Feb. 19, 2009: Journal Entry

Charles Lamb 1775-1834
-"prince of the English Essayists" (Horton 554)
-He has a romantic reverence, "nostalgia for the past," "splendid sadness of youth"

Noted Works:
-"Oh China" - "superiority of the old days of youth" and appreciation (Horton 555)

Analysis of Oh China:
This essay talks about having more happiness when you're poor versus having more money and being not as content. The society that we live in exemplifies money as an idol--money equals happiness. According to Lamb, this isn't true. It seems as if Lam and his sister had a much better time while contemplating whether or not to buy something when they were poor rather than just going out and buying it when they had a lot of money. It's possible to find joy in the simplest and dire of circumstances.

Application:
Sometimes I think that more money means more happiness, but money isn't everything. Money can buy things to satisfy the desire for happiness. However, my Salvation was free for me, and that makes me happy beyond measure. I need to remember that God promised in His word that he will supply all my needs.
Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.

Vocabulary

allegory: a story with a literal and an inmplied level of meaning
apostraphe: addressing an inaminamte object
burlesque: entertainment of broad and earthy humor
blank verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter
closet drama: plays written to be read
didacticism: instruction in literature
elegy: formal poem lalemtning the death of a particular person or meditating on the subject itself
empiricism: the philosophical view that all knowledge originates in sensory experience
epigrams: a short, highly compressed poem making a wise or humorous point
familiar essays: the personal essay perfected by Charles lamb and his successors, as distinct from the more formal and public neoclassical periodical essay
herioc couplet: couplets of iambic pentameter
neoclassicism: a cultural attraction to the art and thought of ancient reece and Rome
odes: a long, highly stylized lyric poem written in a complex stanza on a serious theme and often for a specific occasion
personification: iving characteristics to an inanimate object
poetic diction: artificially selected and refined languiage
poet laureate: the official poet of a nation or region
primitivism: the preference for an uncivilized life
progressivism: belief in the importance and possibility of social and material progress
rationalism: the belief that human reason rather than revelation or authority is the source of all knowledge and the only valid basis for action
realism: the attempt in fiction to create an illusion of actuality by the use of seemingly random detail or by the inclusion of the ordinary
satire: constructive ridicule in literature
soliloquy: self-revalation overheard
traditionalism: a reverance for tradition as a source of authority or values in religion, morality, or art
tragedy: a drama that ends unhappily
transcendentalism: set of religious concepts
utilitarianism: an ethical system developed by jeremy Bentham based on the human desire for pleasure rather than pain and, politically, on the principle of the greatest good for the greatest number
verisimilitude: the inclusion of minute, or even superfluous, details to create an illusion of realism

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.

Frankenstein

In a way towards the end of the story, Frankenstein is like what Jesus is to us, and the monster is kind of like what we are. Frankenstein is the creator, and Jesus is our creator. At the end of this story, the monster goes off to die after he mourns over the death of his maker because he really has nothing else to live for. If Jesus were to suddenly die or stop existing, Christians or any being wouldn't have the slightest reason to keep on living (and that's not just because everything exists because of God and only by God).

February 5, 2009 Journal Entry

Isaaw Watts 1674-1748
-Father of the modern hymn
-"The Protestant Reformation returned church singing to the laity" (Horton 425)
Noted Works (Horton 427-431)
-"Heavenly Joy on Earth"- religion was never designed to make our pleasures less.
-"The Christian Race"
-"Breathing After the Holy Spirit"
-"Against Idleness and Mischief"
-"The Day of Judgment"
Analysis of "Heavenly Joy on Earth"
Some people say, "just shoot me already," or "I just want to die". When people say that, they usually don't mean it literally. Others may say, "I'm afraid of death," or, "I don't want to die". People say that because they are either afraid of death because no one has come back to tell us about it or they are too selfish to give up what material things they have accumalated here on earth. Every God-fearing Christian knows that Heaven is going to be a place of "amazing bliss" (Horton 427), yet we still (most of the time) want to stay here on earth. Some Christians, or maybe it's just me, feel guilty for sometimes wanting to stay here. However, is earth really that bad? I think one of the things Isaac Watts is trying to say in this work, is that it's okay to enjoy this world even though the Bible tells us not to be a part of it. The eart itself isn't evil; it's the people and sin that cloud the earth from it's "Utopia" state (like the Garden of Eden).
Application
"Heavenly Joy on Earth" talks about, in a way, being grateful to our "awful God" (Horton 427) for giving us such a great world to dwell in. I need to remember to thank Him once in a while for giving us His best by giving my best to Him.

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.

