Monday, May 1, 2017
End of Semester Improvements Blog
Change Review Weeks to Planning Weeks Idea:
I really like this idea and I hope that this does get implemented into future classes. We have a saying in the Marine Corps that goes like this, "Piss poor planning equals piss poor performance." Excuse my language! The saying just doesn't come across the way that it's supposed to without everything being explicit. If this change is implemented into the class and obviously the assignments would be graded, then students would be academically encouraged to develop good plans for both the class and their personal schedules. I wish more courses, online and physical, had this built into their schedules!
Expand the Story Planning Option Idea:
I used this option once or twice this semester and I really enjoyed this option. I think that my story turned out a lot better than when I read Monday and Tuesday and then wrote my story on Wednesday. I think this was because I did look up more details relating to my story and plus I spent the rest of the week thinking about how I was going to write my story. In the end, I believe that my story turned out more complete and thought out.
The resources that helped me personally were the side notes and suggestions provided by the professor. For instance, when I was at a loss in trying to decide how to go about researching more details of my story sources, the professor had already anticipated the questions that I had. Some helpful suggestions were to research the cultural background, rituals, ceremonies, etc. that my stories were based on. I also found this helpful when working on my storybook. Now, if the planning option was made available in future classes then that would be awesome! An idea that I had was to make an assignment in which the student has the option to research how their subject is portrayed in different cultures. For example, Hephaestus is the Greek form of the smith god, but Vulcan is the Roman form. I did not do an extensive amount of background research on Vulcan, but if I would have, then I might have developed a different storybook project.
Create Writing Tutorial Videos Idea:
I had a great time developing my writing skills in this class! I especially loved learning how to use quoted speech throughout my stories but that's also where I had the most friction. The online resources and personal feedback helped tremendously and I love the idea of having tutorial videos that I could watch and learn from. Shoot, half the stuff I learn nowadays is from YouTube, so learning through a tutorial video would be like second nature. One other thing that I noticed that other students did was to integrate music into their storybooks. Maybe a tutorial video on the best way to do this would be helpful?
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Week 14 Storytelling: Old Red
Herr Korbes, a detective of the Woodlands Internal Affairs agency, walked down the South Trail of the crime scene looking for clues that would help him solve his case. Korbes had a couple of suspects but he didn’t have enough evidence to figure out who the dirty cop was. Among his two suspects were Wolfy the over aggressive narcotics officer and Jack the big officer who constantly came close to breaking the rules to solve his crimes. Jack seemed harmless enough but it was Wolfy who he was willing to bet was the dirty cop. Korbes continued down the path but then stopped as he noticed a long piece of wolf hair caught between two branches. “Ah it doesn’t surprise me to find this here,” Korbes thought to himself. “It’s off to Wolfy’s house now,” he thought.
“Knock, knock, knock.” Korbes said, “Open up Wolfy. I know you’re home and I have a few questions for you.” Wolfy opened the door and invited Korbes inside. The two of them sat down at Wolfy’s coffee table opposite of each other.
“Ask your questions, Korbes, I’m an open book,” Wolfy said confidently.
Korbes dug into his pocket and pulled out the wolf hair and put it on the table. “Mind telling me why I found this on the South Trail earlier today?” Korbes asked.
Wolfy’s whiskers twitched ever so slightly. “Easy, that is my usual route that I go running on every morning.”
“If you say so. Last question, when’s the last time you saw Old Red? She disappeared yesterday and we believe a cop was involved in her kidnapping,” Korbes said.
Wolfy’s eyes narrowed. “Surely you don’t believe I had anything to do with her disappearance?? I was actually guarding her house with Jack last night and neither of us saw anything out of the ordinary during our shifts,” Wolfy stated.
“That’s my point, you two were the last to see her,” Korbes said as he stood up. “Anyway, I’m off to talk with Jack now. I’ll be in touch, don’t leave the Woods,” he said. “Knock, knock, knock.” “Jack, it’s Korbes, open up,” he said.
Jack opened the door and invited Korbes inside to sit down with him to talk. “What can I do you for?” Jack asked.
“It’s about Old Red. She went missing yesterday and I believe a dirty cop was involved in her disappearance,” Korbes said. Knowing full well that Jack was going to ask if he was involved, Korbes continued to speak and said, “My first question for you is what were you doing last night?”
