Below Zero - Blog Portfolio #1 - Spring 2005
Throughout the past several months, both my weblog and I have undergone some changes: Below Zero has become a much more diverse collection of interconnected entries, and I have matured as a thinker, a writer, and a blogger. While I had trouble getting back on my feet in January, I have come a long way, and I feel my blog has actually started to help me reach towards one of my most challenging goals: to overcome my problem with procrastination. Dr. Dennis G. Jerz' Intro. to Literary Study course at Seton Hill University has forced me to set a blogging schedule for myself, and I am both pleased and satisfied with the results.
Below you will find a list of entries which best demonstrate my recent achievements.
Death in Literature - This entry describes how Thomas C. Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor brought new light to my interpretations of death in literature; it also sparked some thoughtful comments. [Coverage, Interaction, Discussion]
Reading Between the Lines - A Good Man is Hard to Find - In this entry I explained my general feelings about Flannery O'Connor's short story and pulled out various noteworthy quotes to analyze. [Coverage, Depth, Timeliness]
Comedic Detachment - Here I argued against Denise Askin's opinion of the emotional impact of Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find. [Coverage]
Reading Between the Lines - To Build A Fire - This entry provided my general response to Jack London's short story and analysis of some striking quotes I pulled from the text. [Coverage]
What the Buck? - This entry, though written in frustration, is a footprint of my path so far this semester, and provides a comparison between this academic article and Askin's. [Coverage]
Tick-tock, tick-tock... - In this entry I explained why E.M. Forster's The Machine Stops became one of my new favorite short stories, paying special attention to its modern relevance. [Coverage, Discussion]
Prufrock and Me - Here I explored the similarities between myself and the main character of T.S. Eliot's poem, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. [Coverage, Timeliness]
Gush and Mush - This entry is a short examination of two Shakespearean sonnets: CXVI and XVIII. [Coverage]
A Raven's Revenge - In this entry, I explained my thoughts on Samuel Taylor Coleridge's comedic strategy in his poem, The Raven. [Coverage]
R.I.P. - This is an experimental entry which responded to John Donne's poem Death, be not proud in the form of an epitaph. [Coverage]
The Chronicles of Life and Death - Here I compared lines from a popular Good Charlotte song to points made in an academic article about Coleridge's poem, The Raven. [Coverage]
Shake Up The Tempest II - In this entry I took a look at one of the "farewell to theatre" speeches made by Prospero in The Tempest and analyzed each set of lines within that context. [Coverage, Timeliness]
The Tempest's Epilogue - A plea from God? - This entry expressed my personal interpretation of the Epilogue in The Tempest, inspired both by an academic article and an entry on Evan's blog. [Coverage, Depth, Interaction, Discussion, Xenoblogging]
Critical Meltdown - Here I provided analysis of the content of 1 essay and 2 academic articles which critically examined The Tempest from different ideological perspectives. I also judged the credibility of each as a source for an academic essay on the play. [Coverage]
The Tempest: Rebels the cause? - In this entry I criticized Dean Ebner's argument about Christian ethics and rebellious attitudes in The Tempest. [Coverage, Depth]
Not Only America - This entry examined some of the cultural contexts in The Tempest pointed out by Barbara Fuchs, especially the concept of colonialism outside of America. [Coverage]
The Tempest: Virtue and Vice - Here I described my disagreements with Lorie Jerrell Leininger's argument about Christian ethics in Shakespeare's play. [Coverage]
So Cold? - In this entry I attempted to refute Harold Bloom's claim that Shakespeare portrayed Prospero as a "cold" character in The Tempest. [Coverage]
Insta-Poll - This entry posed a question to my blogmates and other peers and provided my general response to Lynne Truss' book. [Coverage, Interaction]
Special K - Poetry and Me: A Love/Hate Relationship - On this entry on Vanessa's blog, I sparked a small discussion about writing poetry by providing some suggestions to get her creative juices flowing. [Xenoblogging]
The Wanderings of Strange, Morbid Mind - Starting a new - Here, on Lou's blog, I tried to help a classmate who was new to blogging by providing some tips for getting more peer traffic. [Xenoblogging]
The Mind Of A Young Woman - Thoughts on Rewriting The Tempest - Here, on Ashley's blog, I left some comments to provide some insight on the characters in Shakespeare's play. [Xenoblogging]
Comments
I love HTML. I need to find time to start playing with my blog, because once i get through with it, its going to be magnificent. I can't wait, HTML enables you to do so many cool things, its awesome...ooo noo some crazy character is chasing me and screaming something about block-
Posted by: Lori | March 1, 2005 8:49 AM
Learning HTML is getting really addictive... I keep finding out how to do cool things, like that horizontal line and the blockquotes...
I think my portfolio cover entry is just about finished now... All I have to do is add the entries for the readings from Wednesday and Friday of this week.
Posted by: ChrisU | February 28, 2005 9:24 PM
A good start. :-)
Posted by: Amanda | February 28, 2005 11:39 AM