"Does nobody know old Rip Van Winkle?"

John Howe. Rip Van Winkle cover.
Little, Brown and Company, 1992.

Today we are continuing our study of Washington Irving's masterpiece, "Rip Van Winkle"-- arguable one of the best American short stories ever written, ever. Today is work day, however, as we continue on in our understanding of Romanticism and in the importance of the imagination.

Agenda:

1. Lord's Prayer
2. Finish the historical record of Deitrick Knickerbock's "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving. Here's a more comprehensive version of the tale, with pictures and such.
3. Reading Journal (11/7): Irving
1. Answer questions #3, 4, 7. You can find it here.
4. Lecture and discuss "Rip Van Winkle" and Romantic Notes.
5. Review HW:
1. In-class Essay 
2. 
   

 

Poets do not go mad; but chess-players do. -- G.K. C.

Rip Van Winkle asleep in the woods.

We are delving into the mysterious now. No more reductive, natural law; no more cold materialism. The world is charged with an inscrutable grandeur. There are limits to our understanding, ends to our rationalism. As Chesterton says, "Imagination does not breed insanity. Exactly what does breed insanity is reason. Poets do not go mad; but chess-players do. Mathematicians go mad, and cashiers; but creative artists very seldom." As you read today, consider what is inherently Romantic about Irving's story?

Agenda:

1. Lord's Prayer
2. Continue reading "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving (or find it online here; go to "next" at the bottom of each page to get to continue). You can also find it here. Finish this wonder story. Meditate upon it. Savor it.
3. Check American Romanticism Notes (p. 133-145)
4. Review HW:
1. Finish reading "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving (if you did not finish in class).
2. 2012 Presidential Election Essay
3. Vocabulary Unit 5 HW: 
1. Select any five words from Unit 5. Know each word's part of speech. Write a short paragraph that correctly uses these five words, is grammatically correct, and addresses one of the following prompts:
1. Prompt 1: Explain your effort and progress in any class you are currently taking.
2. Prompt 2: Write a paragraph that features some old dude who knows how to build stuff with his bare hands. While you watch him build, you learn about life. 
1. Underline or highlight the words. Note which prompt you choose. Turn it in hard copy.

Faith dies, materialism sprouts, and political revolutions flourish in the soil of Rationalism.

The Death of General Warren at 
the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17,1775. 
Oil on Canvas. 1786. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Why is that so much Revolutionary War comes on the heels of some Rationalist Manifesto? Why is that so much Revolution springs up during the Age of Reason? Could this merely be a coincidence? Many would have us believe that it was the Enlightenment that gave us all the good things in this Western World. But the opposite is quite true. Although we are moving past this historical period, it's good to keep in mind this theme throughout our year: ideas have consequences. Today's title is a sufficient summary of the affects of hard core rationalism. It is a essentially a foreshadowing of the philosophical materialism that will rear its ugly head in the latter 19th century.

Agenda:

1. Pray
2. Behold the REVISED 2012 Presidential Election Essay
3. Read "American Romanticism" (p. 133-149) 
1. Continue to Take Notes in your reading.
2. Work productively with a partner. 
4. Begin Washington Irving: 
1. Read Irving's bio (p. 150)
2. Read "Rip Van Winkle"(or find it online here; go to "next" at the bottom of each page to get to continue).
5. Review HW:
1. Finish Romantic Notes by Wednesday (11/7).
2. Presidential Election Essay (11/13).