Reading Diary A: Dante's Inferno

I chose to read Dante's Inferno for the reading of Week 13. I was really interested in this unit just from the description given at the beginning of the Un-Textbook. As I read, I realized that I had chosen a unit that was hard for me to understand if I didn't read carefully and thoughtfully. Many times I had to go back and reread a paragraph or two to fully understand what was going on or what had happened. I took some notes while I read and they are shown below. The image I included really helped me understand each level and what was going on throughout the story.

Paolo and Francesca

I liked this story because it was the first story where Dante actually had a conversation with one of the souls in hell. I'm glad for the description of the story beforehand or I would have been really confused on what occurred here in this story. Francesca tells Dante how love is what led her to her current state and Dante is initially and rightfully confused. After speaking with Virgil, he then turns back to Francesca to explain how love put her in the place she now resides. She then tells her story of her affair and Dante then fully understands.

Cerebus and Plutus

I found it very interesting that no one knows the exact meaning of "'Papé Satàn, papé Satàn aleppe" which comes from the mouth of Plutus. It really makes me want to research possible meanings. I find it interesting that for a story that has been around this long that there isn't an exact interpretation.

Fortune and Phlegyas

The scene that really stood out to me here was the scene of the souls that were sentenced to, what I assume, a lifetime of anger. I can see where anger can ruin lives and I thought that was a good image of it. Having people have looks of pure anger on their face and biting and clawing each other to near death was a very powerful image.




Levels of Hell within Datne's Inferno (Wikidpedia Commons)

Famous Last Words-Week 12

This is my first time posting a Famous Last Words blog post. I decided to write one this week because it is getting close to the end of the semester and things are getting a little hectic. I thought it would be nice to sit back and think about all the things I have done this week and not the things I was supposed to do and did not get to.

I did not get a chance to write a storytelling post this week because I was so busy in other classes with tests and presentations. I am hoping to get a little ahead later tonight in this class as I have a very busy couple of weeks coming up. I have a capstone presentation in a couple weeks that my group and I are not prepared for. We have lots to do this upcoming week to get ready. We can get it done it is just going to take a few long nights in between to do so! I am very ready to get this project done as it seems like its really the only thing standing between me and graduating. It will be a major relief once April 22nd is over with!

I'm almost to this point! (Meme Guy)

For this class, I am currently writing up my third story for my storybook project. I have really enjoyed writing this storybook and am excited to finish up. I feel like I have finally got a little creative side back that I haven't been able to work on in my classes the last couple of years! I really enjoyed writing and making up stories in high school so I'm glad this class has given me an opportunity to explore that a little bit near the end of my college career. It is probably the most writing I have done since freshman year but I have really enjoyed it.

Extra Reading: Celtic Fairy Tales

I decided to do an extra reading this week and I chose the Celtic Fairy Tales unit to do so. I chose this unit initially because in the description it mentioned leprechauns, fairies, and ghosts. After a long week of studying I wanted something that could entertain me! I kept some notes while I read and these can be seen below. I tried to focus on my favorites throughout while reading.

The Field of Boliauns

Since the mention of leprechauns is what first caught my eye when choosing this unit I should have known a story of a leprechaun would end up being one of my favorites. I felt like the whole time that the leprechaun was taking Tom Fitzpatrick to the place where the pot of gold was supposed to be you almost felt like a trick was coming. Then you knew Tom was about to be tricked when he let the leprechaun go as he went to fetch a shovel to dig for the gold.

Leprechaun (Villafanart)

The Sprightly Tailor

I found this story to be very amusing as it showed courage but also mixed with a little ghost story. I would have liked a little more backstory as to why Macdonald wanted the tailor to sew his garments in the old, haunted church but I guess that isn't to important to the story. I like how at the end there is something that tries to validate the story as it alludes to the handprint still being on the walls of the gate outside the castle.

Reading Diary B: Beowulf

I finished reading the Beowulf unit for this Reading Diary. I was really excited to read about Beowulf and his encounter with the monster Grendel so I was glad to see that the tale would come early on in this reading. As always, I kept some notes about my favorite stories and what I thought could be used in my storytelling post.

The Battle with Grendel

This is what I was excited for since reading the previous half of the unit. Once again, the vivid details used by the writer were inspiration to try and use the same detail in my writing. I felt like the writing gave way to lots of action packed writing and I was really impressed with the author's ability to create so much action with just their words. The part I found most amusing is that when all the people of Heorot awoke and heard a racket they looked up to see Beowulf and his men on the rooftop holding up Grendel's bloody arm. I could just imagine the look on their faces!

The Arrival of the Dragon

I liked this story because I thought it did a great job of setting up future stories. Having a slave, with no name, tell the story about what he saw in the dragon and the many spoils that he slept with was a great way to lure the reader into wondering what was true in his story or if they could even trust what he was saying. This also led to Beowulf being skeptical until the slave pulled out the jeweled cup which he had taken from the dragon's lair.

The stranger stealing the jeweled cup from the dragon (illustrated by A.R. Skelton).

