Opening Lines: James Joyce
"Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo."
I laugh everytime I read this opening line and it just made me want to read the entire novel. From the very moment you read these words (especially the word "moocow" and "tuckoo") you know James Joyce means business. I haven't read Ulysses which is considered to be the best novel of the modern era. The word "best" itself is very vague. How do you define it and how do you apply it to a novel like Ulysses that is rarely read by the common reader who sees it as an Olympic marathon.
Comments
Yes, some people prefer fiction more than poetry, and others vice versa, though even with these preferences, people should make an effort to read both, especially if they are lecturers. And yes, unfortunately or fortunately, depending on where your slant is, literary theory plays a major role in the field, but it does provide new insights too. Lecturers will also have their own prefered critical method, whether Feminism, Deconstruction, Postcolonialism etc.
Anyway, we are now slowly getting back at puisipoesy, after discontinuing for a year. We actually had someone who agreed to write up on Malay puisi and sajak for us, but unfortunately, she's too busy. Hope you find the blog useful, especially the older posts, where there are lots of discussion in the comments.
I only started reading literature very late, at 20, when I was introduced to it in a poetry class at uni, then got so enthralled that I took it as one of my subjects. Reading poetry helped me to be more sensitive to language, the subtlety of its use, the metaphorical and symbolical possibilities it opens up, as well as the music of its words, savouring bit by bit. Hope the blog may help you in own quest. :)
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I will introduce more Malay poets in the future.Previously,I've written a post on Muhammad Haji Salleh who I think is the best living Malay poet.You can check it out in my older post.
Yup,I've heard that The Tempest has been reread by postcolonial critics.I think it is very interesting but it also have its limitations.