ALWAYS WONDERFUL ENGLISH CLASS
When someone asks me “How was class?”, I’m sometimes temped to say, “Wonderful. They’re always wonderful” – but I’m sure I would be misunderstood. I definitely wouldn’t mean that all my classes are thorough or exciting or successful, for many of them are the opposite -- half-baked, mind-numbing, and hopeless. In 40+ years in the classroom, I’m sure I’ve left behind a long trail of busted plans and broken down lessons. No, when I say that all my classes are “wonderful”, I’m referring to the word’s original meaning – “full of wonder”. I truly wonder at all of my classes. Even a class that seems rife with tedium is worthy of wonder, as in, “What in the world am I doing in this profession?”, or “How did the universe manage to set these kids and me down in this little classroom?” The truth is that my students – all of them – are deserving of wonder, by the very fact that they breathe and think and smile and see. They often act in ways that befuddle and frustrate me, but that only adds to my feeling of astonishment, for the frustration they cause me comes from their out-and-out inscrutability. I have absolutely no idea who or what they are. I am often lost in amazement at their impenetrability, their mysteriousness. If I frequently look bewildered after my classes, it’s not because a class flopped (thought it well might have), but simply because I’m truly full of wonder, day after day. To paraphrase Butch Cassidy, “Who are these kids? Who am I? What are we doing here?”
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
A TREE IN THE CENTER OF ENGLISH CLASS
(Note: Labels and colors are for my students, and indicate parts of the paragraph.)TS This morning, I happened to come across a photograph in a magazine of an enormous beech tree standing in the middle of an otherwise empty field, and it reminded me, oddly enough, of English class. SD I realized, as I stared at the picture, that the only reason the tree looked so strong and beautiful was because of the backdrop of the completely empty field. CM It may sound obvious to some, but the thought then came to me that the emptier the background, the more clearly visible an object is. CM Set against this utterly vacant field, the great tree stood forth in all its magnificence. SD Strange as it might seem, I wondered, as I put the magazine down, whether my English class was empty enough. CM When I set my daily lesson before the class, is it surrounded by something like an empty field – a setting so plain, you might say, that the lesson displays itself with all its clout (assuming it has some)? CM Are the students sometimes drawn to my lesson because it seems to stand alone, like this morning’s tree in its spacious and vacant field? SD I’m not sure where this train of thought is heading, but one idea that occurs to me is that silence is a form of emptiness. CM Perhaps occasional periods of silence could be the field in which my English lessons might locate themselves with a certain clarity and even dignity. CM Perhaps surrounding and permeating a lesson with brief interludes of silence might render the lessons more vivid, more memorable. SD I’ve often thought, actually, that there is too much “noise” in my classes – not the noise of disruption and inattention, but simply the noise of constant talking. CM Surrounding a well-planned lesson with so much talk is like surrounding a beautiful tree with a mishmash of brush and saplings. CM As valuable as the constant talk in my classes may be, it leaves little room for the powerful emptiness of silence.CS 1 Maybe I should say to the students next week, “We’re going to have a minute of silence now before I begin the lesson on the use of participles to enhance writing. Please try to enjoy the silence.” CS 2 Who knows? Perhaps the tree of my lesson might be a little easier to see.
A MODEL THREE-PARAGRAPH ESSAY ON TWO CHARACTERS IN A NOVEL
(Notice that I have put the three chunks in different colors, just to show that each one deals with a separate idea -- though each chunk is related to the overall TS of the paragraph. Also, I have underlined the transitions -- and notice the fairly interesting CS. The last sentence should probably be the best sentence of the paragraph.)
Jimmy Johnson
English 8
Mr. Salsich
9 January 2009
Friendships are often mysterious inexplicable things, keeping two people together who sometimes seem to be exact opposites. Even the best of friends can seem like oil and water, never quite able to blend and mix with each other. In David Copperfield, David, the protagonist, is the water, and his good friend Steerforth is the oil. They never quite mix, and in the end, their relationship drains away entirely.
