Well, it is time to face the music and choose a topic for your literary specialist assignment. In your blog this weekend, I want to you talk out some ideas about the project. You may also pose questions or concerns in regards to the assignment.
Ok, I hope I'm the first one who posts this, and if so, I got dibs on JR Tolkien.
So for this extensive research paper, I wanted to pick somebody I could never get bored of while researching them. At first I was thinking about Homer, because I spent an entire quarter just analyzing him, but then again that was quarter 1 of freshman year and he really did not entertain me. I've read a few Lord of the Rings books and watched all of the movies with The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, but I never read the Hobbit, which I am going to start doing because I wanted to do it for forever now.
I really cannot get any ideas if I don't know what literary specialist topic I want to do, so I was kind of looking over that paper today. I was thinking along the lines of topics 1, 6, and 23. A very possible topic for me would be how it reflects culture from a humoristic standpoint, from an artistic and creative viewpoint, or from a Catholic standpoint, or possibly all three. There are so many things to write about just from looking him up, and this is the main difficulty in narrowing down the subjects.
I definitely want to include his thought processes in writing his epics. What led him to think of all of these ingenious ideas, characters, and ultimately, the plot? That just doesn't come to somebody's mind one night and the next day you have something like the Hobbit!
I also feel like I could write about his relation to modern society, and what his characters symbolize. There are thousands of essays online just talking about how they relate. Some say that modern day American life is lazy and "pitiful", others say that we should think like Tolkien, and one even compared Bilbo and Frodo to Mother Teresa and to the great leaders of the world. It is so incredibly diverse that it is impossible to pick a topic without any help.
So yep that's my spiel. Sorry to whoever wanted to do Tolkien but hopefully, this project will be awesome and fascinating.
You are brave, my friend. Haha! I knew a couple of people in our class were interested in doing Tolkein, but it is a first come first serve kind of deal, I guess. I am very happy for you for choosing J.R.R. Tolkein. He is an incredible author. I have not read any of his books, but I have religiously seen all of the Lord of the Rings movies at least five times, and I have seen two of the Hobbit movies. Good luck on reading The Hobbit! I'm sure it is amazing! I think your ideas are very well thought out, as well. I am very interested to see how he came up with his storylines and plots, as well! I want to definitely read your project when you are finished. I think that little excerpt you put in your blog about Mother Teresa relating to Bilbo and Frodo is so neat! Good luck on your project. I am excited for you!
I think that Tolkein is a great choice. I do not know much about him because I have never read or seen any of the Lord of the Rings. I think that you will be able to do a great job. Good luck!
Haha I love how you called Tolkien. There was indeed a lot of interest in our class on this particular author. I personally have never read any of The Lord of Rings books, but I definitely would like to at some point.,I have watched parts of a couple of the movies and I found them to be very fascinating. You will definitely enjoy your project and I cannot wait to se how it turns out. Good Luck!!!
Good. You can think as you read. When you read fiction knowing that you will be writing a project on it, you read it a little differently. You study it instead of just reading it. I am anxious to see what direction you take with this.
I call Jules Verne. I wanted to a fantasy author because I would really enjoy the books and I have already read 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, I might have to refresh my memory a little bit but that is already one book down. I think that I also read some of A Journey to the Center of the Earth, but I am not really sure. I do however know that I watched the movie and it was really good. I also wanted Around the World in Eighty Days and I also think that this book was made into a movie as well.
For my topic I was thinking that I could maybe do the myths, because A Journey to the Center of the Earth is a myth of what is actually at the center of the earth. I could also look at myth and science with Jules Verne's because many of his books contain an element of science, looking for a groundbreaking discovery and moving forward in the world of science.
Verne along with H.G. Wells is considered one of the founders of the genre science fiction which is very popular today. So I think that it would be interesting to read some Verne's books to see how the genre started and why if was so popular at the fine and remains popular even in today's society.
I am very excited to start this project, jus last night I already started downloading Jules Verne's books on my kindle and I was very happy that most of them are free because they are considered classics. I can't wait to analyze this books to uncover why they are so special and even why they are considered classics. Not all science fiction books are made classics so I can't wait to read the books by one of the fathers of science fiction.
