11/14/2019 0 Comments Blog #4- reflective blog postWhat is criticism? Does criticism have power? What is self-fashioning? What do we self fashion according to? Is it possible to self fashion without an alien? How does literature reflect self fashioning?
These are just a few of the many questions we sought to answer this past semester in AP Lit. Through analyzing “Better Living Through Criticism” by A.O Scott and “Renaissance Self-Fashioning” by Stephen Greenblatt, we discovered that criticism is just as powerful as art, that literature is both a reflection of and something that influences identity, and that we all self fashion according to an authority, something we hope to emulate, and against an alien, something we hope not to emulate. Each of these revelations have allowed us to better understand how dialectic relationships, literature, art, and power permeate each of the pieces we have read together thus far. For example, in “Better Living Through Criticism,” we read about the power of criticism and art, and in “Renaissance Self-Fashioning,” we learned that identities are inextricably tied to the structures that fashion them, and that we have no autonomy over the creation of our identities. However, our understanding of “Better Living Through Criticism” and “Renaissance Self Fashioning” extends far beyond solely what arguments Scott and Greenblatt make; throughout the semester, we have also discussed how and why they make their arguments. Although at times, I felt frustrated during our discussions about the purpose of each of the pieces, in retrospect, they helped me significantly in understanding Scott and Greenblatt’s arguments. In fact, the first time I felt like I truly grasped Greenblatt’s argument was during our discussion about his purposes for each of the audiences he was writing for. As a result, I’ve decided to include a page from my commonplace book where I analyzed Greenblatt’s purposes for most of his audiences. I am incredibly proud of this page, not just because of the drawings at the bottom, but also because I am happy with my ability to express Greenblatt’s argument concisely and clearly. I also chose to include this page because it framed most of my understanding of “Renaissance Self-Fashioning”; when I understood why and to whom Greenblatt was writing, I was able to grasp his argument much more quickly. I also chose to include my page about Greenblatt’s conditions mainly because I found significant difficulty in understanding the purpose of each of these conditions. It represents my struggle with “Renaissance Self-Fashioning,” and is an important reminder that I won’t always understand an argument right away. I’m sure I will continue to struggle with texts in this class, and this page is a reminder that my confusion will not be eternal. I am excited for the rest of the year in AP Lit because although the class is difficult for me, it has helped me immensely with understanding and grappling with texts. Based on the classes we have had thus far, I suspect we will continue to read difficult texts, initially attempt to decipher them by ourselves, and then grapple with them together in class in order to reach a consensus about the purpose of the text.
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