Class reflection.

I enjoyed the class a lot, and i must say, i wish there were more classes like that. I appreciate Dr Smith's nontraditional approach to the course material and big level of independence of research, low key and relaxed atmosphere in class. The blog form of our work presentation helped me switch from stiff academic writing to more casual, laid back style, allowed for some humor and multimedia. The most useful thing I learned from my research for class was my archetype - i turned out to be wanderer and magician. This information helped me embrace my never stopping self, relax and rather enjoy my wandering instead of guilt tripping because of disability to find home. I also enjoyed finding out about "Sleep no more", in fact, being pushed to learn more about this project resulted in my possible employment with the production company. Couldn't be better! :) Searching for Coraline, I also found a job few blocks from home, in a very special book store, which utilizes well my nerdiness and social nature. The final project allowed me to think and make up for the things I thought i was missing in my student experience. And the monomyth structure could not be a better pattern for the types of events I like to produce:)

What I have enjoyed learning from my fellow students most, were the diversity of interest and freedom in projection. What I am looking forward to try on my own, would be the monkey dance (capoeira) and text games. Also, I'd like to keep in touch with the graphic novel guy: I'm much more verbal than visual, and I need team mates who could turn my impressions into images. Frankly speaking, I didnt spend enough time and effort reading into my peer writing. If I could suggest how to make your great class even better, I would recommend to have students read aloud, in front of the class, their best pieces. Reading yourself aloud (can you even say so?:) is a weird, but necessary habit, and you could easily foster it. Also, to get students more involved with each other and promote critical thinking, I would suggest a task, where each student has to find and correct 10 mistakes in others' writing.

That's my class reflection. Now when I have accomplished all my student's tasks, I can go offline and write a story about getting homeless for 3 days:)

PS: please, do not forget to put me in contact with your game buddy!

Unopressive Non-imperialist Bargain Books

34 Carmine st, between Bleeker and Bedford, Greenwich Village, (A, C, E, B, D, F, M to West 4th)

Noam Chomsky screams out from the front desk and doesn't seem out of place in this Carmine Street back alley, remarkable for being one of the few remaining streets with real "old Village" charm, all the more so because of all the great cheap stuff. From biographies on Joyce to studies on Buddhism, tips on how to have great sex and read a tarot card (not at once), amazing picture books on art, and even a Monty Python CD-ROM, you should visit DROUGAS only when you have hours to devote. Highly recommended for anyone with writer's block or boredom or suffering from a complete lack of cash: Books start at $2 and don't go much higher.

4.1. Mistifiq Action in Progress.

Points I have in mind for the Freshman Treasure Hunt I am organizing so far include (but are not limited to):

1. library (message about the next point should be encoded in different languages, so the students translate it using multiple dictionaries. Team power!)

2. gym (healthy mind in healthy body) - yoga classes, swimming pool, independent workout

3. financial aid office - to help new students research all the opportunities of financing their education

4. scholarship office - as a team, the students will have to apply for a simple scholarship

5. ePortfolio center (access laguardia live email)

6.  B333 computer lab (find out calorie values of foods available)

7. healthy food options on campus or possibilities to warm up their own meals (where can one use microwave or get hot water for the tea bag instead of paying $1 every day). Fruit stand next to the E-building, soup in the cafeteria across B, cantina on the 3rd floor of the C-building with a microwave and a place to eat your own lunch

8. C 4th floor - chilling area with soft seats, quiet and full of light

The whole trip should not take more than 2 hours.

To match the course theme, i want to employ monomyth structure.

1. mystic call for adventure - Professor Smith has been kidnapped, the teams have to face the threat to get a mean prof substitute (introduce students to ratemyprofessor.com).
2. challenge: In order to get sweet Professor Smith back, students will have to leave their zone of comfort and manage a few challenges.
3. supernatural aid - campus map and a logo/sign that will let the teams know they are on the right path
4. threshold - research the opportunity to escape to the roof. If not possible - take elevator in E-building to the nice hall on the 5th floor, where Honor Students hold their meetings
5. mentor/helper - find people who are always there for you on the campus. Options: security headquarters in the E-building, library staff, archive stuff or the sweet lady selling fruits on the way to the 7 train stop
6. abyss - bursar office, notice of being suspended from classes due to non-payment.
7. transformation - after being suspended the students should re-evaluate the importance of their education, from slacker students turn into proper students, proactive rather than reactive
8. atonement - C107, financial aid office. If financial aid won't be enough, the team will have to proceed to the scholarship office and apply for a scholarship
9. return - the long hall in the M-building with all the flags hanging in. Incorporate the political map of the world and underline the value of cultural diversity in our Alma Mater
10. gift of the goddess - besides getting Professor Smith back, students' boon will be better knowledge of amenities available on campus and how to take full advantage of the premises, research skills, team work, useful shortcuts to finance their education and showing the advantages of high GPA/motivation to study harder, ways to eat healthy and deal with stress throughout sport activities.