TS Early in the novel, David falls completely under the spell of Steerforth, but by the end, the only spell is the one cast by the sorrow of a vanished friendship. SD At the beginning, when they meet at Salem House, their boarding school, the light of Steerforth’s wit and intelligence shines over David and thoroughly charms him. CM Steerforth is the teacher and David is his willing pupil. CM David calls him “the leader of our group of learners”, and Steerforth leads him with a soft but steady grip. SD As the story progresses, the reader begins to clearly see the odd differences between these two friends. CM David is a quiet, diffident, and hesitant boy, while Steerforth is loud, self-assured, and aggressive. CM David, we might say, is the sheep, while Steerforth is the shepherd. SD In the end, the relationship shatters when a startling revelation is made about Steerforth and a girl who is a good friend of Davids. CM It as if their differences finally blew up in their faces. David says, “Whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do well”, but even his devotion and good-heartedness can’t save the friendship. CS Even friendship can’t survive certain shocking revelations.
Oil and water don’t mix, but, like good friends, they can live side by side. David Copperfield and James Steerforth walked through their young years together, despite between two very different people. Only an explosion of disappointment eventually demolished this strangest of fictional friendships.
NOTES:
1) Be sure to use the proper form for the heading, title, and subtitle. Give the book’s title and author in your title or in the opening paragraph.
2) Titles of novels should be either in italics or underlined.
3) Use only very short quotes, and blend them into your own sentences. NEVER use a quote as a separate sentence.
4) In the final paragraph, again mention the book, the author, and/or the characters.
5) BE SURE THAT EACH CHUNK DEALS ONLY WITH THE TOPIC OF THE SUPPORTING DETAIL (SD). THE CMs SHOULD EXPLAIN THE SD.
(Notice that I have put the three chunks in different colors, just to show that each one deals with a separate idea -- though each chunk is related to the overall TS of the paragraph. Also, I have underlined the transitions -- and notice the fairly interesting CS. The last sentence should probably be the best sentence of the paragraph.)
Jimmy Johnson
English 8
Mr. Salsich
9 January 2009
An Odd Couple:
An Examination of the Friendship between David and Steerforth in David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Friendships are often mysterious inexplicable things, keeping two people together who sometimes seem to be exact opposites. Even the best of friends can seem like oil and water, never quite able to blend and mix with each other. In David Copperfield, David, the protagonist, is the water, and his good friend Steerforth is the oil. They never quite mix, and in the end, their relationship drains away entirely.
TS Early in the novel, David falls completely under the spell of Steerforth, but by the end, the only spell is the one cast by the sorrow of a vanished friendship. SD At the beginning, when they meet at Salem House, their boarding school, the light of Steerforth’s wit and intelligence shines over David and thoroughly charms him. CM Steerforth is the teacher and David is his willing pupil. CM David calls him “the leader of our group of learners”, and Steerforth leads him with a soft but steady grip. SD As the story progresses, the reader begins to clearly see the odd differences between these two friends. CM David is a quiet, diffident, and hesitant boy, while Steerforth is loud, self-assured, and aggressive. CM David, we might say, is the sheep, while Steerforth is the shepherd. SD In the end, the relationship shatters when a startling revelation is made about Steerforth and a girl who is a good friend of Davids. CM It as if their differences finally blew up in their faces. David says, “Whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do well”, but even his devotion and good-heartedness can’t save the friendship. CS Even friendship can’t survive certain shocking revelations.
Oil and water don’t mix, but, like good friends, they can live side by side. David Copperfield and James Steerforth walked through their young years together, despite between two very different people. Only an explosion of disappointment eventually demolished this strangest of fictional friendships.
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NOTES:
1) Be sure to use the proper form for the heading, title, and subtitle. Give the book’s title and author in your title or in the opening paragraph.
2) Titles of novels should be either in italics or underlined.
3) Use only very short quotes, and blend them into your own sentences. NEVER use a quote as a separate sentence.
4) In the final paragraph, again mention the book, the author, and/or the characters.
5) BE SURE THAT EACH CHUNK DEALS ONLY WITH THE TOPIC OF THE SUPPORTING DETAIL (SD). THE CMs SHOULD EXPLAIN THE SD.
