Comments for A Pilgrim in Narnia

Comment on 50 Shades of Bad Writing by Brenton Dickieson

Brenton Dickieson — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:11:34 +0000

Funny, “proper porn.” Is that a high bar that this book couldn’t make it to?
She says “Holy cow!” 19 times, for your information.

Comment on 50 Shades of Bad Writing by V von Vagabonde

V von Vagabonde — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:11:55 +0000

You mean the whole ‘scene’?
Like your friend, I bought the book without knowing much about the content. Though I’ve attempted to read it a few times, the writing is simply too bad for me to go on. ‘Mommy porn’ is what 50 Shades is labelled by many. IMHO, it’s not even at the same level as proper porn. Don’t know what’s gotten into women these days.
Oh, and I cringe every time when the protagonist uses ‘Holy cow!’.

Comment on What Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress Teaches us about English and Education by jubilare

jubilare — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:05:13 +0000

I haven’t read The Pilgrim’s Regress, yet, but Lewis sometimes writes very autobiographical allegory. I wonder if that isn’t why it is so specific.

Some students are, while others seem to think Shakespeare was always “high literature” which just makes me do this: O_o

Comment on What Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress Teaches us about English and Education by Brenton Dickieson

Brenton Dickieson — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:27:42 +0000

On the allegory thing, I’ve been toying with that idea. Lewis’ “The Pilgrim’s Regress” is very specific, and thus quite difficult and weird. Perhaps that’s why it falls apart.
Are students afraid of Shakespeare? I’ve been afraid of Milton, but loving it now.

Comment on What Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress Teaches us about English and Education by jubilare

jubilare — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:48:43 +0000

“I suspect that an allegory simply can’t capture these subtleties without losing its universal appeal.”
Maybe, but even so I would love to see it try.

“We ease into Shakespeare in high school, training our brains to appreciate plays that were enjoyed by the street class illiterati who paid a penny to stand and watch.” Thank you for mentioning this! It’s something so many students never seem to realize.

Comment on What Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress Teaches us about English and Education by Brenton Dickieson

Brenton Dickieson — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:08:25 +0000

Great to bump into you (digitally)!
I can muddle through Chaucer with a ME translator nearby, but Beowulf is another language altogether!
“Literacy” is an interesting word. We are obviously evolving new literacies, but I think we have lost some key ones. Language is an interesting point. I don’t have Latin, but I should have. I’ve had to learn enough to understand case and personal pronouns, while looking up words and trusting in translators for verbs. I should have Latin.
I do have Greek and French, as well as some German and Hebrew (both written only). At one time I would be anemic in academics when it comes to languages; now it seems I am blood rich (even without Latin).
With the loss of languages, though, we lose a kind of literacy that can’t be replaced by the ever-helpful Google translate. Learning the language not only gets us into older texts and ideas, but changes our brains, the way we think. It also changes the way we read English.
Rabbit trail. But I hope we aren’t hopelessly illiterate, even if our evolving literacies are in deficit.

Comment on What Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress Teaches us about English and Education by beckyfields

beckyfields — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:19:00 +0000

I am so delighted to have discovered your blog! I taught a high school class on the works of CS Lewis for several years — I can never get enough of him. On a note re: Chaucer to Shakespeare — it’s a HUGE leap. Reading the Middle English is enormously satisfying but often like reading a foreign language. It remains the accomplishment I’m most proud of in my undergrad days (a time close to the Dark Ages, truth to tell). Most of my students thought Shakespeare was writing using Old English (egad!) until I showed them Beowulf.

Are we hopelessly uneducated? I wonder if the bigger question is this: are we hopelessly illiterate?

Comment on What Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress Teaches us about English and Education by Brenton Dickieson

Brenton Dickieson — Wed, 15 May 2013 19:46:34 +0000

Do you think we are hopelessly uneducated?
I read Chaucer updated, even though I could go through him line by line (in the same way I read Homer in English, not Greek). It’s a big jump from Chaucer to Shakespeare. Shakespeare I ease into, like a tingly hot bath. Chaucer is me stuttering along!

Comment on What Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress Teaches us about English and Education by robstroud

robstroud — Wed, 15 May 2013 19:21:36 +0000

Thanks for the great background on the masterpiece, and for your reflections on it. Personally, I don’t mind reading versions that update language, even though I have little problem “deciphering” the archaic language. It just makes it more accessible, which was, of course, one of the very desires of the author! For example, I enjoyed watching the film “Coriolanus,” but still found the Shakespearean language distracting.

Sadly, your statement that we are less well educated than our predecessors is an unfortunate truth.

Comment on C.S. Lewis Wasn’t Just Smarter Than Me… Hints on Education from a Remarkable Letter by What Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress Teaches us about English and Education | A Pilgrim in Narnia

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:46:03 +0000

[…] I wonder if there is more to our struggle with the classics, though, than the normal evolution of language. When I read C.S. Lewis’ The Pilgrim’s Regress for the first time in 2011, it was a real struggle. With hundreds of often un-translated French, Italian, German, Latin, and Greek words and phrases, Lewis’ little spiritual allegory is intimidating. Rereading it again this year, having educated myself in Lewis’ world and works, and it is much more approachable. This realization leads me to suspect that had I taken up Bunyan’s travelogue two years ago I would have struggled more than I did. Not only has language moved on, but so has education. We are simply less educated than the readers of the past. […]