After I post this blog entry, I will take the trip around the above mentioned locations and try to make the most efficient journey outline. (I need to find the map of the entire campus) I will have to make two itineraries over the same locations and find ways not to have both teams' directories overlap.I will have to match the locations with the stages of the hero's journey. I will also try to look for interesting places to hide my messages and try to come up with a fun and creative way to encode my messages - challenging, but decodable. I will also go throughout the whole process of application for financial aid/scholarship and try to make it into quiz. I might come up with a virtual student and make all tasks relevant to helping him solve the college problems.

3.5 Coraline revised

Coraline

Since published in 2002, Neil Gaiman’s horror fairytale “Coraline” has become a new favorite of both adults and kids, has received quite a few awards and was adopted as a 3-D animation and a graphic novel. The success and popularity of the book, the modern setting and the moral lessons Coraline learns throughout her adventure, as well as magic creatures she meets in the Other World became the reasons this novel has been compared to all-time favorite “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll, which is the best compliment in itself.

In its structure, “Coraline” is a typical monomyth, or “hero’s quest”, as called by Joseph Campbell - the writer, who studied the similarities and structures of many heroic narratives and summarized his observations in his seminal work “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”. According to Campbell, “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man”. Same happens to our Coraline – she leaves her normal world on the mission to find her missing parents, she finds out the properties of the Other World to be able to fight the wicked beldam and save the kids she feeds on souls of, she returns home from her nightmare adventure and finds herself more mature, wiser, more affectionate and understanding of her parents and more appreciating of her realities. She also finds a few new friends – 2 kids, one angel and a black cat, and gains recognition and gratitude from her neighbors.

Joseph Campbell identifies 17 steps of the hero’s journey, and we find many of them in Gaiman’s “Coralline”. Her call for adventure happens in the 1st chapter, at night – Coraline follows the dark shadow to the drawing room with the mysterious brick wall. In the 2nd chapter she meets the neighbors. Two former actresses, Misses Spink and Forcible, tell her fortune on the tea leaves, letting her know that she is in gravely danger, and gift her with a stone with a hole in it – the supernatural aid. Her neighbor from upstairs, an old man with moustache, passes over a strange message to Coraline from his mice: “Don’t go through the door” – he whispered in her ear. Next day, in the 3rd chapter, Coraline comes back to the drawing room while her mother is away. Explorer by nature, Coraline doesn’t obey the old man’s advice and – alas! – goes through the secret door, which for some magic reason happens not to be bricked over anymore. The door is the threshold, the border between the real, the known, the normal and everything on the other side of the spectrum. In the apartment that seems to be identical to her own, she meets a couple, who resemble her own parents, but not really. The other parents look very pale and have black shiny buttons instead of their eyes. They feed her yummy lunch and treat her nicely, not like her own parents, who never had time for her! Outside of the other Apartment she meets the black cat, who turns out to be her Mentor/Helper. The cat does not have a name, but he can talk human language for some reason. She also meets her other neighbors – who seem to be somewhat similar to the real ones, but with slightly different energy. After she explores the Other World and finds it ‘more interesting”, the Other Mother offers to saw buttons in Coraline’s eyes, for her to be able to stay in the Other World forever. This idea does not sound too appealing to the girl, and she comes back to the real world (refusal of the call) to realize, to her deep grief and worry, that her real parents are missing.

In the 5th chapter the black cat wakes Coraline up and brings her to the mirror in the corridor, where she sees her parents, “sad and alone” (p.53). This is the call the girl cannot refuse: she pulls herself together, braves up and sets herself up to save her parents from the other side of the mirror. She finds herself in the portal between the two worlds (belly of the whale), which “smells of dust and damp and mustiness” (p.59). Her Other Mother tricks the girl and keeps the key from the door, after having it locked. Coraline has no other choice but to get her adventure on (the road of trials).

In the 7th chapter Coraline finds herself carefully exploring the Other World and finding differences from the reality. She notices the ball of glass, a snow globe, on the mantelpiece in the drawing room, something that the real apartment did not have. From the conversation with the cat she finds out that the Other Mother is determined to keep her there and prepares for a tough battle. After Coraline calls her “sick and evil and weird” (p.78), the other Mother locks her in the world on the other side of the mirror (apotheosis or abyss), where the girl meets her new friends – “three shapes, each as faint and pale as the moon in the daytime sky” (p.84). Chatting to her new buddies she finds out that the wicked beldam “stole their hearts, and stole their souls, and took their lives away” (p.84) – which gives her heads up on what would happen to her if she let the other mother saw the black buttons into her eyes. Terrified and full of compassion, Coraline decides to try to save the souls of the poor kids, as well as her own parents’. “Look through the stone” - she hears whispered with a “barely-there” voice right into her ear, and it was a good piece of advice (Mentor/Helper).

