Actually, it’s the seventh, but I figure now’s as good a time as any to stop numbering them and just admit they’re a (semi-)regular feature. Woo!
Anyhow, this time I’m doing an essay called “Coming to Terms” by Gary K. Wolfe. It’s short, so hopefully I can get this entry done before the scourging weather wipes my house out of the valley in which it nestles.
Maka says, Read a book! Or she'll take your soul.
It’s been quite a while since I posted anything worthwhile. I suppose it’s possible that will continue after today, but whatever. This is a little different from most of the AiC entries, as I’m going to post a piece I wrote for my SF literature class. It is much in the vein of the AiC posts, sort-of; that is, when he gave us grad. students the assignment (we’re crashing an undergrad. course), he said it was a completely arbitrary assignment that would never be published anywhere. We’re meant simply to respond to two critical essays he gave us. I riffed on them in the way I will, sometimes, and have no idea if it’s what he wants to see. I’m turning it in tomorrow, so we’ll see. But I just wrote the last paragraph and I’d talked to Pontifus about posting it when it was finished. It is. So, uh, woo. The essays are “On the Origins of Genre” by Paul Kincaid and “Science Fiction and Literature — or, the Conscience of the King” by Samuel Delany. (Kincaid’s most recent book is up for a non-fiction Hugo this year, by the way.)
We’re nearing the last leg of Northrop Frye’s first essay in Anatomy of Criticism; this time we’re tackling the section called “Thematic Modes.”
You knew she'd show up eventually.
After over two months away — two months of thesis writing and so on — my Adventures in Criticism return. If you recall from last time, we tackled Frye’s first essay, the “Theory of Modes.” Or rather, one third of it. I’m going through the second third now.
We’ve gotten increasingly critical here at Super Fanicom, which I think is no problem at all. Though I do want to do an actual, you know, anime post pretty soon, to help cleanse the pallet a bit. I’m afraid I can’t do that yet, though, and am even proposing starting a series of posts on theory. In defense of this little project of mine, I think these will be relatively short. Here’s the skinny: I’m finally getting around to reading the whole of Northrop Frye’s Anatomy of Criticism. I’ve read parts before now, but never the whole thing, or in anything approaching linear order. I thought as I read I would post along with thoughts for each section. This is the “Polemical Introduction,” pt. 1.
I’ve been seeing some meta-narrative stuff concerning blogging, anime, blah blah blah. As my father is currently watching a basketball game on our only tv — mine is in Memphis — I am stuck in my room, so here I am, doing some of this meta-criticism as well. Don’t expect anything amazing. My only real contribution, when I get around to it, is in bringing Stanley Fish to the party.
At IKnight‘s request, and because I couldn’t think of anything other than a post about the new Lucky Star OVA (which wasn’t serving much of a purpose), I’m going to take a stab at illuminating my theory of criticism, here, in front of the fives of you who read my posts. We’ll, uh, we’ll see how this goes.