Best Blogs from 19th Century Literature 2020

Overall, an amazing feast of student talent in reflecting on how 19th Century Literature can shed so much light on core issues of human experience in the 21st Century. Thank you All!!

Here is one student Alicia Ticchio reflecting on her semester, writing during the Covid 19 Pandemic, when all studies were on-line using Zoom technology! Thank you Alicia:

This semester I feel has been a bit of a roller coaster. Yet I think that studying this topic in literature was a saving grace. I was introduced to the everlasting art and literature of the Romantic and Victorian ages. I discovered that although the works were produced centuries ago, they are very much still relatable to the concerns of the 21st century….Overall, blogging has been an experience that has excited me in times where it was very much needed. It allowed me to explore my peers work, enabling me to view others understanding of the works we studied. In doing so, I feel I was more enlightened towards appreciating the power that poetry has in illustrating societal issues that are very much relevant today. I was able to heighten my appreciation for my natural surroundings and learnt to keep my mind kind and happy. Although it is unfortunate that these issues of ignorance towards nature are still prevalent today, I think it is wise to note that poetry is just one example that illustrates that there are people who care about our environment and self-wellbeing. https://aliciaticchio.wordpress.com/2020/05/18/my-summative-entry/

Here is a great blog from one of our international students reflecting on the impact of Covid 19 on her learning. She is from the USA and has been unable to get back to her country. Thank you Lilly: https://lillyflack.home.blog/category/blogs/summative-entry/

Here is a wonderful blog on the continuing relevance of Matthew Arnold’s “Scholar Gypsy” on our own times – and a great comparison with T.S.Eliot’s “The Hollow Men”. Thank you Georgia: https://georgiahoulihan.wordpress.com/2020/04/27/19th-century-literature-blog-post-4-matthew-arnolds-the-scholar-gypsy-critical/

A visually stunning Summative Entry. Thank you Amber: https://amberhunt397174316.wordpress.com/2020/05/17/engl200-summative-entry/

A great poem written in response to the question can you remember a time in your life where “nature was your teacher” (a la Wordsworth). Here is Teneille reflecting on her time in her grandparent’s garden. Thank you Teneille: https://thebestofliterature.art.blog/2020/03/09/nan-and-pops-garden/

Another great poem in response to “let nature be my teacher”- this time with reference to the Snowy Mountains. Thank you Abanoub: https://19thcentabanoubkal.wordpress.com/2020/03/01/example-post/

Here is an amazing poem responding to the huge bushfires earlier this year linked to the topic “let nature be your teacher”. Thank you Jared: https://jaredmarksbrain.home.blog/2020/03/15/write-a-poem-about-an-experience-in-your-life-in-which-nature-was-the-teacher/

Here is a wonderful blog inspired by Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Illych. Thank you Greg: https://gregcoustasblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/17/blog-4-a-look-at-the-spiritual-context-of-the-death-of-ivan-ilych/

Here is another great blog pondering on death inspired by The Death of Ivan Illych. Thank you Victoria: https://victoriamartin.art.blog/2020/05/17/death-is-a-transition/

Here is a great ekphrastic poem on the painting The Gordon Riots which encapsulates so well the fear of revolution which was still haunting England into the late 19th Century. Thank you Laura: https://lauranash1.wordpress.com/2020/04/04/the-gordon-riots/

Another great ekphrastic poem, this one inspired by Eugene Von Guerard, great Romantic artist of the Southern Oceans. Thank you Natalia: https://literaryworld.home.blog/2020/04/06/blog-3-creative-2/comment-page-1/?unapproved=17&moderation-hash=8e8c4b85ebe60c57b14fd6f12a27f4dd#comment-17

Students were asked to share their experience working with marginalized groups (in the context of Charles Dickens’ celebration of Circus People. Here is a beauty! Thank you Huzaifa: https://huzaifasblog.home.blog/2020/04/27/blog-4-marginalised-groups/

And students were inducted into the art of the Enlightenment to show them how dramatically transformative was the ideology of the Romantics. Here is Dylan reflecting on how an Enlightenment depiction of a pug dog embodied so much of what the Romantics hated! Thank you Dylan: https://dylanversola.home.blog/2020/04/05/3-critical-blog/

Here are two of the best Summative Entries. Thank you Lili & Veronica: https://lilibraidner.home.blog/2020/05/16/summative-entry-4/ https://veronicabliteratureblogs.wordpress.com/2020/05/14/summative-entry-2/

Here is the opening of one students reflections on how the issues of the 19thC are mirrored in our own times: Thank you Courtney for these fine words:

And here is Courtney’s response to the question Describe a contact you have had with some marginalized group (gypsies/ circus people etc). Has it shown you the deficiencies of your own world view?: Wow this is awesome: https://courtzerafa44.wordpress.com/2020/04/21/engl200-blog-post-4/