Before I Got My Eye Put Out - The Poetry of Emily Dickinson: Crash Course English Lit #8
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Date: 2022-04-04
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Comments and reviews: 10
Derpki
Hi John,
I recognize this is an older video, but you may want to reconsider Dickinson in light of your earlier joshing about -I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke. - Ballad was the predominant and popular form at the time, and the 8-6-8-6 mode would have been immediately spotted for what it was (ballad) in the 19th century (whereas now we eschew such things. The melodic rhythm in Dickinson's poetry is an important and under-analyzed aspect, especially considering the light tones of ballad often clash with her themes (it's not like Dickinson wrote in ballad metre entirely by chance or dictat, there are plenty of other modes.
You accidentally allude to this when describing Dickinson's poems as having a hymnal quality, but neglect to realize the implications (hymns are intended to be --sung-- rather than read. This could also potentially resolve a lot of the eccentricities of Dickinson's poems (particularly the dash) given that it could be inflective direction (especially when she switches and alternates into 6-8-6-8 as she tends to do.
At the very least, if you look into her letters you'll see nowhere near as many dashes.
reply
Hi John,
I recognize this is an older video, but you may want to reconsider Dickinson in light of your earlier joshing about -I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke. - Ballad was the predominant and popular form at the time, and the 8-6-8-6 mode would have been immediately spotted for what it was (ballad) in the 19th century (whereas now we eschew such things. The melodic rhythm in Dickinson's poetry is an important and under-analyzed aspect, especially considering the light tones of ballad often clash with her themes (it's not like Dickinson wrote in ballad metre entirely by chance or dictat, there are plenty of other modes.
You accidentally allude to this when describing Dickinson's poems as having a hymnal quality, but neglect to realize the implications (hymns are intended to be --sung-- rather than read. This could also potentially resolve a lot of the eccentricities of Dickinson's poems (particularly the dash) given that it could be inflective direction (especially when she switches and alternates into 6-8-6-8 as she tends to do.
At the very least, if you look into her letters you'll see nowhere near as many dashes.
reply
Hazel
Mr. Green, Mr. Green! It's funny you talk about people that live in the USA referring to themselves as Americans because in Esperanto, a language made up by a Polish doctor, United States of America translates to Usano, which is basically USA and then an -no at the end because all vowels end in -o in Esperanto, and then the word for American is usonano. I wonder if he did this because we are so self centered.
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Mr. Green, Mr. Green! It's funny you talk about people that live in the USA referring to themselves as Americans because in Esperanto, a language made up by a Polish doctor, United States of America translates to Usano, which is basically USA and then an -no at the end because all vowels end in -o in Esperanto, and then the word for American is usonano. I wonder if he did this because we are so self centered.
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Erin
Maybe the dashes are there to allow the reader, or even Emily herself, to take in what was written. She wants us to contemplate them and not just be willing to immediately move on to the finish line. Each line is meant to be a poem unto itself as well as to be a poem of a whole. There's the individual line - expression of the individual, vs the poem as a whole - expression and interpretation of society.
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Maybe the dashes are there to allow the reader, or even Emily herself, to take in what was written. She wants us to contemplate them and not just be willing to immediately move on to the finish line. Each line is meant to be a poem unto itself as well as to be a poem of a whole. There's the individual line - expression of the individual, vs the poem as a whole - expression and interpretation of society.
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Kevin
So is Mr. Green? A christian? Thats what I'm Wondering and Christianity is not over rated! All you people who believe in different things are probably going to have a problem with this, but we christians are very nice people and maybe you should actually get to know a few. Great Video very informal thank you your welcome good bye!
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So is Mr. Green? A christian? Thats what I'm Wondering and Christianity is not over rated! All you people who believe in different things are probably going to have a problem with this, but we christians are very nice people and maybe you should actually get to know a few. Great Video very informal thank you your welcome good bye!
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stk
7: 38 You are really forcing an iambic pentameter reading when you claim the word -buzz- is unaccented. People tend to ascribe iambic pentameter where it doesnt apply. It's not just the first line either, because -in the room- in the second line is a textbook anapest. Good vid overall
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7: 38 You are really forcing an iambic pentameter reading when you claim the word -buzz- is unaccented. People tend to ascribe iambic pentameter where it doesnt apply. It's not just the first line either, because -in the room- in the second line is a textbook anapest. Good vid overall
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msrheamorgan
Hi John, brilliant video as always! Would just like to point out your pronounciation of -Jose- is incorrect - -Ho-zey- is Spanish. Being Portuguese, -Jose- is pronounced -Jo-zeh- (or more accurately: -Joo-zeh-. Thanks again for enlightening us on Emily Dickinson: )
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Hi John, brilliant video as always! Would just like to point out your pronounciation of -Jose- is incorrect - -Ho-zey- is Spanish. Being Portuguese, -Jose- is pronounced -Jo-zeh- (or more accurately: -Joo-zeh-. Thanks again for enlightening us on Emily Dickinson: )
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HerStory
I have always wanted to learn literature
And to learn it from an author, that's just the best thing
Can't thank creators of internet enough.
Oh I'm having a sudden rush of gratitude. --
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I have always wanted to learn literature
And to learn it from an author, that's just the best thing
Can't thank creators of internet enough.
Oh I'm having a sudden rush of gratitude. --
reply
noufa
-Dickinson rarely left her house and often talked to visitors through a closed door. - -MISINFORMATION- Emily Dickinson actually loved to be out in the open, since she loved nature
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-Dickinson rarely left her house and often talked to visitors through a closed door. - -MISINFORMATION- Emily Dickinson actually loved to be out in the open, since she loved nature
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Diksha
Mr Green, Mr Green! Can you pleaseee make a video on The Tempest by William Shakespeare? It would be of a huge help! And thank you very much for your videos, they save my life
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Mr Green, Mr Green! Can you pleaseee make a video on The Tempest by William Shakespeare? It would be of a huge help! And thank you very much for your videos, they save my life
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Anas
-Poetry isn't just a series of images, it's rhythmic, metric and we crave the closure of a good rhyme at the end of a poem. That's why there are the sonnets and couplets-
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-Poetry isn't just a series of images, it's rhythmic, metric and we crave the closure of a good rhyme at the end of a poem. That's why there are the sonnets and couplets-
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