Angels in America Essay

For the Angels essay, select one scene and write a close reading about the value judgment that scene asks us as readers/viewers to make about a specific theme. Alternately, you might describe how you stage one scene and how your directorial choices support an interpretation of that scene and the play as a whole. A third option: critique a scene from the HBO production. What did HBO get right/wrong? Why?

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God/The Grand Inquisitor

We didn't get a chance to go over these texts in class. Sinners ... is pretty straightforward. Edwards sees God as rightfully enraged against all humans. We all deserve hell, but some of us are predestined for heaven.

The Grand Inquisitor is much more complicated. The Inquisitor intends to put Christ to death when he returns. He believes Christ fills simple childish people with too much pride, and they must be broken so they can be properly lead by men who know the truth that Christ's message is too radical for this world. The Inquisitor holds Christ captive, but Jesus does not speak when the Inquisitor describes his view. At the conclusion of the Inquisitor's speech, Christ kisses him, and the Inquisitor quietly sets him free.

The relationship to God is really interesting. A good essay might explore to what extent humans need an intermediary to experience God, and what that role might ideally look like.

Angels in America Video

Youtube has most of HBO's excellent production of Angels in America.  I'll post highlights.

Sermo Lupi/Angels in America

Wulfstan believed the world was falling apart because people did not obey God. Specifically, he thought the Church and clergy needed more money and support. He was concerned about the rights of the powerless, such as widows, children, and slaves.

In class we considered how America in the 1990s seemed to be falling apart from a gay man's perspective. Concerns included: civil rights, AIDS, acceptance/understanding, the environment, politics, money, and immigration, among others.

We generated a list of types of people likely to be present in the plays. They included: politicians, religious figures, medical workers, people of different social classes, ethnic and sexual minorities, and homophobes.

Finally, we thought about different ways a gay playwright might envision the relationship between humans and God.

Reading for Fri 3/27

Here is the Sermo Lupi. To get the Modern English translation click on the Translation tab in the column in the margin.

An Apology to Students Who Were Prepared for Class

I didn't mean to imply in word or deed that I take your education less seriously based on the actions of other students.

Body Paragraph Questions

1. What is this paragraph about?

2. How does this paragraph relate to the overall thesis?

3. What evidence supports my assertions? NB: For close reading this will ordinarily be a quote. For other classes you might have a date, stat, etc.

4. How can I show I understand the significance of the evidence?

MIdterm Grades

I have submitted provisional midterm grades. There were some A's. (Keep up the good work!) But 13/50 students are failing, and there are low Cs and Ds. Generally speaking at this point you may raise your grade one letter by doing consistent A work.

If you have missed three or more classes any further absence/tardiness will be cause for failure, as will missing a journal entry if you have submitted fewer than 12 thus far.

NB: Midterm grades do not reflect class participation, so people who've missed a lot of class and/or have not posted class writing on your blogs can expect a lower final grade.

Midterm

Most students did well on the midterm; there were a lot of A's and B's. Everyone seemed to grasp the major themes of Beowulf, and most people are catching on to close reading, but a significant number of students failed. The one and only skill I emphasize in this course is close reading. If you don't quote the text, even if you've got excellent ideas, you have not produced a close reading, which is cause for an F.

PL Essays

A decidedly mixed bag. There were some A's and B's, including an essay I consider the best I've received ever from an undergrad. Clearly, then, the assignment was doable. But about 2/3 of the class got D's and F's. A large number of people didn't turn in the essay; they obviously wanted to fail, so I obliged them. Most of the remaining low grades came from simply not following instructions. Well over half the class ignored the supplemental reading, which cost a full letter grade. A lot of people just paraphrased their passages. The great majority re-hashed class discussion; the very best that'll earn is a B, and can easily get much lower. Not having any/enough quotes was another problem. One essay had significant enough plagiarism to fail, but thankfully not significant enough to fail the semester. 

Not surprisingly, students who wrote journal entries on time and attempted to avoid paraphrase tended to fare better. In terms of your grade journals can come in late, and I don't judge for quality per se, but they are intended as a way for you to practice skills and get feedback.  By the same token, the in-class writing that only a handful of students post is intended to give directed practice. Early in the semester when I warned about not keeping up with the small easy work this is the outcome I feared.  

Midterm: Themes, Suggestions, Reminders

Some themes to keep in mind:

1. History/tradition

2. Gender

3. Names/Genealogy/Stories

4. Treasure

5. Fame

Re-read the passages we talked about in class, and list particular words/phrases we focused on. That list can provide a quick point of entry into the passages on the midterm.

Remember, an outside reading counts for 10% of the grade. You can use the same strategy for notetaking with them.

Sample Close Reading Beowulf 3137-3155

Beowulf's funeral makes an ambiguous statement about the meaning of his life and death. When Beowulf dies, his thanes build a funeral pyre "hung with helmets, heavy war-shields/and shining armor, just as he had ordered" (3139-40). One last time treasure represents respect for the leader. His body is thrown to the fire "and flames wrought havoc in the hot bone-house,/burning it to the core" (3147-8). The source of the hero's strength and renown is easily destroyed. One last unnamed "Geat woman" (3150) sings a lamentation, not for Beowulf, but for "her nation invaded,/enemies on the rampage, bodies in piles,/slavery and abasement" (3153-55). The king's death leaves his people open to all the attacks and humiliations most feared in Anglo-Saxon warrior society.  This funeral, unlike the one which opens the poem is not a simple celebration of the warrior ethos.

Essay Formatting/Reminders/Pet Peeves

A few odds and ends in no particular order of importance:

1. Save a tree - don't use a cover page

2. Double space with standard margins and font size

3. Don't skip lines between paragraphs

4. Work quotes into the body of your sentences

5. Cite line numbers for quotes. Ex: Milton writes, "xxxxx" (PL IX.321).

6. Use present tense consistently in writing about literature

7. Incorporating supplemental readings counts for 10% of the grade

8. A person/someone etc. does not become they/them - watch your pronoun-antecedent agreement

Sample Close Reading Beowulf 1355-57

Grendel and his mother represent a parody of Anglo-Saxon warrior society. Their behavior is understandable; battle is normal, as is avenging one's slain kinsman. Hrothgar's speech, though, shows a number of ways in which this parallel breaks down. He refers to them as "fatherless creatures" (1355) whose "whole ancestry is hidden in a past/of demons and ghosts" (1356-7). In a society obsessed with male lineage unknown parentage marks them as outsiders beyond the pale. Unlike Shield Sheafson, also of unknown origin, they cannot redeem this drawback because they are connected with forces of the underworld.

Sample Close Reading Beowulf 662-665

The poem suggests that Hrothgar might not be the great leader he is portrayed. Knowing that his own mead hall, Heorot, is to be attacked that night by Grendel, Hrothgar entrusts it to the care of Beowulf. The narrator refers to Hrothgar as "lord of the Shieldings, their shelter in war" (663). It is ironic that the shelter should seek his own shelter elsewhere. We are told that Hrothgar left "to lie with Wealtheow,/his queen and bedmate" (664-5). There is a strong emphasis on their sexual relationship. Hrothgar's priority should be the safety of his people; instead, he is seeking the pleasure of the marital bed. 

Beowulf Schedule

We need to keep up with the syllabus, so for Wed. we'll squeeze the readings from today in. Friday we'll have some in-class writing relating to the supplemental reading, so bring it to class.

Beowulf - Background: Sutton Hoo

Sutton Hoo is an important Anglo-Saxon archeological site with lots of artifacts similar to treasures described in Beowulf.