The following statements strike me as sentiments that came from secondary sources, and I'll bet that if I were to ask the students what these sentences mean, I'd get blank stares:
"His lyrics have a mixture of Cavalier grace, with metaphysical wit, and complexity."
"writers like Pope carefully cultivated a style that would achieve the maximum of clarity, precision, and energy."
"he attacked people's most prominent bad habits, and he made the abstract concrete."
"This allegorical poem was not published until 1596 and it is the longest and most important poem in the English language."
Bittersweet: time to say goodbye to some students I've known for a long time.
It's not the armor; it's the person wearing it.
Only two people out of a class of 30+ have correctly identified what a "Carpe Diem" poem is all about (i.e., "seize the day" by "seizing me.") They all want it to be inspiring and high-minded and Dead Poets Society and stuff. Don't want to talk about sex on an exam, I guess. Can't blame them.
I love reading a self-aware, conversational exam. Of course, that's what got me in trouble on my MA exam, for "flippancy."
I could use a cup of that wine. Without Iocane Powder, plz.
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