied English at Uni I would probably not have known as much or understood as much. I think university has the advantage of providing teachers who can show you new things and explain ideas. And university libraries are also really good for finding scholarly material. I think one of the best ways to stimulate thought is reading what other people have said about books.
But, if you don't have access to any of this, then I think the best advice is to look around for critical material, read as widely as possible, even the obscure stuff, and try and find like-minded people to talk to about the books you're reading.
Most of my literature reading was done before entering university; although I began as a Comp Lit major, changed to Modern History, and ended up majoring in Philosophy, the literary background was invaluable to understanding all of the humanities courses, and reading literature was a constant enjoyment. The more great works you read, the more perspectives you meet, and the better (hopefully) you write.
yes..i am a literature student..i love it n i study it at my school..and in two years time i will appear for my GCE EXAM..i love reading books and books are my passion..!
My B.A. and M.A. are in English, but I'm planning on starting law school next year.
No, I don't study literature.
Oh, finally someone sees the light!Quote:
Originally Posted by EricP
:p
You're not alone, I work in Finance and am studying accountancy part time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kilgore_Trout
Nope, I have taken a couple of English Lit classes at university but I am a History major. Yes, I would still read if my only motivation was enjoyment.
Hello,:wave:
yes I am an English literature student. I study in a college. I am a final year studen. this year we are studying modern literature.
I am in a different category: I am a literature teacher.
I'm a second year student studying English translation, not literature.
I think that sometimes studying literature takes the pleasure from reading. I'll rather read books for my own fun without over-analysing them.
At what level?Quote:
Originally Posted by enzobambino
You're going to have to analyze pretty deeply to translate though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Annamariah
Yes, and can the study of literature really take away the pleasure of it, or does it merely add to its enjoyment? To me the common idea that studying something takes away the pleasure just doesn't fit.
Does the chef not eat better due to his knowledge of food?
I personally love studying literature, and love going to my lectures on books. One of my professors in particular shows me many great things that I completely would have missed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Neely
On the other hand, in highschool, studying literature was rather dull. The reason? Well, the teacher quite plainly. If someone herself doesn't care about the works, and is choosing rather dry and boring poems and things to read, then how can it be fun.
Highschool literature classes simply don't compare. University ones however, are incredibly enjoyable.
Yes, agree, the higher the level the more interesting it gets. It is difficult not to appreciate literature much more with the addition of studying theory and criticism at university level and things of that nature.
You may be a little hard on your school teachers though, I think that the school arrangements (11-16) don't lend itself that well to the study of literature as much as at a higher level. This is certainly the case in the UK at least. Literature at this level seems more concerned with character and themes and things of a basic foundation, than looking at the more interesting concepts. Of course there is all the 'jumping through hoops' and red tape at school level too. There is so much pressure to meet targets that teachers are all but forced to ‘teach to the test’ in order to satisfy the powers that be, so unfortunately pleasure doesn’t come into it here much. :(
I could not agree more Neely, I love the analogyQuote:
Originally Posted by Neely
Ha ha, thanks, (when I say "food" I am really thinking of "beer").
It is quite a common thing that people think studying something can take away from its enjoyment, I have heard this sort of thing expressed many times. The "over analysing" thing is usually thrown-up sometimes too. People get hung up on authorial intention and "reading too much into things" when the reality is of course that is almost impossible. (Yes there are times when studying itself is a nag but this is small fry.)
I doubt that anything above, The Phone Book, can be analysed down to one meaning, or a particular reading. Of course if it can be, it is not worth reading very much at all. No offence Annamariah naturally.
I am currently studying theory and criticism. My problem is I seem to have theory overload and am now looking for so many different theories in one piece of writing. It is still enjoyable though.