We are back this week on The Literary Life with the final another episode in our 2021 Summer Short Story series, a discussion of D. H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking Horse Winner.” After sharing their commonplace quotes, Angelina Stanford, Cindy Rollins and Thomas Banks begin the literary chat with some background information on the writer D. H. Lawrence. Cindy talks about her reaction to this story and the running thread of bitterness underlying throughout. Angelina highlights the significance of the cultural climate of the 1920s in this story. As the story unfolds, we see magical and fairy tale elements, as well as some significant symbols, including the rocking horse.
Come back next week for an important episode on magic in literature and how to approach books with magical elements. Following that, we will explore Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Don’t forget to check out our sister podcast, The Well Read Poem, as well as Cindy’s new podcast, The New Mason Jar!
Commonplace Quotes:Rather than being restricted to the simple material they can read on their own, young children need to listen to their teachers read more complex books aloud and engage in discussions about what they’ve heard—and, depending on their age, write about it.
At the same time, teaching disconnected comprehension skills boosts neither comprehension nor reading scores. It’s just empty calories. In effect, kids are clamoring for broccoli and spinach while adults insist on a steady diet of donuts.
Our proper bliss depends on what we blame.
Alexander Pope, “Essay on Man”Never trust the artist. Trust the tale. The proper function of a critic is to save the tale from the artist who created it.
D. H. Lawrence The Wooden Horse of Mythby Oscar Williams
The wooden horse of myth stands on the air arching a traitorous neck on roofed mankind: the clocks are eyeballs round with mock despair hunting in sanguine skylines of the mind: and cherub faces fluttering in position, dolls tethered by the nerves behind the curtain and soldiers draped about the foiled ignition portend an end momentously uncertain. Meanwhile the white-haired meadows of the sea sing in the fixtures of the music box: the crowning glory of the verb to be marches its fields of fire among the rocks-- while tides of flowers topple from the blood and horseless hills affirm their mountainhood. Book List:Studies in Classic American Literature by D. H. Lawrence
The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler
The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell
Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence (not recommended)
Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence
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Connect with Us:You can find Angelina and Thomas at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram @angelinastanford, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/
Find Cindy at morningtimeformoms.com, on Instagram @cindyordoamoris and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/. Check out Cindy’s own Patreon page also!
Follow The Literary Life on Instagram, and jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let’s get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB
Episode 220: Fairy Tales and Children’s Literature with Dr. Vigen Guroian
Episode 219: “Best of” Series – Why Read Old Books, Ep. 80
Episode 218: “Best of” Series – Our Favorite Poems, Ep. 54
Episode 217: “Best of” Series – The Medieval Mind of C. S. Lewis: A Conversation with Jason M. Baxter, Ep. 145
Episode 216: E. M. Forster’s “Howards End” On Screen
Episode 215: E. M. Forster’s “Howards End”, Ch. 35-End
Episode 214: E. M. Forster’s “Howards End,” Ch. 26-34
Episode 213: E. M. Forster’s “Howards End,” Ch. 17-25
Episode 212: E. M. Forster’s “Howards End”, Ch. 8-16
Episode 211: E. M. Forster’s “Howards End”, Introduction and Ch. 1-7
Episode 210: Reading “Beyond Mere Motherhood” with Cindy Rollins
Episode 209: “Best of” Series – The Literary Life of Emily Raible, Ep. 56
Episode 208: “Best of” Series – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Acts IV & V, Ep. 121
Episode 207: “Best of” Series – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Ep. 120
Episode 206: “Best of” Series – A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Acts I & II, Ep. 119
Episode 205: The “Best of” Series – Intro to Shakespeare and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Ep. 118
Episode 204: A Preview of The Literary Life Season 6
Episode 203: Our Literary Lives of 2023
Episode 202: The Literary Life of Jenn Rogers
Episode 201: “The Mind of the Maker” by Dorothy L. Sayers, Ch. 9-End
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