In the 8th chapter Coraline sets up the rules of the game with the Other Mother: “ If I lose I’ll stay here with you forever and I’ll let you love me.” – …“And if you do not lose?” – “Then you let me go. You let everyone go – my real father and mother, the dead children, everyone you’ve trapped here”. The game outlines Coraline’s entire challenge. Throughout the next few chapters the girl fearlessly goes through her adventure – exploring room after the room, inspecting every corner through the stone with the hole in it. Every now and then she finds glowing marbles, “glowing gently, like a green coal” (p.95). In the cellar of the empty apartment she finds her Other Father (atonement with the father) and has to pull all her guts together to be able to obtain the marble he was holding. She also realizes the incredible super powers of the Other Mother manipulating the Father to hurt her. But as she goes along her road of trials, she finds out that every little victory makes the wicked beldam weaker and weaker – the house flattens out, as if in one dimension; the Other World seems to be gradually collapsing. In the apartment upstairs the old man with the moustache tempts her to stay in the Other World: “Stay here with us, we will listen to you, and play with you and laugh with you. Your other mother will build whole worlds for you to explore. […] Every day will be better and brighter than the one before” (p.119) (woman as temptress). After she collects all the marbles, something tells her, that her parents must have been trapped in the snow globe on the mantelpiece, and she manages to save them. She tricks the Other Mother to open the door for her and manages to escape with the help of the black cat. The way back to the real world seems to be scarier and longer than anything, but Coraline is brave and determined (the crossing of the return threshold).

When back at home, she finds her parents sane and safe, and meets the children from the world behind the mirror. Her new friends - the 2 kids who look very old-fashioned, an angel feeding on flowers (meeting with the goddess) and the affectionate black cat - are the ones to save her from her real world boredom, her neighbors are so proud and thankful to her, and these are the boons she gets after her journey. Last but not least, her general appreciation of life becomes more acute, it seems like she will never be bored again. And when she comes to the real father’s study and gives him a kiss, he picks her up and gives her a swirl, which he had not done in a while, which symbolizes the mutual affection and love within the family. But even after coming back to the real world, she still faces the Other Mother - her restless hand trying to get back the black key from the Other World. Finally, Coraline tricks the Other Hand to jump into a deep hollow well not far away from the house, calling the nightmare over.

I really enjoyed learning about monomyth through analyzing Coraline’s adventures in the Other World. I can really see the features of the hero quest in many other narratives: films, books, stories, animations. I saw the animation of the book before I actually read the original, and I must admit: the creative team behind this 3-D feature animation did an incredibly good job! I really did like the story too, a lot – it’s written in a simple, but sophisticated language, it is very visual and holds message for kids as well as adults.

4.1: Mistifiq Action in Progress

Points I have in mind for the Freshman Treasure Hunt I am organising so far include (but are not limited to):

1. library (message about the next point should be encoded in different languages, so the students translate it using multiple dictionaries. Team power!)

2. gym (healthy mind in healthy body) - yoga classes, swimming pool, independent workout

3. financial aid office - to help new students research all the opportunities of financing their education

4. scholarship office - as a team, the students will have to apply for a simple scholarship

5. ePortfolio center (access laguardia live email)

6.  B333 computer lab (find out calorie values of foods available)

7. healthy food options on campus or possibilities to warm up their own meals (where can one use microwave or get hot water for the tea bag instead of paying $1 every day). Fruit stand next to the E-building, soup in the cafeteria across B, cantina on the 3rd floor of the C-building with a microwave and a place to eat your own lunch

8. C 4th floor - chilling area with soft seats, quiet and full of light

The whole trip should not take more than 2 hours.

To match the course theme, i want to employ monomyth structure.

1. mystic call for adventure - Professor Smith has been kidnapped, the teams have to face the threat to get a mean prof substitute (introduce students to ratemyprofessor.com).
2. challenge: In order to get sweet Professor Smith back, students will have to leave their zone of comfort and manage a few challenges.
3. supernatural aid - campus map and a logo/sign that will let the teams know they are on the right path
4. threshold - research the opportunity to escape to the roof. If not possible - take elevator in E-building to the nice hall on the 5th floor, where Honor Students hold their meetings
5. mentor/helper - find people who are always there for you on the campus. Options: security headquarters in the E-building, library staff, archive stuff or the sweet lady selling fruits on the way to the 7 train stop
6. abyss - bursar office, notice of being suspended from classes due to non-payment.
7. transformation - after being suspended the students should re-evaluate the importance of their education, from slacker students turn into proper students, proactive rather than reactive
8. atonement - C107, financial aid office. If financial aid won't be enough, the team will have to proceed to the scholarship office and apply for a scholarship
9. return - the long hall in the M-building with all the flags hanging in. Incorporate the political map of the world and underline the value of cultural diversity in our Alma Mater
10. gift of the goddess - besides getting Professor Smith back, students' boon will be better knowledge of amenities available on campus and how to take full advantage of the premises, research skills, team work, useful shortcuts to finance their education and showing the advantages of high GPA/motivation to study harder, ways to eat healthy and deal with stress throughout sport activities.

After I post this blog entry, I will take the trip around the above mentioned locations and try to make the most efficient journey outline. (I need to find the map of the entire campus) I will have to make two itineraries over the same locations and find ways not to have both teams' directories overlap.I will have to match the locations with the stages of the hero's journey. I will also try to look for interesting places to hide my messages and try to come up with a fun and creative way to encode my messages - challenging, but decodable. I will also go throughout the whole process of application for financial aid/scholarship and try to make it into quiz. I might come up with a virtual student and make all tasks relevant to helping him solve the college problems.