A MODEL PARAGRAPH ANALYZING A PASSAGE FROM SHAKESPEARE
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Tommy Johnson
English 9
Mr. Salsich
9 January 2009
TS In Act 2, Scene 1 of The Tempest, Shakespeare uses several literary techniques to convey the shock and sorrow Miranda felt as she watched the ship go down in the storm. SD He uses personification when she describes to her father the sounds of distress she heard coming from the ship, saying they “did knock/ Against my very heart." CM The cries are only cries, but to Miranda they seemed to have hands that were actually knocking upon the door of her feelings. CM There is also personification in her description of the sea that “swallow’d … the … souls within” the ship, as if the sea were a living monster preying on ships and crews. SD Additionally a particularly interesting technique in this passage is Shakespeare’s use of alliteration. CM “Have sunk the sea” and “the good ship so have swallow’d” are lines containing as much verbal music as emotional intensity. CM The sweet ‘s’ sounds somehow make the power of the lines more concentrated.
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NOTES: 1) Be sure to use the correct form for heading, title, and subtitle. 2) Notice that the title of the play must be underlined or in italics. 3) Blend very short quotes smoothly into your own sentences. 4) Use a slash to indicate where the line in the play ends. 5) Use ellipsis to show that you left some words out of the quote. 6)In this phrase -- "as much verbal music as emotional intensity" -- I tried to use parallelism, repeating the adj-noun combination. Does it work? 6) Do you notice any alliteration in my sentences?
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Tommy Johnson
English 9
Mr. Salsich
9 January 2009
An Artistic Storm:
The Use Of Personification And Alliteration In A Passage From The Tempest
TS In Act 2, Scene 1 of The Tempest, Shakespeare uses several literary techniques to convey the shock and sorrow Miranda felt as she watched the ship go down in the storm. SD He uses personification when she describes to her father the sounds of distress she heard coming from the ship, saying they “did knock/ Against my very heart." CM The cries are only cries, but to Miranda they seemed to have hands that were actually knocking upon the door of her feelings. CM There is also personification in her description of the sea that “swallow’d … the … souls within” the ship, as if the sea were a living monster preying on ships and crews. SD Additionally a particularly interesting technique in this passage is Shakespeare’s use of alliteration. CM “Have sunk the sea” and “the good ship so have swallow’d” are lines containing as much verbal music as emotional intensity. CM The sweet ‘s’ sounds somehow make the power of the lines more concentrated.
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NOTES: 1) Be sure to use the correct form for heading, title, and subtitle. 2) Notice that the title of the play must be underlined or in italics. 3) Blend very short quotes smoothly into your own sentences. 4) Use a slash to indicate where the line in the play ends. 5) Use ellipsis to show that you left some words out of the quote. 6)In this phrase -- "as much verbal music as emotional intensity" -- I tried to use parallelism, repeating the adj-noun combination. Does it work? 6) Do you notice any alliteration in my sentences?
Mr. Salsich
English 9
17 October 2008
CRYING THROUGH POETRY:
An Essay on a Poem and My Life
When I feel like crying, I sometimes read poetry. 2. Perhaps the words of the poet do the crying for me, or maybe the wisdom in the poetic lines help the tears disappear. 3. A few years ago, when my brother’s wife passed away after a long and painful illness, I cried a lot, but I also found consolation in poetry. 4. I was especially helped by reading one section of “In Memoriam” by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
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TS Tennyson uses personification to help him face his own grief over the loss of his best friend, Arthur Hallam, who was drowned at a young age. SD As if he is speaking to a thinking, feeling person, he addresses an “old yew” tree in a cemetery, a tree whose “roots are wrapt about the bones” of the dead. CM He seems to admire the serenity of the old tree, which “changest not in any gale”, but remains the same “through a thousand years of gloom.” CM The poet wishes he could escape from the depths of his sorrow and be like the tree, which remains steady despite the “branding summer suns.” SD Tennyson’s life has changed drastically with his friend’s death, but the ancient tree has a “stubborn hardihood” that the poet yearns for. CM “The seasons bring the flowers again”, but nothing seems to affect the yew tree. CM It never has “the glow, the bloom” of younger trees, but it also never seems to suffer like the poet is suffering. SD In fact, the poet is grieving so much that he is “sick”, almost suicidal. CM It’s almost as if he wants to end his troubled life and become something else – perhaps a serene old tree in a quiet cemetery. CM He wants to “fail from out [his] blood” and “grow incorporate” into the tree – become one with everlasting nature. CS Tennyson expresses in this poem the eternal longing for peace during times of grief.
