The class discussions about Sydney Paget’s illustrations for “The Man With the Twisted Lip” by Arthur Conan Doyle struck a lot of interesting thoughts for me. The most prominent image in my mind has to be the illustration of the “Lascar scoundrel”. Our discussion mostly followed the word “Lascar” in relation to the illustration, however I also found the following use of the word “scoundrel” just as intriguing. “Scoundrel” is used as an adjective to further alienate and/or discriminate against the man in the drawing. It suggests that he is a rogue, lying man.

Every time Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market comes up in discussion, I typically feel that I have a good understanding of what kind of conversation will follow after. In today’s class however, my group focused on the contemporary renditions of the poem, which led my research to Polly Pen and Peggy Harmon’s theatre adaptation of the same name, Goblin Market.

I found this week’s focus on John Leech’s artwork for A Christmas Carol flooded with social commentary. In our group discussion we analyzed an illustration of Mr.Fezziwig from Ebinezer Scrooge’s paranormal encounter with the ghost of his past. As we analyzed the steel plate etching, we noted the detailed images of Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig for being more vibrant and “jovial” in contrast to the other characters around them.

Although I have taken a fair share of Victorian centered courses throughout my English career, not one has piqued my interest quite as much as this course. The English program doesn’t offer much variety in the texts we analyze, so I am always eager to explore different forms of storytelling. I find especially with Victorian-period stories, the content tends to be dry and lengthy, and the action is slow burn and heavily influenced by social context.

Although I have taken a fair share of Victorian centered courses throughout my English career, not one has piqued my interest quite as much as this course. The English program doesn’t offer much variety in the texts we analyze, so I am always eager to explore different forms of storytelling. I find especially with Victorian-period stories, the content tends to be dry and lengthy, and the action is slow burn and heavily influenced by social context.