For Exam

Neoclassical Period

John Dryden 1631-1700
-"first of the moderns" (Horton 377)
-field preacher, and a history royal
-poet laureate, wrote occasional verse (Horton 377)
-he could also write prose

Noted Works:
-To My Honored Friend, Dr. Charleton - "expresses his faith in the new science" (Horton 379)
- Of Satire - "justifies satire as a constructive force in society" (Horton 383)

Daniel Defoe 1660-1731

Noted Works:
-Robinson Crusoe - man finds out all he really needs is God to survive

Joseph Addison and Richard Steele 1672-1719 & 1672-1729
-Journalist-playwrights
-transformed journalism into a serious literature

Noted Works:
-The Tattler - "improvement of the reader" and "combines drama criticism with moral reflection" (Horton 396)

Jonathan Swift 1667-1745
-“defense of dispassionate reason” (Horton 405)

Noted Works:
-Gulliver’s Travels
-“supreme neoclassical satire in prose fiction” (Horton 407
-one of the greatest world literatures.
-“to vex the world, rather than to divert it”
-A Modest Proposal

Alexander Pope 1688-1744
-chief poet of his age
-satirical poetry – memorable and beautiful

Noted Works:
-Rape of the Lock – mock heroic burlesque (Horton 420)
-An Essay on Man – summon man to moral duty (Horton 420)
-Essay on Criticism

Isaac Watts 1674-1748
-Father of the modern hymn
-“The Protestant Reformation returned church singing to the laity” (Horton 425)

Noted Works: (Horton 427-431)
-“Heavenly Joy on Earth” – religion was never designed to make our pleasures less
-“The Christian Race”
-“Breathing After the Holy Spirit”
-“Against Idleness and Mischief”
-“The Day of Judgment”

James Thomson 1700-1748
-Scotsman, poet, playwright (dramatist)

Noted Works:
-Wrote a collection of seasons

John and Charles Wesley
John:
-field preacher (evangelistic)
-Journal of John Wesley – series of bulletins from the front by one of God’s greatest warriors in the church militant
Charles:
-Hymns and Sacred Poems – for the anniversary day of one’s conversion, behold the man

Samuel Johnson 1709-1784
-moral essayist (Horton 454)
-monumental pronouncer of conservative common sense

Noted Works:
-Dictionary of the English Language
-Rambler – “vice must always disgust”, “representations of evil have a place in literature” (Horton 456)
-Lives of English Poets – describes Addison and Pope

James Boswell
-one of the world’s greatest biographers (Horton 462)

Noted Works:
-Life of Samuel Johnson – monumental scholarship as well as literary artistry

Thomas Gray 1716-1771
-first mood poetry

Noted Works:
-Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard – focuses on the need to be remembered; deals with universal truth

Oliver Goldsmith
-comedy of manners, sentimental comedy
-most versatile writer of Johnson circle (Horton 481)

Noted Works:
-The Deserted Village

William Cowper
-mentally unstable (suicide attempts)
-poetry marks the passing of neoclassicism among major English poets
-heaven taught plowman

Noted Works:
-Olney Hymns – written in common meter and ballad stanzas
-The Castaway – severe emotional depression of Cowper, strengthened by a recurring sense of guilt, non-assurance of salvation (Horton 494)

Robert Burns 1759-1796
-Scottish, heaven taught plowman (Horton 497)

Noted Works:
-A Red, Red Rose – ‘tis about love (Horton 502)

Romantic Period

William Blake
-man born free is everywhere in chains
-“eccentric mystic”, madman, thorough going (Horton 516)
-songs of innocence and songs of experience

Noted Works:
-The Lamb
-The Tyger – contrast to the Lamb
-The clod and the Pebble
-London
-The Garden of Love: sex
-Proverbs

William Wordsworth
-treat common subjects; ordinary people (Horton 523)

Noted Works:
-Prelude – most important achievement of Romanticism
-Expostulation and Reply – enjoy nature
-The Tables Turned
-The Lucy Poems – Lucy is Dorothy.
- I Wandered as a Lonely Child – common things in an uncommon light
-“Sonnets” – civilization impoverishes man by destroying his sensitivity to nature; it also expresses the romantic myth of the happy pagan (Horton 531)

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Noted Works:
-The Rime of the Ancient Mariner - “natural eloquence is a myth”; “exalts imagination over reason”, “organic over mechanic” (Horton 534)
-the uncommon appears to be believable
-it immediate end is pleasure, ultimate end is truth (Horton 535)
-circular journey
-crossbow: crucifixion

Percy Bysshe Shelley
-“most fervent rebel of the English Romantics (Horton 565)
-His disciple is Robert Browning (Horton 567)

Noted Works:
-Ozymandias – about pride; it’s a statue
-England in 1819 – evil will perish
-Ode to the West Wind – refers to all seasons; wind brings change

Charles Lamb 1775-1834
-"prince of the English essayists" (Horton 554)
-He has a romantic reverence, "nostalgia for the past," "splendid sadness of youth" (Horton 555)
Noted Works:
-"Oh China": "superiority of the old days of youth" and appreciation (Horton 555)

George Gordon, Lord Byron 1788-1824

Noted Works:
-Don Juan: "notable example of the romantic self-projected hero"
-On This Day I Complete My 36th Year
-She Walks in Beauty - admires someone from afar

John Keats 1795-1821
-"The romantic triumvirate: Byron, Shelly, and keats" (Horton 573).
-agnosticism; aestheticism

Noted Works:
-Eve of St. Agnes - sonnet, in the winter, Romeo and Juliet
-On First Looking into Chapman's Homer - Illiad and Oddyssey. Theme: excitement of literary discovery; considered only second to Shakespeare in command to the English Language (Horton 575)
-Lamia, Isabella


Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.