3.4 Mystifique Action -- Treasure Hunt

Imagine: you come to your English 101, the first class you have to take in college. Professor Smith excuses himself and steps out, when the lights go dim, and mysterious voice from the middle of nowhere: A-HA-HA-HA-HA...
The class finds out that their sweet Chris Smith (Professor Xmas) was kidnapped and about to be substituted by the meanest English prof on campus. To get the sweet Prof Xmas back, the class has to split into 2 groups and get on the path to adventure... (to relate to the theme of the course I design the Hunt as a monomyth).

The purpose of this trip is  to accommodate new students and make campus feel like their new home. Unfortunately, LaGuardia misses out on a good presentation of the school facilities to "the fresh meat", and with my treasure hunt i will try to bridge this gap, making teams of students visit library and writing center, gym and financial aid office, apply for a scholarship and find something healthy to eat in the nearby areas. The project will underline the importance of team effort and basic scholar concepts. I'm kinda excited, do you like it? :D

What I have done already is I made a list of suggested places to visit and hide the messages in. I really want to take some time wondering around in the school and maybe find more things to show to the new generation of students. What is going to be most challenging (and my favourite part) is to encode the messages, inspire creative thinking, give hints and clues, but not give out the next place too easy - make them THINK, analyze, troubleshoot. The "boon" will be not only getting the sweet Prof Xmas back, but also getting a much better knowledge of what campus has to offer and, hopefully, a much more productive school time at LaGuardia...

Project ideas - Mistification/ Treasure Hunt

A few years ago my boyfriend at the time set up the best surprise for me - a Teasure Hunt! I had to run from one place to another, decode his hints, find all the right people, complete tasks and handle challenges, guess and make mistakes and come back to the track in order to find my gift in the end (I do not have to mention what was my treasure, do I?) This year I managed to do a few of these projects for my favourite people. So I am planning to design a Treasure Hunt for my next victim and shape it as a Monomyth (call for adventure-> supernatural aid-->treshold--> mentor/helper -->abyss-->atonement -->return). Professor Smith suggested that I should do the Hunt for his next class, but it's extremely difficult for me to create the trip for a virtual addressee and especially for a group.

3.2 Polanski's "Tragedy of Macbeth" (1971)

I have selected the extract from Roman Polanski's "The Tragedy of Macbeth" (1971). It's very interesting, that in Polanki's interpretation Macbeth carries less weight of fault than I would guess from the original play, to the point that the director considers it to be the character's tragedy (as if he himself did not cause tragedy for others and even for the entire land!) You can feel it from the opening scene of the film, when the three ugly witches set up the spell in the deserted place. The first object to enter the frame is the magic stick, which draws a circle (symbol of magic, lack of choice). We then see hands which dig a hole in the mud, where they put a hangman's noose (symbol of crime and punishment), a chopped off blue arm holding a bloody knife, which projects Macbeth as a victim rather then convict. The weird witches spill some more blood (spell and spit) on top of the hidden killing arm, which means that more people are to suffer from this wicked spell. The witches leave with a squeaky sound of rolling cart (like a hanging body swinging in the air on the wooden gibbet), and we get to see Polanski's vision of the "deserted place": reflective surface, as if they walk on water, which symbolizes their magic nature. The place is gray and lifeless, smoky (hell) and foggy (stench) - the place one would hardly like to find himself. Besides few words by the witches we can hear screams of  crazy birds, who feel the fear (the place is so remote, that only a crazy bird can reach it). I am looking forward to watching this film. Polanski is an arguable character and personality, but he's got what he's got - an incredible talent for directing and irresistible attraction of depicting.

3.1 Macbeth by punchdrunk: Sleep No More

Punchdrunk production inspired by Shakespeare's Macbeth is an experimental theatrical performance which has risen a wave of contradictory response - from questioning its artistic value to true admiration. Theatrical experiment takes place in an abandoned building, and the spectators are not assigned a seat. As they enter the space of the show, they are free to wander wherever they like and leave whenever they wish. Many return to the show, because when they leave first time, they are still extremely confused as of what happened to them this night:) Incredible set design and costumes, interactive acting (where one never knows whether a person in the building is an actor or spectator) lets one fully dissolve into the experience and feel the inspiration of the director of the show. I would call it a "hyper play", just like a hyper text or hyper link. You enter the mysterious and frightening imagination of an extremely diverse and creative team, it's like collective subconscious, its like a group nightmare, it's like nothing you have ever seen before.

Just like Lady Macbeth could not find peace and fall asleep after provoking her husband for the bloody dids, so will you not be able to find yourself in Morpheus' embrace. Don't try sleeping pills, as you might get stuck in your own nightmare for a long time. Look at the photo above - lonely, naked, scared, Macbeth is so terrified of his own deeds and the following revenge that he puts himself in the corner (symbol of no way out of the situation). His nudity symbolizes weakness and vulnerability. His pose (fetus) stands for extreme insecurity. The objects seen on the table include dead bird and bloody knife (obviously, murder) and dirty pots and pans (dirty inclinations of the ones who staged the regicide). Macbeth is in the spot light, like during the Doomsday, and in my opinion it symbolizes that his secret is open, everyone knows. Scary.....