“I was on guard duty at Old Red’s house with Wolfy, but neither of us saw anything out of the ordinary,” Jack said. Korbes began to scratch his head to think when Jack said, “However, Wolfy did tell me that I could take a nap while he kept watch and that it was no big deal.”
“That’s it!” Korbes exclaimed.
“What’s it?!” Jack asked surprisingly.
“While you were asleep, Wolfy must have snuck in and ate Old Red!” Korbes exclaimed again. The two of them then proceeded to Old Red’s house to investigate the crime scene. Once there, they noticed that the door had been opened so they proceeded into the house. They were astonished because there was Old Red on her bed, but something was different about her.
“What big hands you have Old Red!” Korbes exclaimed.
“What big feet you have!” Jack exclaimed.
“And what big teeth you have!” Korbes exclaimed right before Wolfy jumped up and swallowed him whole. Not missing a beat, Jack grabbed the axe conveniently lying against the wall and killed Wolfy, saving Korbes in the process.
“Knock, knock, knock.” Korbes said, “Open up Wolfy. I know you’re home and I have a few questions for you.” Wolfy opened the door and invited Korbes inside. The two of them sat down at Wolfy’s coffee table opposite of each other.
“Ask your questions, Korbes, I’m an open book,” Wolfy said confidently.
Korbes dug into his pocket and pulled out the wolf hair and put it on the table. “Mind telling me why I found this on the South Trail earlier today?” Korbes asked.
Wolfy’s whiskers twitched ever so slightly. “Easy, that is my usual route that I go running on every morning.”
“If you say so. Last question, when’s the last time you saw Old Red? She disappeared yesterday and we believe a cop was involved in her kidnapping,” Korbes said.
Wolfy’s eyes narrowed. “Surely you don’t believe I had anything to do with her disappearance?? I was actually guarding her house with Jack last night and neither of us saw anything out of the ordinary during our shifts,” Wolfy stated.
“That’s my point, you two were the last to see her,” Korbes said as he stood up. “Anyway, I’m off to talk with Jack now. I’ll be in touch, don’t leave the Woods,” he said. “Knock, knock, knock.” “Jack, it’s Korbes, open up,” he said.
Jack opened the door and invited Korbes inside to sit down with him to talk. “What can I do you for?” Jack asked.
“It’s about Old Red. She went missing yesterday and I believe a dirty cop was involved in her disappearance,” Korbes said. Knowing full well that Jack was going to ask if he was involved, Korbes continued to speak and said, “My first question for you is what were you doing last night?”
“I was on guard duty at Old Red’s house with Wolfy, but neither of us saw anything out of the ordinary,” Jack said. Korbes began to scratch his head to think when Jack said, “However, Wolfy did tell me that I could take a nap while he kept watch and that it was no big deal.”
“That’s it!” Korbes exclaimed.
“What’s it?!” Jack asked surprisingly.
“While you were asleep, Wolfy must have snuck in and ate Old Red!” Korbes exclaimed again. The two of them then proceeded to Old Red’s house to investigate the crime scene. Once there, they noticed that the door had been opened so they proceeded into the house. They were astonished because there was Old Red on her bed, but something was different about her.
“What big hands you have Old Red!” Korbes exclaimed.
“What big feet you have!” Jack exclaimed.
“And what big teeth you have!” Korbes exclaimed right before Wolfy jumped up and swallowed him whole. Not missing a beat, Jack grabbed the axe conveniently lying against the wall and killed Wolfy, saving Korbes in the process.
Author’s Note: As you can tell I adapted my story from the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale, but made my characters detectives. I decided to do this because I wanted to write in a different style and experiment with it and see what I came up with. In the end, the Wolf still ended up being the bad guy, the “lumberjack” still ended up being the hero, and I just added Herr Korbes into the story to add another character. I got his name from another story called Herr Korbes from the Ashliman unit.
Bibliography: Little Red Cap translated by D.L. Ashliman (1998-2013).
