tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post6801450307963707839..comments2024-02-05T10:41:31.777-05:00Comments on I Saw Lightning Fall: Blount on How To Be a Matador With WordsLoren Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-4442080794973192202011-06-02T10:14:09.196-04:002011-06-02T10:14:09.196-04:00You see, that's one of the reasons why I love ...You see, that's one of the reasons why I love strong form. Arbitrary limitations both constrain and free, ironically. Gerard Manley Hopkins' insistance on very specific rhythms in his poems and lots of internal rhymes makes his work so much more beautiful in my mind.Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-69785030302770685032011-06-01T23:57:09.270-04:002011-06-01T23:57:09.270-04:00I have an instructor who often uses medieval exerc...I have an instructor who often uses medieval exercises when teaching undergrads. They have been more successful than she expected, and for just this reason. The medieval attitude was that early on, kids are taught to play with language. Their exercises involved doing things like beginning three sentences with the same word, ending three sentences with the same word, then writing three more sentences that begin and end with the same word. <br /><br />What looked like drudgery quickly became fun in the classroom. When its task is so arbitrary and constricting, the human mind feels liberated to tinker with the formula, show off, and above all play.Chestertonian Ramblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01550643992523840950noreply@blogger.com