The School/Uni Thread

[skeptik]

That was quite an enjoyable read, Nec. Though I spotted some redundant uses of language and the occasional awkward sentence, as a whole your paper reads remarkably well. You have a very clear and flowing writing style, for which you deserve significant credit. Do you mind me asking the grade you received for that paper?

Onto the content. I am not hugely familiar with the lyrics of Burzum nor am I well acquainted with the theories of the new critics, structuralists or post-structuralists but, based on the impression you gave here, you offer up a well articulated and argued thesis portraying how the readings of each theoretical discourse would differ with regard to 'Burzum'.

Personally, what I would have been interested in seeing is your own perspective on which theoretical perspective is most useful in this case or if a synthesis of each is required to truly foreground and thus understand the meaning of the particular text in question. I realize this may have been outside the bounds of your particular assignment but I would have found it interesting nonetheless.

In short, nice work, as it is always interesting to see metal analyzed from a more 'serious' scholarly perspective in order to glean new insights.

To be honest, I wasn't really happy with the paper, but I'm blaming that on time constraints (as I mentioned, I had 3 papers and 5 finals to work on last week), as well as the limitations of the paper (I couldn't go over 7 pages, and there was a lot more that I wanted to say). I don't think I even got to proofread this one.

Anyway, in terms of literary criticism in general as well as with respect to this paper, I feel that I most closely resemble the school of Structuralism, though I also find the appeal of Post-Structuralism to be a proper counterpoint to the at times overly suggestive nature of Structuralism. I also feel that other theoretical approaches have their place in literary criticism when applicable, such as Feminism when dealing with women’s issues or Marxism when dealing with economic constructs. I think it's important to recognize and respect the position of the author with regards to his own work; that, while he may write other than what he thinks, what is primarily expressed, or intended, is his real intention, and thus the primary interpretation of the work. For example, in my final paper, I used the Structuralist approach to show the true meaning of the word “darkness” as Varg meant it with respect to the way that it is used in the song. So for the most part, I usually feel most closely related to Structuralist interpretations of works because I don't think that one can truly understand a piece without knowing the intentions behind it and the climate from which it was born.

I didn't get a particular grade for this paper, but I just got my grade in for the class, which was an A, so I'm assuming that I did well on it since it was 20% of the grade.

 

[Death Aflame]

If you truly didn't even get a chance to proofread that paper (even once), than that is quite an incredible achievement (or you simply have a really solid grasp on English innately). Either or, well done.

I just found out I got a 97 on my Classical Film Theory exam. Ridiculously high, I was not expecting that, but I'll take it nonetheless.

 

[skeptik]

Fuck, it took almost two weeks after exams to finally get my grades. They get slower every semester it seems. Then again I had two exams during the last two exam periods, meaning my grades were probably among the last batch to go in.

 

[Zephyrus]

My last grade came in a couple days ago, but that was because the final was an essay.

I got straight A's.

 

[Death Aflame]

Nicely done Zeph.

I managed a B+ in The Vikings (tough course for a non-history student), A- in Nonverbal Communication (shitty prof), A- in Graphic Design (barely put any effort into this course), an A in Classical Film Theory and an A+ in Film History: 1895-1938. Overall, I am quite satisfied with these marks.

 

[skeptik]

I pulled straight As as well. It seems as though if I actually put a bit of effort into things, I can actually achieve things. Maybe I should actually try to get good grades from now on.

 

[Death Aflame]

Straight As without effort is quite the achievement. I know I put in a ton of effort to get that A and A+ I achieved this term (even if I didn't do all the assigned readings, but really, who does?).

 

[skeptik]

I don't think my school does A+s...not that I would have gotten any.

 

[Matt]

I'm pretty sure I got 2 A's, 3 B's and one C+. Not that senior year matters anyway.

 

[The Ozzman]

I'm pretty sure I got 2 A's, 3 B's and one C+. Not that senior year matters anyway.

Once you get into college, at least.

 

[FenriR]

Aaargh... three and a bit months of A-levels left. I am going to be sooo happy when they are over.

First, though... got one of my AS levels to retake after the examination board bollocksed up the marking. Thankfully, Antony + Cleopatra is one of the few Shakespeare plays I can stand, so a second time isn't so bad.
But its going to be a long term.

But then... noo education for a whole glorious, shining, brilliant year!

 

[skeptik]

You should get some Metal education.

 

[FenriR]

That won't be a problem ^ ^

got Wacken lined up again for this year, plus whatever shows are readily available given my location and funds.

GORGOROTH!

 

[Death Aflame]

^I think Nec was taking a jab at the (shitty) bands in your sig rather than speaking generally about metal.

 

[FenriR]

nile, tvangeste, kalmah, and WitTR are all excellent bands. Admittedly, I need to update it slightly now that my tastes have changed, but at least four of those are going to remain there.

 

[Matt]

Wolves in the Throne Room rule. The rest of those bands = meh

 

[The Ozzman]

Kalmah slays

 

[Matt]

Never liked em.

 

[Zephyrus]

Whenever I got a B in high school my parents would say "what happened?".

 

[The Ozzman]

I got pissed off when my dad did that shit.