Image: Wolfy
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Week 14 Reading Notes: Ashliman, Part A
I read from the Ashliman section of the Brothers Grimm unit for this Tuesday. I chose it because it looked like it had a lot of good short standalone stories in it. I was not disappointed at all! Just like the reading unit that I did for Monday, this unit got right to the meat and potatoes of the story. Reading one continuous story is great, but I like being able to read a lot of short stories because it gives more a lot more writing ideas to work with.
I did notice that there were some parallels between some of the stories, such as "The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids" and "Little Red Cap." In both stories the wolf eats the main characters but gets caught and cut open and has his stomach replaced with stones and then eventually dies because of this. Some of the other stories didn't make much sense to me but they were still interesting regardless. One of these stories was Herr Korbes. It starts out with a rooster and a hen going on a journey to Herr Korbes house by taking a wagon drawn by mice. On the way they fill up their carriage with numerous other animals and objects and when Herr Korbes come into contact with them, he gets all beat up. Then the story ends with, "Herr Korbes must have been a bad man." I'm not sure that I get this seeing as how the story never shows the perspective of Herr Korbes.
With all this in mind I think that I can take a few elements away from these stories to use in my own storytelling. I like the way that the Wolf is portrayed in these stories so I will probably write him into my own story. Also, he kind of gets the crappy end of the deal when he helps out Old Sultan so I might incorporate some of that story and have the Wolf end up benefitting in the end. I could possibly combine the Old Sultan story with the Seven Kids story and go in that direction. We shall see!
Bibliography: The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales translated by D.L. Ashliman (1998-2013).
Image: Rooster, Hen, and Four Mice
I did notice that there were some parallels between some of the stories, such as "The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids" and "Little Red Cap." In both stories the wolf eats the main characters but gets caught and cut open and has his stomach replaced with stones and then eventually dies because of this. Some of the other stories didn't make much sense to me but they were still interesting regardless. One of these stories was Herr Korbes. It starts out with a rooster and a hen going on a journey to Herr Korbes house by taking a wagon drawn by mice. On the way they fill up their carriage with numerous other animals and objects and when Herr Korbes come into contact with them, he gets all beat up. Then the story ends with, "Herr Korbes must have been a bad man." I'm not sure that I get this seeing as how the story never shows the perspective of Herr Korbes.
With all this in mind I think that I can take a few elements away from these stories to use in my own storytelling. I like the way that the Wolf is portrayed in these stories so I will probably write him into my own story. Also, he kind of gets the crappy end of the deal when he helps out Old Sultan so I might incorporate some of that story and have the Wolf end up benefitting in the end. I could possibly combine the Old Sultan story with the Seven Kids story and go in that direction. We shall see!
Bibliography: The Grimm Brothers' Children's and Household Tales translated by D.L. Ashliman (1998-2013).
Image: Rooster, Hen, and Four Mice
Week 14 Reading Notes: Russian Folktales, Part A
For this Monday's reading, I decided to go with the Russian Folktales. This was my original choice for my first week 13-14 reading, that I changed to Dante's Inferno. I thoroughly enjoyed these readings and I got a lot of good storytelling thoughts from them! For instance, most of these stories get right to the point of the story itself whether that be being nice to the poor or doing what you're supposed to be doing in the first place (integrity).
In contrast to the obvious morals, some stories seem like they will end with a moral of the story but then they end with the person getting what they want in the first place. In one story, a rich man is supposed to give some money to a poor man, then he fakes his death to get out of his debt, then helps the poor man scare off some bandits, gets some money in the process, and never pays the poor man what he originally owed him. It's actually really funny to read some of these stories and see how they unfold. There was one story that kind of seemed like an origin story that was about three siblings. In the end of the story, the two sisters abandon their brother and become a stream, while the brother chases after them and ends up becoming a delta. It was actually kind of sad that this happened because the three of them had gone through a lot together and in the end, the sisters abandoned their brother.
Combining all these different ideas, I think that I will take the straightforward and to the point elements from the Russian folktales unit. For example, I will open with the main characters and the main antagonist and clearly lay out the issue at hand. Then I will advance the story while leading to a seemingly clear ending. Then, I will not write that ending, but write something absurd lol.
Bibliography: Russian Folktales by W.R.S. Ralston (1887).
