LHE5277 Semester Kedua 2020/2021 My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke

 Greetings :)

I would like us to revisit the poem "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke. When we were discussing this poem the other day, I heard two contrasting views on the nature of the child and his father's relationship. I want to hear that contrasting views again.  It would be helpful if you could also include in your discussion the words, phrases and lines that provide guidance towards  your understanding of this poem. 

Cheers.

LHE5277 Semester Kedua 2020/2021 "Hope" is the thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson

 Hello Everyone,

Once I was thrown into a dungeon.

I tried hard to claw out.

I would have been dead.

If it had not been for "Hope".

We have talked about Hope is the thing with feathers in week 2 of our meeting.  But it was only for a fleeting moment.  I would like you to dwell on it longer.  What do you understand from "Hope" is the thing with feathers?

LHE3252 The Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

 Good day Everyone,

We are going to look at the poem 'Light in the Attic' by Shel Silverstein. I know that on googling, you found that one of the analysis says the attic represents our brain. I want you to go beyond that. Start thinking about what does the house represent and what is the significant of the contrasting setting of the indoor and outdoor?

LHE3252 Like This Together by Adrienne Rich

 Good day everyone,

Let us continue our conversation on Like This Together here. I didn't get to hear from a number of our friends their thoughts on this poem.  I feel that this  poem is a bit of a challenge for us as the metaphors and imageries used are not something that we have encountered before being from different physical setting and culture.  and what makes it doubly challenging is that most of you are still an infant when it comes to LOVE.  So let us delve into this poem. 

It is really sad and heartbreaking when the love that you have lived for is dead.  When love dies should you go on a trip of self reproach or should you blame the other person?  What do we discover from Like This Together?

You could start your discussion here with metaphors, phrases or sentences that puzzle you.  Or you could just throw a question seeking for that flicker of light over this poem. 

So, come on Erudites.  Let us get this discussion going. 

Fire and Ice by Robert Frost

Hi Everyone,
If you check on my earlier post it was 10 years ago that I started this blog.  There was no putrablast nor was there google meet or zoom.  I never imagine that in 2020 I'm revisiting my blog as I have gone on vacation (it is supposed to be a permanent vacation from my blog) since 2015. But here I am again in this unprecedented time.  It is so lonely not being able to hear you, your thoughts and see you in person. Nothing can replace face to face classes.

It was frustrating not to get your immediate responses during our google meet.  So could we sort of talk about the poem here. And can we have conversation  rather than a hit and run thing.  I mean let's have  dialogues, conversations and not monologues.

• Which do you think is more destructive; fire or ice?, 
• What do fire and ice refer to metaphorically?
• What do you think is the message in this poem?

My Great Expectations

Hi,
I'm back after a long absence. I thought I wanted to explore other virtual settings that I have never been before. But this place has a stronger glue!! So here I am wanting you people to share your thoughts on this space.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens ends with the idea that perhaps there is a future for Pip and Estella. After all the things they have experienced, being together is no longer a question. How many of you like this ending?

I have also given you the original ending of Great Expectations. It saddens me to read about Estella living a life void of love and Pip living a life without his love. Do you think this is an apt ending for Pip and Estella?.

Literature for Children is the Answer?

The advent of KSSR and KSSM in 2011 marks a new beginning in the education landscape of Malaysia. Children  as early as Year 1 are given the taste of literature.  They read and listen to literary materials deem appropriate for young learners.  Why do you think the move to include literary materials for young learners is made? Do you think we are going towards the right direction in prescribing literature for learners in primary education?

(Early discussion is considered for postings from 5 - 9 February 2013)

Beware of the Goblin Man!

Everyday I get agitated. I read Harian Metro (I must confess this is one of my reading diet for the day) and I read about young, sweet and innocent Laura and Jeanie get conned by sweet talking Goblin Man over and over again.  I read about young girls leaving the comfort of their parents' wings to soar high above with the men they barely know and have just met virtually via Facebook. Do not they learn how
"The wicked quaint fruit- merchant men,
 Their fruits like honey to the throat.
 But poison in the blood;

The conniving Goblin Man stood out in this poem for me.  There are many other issues we can emphasize in Goblin Market by Christina Rosetti. Which of the issues found in the poem stood out for you?

Ladies, please remember:
"For there is no friend like a sister
In calm or stormy weather;
To cheer one on the tedious way,
To fetch one if one goes astray,
To lift one if one totters down,
To strengthen whilst one stands."

After Apple Picking - I am Done!

The coming semester is looming fast.
"And I keep hearing from the cellar bin
 The rumbling sound
 Of load on load of apples coming in"

I no longer look forward to listening to the sound.
I no longer as passionate as before to not let the apples fall.
1987 has taken its toll on me.
I know when February appears I will drag my feet to my apple orchard
"For I have had too much
 Of Apple-Picking: I am overtired
 Of the great harvest I myself desired"

After Apple Picking speaks to me each time the semester begins and ends. It brings meaning to me as I have impossible expectations of myself and others. But I guess dream small and you will not be disappointed. In your reading of  After Apple Picking, do you empathize with the speaker? How does the poem speak to you?

Expostulation and Reply by William Wordsworth

In today's world, paper qualification is pursued in earnest by individuals.  An educated person is defined by the number of paper qualifications she has.  Her claim of being knowledgeable in an area must be substantiated with copies of certificate, diploma or degree.

Do you think William Wordworth would agree with the direction in which education is heading towards today?
Do you agree that  you gained knowledge even  if  'sit you thus alone, And dream your time away?' or  'That we can feed this mind of ours, In a wise passiveness?. 

George and Lucy: Italy, England and the View

In A Room With A View, the story is set in 2 different distinct geographical settings.  Is there any connotative meaning to this technique of introducing two contrasting places as the setting for the story?

The word view is mentioned several times in this novel. The novel begins by immediately introducing the word view to the readers.  In the first page, the second line, Charlotte complained about the room they were given when Lucy and she arrived at the Pension Bertolini, " She promised us south rooms with a view close together, instead of which here are north rooms, looking into courtyard, and a long way apart."   The word view is also found in the final chapter. George carried Lucy to the window, "so that she, too, saw all the view"( 3rd last page).  Why do you think Forster used the word view several times in this novel?

I am an Adult and I am reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

A decade ago, I was baffled when a few of my students reverently mentioned  Harry Potter.  They wanted me to include J.K Rowling's work in their list of readings.  They balked at my choice of assigned reading texts by writers who have long left this world.
I was curious. Who is this Harry Potter?
On my way home, I stopped by a book store in Gombak and got hold of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I started reading after dinner and... I didn't put the book down until I reached the final page.  I was really hooked! Ever since that night I visited Harry Potter at least once a year.  Crazy isn't it?
Did you have the same reaction reading the Philosopher's Stone?  What is it about Harry Potter, his friends and his adventures that make children and adult jump into Harry's world over and over again?

The story of Edna, the joy of Edna and the grief of Edna

Edna keeps pulling me back into her life every year.  Each time I want to let her go, her clutches seem stronger.
Readers, help me out here...... show me why I have made the right decision in including the awakening as  permanent menu for LHE 3251.  What are the interesting issues you have discovered in the Awakening?

The Curse, Catch Me If You Can and Step By Wicked Step

Hi,
As today is our last meeting for this semester, i would like you to look at the 3 novels prescribed for form 5 students. Please compare and contrast the values of these 3 novels.

Youth and Old Age in Dylan Thomas' Fern Hill

Dylan Thomas shared with us his childhood days in Fern Hill.
How does he describe his childhood
and why does he end the poem with the following lines?

And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.
Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying
Though I sang in my chains like the sea.