writing – Savannah Schaffer

Reflections on Paradise Lost

April 29, 2017 April 29, 2017Art, Christianity, Literature

Despite being a voracious reader, I’ve always been intimidated by Medieval and Renaissance literature. So I had somehow gotten this far in my life without reading Paradise Lost. But in preparation for teaching a British Literature class this fall, I decided it was time to overcome my fear. In the Christian Guide to the Classics series, I discovered that Leland Ryken had written a guide for Paradise Lost which I found invaluable during my reading. It broke the text up into manageable sections and provided a summary of the plot that helped me follow along. Additionally, the questions and ideas that Ryken explored made the book more fascinating…

Shepherd Book: Gadfly of Serenity

October 2, 2014 October 2, 2014Culture, Essays

I’ve had a lot of projects going on the past few months, so I haven’t had the time to write new posts. This weekend I am going to Indianapolis to the MPCA/ACA (Midwest Popular Culture Association/Midwest American Culture Association) to present a paper on the influence of Socrates and Kierkegaard in the Firefly character, Shepherd Book. I just uploaded the final manuscript to my portfolio, here. So while it is a bit more academic than my usual posts, it will perhaps make up for my absence here recently!

NaPoMo: Reflections on Emily Dickinson

April 4, 2014 April 4, 2014Education, Essays, Life, Words

This post was originally published in October 2013, but I decided to resurrect it for National Poetry Month. I was looking for a favorite poem to post and this one came to mind…so then I figured I might as well include my short essay, haha. I am taking this MOOC (massive open online course) on Modern and Contemporary Poetry which is just amazing. I’ve always enjoyed classic poetry but never really got into the newer stuff. Until now, that is. The format of this course is great, I love the group discussions and interaction between all the participants. One of…

NaPoMo: Acrostic

April 2, 2014 April 2, 2014Art, Culture, Life, Words

One of my friends is celebrating National Poetry Month by featuring a different poem form each day on her tumblr. She is encouraging others to follow along and write their own poems in each form. I am a bit behind, so this is the poem I wrote for the one she posted yesterday, an acrostic. Slipping into our view at last Promising sultry summer days Renewing hope in sunshine. Inebriated by sunlight, we make New attempts at this thing called life Giving thanks for every moment. ~ S.D.L

The Queen’s Allegiance: An Exploration of Hamlet

February 10, 2014 February 10, 2014Essays, Literature

This essay is “hot off the press” (aka, I wrote it about 10 minutes ago) for my MOOC class on Hamlet. Enjoy! There are three different versions of Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet. The First, or “Bad” Quarto includes a scene which the other two versions leave out completely. This scene is a dialogue between Queen Gertrude and Horatio. Horatio tells the queen that Hamlet has escaped the death trap set by his uncle, King Claudius, (he was sent to England with a sealed letter to the King of England requesting Hamlet’s immediate execution) and is back in Denmark. In the other…

Cocoons of Comfort

February 3, 2014 February 3, 2014Art, Words

I don’t belong in this place… where umbrellas and raincoats shelter us from the cold, stinging wetness of life. Where we protect ourselves from the bombardments of rain— tiny, brutal reminders that we exist. Where we wear gloves to avoid touching the rawness of the world. Where we scurry through life in our cocoon of comfort— not thinking perhaps coccoons are really coffins and comfort means we aren’t actually here. That which hurts is alive. – 12/15/12

Enough

February 1, 2014 February 1, 2014Christianity, Life, Words

You are enough. Today is enough. Stop demanding perfection. Sometimes you’ll be happy with your success. But more often you’ll confront your failures. Then what? Will you condemn yourself? Will you bury yourself in accusations? Or will you take a deep breath and try again? You can’t help but make mistakes. You cannot ask perfection of a fallen human. So let go of your judgement and criticism. Take life one day at a time. Do your best at this moment and find satisfaction in that. This world is not the end for we journey towards eternity and freedom from our…

What is Classical Education?

February 1, 2014 February 1, 2014Christianity, Culture, Education, Life

This morning I braved the snowy roads (the city apparently decided to not bother plowing even the major roads) to hear Matt Bianco, the national director of education for Classical Conversations speak on what classical education means. It was very informative, as well as entertaining, and I wanted to share what I learned… To make decisions about education, we have to know what our goal is. This really goes for anything in life. And as an aside, this fits perfectly with the human action axiom. We act to achieve ends, and it makes sense that we ought to consider what…

A Great Mind: The Remaking of Sherlock

January 31, 2014 January 31, 2014Culture, Life

There’s so much that could be said about Sherlock, I keep thinking, “where do I even start?” But before I even attempt to start, let me fill you in on the background. Sherlock is the current BBC adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle. These stories have been adapted to film many times, both in the UK and in the US. This BBC series is written and produced by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. Moffat is currently producing Doctor Who as well, and Gatiss has been involved with some Doctor Who episodes as well. In fact, it was during…

Frost and Woolf: Tradition and Modernity

January 30, 2014 January 30, 2014Culture, Essays, History, Literature

This is an essay I wrote last semester for my Ideas of the 20th Century course. The assignment was to explore two modern artists who had contrasting views about progress and modernity. Robert Frost, a 20th century American poet, opposed the disintegration of tradition. He called for a return to convention both in the content and structure of his poetry. Some poems directly confront the erosion of civilization; others indirectly support his conservative tendencies in the overall structure. Mending Walls is an early poem by Frost, published in 1914. The poem tells of two rural New England neighbors who meet…

Tag: writing