Image: A rich man and a poor man
In contrast to the obvious morals, some stories seem like they will end with a moral of the story but then they end with the person getting what they want in the first place. In one story, a rich man is supposed to give some money to a poor man, then he fakes his death to get out of his debt, then helps the poor man scare off some bandits, gets some money in the process, and never pays the poor man what he originally owed him. It's actually really funny to read some of these stories and see how they unfold. There was one story that kind of seemed like an origin story that was about three siblings. In the end of the story, the two sisters abandon their brother and become a stream, while the brother chases after them and ends up becoming a delta. It was actually kind of sad that this happened because the three of them had gone through a lot together and in the end, the sisters abandoned their brother.
Combining all these different ideas, I think that I will take the straightforward and to the point elements from the Russian folktales unit. For example, I will open with the main characters and the main antagonist and clearly lay out the issue at hand. Then I will advance the story while leading to a seemingly clear ending. Then, I will not write that ending, but write something absurd lol.
Bibliography: Russian Folktales by W.R.S. Ralston (1887).
Image: A rich man and a poor man
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Week 13 Storytelling: Merlin's Inferno
"Look, Vivien!" I exclaimed as we came upon the rock that housed many marvels.
"Oh gosh, what a sight it is, Merlin," Vivien mocked. "When will you cease to show me all these 'wonders?' You have already taught me everything that you know," she said.
"Just bear with me a little longer, my love," I replied in response. After responding I moved the rock that hid the entrance to an underground cave. I walked down into the cave before Vivien and when I looked up, she had used her magic powers to roll the rock back into place above me. Even though I knew that she would do this to me, I could not stop myself from showing her this magnificent place.
I attempted to move the massive boulder and I would have been able to if were not for my broken heart. The only woman that I ever truly loved had betrayed me and this caused me to lose my will to live. I laid down, closed my eyes, and allowed myself to enter the eternal darkness.
I woke up to someone or something screaming in the distance. I rose to my feet with surprising vigor that I had not had since the days of my youth. "Who's there?!" I shouted. As soon as I asked that question, I came to the realization that I must be dead, because I no longer had the foresight that I did in the living realm.
A voice came back. "Good Merlin! It is me, Arthur!" He said.
"Arthur? It can't be, I died before you...," I said in response.
"It seems time works differently down here. I actually just got here right before you did," Arthur said. "You look great by the way!" He said.
Reaching up to stroke my beard, I noticed that it was no longer there, and neither were my wrinkles from my old age. "Wow! It seems that I've come back in my prime in the afterlife!" I exclaimed.
Arthur said, "Either way, I'm glad to have you by my side again, Merlin! Do I have a lot of stories to tell you! Gosh, after Vivien trapped you-"
"Vivien!" I cried. "Where is Vivien? Is she here? I must find her!" I exclaimed frantically.
"I'm sorry I mentioned her," Arthur said. "For what she did to you, she got sent to the lower depths of Hell," he said.
I paused, then looked at Arthur and said, "We have to rescue her."
"I was afraid you'd say that," Arthur said.
"I hope you still have that sword, Excalibur. I imagine we'll need it," I stated. We proceeded to search out our surroundings and found that we were in a place called Limbo on the outer edges of Hell. After more searching we discovered that Vivien was in the eighth circle of Hell being kept there by the Giants. However, finding this information out did not deter us from our mission. We set out on our journey to the lower depths of Hell, sword and staff in hand.
As we reached the gate to the second circle of Hell, we heard a voice yell to us. "Merlin! Arthur! I come to join you on your quest! It is me, Hercules!" Hercules yelled.
Arthur replied excitedly, "Good Hercules! We're glad to have your company."
"It is not an easy quest that you two have set out on, but I would be amiss if I didn't offer my help. I have ventured through the underworld before and I know some shortcuts through the place," Hercules said.
"Let us proceed, then," I said. With Hercules as our guide, the three of us moved through the second circle of Hell without any problems until we came to the third circle of Hell.
"Cerberus, a three-headed devil dog, guards the entrance to the fourth circle of Hell. We must sneak past him or slay him to continue on," Hercules whispered to us. But as Hercules was talking, Cerberus raised his three heads in alert and began to charge our location.