It seems that you have chosen a very fascinating author. I am glad you chose one that you have already read some of his books. I am excited to read some of my own author's works, as well. Myths would be a very solid topic to relate your author to, I believe, because fantasy and science fiction sort of fall among that category. I think you should definitely include some exciting facts about your author's biography in your project, as well. He sounds like a pretty cool guy! Haha! I am anxious to read your report. Good luck, Michaela!
Michaela, I am excited for you to do Verne. He is a very interesting author. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is such an interesting story. It will be cool to learn how he came up with that sort of idea. This topic suits you rather well, Michaela. I am excited to see how it comes out.
That sounds like a pretty sweet project yo are doing. I still do have to read some of Tolkien's books as well, but I am starting to download the audiobooks to my iPod. This is a good choice for you. Good luck!
I decided to follow the trend of Matt Bobby and call the subject of my research paper. I am sorry; I could not help it. When we were viewing the suggestions for the assignment the name of C.S. Lewis stuck out to me. It was like a choir of angels started singing and a light shined down upon the author.
I have a very strong liking for C.S. Lewis. I know a little background on him, as well. I know that one of his most famous works is the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I’ve also read several others of his novels including The Magician’s Nephew, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. When I was in second grade, my mother decided that she wanted to read to my sister and me the story of Narnia. I remember being so entranced by the tale, and also wondering why my mom wanted to read it to us. When we finished the story of the children and Aslan, she explained that the tale represented the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. It all made sense once she clarified that. I think it is so fascinating how brilliant C.S. Lewis is by using so much symbolism to represent one of the greatest stories known to mankind through one of his own novels. I admire C.S. Lewis’ imagination and writing skills. What is even more interesting about him is that he was an atheist when he was fifteen. Do you want to know what is even more astonishing? J.R.R. Tolkein helped convert C.S. Lewis to Christianity. The master of the Lord of the Rings, everyone! They were friends. Once I discovered that, I knew that I needed to do my project on C.S. Lewis.
I will be the first to admit that I have not given this project much thought. However, I do plan on utilizing the Chronicles of Narnia for a part of my project, and possibly explain all of the religious symbolism hidden within it. I would also like to read some of his other Christian-themed novels such as The Great Divorce and Readings for Meditation and Reflection. I basically want my project to centralize around the creative success of C.S. Lewis, and how he has greatly influenced literature through his works that often have a religious theme. I also want to discuss some of the other religious authors, such as J.R.R. Tolkein and GK Chesterton that have been influences on C.S. Lewis. For an “extra project” I would really love to do something with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I have to think about it a little more, though. These are basically my ideas.
The only question I have concerning the project is can we please not try to hastily complete it in a week and a half? Haha! AP English Language people will understand. I’m sorry if anyone wanted to do C.S. Lewis, but I am super excited to do my project on him.
Rachel, I think that C.S. Lewis is the perfect person for you to do. If you can find all of the religious symbolism in Narnia then you will be hero. There is so much! I can't possibly imagine you doing anyone else haha. Anyways good luck, and not completing it in a week and a half would be nice.
I am very glad that you chose to do C.S. Lewis. I liked the Narnia books and is think that it would very easy for you to relate them to Catholism. I thinks that your project will be very interesting and I can't wait to read it! Good Luck!!
I think that C.S. Lewis is a good choice. I do not know much about her other than a few if the books that you mentioned. I thought that it was interesting about what you said regarding Tolkein and his impact on Lewis. Good luck.
Lewis, Chesterton and Tolkien! You have made my day. Father Ross may be a great resource for you on this! This is an excellent idea and probably something you will be able to use at St. Vincent. Beautiful thinking.
Unlike what seems to be the trend I would like to call a topic rather than a specific author.
Unless it offends anyone, and I sort of doubt it will, I would like to do topic 19. For those who are not looking at their papers it is comparing writers form different socio-economic writers from the same time period.
So I have already kind of started this project. I recently read The glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. This is a really great story of a child who spent her whole life in poverty waiting for her father to finally fulfill his promise of prosperity. This is kind of what made me want to chose this particular topic. This book has given me a lot to think about when it comes to the idea of poverty and how it really affects people. It is easy to dismiss, but this story is really eye opening to its true nature.