 

Links:

1. http://www.americanrepertorytheater.org/events/show/sleep-no-more
2. http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/oct/22/punchdrunk-macbeth-massachusetts
3. http://www.punchdrunk.org.uk/about.htm

Ghostface June: Entry 2.2: Wanderer / Magician

Ghostface June: Entry 2.2: Wanderer / Magician: "My first archetype is a Wanderer. Out of many images of wanderers this picture appealed to me the most, because it shows a modern day wander..."

Jennifer: Blog Entry 2.2: Wanderer

Jennifer: Blog Entry 2.2: Wanderer: "http://www.annettesmusic.com/kellberrygallery/main.php/d/4034-2/chobits-wallpaper-26_1_.jpg About This Picture Chobits is a Japanese anima..."

I wonder as i wander: refugypsy vagabond

“...with a vagrant strain in the blood, a natural inquisitiveness about the world beyond their doors.” Arthur Compton-Rickett

I need to move, I need new, fresh, unseen, unheard of, unlearned. I love to explore. I am nomadic. Fearless traveler. I cant even finish my post - I'm already gone, took off for the relentless trip, in search of my own personal temple.

I grew up between Estonia and Belarus, constantly crossing over Latvia and Lithuania as I was coming from one grandparents' house to another. My father is an interpreter, he was one of the few privileged people who could travel out of Soviet Union, and I think I take after him in my relentless motion. The break of Soviet Union when I was 6 put about 5 countries on my travel map, and the list has grown up to 17 countries since. I turned 19 during my first vacation in the USA, and I have visited around 25 states throughout the three consecutive summers I've spent here. Last vacation, 5 years ago, I stopped in NYC on my way back to Belarus and ...never left. Do I consider New York my home? More like headquarters to based out from. Perfect location and connection with the rest of the world, an explosive eclectic mixture of characters and cultures make this "human botanical garden" great place for me to be.. for a while. Moreover, the political and socio-economic tendencies in Belarus - my home at the time - were not much too my liking, and I asked for political asylum in this immigrants' paradise (documented refugee hehe). My gypsy part is underdocumented and is more of intuitive guess and gossip. But please do not mistake a nomadic refugee for a bum, as I hope I'm not. Happily residing in my lovely apartment in Greenwich Village, I make a quiet glamorous vagabond, and I must admit, I love comfort, and I hope comfort loves me back:)

My next expansion is down to the South - and I have started studying Spanish for that matter. First time I have set my foot down in the Spanish speaking world was my trip to the gorgeous but poor Dominican Republic. I haven't been to Argentina yet, but somehow I'm so sure I'll love it in Buenos Aires! I am also very curious about Japan, and I think that Japanese will be my next and biggest challenge. I speak or at least have studied 5 languages (Russian, Belarussian, English, German and Spanish) and every next one is easier than the previous, but Japanese must be a special cookie:) With my major in international business, Chinese is more profitable for me, as knowing Chinese I'd pretty much cover the majority of the world. But after a few summer visits to Canal st I doubt China is the right environment for me.. Needless to mention, I'm allergic to communism:D

I love to travel and I love education. Next time I have a chance to speak to Santa, I will ask him to make me Mary Poppins (or, better, Maria Popinska haha - based on my ethnic heritage) - a traveling teacher, who comes and goes as she pleases. With my current academic success of straight A's through 3 semesters, it looks like I might incorporate Noam Chomski's character in my ambition - a highly respected intellectual who's opinion on the world's issues is so listened to and appreciated. My biggest ambition would be to learn a newly developed course for a semester, just adopted by one of the Ivy League schools, and for the next semester go teach it in another prestige university. Learn and teach, relentlessly, always on the move.

According to Wikipedia, I am a Peripatetic nomad - who offer the skills of a craft or trade to those they travel among (most common in industrialized nations). My further wikiresearch made me realize something I could not get my entire life! Apparently, I am a representative of the Finnish kale (The Finnish Kale are a group of the Romani people that lives primarily in Finland and Sweden. In Finland they are often referred to as Mustalaiset (pl.) which means etymologically "Blacks", due to their darker complexions and hair in comparison to most other Scandinavians). No wonder in Estonia (which is across the sea from Finland) they noticed instantly that I look somewhat different! (I thought I should attribute it to my Belarussian half). But the Belarussian people did not apprehend me as part of community either, pointing out my Estonian accent and southern tan:) Nowadays, here, in the US, they call me Russian, but I could care less. I'm universal, I'm cosmopolitan, I am the force that makes the Earth go round:)

Works Sited:
1. image: http://www.hscross.com/wikis/images/3/36/Wanderer_from_the_Resplendent_City.jpg
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_Kale
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagabond_(person)

Blog Entry 2.1: Goblin Market

Christina Rossetti, “the youngest member of a remarkable family of poets, artists, and critics” (G. Everett) is considered to be one of the most important British female poets of the XIX century. According to Glenn Everett, she was so religious and strict to herself, that she would reject the love of her life if he did not belong to the same religious creed, she would give up on playing chess as she felt that she enjoyed winning too much, and spent later years of her life working for the House of Charity, “an institution located in Highgate which was devoted to the rescue of prostitutes and unmarried mothers” (Jason B. Isaacs). No wonder that one of her most famous poems, “Goblin Market”, is devoted to the issue of original sin and opportunities for reprieve.

