Monday, March 3, 2008

The Heart of a Poet

My nonfiction professor is in some kind of a committee wherein they decide whether or not students graduating with a degree in English are meeting their "Expected Outcomes." There are a series of statements for each major on campus with this title and these statements are the objectives of the entire department in assuring a well-rounded education in each field of study.

Having said that, my professor came to class today with a quiz for us to take on poetry. Apparently the chair of the English Department feels that this is a weak area for students graduating with an English degree.

So there are about 5 different poems and 18 questions with regards to analyzation of said poetry as well as mechanics and technical terms. The tests were anonymous, much to my delight because I wouldn't call myself any kind of expert on poetry. However, of the 18 questions, I got 16 right. Before you go jumping for joy I would like to make a disclaimer here. I had to make what I call a guess on about 12 of those questions. I can analyze meaning just fine, but get into the technical terms and I'm out. I was thrilled with the results, even though nobody but me and my reading public will know of my self-proclaimed brilliance in poetry. Needless to say I came out of that class feeling like a million bucks. Deep in my intellectual soul there must be some knowledge lurking that comes to the surface in the form of a "go with your gut" kind of feeling when I'm under pressure.

4 comments:

Jeff said...

Still.....that's impressive. Poetry is not forte at all.

mom/Janet said...

come on Jeanna, you're coming up with all these good grades and you seem so surprised. You have alot of hidden potential. I am just about to skip over the poetry part of my Independent Study course I'm taking. Can't stand the stuff. I told Em, I think I'll take the exam on that chapter - -guess at the answers- -and just put up with the score. I'm willing to take the risk. I want to move on to the things I'm really interested in. Would you be willing to take the test for me?

Holley said...

That is fantastic. I think that we non-traditional students sometimes have the advantage over our traditional counterparts. The brain is a really incredible machine and it astounds me daily the things I can recall or "come-up" with when I need to. I find I have much more patience for completely reading questions and directions so that I don't miss any declared or implied information. Congrats to you, I always knew you were brilliant!

Becky said...

Jeanna! I could totally see you strutting out of that English class with a big smile on your face, looking like you are on top of the world! That makes me smile!