This is where I need your help, Mrs. Messineo. The Glass Castle was published in 2005. I am struggling to find a memoir also written from that same time by someone of a wealthier background. I was just wondering if perhaps you had any suggestions for me. This is where i have hit the major stumble in my project. Really if anyone has any possible suggestions please feel free to make them known.
I feel pretty okay with the project up to this point. I am sure that I will absolutely have questions as time goes on, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it. Like I said anyone with suggestions on the project please feel free to let me know. There are no wrong answers! Help!
Hurray! I am very happy someone is doing this "prompt" because it really stuck out to me too! I have heard wonderful things about The Glass Castle and it was very smart of you to pick a book like that that you already read and enjoyed. Good luck with the book hunt, I'm sure you'll find something, I'll keep my eyes open.
Well, let's remember that it must be from the same era, and that is a lot of years. But I will think about it. Give me some time to chew on it. Hers is also a memoire, so my immediate reaction is to suggest "Nickled and Dimed" which is a story written by a wealthy girl who pretended to be poor. You might also choose a different era, read two books from that and compare the ages. I will think on it.
I decided to choose Dave Barry. Although I have never read any of his works he seems to be an interesting author. I was looking for an author who wrote non-fiction, because that is the only type of books that I enjoy reading so I figured I better choose this genre. I also saw that he wrote humorist nature, so I thought that he would not become dull after reading a few of his works.
From the background information that I was able to gather without actually reading any of his books, it seems that he writes many "how to" guides. The guides that he makes use satire throughout while actually accomplishing a guide. I plan on writing about how the use of satire affects the way the reader interprets what Barry is writing.
As of now I do not have any questions or concerns for the project.
Ooh nice choice! I agree, when we were going through the authors in class he did sound interesting and a great fit for you! I love satire and it can be used in so many ways I'm sure you will be able to find a plethora of things to talk about! How to guides sound really entertaining actually...
That's a quality pick up. Dave Barry is a beast and it is good for you because of the genre he writes. It seems like you would be interested in something like that. Good work.
Good. Seems like a good topic for you Luke. What is the humorous book you are reading now about basketball? Barry talks a lot in his editorials about sports. We will talk more about it in class.
Okay. This could be a really terrible idea. I am by no means set in stone on anything I still have much more research I would like to do.
As of right now I am thinking about discussing the prevailing theme of myth and man throughout literature.
Brideshead actually gave me this idea. The whole idea of Sebastian and Charles representing myth and man is very interesting to me because they are both actually human. And we're almost done...so that helps.
I have not read Beowulf but from my understanding it contains a similar component. Beowulf is human (man) and he prevails over the demon Grendel, who would appear to be "myth" in a way. However, at the close of the story Beowulf is submitted to the same inevitable death as everyone else, emphasizing that God truly does have dominion over the most powerful of men. Man can never truly over power the supernatural powers of the "myth "
There is a contemporary novel by Neil Gaiman I have interest in reading entitled "American Gods." This story contains powerful elements of Greek Mythology (Old Gods) an juxtaposes them with New Gods (technology, money). The things that Americans "worship" today. It's the real vs the surreal and the power one holds over the other. Myth and Man.
Obviously this is a loose concept. I would like to get information about other books as well.
If this fails I certainly would like to do a comparison of woman's roles in the novels of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens since I have great interest in both of them.
I think we all found that in A Tale of Two Cities Miss Lucy was a rather weak female character, serving primary as a symbol. I'd be curious how the rest of his works compare where as Jane Austen. A traditionally "feminine" writer would, I presume, put a great emphasis on woman and their independence, power, ect.
This is excellent thinking! I like all of your ideas! Any of them, all of them, would work very well. It is hard to nail down EXACTLY what you will do because you are not yet a specialist in the area we are looking into, but you will be. Once you read the books and take some notes, it will get easier. Also, reading critical analysis of authors really opens your eyes to what YOU think about the author. You will find yourself getting annoyed at the haters, and there will be plenty. I love Beowulf. And you can never go wrong with Austin and Dickens. Excellent ideas.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOk, I hope I'm the first one who posts this, and if so, I got dibs on JR Tolkien.