"Looks like our decision has been made for us!" Arthur shouted as he drew Excalibur from its sheath. In perfect synchronization, Hercules charged Cerberus to stop him in his tracks with his godly strength while I cast a hasty spell to enlarge Arthur. While Arthur grew, he swung Excalibur above his head ready to bring his sword down on Cerberus. In a lightning fast strike, Arthur cut clean through all three heads of Cerberus. "Now that the dog is taken care of, make me normal size again, Merlin," Arthur said.
"No, wait," Hercules said. "We can use this to our advantage. Arthur, pick us up and then climb down to the eighth circle," he said. Arthur agreed, then picked the two of us up and climbed down the circles of Hell. As we neared the eighth circle, I saw Vivien surrounded by multiple Giants and they saw us too.
"I'll distract them while you two get Vivien!" Arthur shouted as he began to run away from us. Before we could argue the point, he already took off. Hercules and I quickly made our way to Vivien and I was horrified by what I saw.
She was disfigured beyond words can describe but even in her torture she managed to say, "Merlin, no! Even in the afterlife you plague me with you presence!" Hearing that, I realized the whole quest was a complete waste.
Then Hercules shouted, "We're out of time! We've got to leave now!" Gathering all my power to myself and taking some of Vivien's as well, I created a new spell that I hoped would work.
I shouted the last magic word of the incantation, "Alakazam!" And just like that, the three of us were back on the outer edges of Hell.
Author's Note: I took my inspiration for this story mash up from the King Arthur unit and the Dante's Inferno unit. I was originally going to my story over a young Merlin, but after reading the Dante's Inferno unit, I decided to do a story about Merlin in the afterlife, inspired by Dante's Inferno. In the King Arthur unit, Merlin dies because of his affection for Vivien, which I kept the same in the beginning of my story. From there, my story drew upon Dante's depiction of Hell. It would have taken too long to go through all the circles of Hell, so I hit my favorite parts in this story. I also added in Hercules, because he's had experiences in Hades before, so it made sense to use him as the guide. Finally, I was going to have Vivien be happy to see Merlin, but she never did enjoy Merlin's company, so I decided even Hell wouldn't change her mind.
Bibliography: Dante's Divine Comedy as translated by Tony Kline (2002) & King Arthur by Andrew Lang
Image 1: Cerberus by William Blake
Image 2: The Giants by Gustave Dore
"Oh gosh, what a sight it is, Merlin," Vivien mocked. "When will you cease to show me all these 'wonders?' You have already taught me everything that you know," she said.
"Just bear with me a little longer, my love," I replied in response. After responding I moved the rock that hid the entrance to an underground cave. I walked down into the cave before Vivien and when I looked up, she had used her magic powers to roll the rock back into place above me. Even though I knew that she would do this to me, I could not stop myself from showing her this magnificent place.
I attempted to move the massive boulder and I would have been able to if were not for my broken heart. The only woman that I ever truly loved had betrayed me and this caused me to lose my will to live. I laid down, closed my eyes, and allowed myself to enter the eternal darkness.
I woke up to someone or something screaming in the distance. I rose to my feet with surprising vigor that I had not had since the days of my youth. "Who's there?!" I shouted. As soon as I asked that question, I came to the realization that I must be dead, because I no longer had the foresight that I did in the living realm.
A voice came back. "Good Merlin! It is me, Arthur!" He said.
"Arthur? It can't be, I died before you...," I said in response.
"It seems time works differently down here. I actually just got here right before you did," Arthur said. "You look great by the way!" He said.
Reaching up to stroke my beard, I noticed that it was no longer there, and neither were my wrinkles from my old age. "Wow! It seems that I've come back in my prime in the afterlife!" I exclaimed.
Arthur said, "Either way, I'm glad to have you by my side again, Merlin! Do I have a lot of stories to tell you! Gosh, after Vivien trapped you-"
"Vivien!" I cried. "Where is Vivien? Is she here? I must find her!" I exclaimed frantically.
"I'm sorry I mentioned her," Arthur said. "For what she did to you, she got sent to the lower depths of Hell," he said.
I paused, then looked at Arthur and said, "We have to rescue her."
"I was afraid you'd say that," Arthur said.
"I hope you still have that sword, Excalibur. I imagine we'll need it," I stated. We proceeded to search out our surroundings and found that we were in a place called Limbo on the outer edges of Hell. After more searching we discovered that Vivien was in the eighth circle of Hell being kept there by the Giants. However, finding this information out did not deter us from our mission. We set out on our journey to the lower depths of Hell, sword and staff in hand.