TS I also longed for peace after my brother’s wife passed away, and I found a semblance of it through poetry. SD First, I wrote a few poems during the days just before and after she died. CM I sat at my desk in the early morning hours and just let the grief flow easily onto the paper. CM Perhaps I felt like Tennyson did as he composed his dozens of poems about his good friend – both of us trying to get rid of our personal sorrow. SD In addition, I went back to some of my favorite poets to assuage my grief. CM I read the late poems of Walt Whitman, where he not only says he is unafraid of death, but declares there actually is no death. CM The universe is an infinite place, Whitman says, where nothing ever dies, where all things liver forever, though in shifting shapes and existences. SD Finally, I found comfort in listening to the poetry of music. CM During the summer before her death, my musical family recorded a CD especially for Denise, and I spent much time listening to the beautiful songs, both before and after she died. CM There was as much poetry in those songs as in Tennyson’s poem, and it came from the hearts of my brothers and sisters. CS Thank to poetry I came to see that, despite Denise’s death, there is still and eternal amount of life to be lived.
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1. Crying is a healthy thing to do. 2. Grief is a natural feeling, and tears are a natural response to grief. 3. We should hate the fact that a loved one is gone, but we should not hate the fact that we are crying over the loss. 4. I cried a lot over the death of my brother’s wife, and both Alfred Lord Tennyson and I softened our grief through poetry.
ASSIGNMENT: In 35 minutes, write a four paragraph essay in which you summarize and discuss the literary style of William Stevenson’s essay, “Let's Cheer for Idleness”. Use the 8-sentence formula for body paragraphs.
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Hamilton Salsich
Mr. Salsich
English 9
16 October 2008
The Good Side of Idleness:
An Appreciation of “An Apology for Idlers” by William Stevenson
1) Finally I found a writer who justifies idleness 2. William Stevenson not only justifies it, he praises it. 3. According to Stevenson, idleness is an absolute necessity if we are going to live a healthful and dignified life. 4. Using vibrant imagery and graceful sentences structures, he raises idleness from the pit of disrepute to the high level of a distinguished virtue.
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Hamilton Salsich
Mr. Salsich
English 9
16 October 2008
The Good Side of Idleness:
An Appreciation of “An Apology for Idlers” by William Stevenson
1) Finally I found a writer who justifies idleness 2. William Stevenson not only justifies it, he praises it. 3. According to Stevenson, idleness is an absolute necessity if we are going to live a healthful and dignified life. 4. Using vibrant imagery and graceful sentences structures, he raises idleness from the pit of disrepute to the high level of a distinguished virtue.
1st Body Paragraph
TS The essay is structured somewhat like a tower. SD In the beginning, the author offers a solid definition of idleness, which will serve as a sort of foundation for the entire essay. CM He describes idleness as “the willingness to enjoy exactly what’s happening right now.” CM Idleness, Stevenson says, is not a complicated virtue, but simply the ability to live in the present instead of the future or the past. SD In the second half of the essay, he describes the pleasures that he has gained from his devotion to, as he calls it, “creative laziness.” CM He takes us on a tour of his own daily habits, including expeditions to the river for a day of indolent fishing and “tranquil afternoons beneath an apple tree with a fine book in [his] hands.” CM Stevenson fondly dotes on the many hours he’s spent doing “absolutely nothing that’s helpfulk or productive”, praising the fact that idleness offers him, day after day, the opportunity to grow as a full human being. CS He ends the essay the way all essays should end, with a bang: He tells us that “being indolent is a far greater accomplishment than being successful.”