ReplyDeleteSo for this extensive research paper, I wanted to pick somebody I could never get bored of while researching them. At first I was thinking about Homer, because I spent an entire quarter just analyzing him, but then again that was quarter 1 of freshman year and he really did not entertain me. I've read a few Lord of the Rings books and watched all of the movies with The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, but I never read the Hobbit, which I am going to start doing because I wanted to do it for forever now.
I really cannot get any ideas if I don't know what literary specialist topic I want to do, so I was kind of looking over that paper today. I was thinking along the lines of topics 1, 6, and 23. A very possible topic for me would be how it reflects culture from a humoristic standpoint, from an artistic and creative viewpoint, or from a Catholic standpoint, or possibly all three. There are so many things to write about just from looking him up, and this is the main difficulty in narrowing down the subjects.
I definitely want to include his thought processes in writing his epics. What led him to think of all of these ingenious ideas, characters, and ultimately, the plot? That just doesn't come to somebody's mind one night and the next day you have something like the Hobbit!
I also feel like I could write about his relation to modern society, and what his characters symbolize. There are thousands of essays online just talking about how they relate. Some say that modern day American life is lazy and "pitiful", others say that we should think like Tolkien, and one even compared Bilbo and Frodo to Mother Teresa and to the great leaders of the world. It is so incredibly diverse that it is impossible to pick a topic without any help.
So yep that's my spiel. Sorry to whoever wanted to do Tolkien but hopefully, this project will be awesome and fascinating.
Matt Bobby,
DeleteYou are brave, my friend. Haha! I knew a couple of people in our class were interested in doing Tolkein, but it is a first come first serve kind of deal, I guess. I am very happy for you for choosing J.R.R. Tolkein. He is an incredible author. I have not read any of his books, but I have religiously seen all of the Lord of the Rings movies at least five times, and I have seen two of the Hobbit movies. Good luck on reading The Hobbit! I'm sure it is amazing! I think your ideas are very well thought out, as well. I am very interested to see how he came up with his storylines and plots, as well! I want to definitely read your project when you are finished. I think that little excerpt you put in your blog about Mother Teresa relating to Bilbo and Frodo is so neat! Good luck on your project. I am excited for you!
Matt Bobby,
DeleteI think that Tolkein is a great choice. I do not know much about him because I have never read or seen any of the Lord of the Rings. I think that you will be able to do a great job. Good luck!
Matt,
DeleteHaha I love how you called Tolkien. There was indeed a lot of interest in our class on this particular author. I personally have never read any of The Lord of Rings books, but I definitely would like to at some point.,I have watched parts of a couple of the movies and I found them to be very fascinating. You will definitely enjoy your project and I cannot wait to se how it turns out. Good Luck!!!
Good. You can think as you read. When you read fiction knowing that you will be writing a project on it, you read it a little differently. You study it instead of just reading it. I am anxious to see what direction you take with this.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI call Jules Verne. I wanted to a fantasy author because I would really enjoy the books and I have already read 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, I might have to refresh my memory a little bit but that is already one book down. I think that I also read some of A Journey to the Center of the Earth, but I am not really sure. I do however know that I watched the movie and it was really good. I also wanted Around the World in Eighty Days and I also think that this book was made into a movie as well.
ReplyDeleteFor my topic I was thinking that I could maybe do the myths, because A Journey to the Center of the Earth is a myth of what is actually at the center of the earth. I could also look at myth and science with Jules Verne's because many of his books contain an element of science, looking for a groundbreaking discovery and moving forward in the world of science.
Verne along with H.G. Wells is considered one of the founders of the genre science fiction which is very popular today. So I think that it would be interesting to read some Verne's books to see how the genre started and why if was so popular at the fine and remains popular even in today's society.
I am very excited to start this project, jus last night I already started downloading Jules Verne's books on my kindle and I was very happy that most of them are free because they are considered classics. I can't wait to analyze this books to uncover why they are so special and even why they are considered classics. Not all science fiction books are made classics so I can't wait to read the books by one of the fathers of science fiction.
Michaela Cashmer,
DeleteIt seems that you have chosen a very fascinating author. I am glad you chose one that you have already read some of his books. I am excited to read some of my own author's works, as well. Myths would be a very solid topic to relate your author to, I believe, because fantasy and science fiction sort of fall among that category. I think you should definitely include some exciting facts about your author's biography in your project, as well. He sounds like a pretty cool guy! Haha! I am anxious to read your report. Good luck, Michaela!