The action of Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” is set up in a small town. Two main protagonists, sisters Laura and Lizzie, are hurrying to get home before the twilight, when they hear the crowd of goblin merchant loudly advertising their luscious fruits. Lizzie is wise and obedient, she rejects to even look at the tempting fruits, covering her ears not to hear the goblins’ chanting. Laura is not as cautious, and after her sister hurries home, Laura approaches the merchants and accepts the indecent proposal to buy the fruit, paying with her golden lock instead of money. Never has her palate tasted anything as sweet, as juicy, as luscious:

129Sweeter than honey from the rock,

130Stronger than man-rejoicing wine,

131Clearer than water flow'd that juice;

132She never tasted such before.

Since the moment she tasted the dangerous fruit, Laura forgot herself (“And knew not was it night or day”) and would thwart to her sister’s upbraiding as she returned home. She said, that the fruits were so good, that she would buy more next day and bring some for Lizzy to try. But next morning brought devastating news. Two beautiful young girls, who grew up together and were so similar in their happy days, so alike, grew very different as Laura fell under the terrible spell:

210Lizzie with an open heart,

211Laura in an absent dream,

212One content, one sick in part;

213One warbling for the mere bright day's delight,

214One longing for the night.

Laura’s golden locks turned grey and dry, she wasn’t enjoying her lovely youth, “turned cold, like stone”, “her tree of life droop’d from the root”. All she could think about was to try the fruit again, but she could not listen to the goblin men chanting as hard as she tried…

299Tender Lizzie could not bear

300To watch her sister's cankerous care

301Yet not to share.

Lizzie pluck up her courage and went to find goblin men to buy some fruit and relieve her poor sibling. As she would not accept the invite to share the meal with the goblins, they attacked her and tried to force her to eat their fruit in their presence, but

430Lizzie utter'd not a word;

431Would not open lip from lip

432Lest they should cram a mouthful in.

When the goblins gave up and vanished, Lizzie came home all soaked in the fruity juices. She let Laura lick the juices off her body (468Hug me, kiss me, suck my juices 469Squeez'd from goblin fruits for you) and therefore was rescued, turned back to life: her pain and anguish passed, and next morning “Laura awoke as from a dream, Laugh’d in the innocent old way” with “her breath sweet as may”. Many years passed by, the sisters grew up and got married, got their own kids, but would never forget the perceptive story from their young years..

The poem is highly symbolic, and without doubt is an interpretation of the original sin story from the bible. The various fruits mentioned throughout the poem (e.g. lines 5-30) symbolize the camouflaged danger (“554Their fruits like honey to the throat 555But poison in the blood”), and their diversity corresponds with the multitude of temptations throughout peoples’ lives. The golden lock that Laura used to pay for her enjoyment symbolizes the transfer of power, her life energy, to the goblin men (her hair turned thin and grey). The mouth, eating and later licking off the juices is a highly sexual reference, and can also be perceived as the process of becoming something else: (“What you are eating can symbolize qualities or skills that you are trying to digest and make a part of yourself” - Deanna Joseph, BellaOnline's Dreams Editor). Gray color of Laura’s hair symbolizes her spiritual death. Lizzie’s closed mouth during interaction with the goblin men symbolizes resistance to the evil forces, to committing a sin. The fact that Laura got so sick once she tried the fruit juices again symbolizes that we have to pay for enjoyment by further suffering, and her further convalescence symbolizes hope for salvation and revival, but only through love and repentance.

Rossetti uses a few archetypes in her poem. Archetypes are mostly used to portray characters who are universally recognizable. Thus the poet does not need to describe the character and intentions of the goblins for us to understand who we are dealing with - once we hear "goblin" we imagine a wicked character, a perverted human with animal features, we know we'd better be careful around them (71-76). The archetype of the virgin maidens symbolize virginity, purity, innocence, naivety (32-40). Lara's behaviour lets her shadow out - her dark, disobedient self - as she contradicts what she knows and does what her desires make her do: eat the forbidden fruit (126-127).

I consider the poem to be an excellent story for the kids, that the adults could inherit from as well. An interesting and unusual take on the story of the original sin, Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market" offers a happy ending, which gives us hope to get back to the lost paradise and promotes sibling love that can break any spell.

Works Sited:

bellaonline.com/articles/art10574.asp - Deanna Joseph, BellaOnline's Dreams Editor
2. http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art30246.asp - Deanna Joseph, BellaOnline's Dreams Editor
3.http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/crossetti/rossettibio.html - Glenn Everett, Associate Professor of English
4.http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/crossetti/rossettibio1.html - Jason B. Isaacs

Blog Entry 1.3: Music (Beethoven) by Baudelaire

MUSIC

(Beethoven)

by: Charles Baudelaire

MUSIC doth uplift me like a sea

Towards my planet pale,

Then through dark fogs or heaven's infinity

I lift my wandering sail.