As we reached the gate to the second circle of Hell, we heard a voice yell to us. "Merlin! Arthur! I come to join you on your quest! It is me, Hercules!" Hercules yelled.
Arthur replied excitedly, "Good Hercules! We're glad to have your company."
"It is not an easy quest that you two have set out on, but I would be amiss if I didn't offer my help. I have ventured through the underworld before and I know some shortcuts through the place," Hercules said.
"Let us proceed, then," I said. With Hercules as our guide, the three of us moved through the second circle of Hell without any problems until we came to the third circle of Hell.
"Cerberus, a three-headed devil dog, guards the entrance to the fourth circle of Hell. We must sneak past him or slay him to continue on," Hercules whispered to us. But as Hercules was talking, Cerberus raised his three heads in alert and began to charge our location.
"Looks like our decision has been made for us!" Arthur shouted as he drew Excalibur from its sheath. In perfect synchronization, Hercules charged Cerberus to stop him in his tracks with his godly strength while I cast a hasty spell to enlarge Arthur. While Arthur grew, he swung Excalibur above his head ready to bring his sword down on Cerberus. In a lightning fast strike, Arthur cut clean through all three heads of Cerberus. "Now that the dog is taken care of, make me normal size again, Merlin," Arthur said.
"No, wait," Hercules said. "We can use this to our advantage. Arthur, pick us up and then climb down to the eighth circle," he said. Arthur agreed, then picked the two of us up and climbed down the circles of Hell. As we neared the eighth circle, I saw Vivien surrounded by multiple Giants and they saw us too.
"I'll distract them while you two get Vivien!" Arthur shouted as he began to run away from us. Before we could argue the point, he already took off. Hercules and I quickly made our way to Vivien and I was horrified by what I saw.
She was disfigured beyond words can describe but even in her torture she managed to say, "Merlin, no! Even in the afterlife you plague me with you presence!" Hearing that, I realized the whole quest was a complete waste.
Then Hercules shouted, "We're out of time! We've got to leave now!" Gathering all my power to myself and taking some of Vivien's as well, I created a new spell that I hoped would work.
I shouted the last magic word of the incantation, "Alakazam!" And just like that, the three of us were back on the outer edges of Hell.
Author's Note: I took my inspiration for this story mash up from the King Arthur unit and the Dante's Inferno unit. I was originally going to my story over a young Merlin, but after reading the Dante's Inferno unit, I decided to do a story about Merlin in the afterlife, inspired by Dante's Inferno. In the King Arthur unit, Merlin dies because of his affection for Vivien, which I kept the same in the beginning of my story. From there, my story drew upon Dante's depiction of Hell. It would have taken too long to go through all the circles of Hell, so I hit my favorite parts in this story. I also added in Hercules, because he's had experiences in Hades before, so it made sense to use him as the guide. Finally, I was going to have Vivien be happy to see Merlin, but she never did enjoy Merlin's company, so I decided even Hell wouldn't change her mind.
Bibliography: Dante's Divine Comedy as translated by Tony Kline (2002) & King Arthur by Andrew Lang
Image 1: Cerberus by William Blake
Image 2: The Giants by Gustave Dore
Week 13 Reading Notes: Dante's Inferno, Part B
For Tuesday's reading I kept on going with Dante's Inferno, Part B. This story was too intriguing to not continue and see what happened in the last few rings of Hell. It's crazy how visual Dante makes and describes his story about the nine rings of Hell and also about who is down there and for what they are down there for. This is definitely a story that I could take from and recreate or mix with another story to make it more original.
Since today is Wednesday and I did a story planning post last week over Merlin, I think that I will combine Dante's Inferno reading with the Merlin reading. In order to do this, I am going to alter my approach to Merlin's storyline in that I will take up from the time when Merlin dies. Specifically, I will take up from when Merlin gets himself trapped inside his own tomb. From there, I will have him try and escape by using all the magic at his disposal until that is utterly exhausted. At that point, I will begin the Dante's Inferno intermingling in which I will begin to add the elements from Dante's story.