Michaela,
DeleteI am excited for you to do Verne. He is a very interesting author. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is such an interesting story. It will be cool to learn how he came up with that sort of idea. This topic suits you rather well, Michaela. I am excited to see how it comes out.
Michaela,
DeleteThat sounds like a pretty sweet project yo are doing. I still do have to read some of Tolkien's books as well, but I am starting to download the audiobooks to my iPod. This is a good choice for you. Good luck!
Excellent! Now that is thinking. You are smart to choose something in which you are interested and experienced. This sounds like a great start!
DeleteI decided to follow the trend of Matt Bobby and call the subject of my research paper. I am sorry; I could not help it. When we were viewing the suggestions for the assignment the name of C.S. Lewis stuck out to me. It was like a choir of angels started singing and a light shined down upon the author.
ReplyDeleteI have a very strong liking for C.S. Lewis. I know a little background on him, as well. I know that one of his most famous works is the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I’ve also read several others of his novels including The Magician’s Nephew, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. When I was in second grade, my mother decided that she wanted to read to my sister and me the story of Narnia. I remember being so entranced by the tale, and also wondering why my mom wanted to read it to us. When we finished the story of the children and Aslan, she explained that the tale represented the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. It all made sense once she clarified that. I think it is so fascinating how brilliant C.S. Lewis is by using so much symbolism to represent one of the greatest stories known to mankind through one of his own novels. I admire C.S. Lewis’ imagination and writing skills. What is even more interesting about him is that he was an atheist when he was fifteen. Do you want to know what is even more astonishing? J.R.R. Tolkein helped convert C.S. Lewis to Christianity. The master of the Lord of the Rings, everyone! They were friends. Once I discovered that, I knew that I needed to do my project on C.S. Lewis.
I will be the first to admit that I have not given this project much thought. However, I do plan on utilizing the Chronicles of Narnia for a part of my project, and possibly explain all of the religious symbolism hidden within it. I would also like to read some of his other Christian-themed novels such as The Great Divorce and Readings for Meditation and Reflection. I basically want my project to centralize around the creative success of C.S. Lewis, and how he has greatly influenced literature through his works that often have a religious theme. I also want to discuss some of the other religious authors, such as J.R.R. Tolkein and GK Chesterton that have been influences on C.S. Lewis. For an “extra project” I would really love to do something with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I have to think about it a little more, though. These are basically my ideas.
The only question I have concerning the project is can we please not try to hastily complete it in a week and a half? Haha! AP English Language people will understand.
I’m sorry if anyone wanted to do C.S. Lewis, but I am super excited to do my project on him.
Rachel,
DeleteI think that C.S. Lewis is the perfect person for you to do. If you can find all of the religious symbolism in Narnia then you will be hero. There is so much! I can't possibly imagine you doing anyone else haha. Anyways good luck, and not completing it in a week and a half would be nice.
Rachel,
DeleteI am very glad that you chose to do C.S. Lewis. I liked the Narnia books and is think that it would very easy for you to relate them to Catholism. I thinks that your project will be very interesting and I can't wait to read it! Good Luck!!
Rachel,
DeleteI think that C.S. Lewis is a good choice. I do not know much about her other than a few if the books that you mentioned. I thought that it was interesting about what you said regarding Tolkein and his impact on Lewis. Good luck.
Lewis, Chesterton and Tolkien! You have made my day. Father Ross may be a great resource for you on this! This is an excellent idea and probably something you will be able to use at St. Vincent. Beautiful thinking.
DeleteUnlike what seems to be the trend I would like to call a topic rather than a specific author.
ReplyDeleteUnless it offends anyone, and I sort of doubt it will, I would like to do topic 19. For those who are not looking at their papers it is comparing writers form different socio-economic writers from the same time period.
So I have already kind of started this project. I recently read The glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. This is a really great story of a child who spent her whole life in poverty waiting for her father to finally fulfill his promise of prosperity. This is kind of what made me want to chose this particular topic. This book has given me a lot to think about when it comes to the idea of poverty and how it really affects people. It is easy to dismiss, but this story is really eye opening to its true nature.