Reading Diary A: Beowulf

I chose to read the Beowulf unit because it mentioned that it was the full story. I wanted to read a story that showed the entirety of the story behind the main characters. I vaguely remember reading Beowulf in high school and I felt like it would be good to revisit this collection of stories.

Beowulf's Resolve

While reading this particular story I really noticed the description and attention to detail used throughout. I first noticed this while the writer described the scene as Beowulf became enraged at the thought of Grendel terrorizing the land. I would really like to try and incorporate this detail in my storytelling post this week. It made the scene extremely easy to visualize in my mind. I think this is very important because the reader can more easily see what you pictured as you wrote the story.

The Word's of Beowulf

I was glad that Beowulf stood up for himself and set the record straight about his race against Breca within in the sea. This story had caught my interest throughout this first half reading but I thought that it was just something used sparingly and would never actually come out. I liked how it was alluded to throughout and finally was told in the overarching story. I still wish there was a complete story about this race as it seems like it could easily be a lengthy story in itself. Maybe I could use this and write about it for my storytelling post.

Beowulf sailing to Daneland (Wikipedia Commons).

Extra Reading: Robin Hood

I decided to do an extra reading this week instead of writing an essay. I chose the Robin Hood unit because I can remember hearing stories or watching Robin Hood when I was young. Reading this unit was a little bit of a challenge as I thought reading the stories in ballad form was actually tougher than I thought. I did manage to find a few favorites during my reading and I convey them below.

Robin Hood on the cover of a comic (Wikipedia).

Little John

This was an amusing little ballad. I thought it was entertaining to hear they called him Little John even though he stood near seven feet tall and could obviously fight very well. I also liked that even though their small battle did seem to be very vicious it ended up being all in good fun. At the end of the fight, Robin Hood's band of merry men are called upon and act to avenge their leader's loss. Instead of this, Robin Hood offer's to take in Little John and teach him the way of his band of men within the forest.

The Ranger

This story is a lot like the story of Little John. The ranger confronts Robin Hood and tells him that he is in charge of the forest and Robin Hood disagrees saying that he reigns supreme in the forest. Once again, Robin Hood battles his foe for a long period of time. When the battle is over, it seems like the two have battled to a draw. Once again, Robin Hood invites the ranger to join his band of merry men and they feast and drink all night to celebrate their new member.

Storytelling Week 11-The Putter Excalibur

One day, a professional golfer was walking down the fairway with his caddie. The young professional had just given up a huge lead on the last day of the tournament due to his terrible putting on the greens. After their round, the golfer and the caddie sat at the bar in the clubhouse.

"I just can't seem to make putts!" exclaimed the golfer. "I'm getting close but none fall in the hole."

"What you need is a new putter. I bet you could find a great one in the pro shop on the other side of the clubhouse," reasoned the caddie.

With that, the golfer and the caddie found the pro shop and searched for some time for a new putter. There were putters of all shapes and sizes. Long ones, short ones, silver ones, gold ones. Even with all the variety, there wasn't a putter that seemed to fit. Just when they were going to give up a hope, a dull glow came from behind a pile of old, discarded golf clubs. The golfer reached behind the pile and pulled out an old, gold putter that seemed to come from the 1950s. Along the head of the putter were engraved the name "EXCALIBUR".

Although it was old, it was the only putter that seemed to feel comfortable in the hands of the young golfer. Even though it felt comfortable, the caddie and golfer were unsure of how it would perform in an actual tournament round. The golfer would try it out at the next week which just so happened to be the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia. It was the first major tournament of the year and the first year professional wanted to prove to the rest of the tour that he belonged.

The putter lived up to its mysterious appearance as he putted exceptional all week long. He was tied for the lead with one hole to play and had a 30 foot putt that would give him the victory if he could sink it. As he lined up the putt and stood over the ball his eyes rested on the engraved words in the dull golden head of the putter: "EXCALIBUR". With that, he pulled the club back and putted the ball with a smooth stroke. The putt curled and seemed to stop right on the edge of the hole before it fell! He had won the tournament and found a weapon he could rely on the rest of his career.

"Excalibur" the putter (Wikipedia).

Author's Note: The inspiration from this story came from The Sword Excalibur found in King Arthur: Tales of  the Round Table written by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H.J. Ford (1902). In the original story, King Arthur is without a sword as he rides along with Merlin the wizard. They come upon a lake with an arm rising out of the middle of the water holding a magnificent sword. The Lady of the Lake appears and agrees to let King Arthur have the sword if he will give her a gift when she asks. He agrees and rows out to the sword and retrieves it. I decided to change the story to a professional golfer needing a new putter to fix his struggles. I thought it would be amusing to keep the name of the "weapon" as Excalibur and have it be somewhat magical. I did this because the Masters golf tournament starts next week and a commercial came on as I was thinking of plots for the story. I am a big golf fan so I hopefully did not use to many words that are not known if you are not familiar with golf. I tried to keep the use of sports specific terminology to a minimum.