 

With breast advanced, drinking the winds that flee,

And through the cordage wail,

I mount the hurrying waves night hides from me

Beneath her sombre veil.

 

I feel the tremblings of all passions known

To ships before the breeze;

Cradled by gentle winds, or tempest-blown

 

I pass the abysmal seas

That are, when calm, the mirror level and fair

Of my despair!

One of the greatest French poets of the XIX century, Charles Baudelaire is often called "the father of modern criticism," who shocked his contemporaries with his visions of lust and decay. Baudelaire had a deep influence on a generation of poets in the late XIXth century, coming into vogue at a time when "art for art's sake" was a dogma [2]. Baudelaire lived a stereotypical life of a bohemian, decadent artist. I imagine him with a glass of absinthe, smoking his pipe full of opium, in the company of doubtful women, enjoying refined sensual and aesthetical pleasures. His poetry received much criticism for his satanistic moods, his controversial and sinful nature, for promoting drug-induced states of mind and his attitude to women.  I chose his poem Music (Beethoven), one of his more innocent verses, for an incredible parallel between the power of music and the force of nature. 

Baudelaire’s Music is highly symbolic: he uses multiple allegories to describe the feelings, produced by Beethoven’s music, comparing it with sea at different weather. The poet uses symbols as images which take on an expanded function within the poem [4]. The symbols I managed to find in the poem are listed below:

Symbols	Denotation	Connotation
Sea	The body of water	Unlimited, absolute, unconscious, emotional, overwhelming; new perspective and positive outlook [1]
Uplift	Lift up from the surface	Elate: fill with high spirits; fill with optimism; take smb’s breath away, carry away
Planet pale	Moon	Author’s dream, super ego (moon regulates sea’s ebb and flow)
Dark fogs	Fog, mist	Mysterious, unknown, hard to see, heavy
Heaven’s infinity	Transparent skies	Clear, precise, crisp, safe
Sail	The sails of a ship or boat	To be in control, free; overcome life difficulties [1]
Sailor	Who leads the ship	Adventure, freedom, exploration, readiness to venture off into deeper waters
With breast advanced	Arched, curved, bent; resembling the sail	Proud; author’s heart is emphasized – he’s at the peak of his emotions
Drinking the winds	Breathing through mouth	Taking a mouthful, almost choke, overwhelming sensation
Cordage	The ropes in the rigging of a ship [3]	Trapped, tied up, cannot get out
Wail	A cry of pain, grief or anger	Squeaking of the cordage warns: danger
To mount the wave	Climb, get on top	Mount waves refers to their enormous size; peak of excitement
Sombre veil	Dark cloth	Cover, hide in the shadow, darkness, gloom, fear of the unknown
Trembling	Shake from cold, fear or excitement	Resonating with the nature, overwhelmed by emotions
Cradled	Put in the baby cradle	At peace, at home, calm and safe, protected
Abysmal seas	Immeasurably deep or great	Hopelessly bad, severe
Mirror level	Firm straight reflective surface	Beginning, source, ambiguous nature

From the first lines of the poem we find out that the music of Beethoven sets the poet on a spiritual journey, fills him up with emotion, lifts him up and carries him away, makes him forgive himself and find himself in his imaginary world, reaching out for his dream. Comparing the music to the sea, he touches upon the deep, sensual, subconscious nature of personal experience of sounds of music.

In the second stanza the author describes his overwhelming excitement – fast, rapid, strong feeling - comparing it to the sailing at full wind. “Cordage wail”, “waves night hides from me”, “her somber veil” warn us of the upcoming dangers. The unknown, the mysterious are so attractive for the poet, that he feels trapped in the emotion, magnetized by the dark of the depths.

The third stanza sums up the duality of the emotion – fear combines with peace, “gentle winds” vs “tempest blown” are equally exciting and dangerous (the contrast is paired up with one from the first stanza – “through dark fogs or heaven's infinity”). “All passions known to ships before the breeze” reminds me of the dreadful danger of the dead calm, and this emotion is fortified by the following stanza, where the poet recalls “the mirror level … of my despair”. The sea, quiet and friendly, flat, like a mirror, is even more dangerous than during the storm: it’s much easier to drown when the sail cannot catch wind, and the poet is left in desperate anticipation of the unavoidability of the end.

I really enjoy the descriptive power of this poem. I love classical music, Beethoven and Brahms being ones of my favorite composers, and very often a listen to a classical record leaves me overwhelmed and speechless, just like the author. Highly dramatic, high-pitched, intense rhythms morph into quiet and peaceful interludes, the feelings overlap and transform, become one solid clot of exclaimed emotion. Pleasure and pain combine and make me feel alive.