This is where I need your help, Mrs. Messineo. The Glass Castle was published in 2005. I am struggling to find a memoir also written from that same time by someone of a wealthier background. I was just wondering if perhaps you had any suggestions for me. This is where i have hit the major stumble in my project. Really if anyone has any possible suggestions please feel free to make them known.
I feel pretty okay with the project up to this point. I am sure that I will absolutely have questions as time goes on, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it. Like I said anyone with suggestions on the project please feel free to let me know. There are no wrong answers! Help!
Megan,
DeleteHurray! I am very happy someone is doing this "prompt" because it really stuck out to me too! I have heard wonderful things about The Glass Castle and it was very smart of you to pick a book like that that you already read and enjoyed. Good luck with the book hunt, I'm sure you'll find something, I'll keep my eyes open.
Well, let's remember that it must be from the same era, and that is a lot of years. But I will think about it. Give me some time to chew on it. Hers is also a memoire, so my immediate reaction is to suggest "Nickled and Dimed" which is a story written by a wealthy girl who pretended to be poor. You might also choose a different era, read two books from that and compare the ages. I will think on it.
DeleteI decided to choose Dave Barry. Although I have never read any of his works he seems to be an interesting author. I was looking for an author who wrote non-fiction, because that is the only type of books that I enjoy reading so I figured I better choose this genre. I also saw that he wrote humorist nature, so I thought that he would not become dull after reading a few of his works.
ReplyDeleteFrom the background information that I was able to gather without actually reading any of his books, it seems that he writes many "how to" guides. The guides that he makes use satire throughout while actually accomplishing a guide. I plan on writing about how the use of satire affects the way the reader interprets what Barry is writing.
As of now I do not have any questions or concerns for the project.
Luke,
DeleteOoh nice choice! I agree, when we were going through the authors in class he did sound interesting and a great fit for you! I love satire and it can be used in so many ways I'm sure you will be able to find a plethora of things to talk about! How to guides sound really entertaining actually...
Nice choice.
Luke Kraus,
DeleteThat's a quality pick up. Dave Barry is a beast and it is good for you because of the genre he writes. It seems like you would be interested in something like that. Good work.
Good. Seems like a good topic for you Luke. What is the humorous book you are reading now about basketball? Barry talks a lot in his editorials about sports. We will talk more about it in class.
DeleteOkay. This could be a really terrible idea. I am by no means set in stone on anything I still have much more research I would like to do.
ReplyDeleteAs of right now I am thinking about discussing the prevailing theme of myth and man throughout literature.
Brideshead actually gave me this idea. The whole idea of Sebastian and Charles representing myth and man is very interesting to me because they are both actually human. And we're almost done...so that helps.
I have not read Beowulf but from my understanding it contains a similar component. Beowulf is human (man) and he prevails over the demon Grendel, who would appear to be "myth" in a way. However, at the close of the story Beowulf is submitted to the same inevitable death as everyone else, emphasizing that God truly does have dominion over the most powerful of men. Man can never truly over power the supernatural powers of the "myth "
There is a contemporary novel by Neil Gaiman I have interest in reading entitled "American Gods." This story contains powerful elements of Greek Mythology (Old Gods) an juxtaposes them with New Gods (technology, money). The things that Americans "worship" today. It's the real vs the surreal and the power one holds over the other. Myth and Man.
Obviously this is a loose concept. I would like to get information about other books as well.
If this fails I certainly would like to do a comparison of woman's roles in the novels of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens since I have great interest in both of them.
I think we all found that in A Tale of Two Cities Miss Lucy was a rather weak female character, serving primary as a symbol. I'd be curious how the rest of his works compare where as Jane Austen. A traditionally "feminine" writer would, I presume, put a great emphasis on woman and their independence, power, ect.
Just speculation.
Yea, this project is scary.
This is excellent thinking! I like all of your ideas! Any of them, all of them, would work very well. It is hard to nail down EXACTLY what you will do because you are not yet a specialist in the area we are looking into, but you will be. Once you read the books and take some notes, it will get easier. Also, reading critical analysis of authors really opens your eyes to what YOU think about the author. You will find yourself getting annoyed at the haters, and there will be plenty. I love Beowulf. And you can never go wrong with Austin and Dickens. Excellent ideas.
Delete