2nd body paragraph
TS In order to get his point across, Mr. Stevenson uses a variety of graceful and strong sentence structures. SD One of his favorites is the appositive in a loose sentence, as in: “It was a gorgeous day, a day of lounging in the grass, skimming stones on the river’s surface, and strolling as slowly as a free-and-easy cow.” CM His many loose sentences seem to add to the feeling of idleness in the essay. CM using sentences that string phrases out at the end, he amplifies the sense of long, endless, and lazy days. SD Stevenson also uses purposeful repetition to build up power in his sentences. CM In one forceful sentence he writes, “There is no reason, no logic, no sense, no sanity in spending your days doing endless chores.” CM Reading a potent sentence like that can’t help but draw the reader into some kind of agreement with the author’s point. CS Stevenson praises idleness, but his beautiful sentences could move a reader’s thoughts to be anything but idle.
Concluding paragraph
1) I enjoy being idle, and I enjoy reading essays that make idleness seem like exactly the right way to live. 2) I felt like I should have read James Stevenson’s essay under and apple tree on a lazy summer day, or in a canoe as I drifted down a lethargic river. 3) As soon as I finish this essay, I’m going to do absolutely nothing for a few hours. 4) Stevenson says it’s exactly what a good doctor would order.
PARAGRAPH WITH PURPOSEFUL REPETITION USING CONJUNCTIONS AND PREPOSITIONS
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ONE YEAR WITH AN ENGLISH TEACHER
Day 127, April 11, 2008
TS I had some discouraging days as a teacher this week, so this weekend I’m working hard to get back in touch with the basic truth that teaching is not about me. SD It’s not about whether “I” am a good teacher – whether “I” created exciting lessons this week and challenged “my” students and kept “my” classes running smoothly and made “my” students happy to be in “my” class. (In the previous sentence, I used the subordinate conjunction "whether" followed by a dash, which set up some good purposeful repetition using the coodinate conjunction "and" as a bridge) All of that kind of thinking is what sends teachers down the ego-trip road. CM It’s what sets up unrealistic goals and causes real discouragement. (In the prev. sent., I used two sets of adj-noun combinations for purposeful repetition) SD This weekend I’m quietly reminding myself that teaching is not about a person called a teacher, but about a process called education. ("not about ... but about" -- purposeful repeition -- and again in the next sentence) CM It’s not about some “me” who stands in front of students, but about a progression, an evolution, a constant growth called learning. (the prep. "about" followed by three objects-- purposeful repetition) CM An individual teacher is no more important to this process than one small breeze is to a great wind. SD An immeasurable force called education is at work in my classroom, and I and my students are merely participants in that force. CM To set myself up as the originator of that force, or as being responsible for keeping the force moving, is the height of foolish pride. CM It’s like one small wave in the ocean saying, “I’ve been a bad wave today, and therefore the ocean is not going to work as well.” SD Do I need to continue to try to become a better teacher, to examine my mistakes and improve my lessons? CM Of course, but I need also to humbly keep in mind that the process I’m involved in, whether called education, learning, or growth, or some other term, is as vast and mysterious as the great rivers of the world. CM One small current in one part of the
Mr. Salsich
English 9
27 September 2008
Peace, Outside and In:
An Essay about an Early-morning Walk
Notice that I use the formulas: 4 sentences for the opening and closing paragraphs, 11 sentences for the first body paragraph, and 8 sentences for the second body. (Actually, I left out the CS in the second body, which you should NOT do.)
1) This morning, fortunately for me, I discovered two kinds of peace. 2) On my pre-dawn hike up and down the hill in front of my apartment, I was surrounded by the silence of an autumn morning – the best kind of peacefulness that late September has to offer. 3) Also, I felt a quiet peace serenity inside myself – a feeling that absolutely everything was exactly the way it should be. 4) As my old boots walked padded up the sidewalk, my entire world seemed calm and quiet.
In the next paragraph, I took some extra time to change -- or polish -- some sentences. Try to make time to do that. It's the part of writing that I enjoy most of all.
