Our assessments are both just guesses. After all, I've never talked with Robert Frost over tea about hidden meanings in his poetry, and neither have you!
It's silly to assume that anyone can completely understand what an author was feeling or thinking at the time when he was writing a poem or book.
I'm currently having a small problem with my American Literature professor. The problem is that I hate her. The other problem is that professors are less likely to give me an A if I express my hatred for them. Especially this professor.
I'm not in the habit of professor bashing. I find that complaining about a professor's habits and methods just wastes time. Instead, I learn to accommodate for different teaching methods or lack thereof. The likelihood of getting an A is less dependent on the class or professor, and more dependent on how badly you want it. Or in my case, how pigheaded and stubborn I am.
However, with all of this in mind, my American Literature professor is AWEFUL! She is one of those professors who believes that her class is the single most important class that any student will ever take. She publicly humiliates students who answer questions incorrectly.
Evidently no one ever taught her that saying, "Duhh!! Do you have ANY intelligence at all?" is mean. And she takes it personally if students are silent after she asks a question.
Who can blame them for their silence? If they answer wrong, they'll get belittled!
Anyway, my most recent pet peeve has to do with poetry. I love poetry! I enjoy reading it, letting it soak in, discussing it, the whole bit.
Apparently though, Ms. American Literature is the reincarnation of every single poet that ever lived. So even though we are speculating about the poet's inspirations and motives, somehow it's still okay for her to taunt me in class about how wrong my speculations are....
Well, I guess I'm done ranting for tonight.
