silva rerum

but some are more equal than others

I’m supposedly working on my term papers right now (yes, the ones due in the next few weeks) but, instead, I have caught up on Gossip Girl, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty and Heroes. I could probably squeeze in Grey’s Anatomy if I watch before and after I tutor.

It’s not that my research is dull, though, it’s mostly because I abhor trying to put into words what I have in my mind. By I’ll try.

For ENGL 348, I’ll be writing “Blood, Sweat, Tears and More: Bodily Fluids in King Lear.” Specifically, I want to highlight the theory of the four humours and their mentions in the work, continued discussion of milk, tears and blood as reparative yet abject and how an understanding of these concepts may contribute to further study in Shakespearean works. In MacBeth, for example, the eponymous character laments that “blood will have blood.” In Julius Caesar, there is no shortage of blood! And Goneril remarks that Albany is too full of the milk of kindness…or was that Lady MacBeth, attempting to divest herself of milk for gall? Shakespeare was one dirty fellow, delighting himself in the abject.

In ENGL 357, my primary concern will be “A School for Scandal: Collaboration and Courtesy Among the Augustan Authors.” I will chiefly examine the ways in which understanding authorship as a collaborative endeavour enriches contemporary understandings of literature as work and the ways in which interpreting works as heterogeneous constructs from multiple architects may contribute to greater understanding of Augustan literature (i.e. The Life and Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus). Moreover, I am interested in the politics of literary endeavour consequent from the collaborative culture of the literary scene, particularly the relationships between writers and among groups of them. The Tory Montagu’s relationship with, for instance, Pope or Swift will be closely examined to observe the niceties and culture created by the proximity of their written subjects. This should be good fun!

I’ll be pretty chill on my two campaigns from this time on as school is really gearing up (BIOL 201 assignment, ENGL 348/357 papers, CHEM 235 exam and ENGL 357 reading questions). I won’t be doing any classroom announcements (as people seem to hate them anyway) but I will continue to guard my posters.

I’ll happily be applying for the Minischool Coordinator position as Sheila has given me her blessing! It’ll pay virtually all of tuition, though still underpaid for the amount of stress, and will be nicely supplemented by my tutoring. Oh, and taxes are due soon so I’ll get a headstart on those.