TS The morning itself seemed utterly still. SD Yes, there was an occasional call from a distant small-town rooster, and a solitary car came by cruised past periodically, but for the most part, tranquility had taken hold of the neighborhood. CM Nothing was stirring; no voice was heard, no movement made. CM The only thing happening was an old teacher taking his daily exercise in the midst of perfect quiet. SD Strangely, the dampness of the morning seemed to contribute to the feeling of calm. CM Rainstorms have been hanging aroundstaying in town for several days now, drenching soaking us every so often, and the moisture this morning was heavy and all aroundundisturbed. CM As I walked, I wondered if the solid dampness, by smothering any signs of disturbance, somehow caused the atmosphere of peace by getting rid of any signs of disturbance.SDThe streetlamps, too, seemed to add to the atmosphere of stillness. CM Their soft golden light lingered around me like a friend as I walked up and down the hill. CM They shone with a quietness that kept all concerns and worries out of my mind. CS All I needed to do, I felt, was walk and enjoy the peace of the morning, and that’s what I did.<
The word "that" in the next sentence serves as a transition (or bridge) from the previous paragraph. It hooks up with "kept all concerns and worries out of my mind" to make a nice bridge.
TS That, perhaps, was the luckiest part for me – the fact that this peace along feeling of peace inside me. SD During these past three weeks of the start of another school year, I have found myself swept up in a confusion of duties and tasks, and it was a relief to feel, finally, some of the old peacefulness of summer again this morning. CM I felt utterly relaxed as I walked. CM I knew there were lesson plans waiting to be made and small chores waiting to be done, but somehow they stayed patiently in the back of my mind, as if they knew that this morning was just for walking, not worrying. SD I also felt a calm confidence that is unusual for me. CM I felt that I could handle whatever came my way today – a messed up task, a shortage of ideas for a lesson plan, or just a really steep hill for hiking. CM Somehow, as I trudged up the hill for the fourth time, it was clear to me that I could calmly carry any burden the world might bring my way today.
In the last paragraph, I take the reader back to the opening paragraph. The word "lucky" hooks up with the word "fortunately", thus tying the essay together nicely. (Oh, I love "combat and dismay" instead of the more boring "war and sadness".)
Hamilton Salsich
Mr. Salsich
English 9
21 September 2009
Nostalgia or Silliness:
A Study of One Article about Wordsworth’s “Intimation Ode”
1)Great poets are not supposed to be silly. 2) No one wants to come across a completely juvenile line in a famous poem by, say, William Shakespeare. 3) Poets are often accused of this offense, and William Wordsworth is no exception. 4) Erik Gray recently lamented that Wordsworth’s most famous ode is filled with immature remarks that border on foolishness, and it might be worthwhile to examine the validity of his claim.
TS Writing in the Philological Quarterly, Mr. Gray, an Assistant Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, makes the claim that Wordsworth’s portrayal of youthful wisdom is entirely without foundation. SD When the poet claims that the boy is a "Mighty Prophet! [and] Seer blest ” (721), Gray chides Wordsworth for being overly syrupy and unfaithful to the facts. CM There is no rational proof, says Professor Gray, for ascribing such incredible wisdom and prophetic powers to a child (18). CM It’s silliness, according to Gray, for a poet of Wordsworth’s powers to resort to such ridiculous tricks. SD Professor Gray goes on to say that earlier critics of Wordsworth have noticed the same thing. CM Coleridge, in fact, protested against the ridiculousness of parts of the “Ode” soon after it was published. CM In addition, Gray reminds us that Mathew Arnold saw no reason to praise the famous poem, since he thought it was filled with juvenile reasoning and “silly ideas” (Gray 13). CS Professor ends his article with by saying that “great poets ought not to resort to the kind of overstatements we normally associate with rattle-brained children” (19).
