1 views
Easy Guide to MatS (2)
Original poem 'Mary and the Shepherd' in my page (Extra simple version of the guide and fun exercises included in the poem page's comment section!)
There's some common Christian metaphors used in the poem and this article. Don't worry about it. They don't affect the understanding much and are simple to understand in a few Google searches (Mary anointing Jesus, the Good Shepherd).
How to cheat: Read the questions before and after your current one. They're often expansions of the same grounds, so…
P.S. To grab the gist, you can just focus on Q11, 13, 16.
The continuation of the first part…
11. In the original poem, Mary is kind and empathetic to animals; in this version, she is portrayed with blind worship and submission. What does this two versions of female portrayal imply about generally how women's image was constructed? If you have read similar portrayals in entries on this app, reflect and question: Why are they shown like this?
If a man submits to the Shepherd, how would he be shown? Would it be the same?
12. Refer to the previous question, aside from Mary, what is your definitions of kindness and submission? What is the difference between them? Can you identify the overlap in your mind? What's a more accurate definition and their overlap?
What gives Mary's actions the meaning of kindness or submission (And who defines it? Why?) ? Can you think of a place or time that the same actions or words in another environment mean completely different?
13. In the fifth stanza, why did the author use the children instead of 'lambs'? What meanings does the word children embody? And what is the difference between children and 'lambs'? How do the use of 'old lamb' and its dialogue hint on it? Is it a positive or negative wording?
In the original poem, Mary is also a child at the school (here, the House of Lambs); hence, in this poem, assuming she is one of the children, how does Mary represent the children? How does she not represent the children in her actions? Think of reasons why their actions might differ and how it relates to the use of word children.
14. Refer to the previous question, why do the children not question Mary's ego-damaging actions (What's ego any way? Why is it important?) ? Why is the children's first reaction being to ask the reason of the 'Shepherd' allowing Mary to humiliate herself like an honour (Why was this regarded as humiliation anyway? But masseues do it everyday?) ? What is the children's attitude to the 'Shepherd' reflected? What status, in their eyes, is Mary and the 'Shepherd' in? What are their differences? And how does the use of 'Savior' and 'the Lord' hint at it?
Relating to our society, how does the community decide a person's value? In the poem, how does the children reflect the community's attitude to the 'Shepherd' and other issues? Is there any similar figures in reality that was given the same value? Did you think of it differently than how you think with the poem? If so, why?
15. In the fifth stanza, why does the 'old lamb' think that being a pet and obeying as something to strive for? How does the word 'old lamb' shed light on this? 'old' and 'lamb' can be contradictory, and what does the paradox give sense to? Can you give examples of any figures in your life and environment with the similar characteristics?
16. Refer to the whole poem, which characters are directly named after animals? Which embody animal characteristics? Which characters are ambiguous? Try changing those characters to human and animals, and observe how the context and metaphor changes.
What are difference of roles between these characters of the three categories? Why are they chosen with the category? What does changing the species vary? What does being a human mean? Given that it can be redefined, how would you frame the definition of being human?
Duh. Not so easy afterall. But hey, you just went through ~ 900 words of puzzling questions with me. I'm deeply impressed.
You're not required to answer the above questions, but do keep them in mind. They serve as reminders to help you digest as you navigate the poem and shed a new perspective on things. This critical thinking might or might not come in handy someday.
Congratulations for reaching the end! As for the prizes…
(suspenseful music)
(drum rolls)
You've uncovered the secret 🎊! - the One and Only true name of this spectacular article:
A Very Intimidating Beginner's Guide to Sociological Criticism??!
Hooray! Surprised, right?
Afterwords: When focusing on certain things, we are deciding that it has, value, which is a social construct reinforced by community's decision. Hence with our white ignorance, the structure was sculpted, for instance:
a) there are certainly more methods and schools of literary theories to analyse a text
b) the prioritization, definitions and punctuations create the hierarchy and network in your mind
Mind that I'm also just an undergraduate at college, if not for it being my work, I would have scaled it down to avoid misleading you guys.
Throughout the articles, we've been re-evaluating government's roles, gender and humanist stereotypes. A simple change of definition can shift the whole direction, we found. Language is inherently arbitrary, and our labels on things are often imaginary (some have robust foundation, most don't), that our cognitive bias silence most dissonance with the carry on of routined life.
But remember, the devil is in the details. Life may numb your senses, but do retain a degree of sensitivity and empathy. To understand. To negotiate. To adapt. To encounter and see meaning in life once more, as fresh as the morning dew, days overflowing with colours.