I think this will be an interesting take on both stories, because Merlin himself purports to know everything, but does he also know about what happens in the afterlife? That's what I'm going to try and explore during my storytelling. It'll also be interesting to see how Merlin's magic works in the afterlife. Will he still be all-powerful or will he be just another soul? And which ring will Merlin end up descending to? Will he even go to Hell? All these questions will help me and writing a good story for this week's storytelling.
Bibliography: Dante's Divine Comedy as translated by Tony Kline (2002).
Image: Close up view of the nine rings of Hell
Since today is Wednesday and I did a story planning post last week over Merlin, I think that I will combine Dante's Inferno reading with the Merlin reading. In order to do this, I am going to alter my approach to Merlin's storyline in that I will take up from the time when Merlin dies. Specifically, I will take up from when Merlin gets himself trapped inside his own tomb. From there, I will have him try and escape by using all the magic at his disposal until that is utterly exhausted. At that point, I will begin the Dante's Inferno intermingling in which I will begin to add the elements from Dante's story.
I think this will be an interesting take on both stories, because Merlin himself purports to know everything, but does he also know about what happens in the afterlife? That's what I'm going to try and explore during my storytelling. It'll also be interesting to see how Merlin's magic works in the afterlife. Will he still be all-powerful or will he be just another soul? And which ring will Merlin end up descending to? Will he even go to Hell? All these questions will help me and writing a good story for this week's storytelling.
Bibliography: Dante's Divine Comedy as translated by Tony Kline (2002).
Image: Close up view of the nine rings of Hell
Monday, April 17, 2017
Week 13 Reading Note: Dante's Inferno, Part A
For this week's reading I was originally going to do my notes over the Russian tales, but after browsing through some more of the readings, I decided to go with Dante's Inferno unit. I chose this reading unit because my fiancé and I sometimes get to talking about christianity and the afterlife so this seemed like a great reading to do. Before I did this reading, the most I knew about Dante's Inferno was that his descriptions of his adventures to Hell was very graphic. Since I have no plan on going to this place, I figure that reading about one individual's descriptions of Hell would be enough for me lol.
What took my interest the most was the different circles of Hell and who the residents of those circles were. obviously, the most well-known figures resided in the outermost circles, such as Socrates, Aristotle, and Achilles. Additionally, before Jesus came and took a select few out of Purgatory, those individuals resided in Hell as well. The reason that I found this interesting was because of the unknowns that concern the afterlife. From the Christian faith we know that if you believe in Jesus and accept him as your one and only savior, you will ascend to Heaven and obtain everlasting life. However, there has been skepticism about what happened to those who died before Jesus died on the cross. In this reading unit we do get an answer to this question.
I would definitely agree that Dante's Inferno was an original work of literature and this is a story that I would be excited to use as inspiration for my Wednesday's storytelling. As for the elements that I would use for my story, they would be as follows: 1. Having a Master take my main character through some supernatural event as his/her guide, 2. Having my main character be very inquisitive so that answers are provided and, 3. Having my main character meet and talk with characters from other areas/regions/timelines.
Bibliography: Dante's Divine Comedy as translated by Tony Kline (2002).
Image: Map of Hell in Dante's Divine Comedy
What took my interest the most was the different circles of Hell and who the residents of those circles were. obviously, the most well-known figures resided in the outermost circles, such as Socrates, Aristotle, and Achilles. Additionally, before Jesus came and took a select few out of Purgatory, those individuals resided in Hell as well. The reason that I found this interesting was because of the unknowns that concern the afterlife. From the Christian faith we know that if you believe in Jesus and accept him as your one and only savior, you will ascend to Heaven and obtain everlasting life. However, there has been skepticism about what happened to those who died before Jesus died on the cross. In this reading unit we do get an answer to this question.
I would definitely agree that Dante's Inferno was an original work of literature and this is a story that I would be excited to use as inspiration for my Wednesday's storytelling. As for the elements that I would use for my story, they would be as follows: 1. Having a Master take my main character through some supernatural event as his/her guide, 2. Having my main character be very inquisitive so that answers are provided and, 3. Having my main character meet and talk with characters from other areas/regions/timelines.
Bibliography: Dante's Divine Comedy as translated by Tony Kline (2002).
Image: Map of Hell in Dante's Divine Comedy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)