Reaffirming My English Major

Yesterday I had a usual busy Thursday: class, Admissions, and various club meetings in the afternoon.  After having lunch with a lovely family and giving a tour to fantastic prospective student and his mom, I ended up in Hickok to meet with Melissa, my History of English Literature professor.  

I was meeting with her because our class had received our first papers back.  If we weren't totally satisfied with our grade, we had the option of revising it.  I was interested in revising my paper but I had run into a little problem. 

It’s actually a good problem.  I had met with Melissa last week to discuss my revision.  Oh, but first, some background: my paper was on a sonnet in the Astrophil and Stella sonnet sequence by Sir Philip Sidney.  To make a stronger paper, Melissa suggested that I do another close reading of my sonnet and see if I could find anything new in a second reading. 

So that’s what I did last weekend.  I sat down with a fresh copy of the sonnet, pen in hand, and marked the paper up.  Big time.  I looked up any words I didn’t know, especially ones that have different definitions during the Renaissance than they do now.  And suddenly, the sonnet took on a whole new meaning.  I basically completely changed my mind on what the poem was saying.  The close reading was incredibly rewarding even though it was a slow process.  But then the sonnet made so much more sense.  

That’s great that I got this whole new and better meaning right?  Yes, but that also meant my original thesis was wrong.  So, in order to revise my paper, I would have to completely redo my thesis and eliminate large sections of my paper.  To some, that might be discouraging, but for a writer like me, the challenge excited me.

Anyways, back to yesterday.  I wanted to talk to Melissa about my revelation and get her opinions on it.  We met and she was extremely impressed that I had taken the time to do such a close reading.  She said it’s a well used skill especially in the next class in the sequence for an English major: Literary Analysis.  I’m taking that class in the spring with Melissa (I’m PUMPED).  I was pleased to hear her comments because I’m trying to create a strong base so I’m prepared for whatever is thrown at me during Literary Analysis.  

Melissa and I talked about the various ways I can go about this revision.  I spent a majority of my homework time tonight revising and I plan on looking at the paper with a fresh eye tomorrow.  The revision is due Tuesday, so I have ample time to make a solid and stronger revision.  

Leaving my meeting with Melissa, I was energized.  I love close readings.  I love picking apart literature and pulling a meaning out of it.  And knowing that I will be able to do more of this close examination and discoveries thrills me.  This paper confirmed my desire to earn an English major.  I’m suppose to be doing this.