Presentation Tips

1. Know your content well
-Researching the topic that I'm going to present is one of the most important. It's important because just in case I get stuck, it won't look like I messed up so bad
2. Be prepared
-This goes with knowing the content well. Preparation also shows professionalism. I think a person is never too young to start practicing professionalism.
3. Know who your audience is
-I hear pastors have to do this all the time: adjust their messages according to their audience. The pastors that I've heard speak do a great job; so, knowing who the audience is seems like a very important tip.
4. Keep it simple
-If things are too messy and complicated, the audience might give up on trying to comprehend what is being said.
5. Keep it short (to the point)
-Attention spans in high school supposedly don't last too long. Enough said.
6. Tell stories (make it interesting)
-I enjoy hearing stories during a long and boring chapel. Telling stories may help make the presentation seem less "factual." It's also a good way to communicate a moral or a point.
7. Use imagery (creativity)
-One idea can lead to another which will lead to another which will lead to an idea that will change the world. You will never know.
8. [However...] Have a balance
-I think it's important to incorporate all of these tips into a presentation but have a balance because I think it's possible to achieve rookie professionalism through all of this.
9. Mistakes are a part of it (confidence)
-My piano teacher told me this past week that if I'm trying to achieve perfection while playing my song for the recital, I will make mistakes. Since we're human, mistakes is part of our perfection.

10. Have fun!
-I think it's important to try to have fun in everything you do. I recently have set my mind to a mindset of not having to do something but getting to do it.

Citations:
1-4. Reynolds, Garr. "Organization and Preparation Tips." Garrreynolds.com. 8 Jan. 2009 .

5. Reynolds, Garr. "Top Ten Delivery Tips." Garrreynolds.com. 8 Jan. 2009 .

6,10. Young, Scott H. "18 Tips for Killer Presentations." Lifehack. 8 Jan. 2009 .

7. Rayburn, Scott. "The Information Imperative." Presentation Coach.

8 Jan. 2009 .

9. Reynolds, Garr. "Zen, Jazz, and Creativity." Presentation Zen. 11 Jan. 2009 .

Digital Footprint and Creed

I have come to the conclusion that a digital footprint is the unfortunate occurrence that Internet users have for trying to expand horizons by trusting in the privacy of the Internet (or it's the evidence of any use of everything in the digital world).*

I've recently realized that it's hard to not put a lot of my personal information on the Internet. From entering my full name to sign up for a website or filling out college surveys online, I now know that the Internet holds where I live, my full name, and possibly many private conversations I've had with my best friend Kayla. I don't have a Myspace or Facebook anymore, and it's creepy to know that all that information is still floating somewhere in cyberspace.

I think it's important to set standards for myself while using the Internet. It's such a big part of our society that it can be used for good and evil, and I need good ethics and major caution to guide me through. I need to use common sense when putting which information and how much information. If I don't, I am really afraid that my life might turn into a teen rape story that will end up on the headlines of the news. My standards are listed below.

My creed for:

Email/IMing: I usually don't fill out any more information than my name, country, and state. When other things are required, I fill in fake numbers or names. I try not to put my cell number in Emails or chats because you really never know who's on the other side collecting the information. I didn't realize that the digital footprint also includes full text Emails. Which leads me to...
-Online gossip: I thought Email would be more private than talking in person because the person who you're talking about can't possibly find out (unless they're a really good hacker). I guess there's always a way people can find out; so, it's better just not to say anything bad (like "Oh my goodness, do you know what she did?!" kind of thing) because according to Galatians, you will reap what you sow.

Social sites (i.e. Blogger, Wix, etc.): None of "What time are we going to meet at Ala Moana tomorrow?" for everyone (like sick rapists) to see. I would never put my daily routine on there either because you never know who wants to know (for a sick reason).

Filling out college apps./surveys online: When entering my address is required to be able to receive information on a college, I always make sure it's not a fake website. For college-help sites like Fastweb, I usually just enter my real name, enter "U.S.", "HI", and for the rest, I leave it blank or just enter a zip code for another city.

Illegal downloading: I haven't watched/downloaded illegal movies on the Web. I just don't.

"Digital Footprint." Wikipedia. 13 Jan. 2009 .
"Digital Footprint." Webopedia Computer Dictionary. 13 Jan. 2009 .