Hope that the series of articles helps. Thanks for being with me. I'm glad you're here.
© Elvin
There's some common Christian metaphors used in the poem and this article. Don't worry about it. They don't affect the understanding much and are simple to understand in a few Google searches (Mary anointing Jesus, the Good Shepherd).
How to cheat: Read the questions before and after your current one. They're often expansions of the same grounds, so…
P.S. To grab the gist, you can just focus on Q11, 13, 16.
The continuation of the first part…
11. In the original poem, Mary is kind and empathetic to animals; in this version, she is portrayed with blind worship and submission. What does this two versions of female portrayal imply about generally how women's image was constructed? If you have read similar portrayals in entries on this app, reflect and question: Why are they shown like this?
If a man submits to the Shepherd, how would he be shown? Would it be the same?
12. Refer to the previous question, aside from Mary, what is your definitions of kindness and submission? What is the difference between them? Can you identify the overlap in your mind? What's a more accurate definition and their overlap?
What gives Mary's actions the meaning of kindness or submission (And who defines it? Why?) ? Can you think of a place or time that the same actions or words in another environment mean completely different?
13. In the fifth stanza, why did the author use the children instead of 'lambs'? What meanings does the word children embody? And what is the difference between children and 'lambs'? How do the use of 'old lamb' and its dialogue hint on it? Is it a positive or negative wording?
In the original poem, Mary is also a child at the school (here, the House of Lambs); hence, in this poem, assuming she is one of the children, how does Mary represent the children? How does she not represent the children in her actions? Think of reasons why their actions might differ and how it relates to the use of word children.
14. Refer to the previous question, why do the children not question Mary's ego-damaging actions (What's ego any way? Why is it important?) ? Why is the children's first reaction being to ask the reason of the 'Shepherd' allowing Mary to humiliate herself like an honour (Why was this regarded as humiliation anyway? But masseues do it everyday?) ? What is the children's attitude to the 'Shepherd' reflected? What status, in their eyes, is Mary and the 'Shepherd' in? What are their differences? And how does the use of 'Savior' and 'the Lord' hint at it?
Relating to our society, how does the community decide a person's value? In the poem, how does the children reflect the community's attitude to the 'Shepherd' and other issues? Is there any similar figures in reality that was given the same value? Did you think of it differently than how you think with the poem? If so, why?
15. In the fifth stanza, why does the 'old lamb' think that being a pet and obeying as something to strive for? How does the word 'old lamb' shed light on this? 'old' and 'lamb' can be contradictory, and what does the paradox give sense to? Can you give examples of any figures in your life and environment with the similar characteristics?
16. Refer to the whole poem, which characters are directly named after animals? Which embody animal characteristics? Which characters are ambiguous? Try changing those characters to human and animals, and observe how the context and metaphor changes.
What are difference of roles between these characters of the three categories? Why are they chosen with the category? What does changing the species vary? What does being a human mean? Given that it can be redefined, how would you frame the definition of being human?
Duh. Not so easy afterall. But hey, you just went through ~ 900 words of puzzling questions with me. I'm deeply impressed.
You're not required to answer the above questions, but do keep them in mind. They serve as reminders to help you digest as you navigate the poem and shed a new perspective on things. This critical thinking might or might not come in handy someday.
Congratulations for reaching the end! As for the prizes…
(suspenseful music)
(drum rolls)
You've uncovered the secret 🎊! - the One and Only true name of this spectacular article:
A Very Intimidating Beginner's Guide to Sociological Criticism??!
Hooray! Surprised, right?
Afterwords: When focusing on certain things, we are deciding that it has, value, which is a social construct reinforced by community's decision. Hence with our white ignorance, the structure was sculpted, for instance:
a) there are certainly more methods and schools of literary theories to analyse a text
b) the prioritization, definitions and punctuations create the hierarchy and network in your mind
Mind that I'm also just an undergraduate at college, if not for it being my work, I would have scaled it down to avoid misleading you guys.
Throughout the articles, we've been re-evaluating government's roles, gender and humanist stereotypes. A simple change of definition can shift the whole direction, we found. Language is inherently arbitrary, and our labels on things are often imaginary (some have robust foundation, most don't), that our cognitive bias silence most dissonance with the carry on of routined life.
But remember, the devil is in the details. Life may numb your senses, but do retain a degree of sensitivity and empathy. To understand. To negotiate. To adapt. To encounter and see meaning in life once more, as fresh as the morning dew, days overflowing with colours.
Hope that the series of articles helps. Thanks for being with me. I'm glad you're here.
© Elvin