TS I couldn’t disagree more with the learned professor from Columbia. SD First of all, Wordsworth was not writing an article for an encyclopedia, but a poem. CM An encyclopedia demands that we be precise, authoritative, and strictly accurate, but a poem makes no such demands. CM In the Ode, Wordsworth was simply pouring out his innermost intuitions about childhood, memory, and immortality. CM He was writing right from the heart, and, in doing so, he should not be judged in the same way that we judge scholars who write for encyclopedias. SD Furthermore, since when do we judge another person for doing exactly what we are doing? CM Professor Gray is suggesting that the poet can’t see into the mind of a child, but Gray himself is pretending to see into the mind of Wordsworth. CM He’s committing the same crime that he’s railing against. CS The learned professor should look to his own scholarly faults before he censures others.
1) William Wordsworth (and every other great poet) was probably “silly” in many of his poems, but not, I think, in the “Intimations Ode”. 2) For me it remains one of the finest poems in the English language. 3) Professor Gray, in attempting to convince his readers of the poets inanity, perhaps only succeeded in pointing the finger back at himself. 4) I found his article to be greatly inferior in depth and breadth to any single line in Wordsworth's wondrous poem.
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Works Cited
Gray, Erik. “Nostalgia, the Classics, and the Intimations Ode: Wordsworth's Forgotten Education”. Philological Quarterly, Vol. 80, May 2001. http://ww.questia.com/read/5000637724?title=Nostalgia%2c%20th
Mr. Salsich
English 9
21 September 2009
Nostalgia or Silliness:
A Study of One Article about Wordsworth’s “Intimation Ode”
1)Great poets are not supposed to be silly. 2) No one wants to come across a completely juvenile line in a famous poem by, say, William Shakespeare. 3) Poets are often accused of this offense, and William Wordsworth is no exception. 4) Erik Gray recently lamented that Wordsworth’s most famous ode is filled with immature remarks that border on foolishness, and it might be worthwhile to examine the validity of his claim.
TS Writing in the Philological Quarterly, Mr. Gray, an Assistant Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, makes the claim that Wordsworth’s portrayal of youthful wisdom is entirely without foundation. SD When the poet claims that the boy is a "Mighty Prophet! [and] Seer blest ” (721), Gray chides Wordsworth for being overly syrupy and unfaithful to the facts. CM There is no rational proof, says Professor Gray, for ascribing such incredible wisdom and prophetic powers to a child (18). CM It’s silliness, according to Gray, for a poet of Wordsworth’s powers to resort to such ridiculous tricks. SD Professor Gray goes on to say that earlier critics of Wordsworth have noticed the same thing. CM Coleridge, in fact, protested against the ridiculousness of parts of the “Ode” soon after it was published. CM In addition, Gray reminds us that Mathew Arnold saw no reason to praise the famous poem, since he thought it was filled with juvenile reasoning and “silly ideas” (Gray 13). CS Professor ends his article with by saying that “great poets ought not to resort to the kind of overstatements we normally associate with rattle-brained children” (19).
TS I couldn’t disagree more with the learned professor from Columbia. SD First of all, Wordsworth was not writing an article for an encyclopedia, but a poem. CM An encyclopedia demands that we be precise, authoritative, and strictly accurate, but a poem makes no such demands. CM In the Ode, Wordsworth was simply pouring out his innermost intuitions about childhood, memory, and immortality. CM He was writing right from the heart, and, in doing so, he should not be judged in the same way that we judge scholars who write for encyclopedias. SD Furthermore, since when do we judge another person for doing exactly what we are doing? CM Professor Gray is suggesting that the poet can’t see into the mind of a child, but Gray himself is pretending to see into the mind of Wordsworth. CM He’s committing the same crime that he’s railing against. CS The learned professor should look to his own scholarly faults before he censures others.
1) William Wordsworth (and every other great poet) was probably “silly” in many of his poems, but not, I think, in the “Intimations Ode”. 2) For me it remains one of the finest poems in the English language. 3) Professor Gray, in attempting to convince his readers of the poets inanity, perhaps only succeeded in pointing the finger back at himself. 4) I found his article to be greatly inferior in depth and breadth to any single line in Wordsworth's wondrous poem.
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Works Cited
Gray, Erik. “Nostalgia, the Classics, and the Intimations Ode: Wordsworth's Forgotten Education”. Philological Quarterly, Vol. 80, May 2001. http://ww.questia.com/read/5000637724?title=Nostalgia%2c%20th
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