Works Sited:

1.      http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary/s.htm
2.      http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/baudelai.htm
3.      http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
4.      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Baudelaire

Entry 1.2: Internet Research

-- My love, for you I'd do anything, but PLEASE don't ask me to go watch a horror film in 3D! (from a conversation with my boyfriend)
My first and last horror film was The Nightmare on Elk Street, and it kept giving me nightmares for a decade to follow. I still remember how blood would run cold: I'd freeze in terror, I felt the crystallised fear crawling up my spine. I still remember hoe fear feels in the muscles around my eyes. And the last thing i want is to experience it again..

If i think of supernatural creatures, I could probably deal with gods - not boring and strict christian orthodox god, who looked even more weird following the atheistic soviet past of the area where i got to grow up,

not mentioning the wicked pope who comes along with him



more like the diverse and parti-colored crowd of gods of ancient civilizations, such as Greek pantheon

or Indian, or Egyptian..

I enjoy the Greek divine cynicism, bad-assness, and obvious humanly sinful nature, including, but not limited to, addictive habits (Dionisios)

Indian gods are way less bad ass, but very wise and associate in my mind with infinite tolerance, blurred visions, and an animal creature, cross breed between elephant (Ganesh) and a cow (Indian sacred animal).

Egyptian gods are aggressive, bloody hungry and very bossy.

UFOs and aliens is another sphere of my intent interest. ET, call home!

Extraterrestrial, these creatures are cute, totally inhumane, even in that they are so intelligent, wise, and well-natured. Ugly, but how stylish (or, better say, well designed) they are so much more technologically savvy than the earthians, that it doesn't take them long to figure out all about shallow human business, and they leave soon, disappointed, in search for more exciting civilizations...

In less sophisticated peasant folklore, widely known as fairytales, i tend to like those Know-it-all-jack-of-all-trades-wise-panties guys: they seem to be pretty down to Earth and I enjoy their simple lovely humor, that makes you rather kindly smile than burst out laughing...They are Robin Hoods of some sort, in that they help regular petty people to fight against oppressive kings, but less dramatic, I would say. They are kind of like magicians, but without diploma, self-taught. Magicians I don't like, I think they have attitude. I also don't like mermaids. I think they have fishy breath and curse dirty, like fishermen. I do like alchemists for the wise pick of trade (turning copper into gold) and ability to keep secrets.

Did I mention that I have a secret thing for witch craft, especially the fancy witch carnival from the movie Four Rooms.

My favorite book of mysticism would be "Master and Margarita" by M.Bulgakov. In this novel the irresistibly attractive Satan (Voland) picks Moscow as the city for the upcoming witch carnival and honors Margarita to be the hostess of the devil reunion. Voland is escorted by a lovely bunch of mystic characters, including Begemot, the oversized black cat who could talk, but only after a shot of vodka.

If you haven't read it yet, i highly recommend it!

Meow!


The links:
1. http://besedka.info/viewtopic.php?t=1920
2. http://media.photobucket.com/image/the%20god%20father%20religion/fwaahhh/religion_awkward.jpg
3. http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/images/WonderWoman_gods_big.jpg
4. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJbwpdMnATFbpnz_3eLxLv4EEu1nJbuh7-00SamurDG-44XpfpXRmh_EB-4kwB-PzQrZJFzQjWM09pz7r2JMCTJ1Ob3t97HtjNh1zNTyh8vaVmtfPh3doMTxDZU-0McJVf_GMwJugoZ4/s400/Dionisios.JPG
5. http://www.telugubhakti.com/TELUGUPAGES/Pdfs/Ganesh/Ganesh.jpg
6. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6PiNWC5zpI13vFb3umL5ENFJZsNJq6lZ91vpbnSJ0j-jQzI-pL94SZSTKuFUUGvH4WpYe096eaGvfHhwTObHIbW4bLfFjADudrQbgGALb0UARnOioKIbejetcyUUFDt_RD7zmqPJRpcc/s320/cow-gomatha_vishnu.gif
7. http://www.exoticfotos.com/images/gods.jpg
8. http://www.madisonavenuejournal.com/images/et-16.png
9. http://unrealitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/four1.jpg
10. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41nNXo1vwvL.jpg

Hello. My name is Era and I am a writer with reader phobia.

When I neither read or write, I talk. I talk a lot, I'm full of stories, i find communications to be my strongest feature. But once i sit down to write, i tend to confide to the paper what i can not pronounce with voice, what i can not share with close people, something deeply personal and confidential. I enjoy writing process, letters gradually filling up the paper, thoughts untangle, become linear, dilemmas solve themselves elegantly. Many friends have been very curious about my writing, asking me to send them a few samples, imagining that my writing should be even more sophisticated and better organised than my stories. I get confused, i turn red, and mumble something inarticulate in response: yes, i hate it when people remind me of my Achilles heal, remind me that i am a writer with reader phobia.

In the car going to the desert of Nevada, for Burning man festival, Brian was telling me about Black Rock Desert as a highly magical place, where all dreams come true. "It is always good to ask desert for something. If you have a moral quest, a creative block, if you lack something in your life, verbalize it in your mind, and make sure by the end of the burning week you will have it" - that was so tough to believe! But - yes! - your writer with reader phobia did start her book on the second day of burning.. As it will progress, i will let you know.. :)