fandomhigh | Professor Chaucer's Office Hours, Tuesday

"Hello, Professor," says Kiki as she knocks on the door and enters, carrying under her arm her notebook and Lysistrata.

[ooc: Heh. I've been carrying it around in my purse all weekend. Unfortunately, my copy of Shakespeare was too hefty to cart around with me, too.]

"Come on in, Kiki," Geoff says, grinning at her as he sets down his quill. "Have a seat. I should have had coffee here for you -- I promise I will next time."

He notices the book under her arm. "So...why don't you tell me what you thought about the play?"

[ooc: That's awesome! *glees*]

Kiki takes a seat and sets her notebook and book on her lap. She has a pen tucked behind her ear, which she pulls down as she answers, "I liked it - I thought Lysistrata and the women were very smart in handling the situation as they did."

She's fighting a valiant battle with the blush creeping up her cheeks, and losing.

Geoff smiles to himself and ignores the blush. He leans back in his chair a little, hoping his casual body language will put Kiki more at ease.

"Why do think they chose that particular method of negotation?"

"Simple: effectiveness! Really, it was a very easy ploy, the most difficult part, I think, was just keeping the women together long enough to pull it off." Kiki considers the matter further. Once she views it purely academically, she's much more able to structure her thoughts. "Also, this was ancient Greece. Men went to war, women stayed home and took care of the house and the kids. Men fought, women loved. Lysistrata was able to organize the women to be able to use love as an active offensive tactic of peace rather than a passive emotion of the war homefront. The women were able to be so successful because they simply continued engaging in behavior that they knew well already, and were comfortable with, like dressing up and displaying their beauty."

"Good!" Geoff exclaims, pleased with the answer. "You've got a good understanding of the situation. Considering that Aristophanes was alive during the Peloponnesian War, what do you think his personal stance was on the conflict, considering what he wrote in Lysistrata?"

"He quite obviously disagreed with it," Kiki replies. She smirks. "Believe it or not, I actually read the introduction - no one does that - so I know he wrote other plays about acheiving peace, like The Acharnians. It's obviously important that in Lysistrata peace is achieved not only by the women, but by the women working together. I think Aristophanes was hoping for the war to end not in so much a victory on either side, but by a mutual agreement, and cooperation. This was written by an Athenian, for an audience in Athens, but the very last thing the audience will hear before the final invocation to Athena is a fairly long song that is all in praise of Sparta, their enemy. Evidently he didn't fear the risk of being viewed as a Spartan-sympathizer. Plus, it's an Athenian woman who thinks up the solution - which is fitting, since Athena was the goddess of wisdom."

[And so *squees* my inner English/classics geek.]

"Perfect, Kiki. I can see I'm going enjoy our discussions." Geoff grins and cocks his head, considering his next question.

"All right. If you read the introduction, you know that Aristophanes was also known for his use of satire. Tell me if you see any satire at work in Lysistrata, and if you do, how is it being used?"

[ooc: You have no idea how much my own inner English lit geek is squeeing at just doing these classes!]

Kiki tries to figure out how to best phrase her answer. "First off, by making women so dominant in the story. Women had few rights, especially in terms of political power, and yet here it is the women, the second-class citizens, who are weilding all the power, and reminding the men that they're not as great as they think. As far as I know, women weren't allowed to go to the plays, only men did - and here they'd see a play in which the men are rapidly and ruthlessly subjugated by the women, who supposedly have so much less power. It may be that Aristophanes was indicating his belief in more than just political harmony, but that of domestic as well - especially when the agents of peace, the women, bring out Reconciliation to patch things up between the warring factions, and then between themselves and their husbands.

"Then the men spend all their time whining and complaining, while the women are loyal, steadfast - well, mostly - and capable. The men are made further ridiculous by, um, what they spend all their time whining about. They soon forget about everything else in the face of the fact that their wives are refusing to have anything to do with them. Add to that the," Kiki flounders a moment, and then continues, "props the actors protraying the men would have had as part of their costumes, and the men - who are supposed to be wise and powerful leaders - look even more absurd."

Chuckling, Geoff nods. "Excellent. All right then, just one other thing. I gave the class a writing assignment on Lysistrata -- approximately 100 words on the symbolism of the character 'Peace' in the play. You can write it now if you like -- I'll give you some privacy here in the office and go harass one of the other teachers for a while -- or you can turn it in later in the week. Additionally, I've got a copy of my lecture note (http://www.livejournal.com/community/fandomhigh/515697.html#cutid1) for you to keep."

"Oh, I can write it now," Kiki answers, flipping open her notebook. "Thank you for the notes."

[Mun going AFK for the next 3ish hours, but I'll have Kiki write it when I get home :) ]

"Then I'll go see who else is holding office hours right now. I'll be back in about half an hour, but if you're finished before then you're welcome to leave it on my desk."

Geoff gathers up his journal and sticks the pen inside. "Oh, I almost forgot to mention -- next week's assignment is also there with the lecture notes. If you have any questions about it, I'll answer them when I return or you can catch me during poetry class this afternoon."

Giving Kiki a reassuring grin, he heads out the door.

"Thank you, Professor!" Kiki grins. "Sorry about temporarily kicking you out of your office - It won't be a distraction if you stay, though."

Kiki opens her book to the introduction of Peace and begins rereading. She jots a couple notes, and then begins writing.

"Just at the point when Lysistrata has the man capitulating to her demands for a peaceful resolution of the war, she calls forth the girl named Reconciliation, or Peace, and has her stand before the men unclothed. Thus, the men, desiring her, are in effect desiring a true end to the war. However, it's an odd choice for Lysistrata to make: the men are so intent on the beauty of the girl that first, they miss the true message of the beauty of peace, and second, they hardly pay attention to a word Lysistrata says, leaving it in doubt as to whether they really undestand or will take her counsel. On the other hand, this may be another plot of Lysistrata's, to keep them so focused on the visual temptation that they agree to whatever she says without giving it any heed. While ultimately, Peace is a thing deeply desired by the men and offered up by the women, there are some disturbing undertones to how she is treated. As a representative not only of peace and reconciliation, she represents the peace treaty itself between the warring states, and the men figuratively carve her up in dividing the territories in the agreement. It's a sorry beginning for Peace that she is so brutally treated by the men who desire her."

Kiki counts the words. "...220. Well, I hope he doesn't mind that I'm so wordy," she mumbles to herself.

After about thirty minutes ~~during which he wandered the halls of the school as his mun didn't bother to actually send him anywhere~~, Geoff pokes his head into his office and grins at Kiki.

"All finished? Do you have any questions about the material, or anything you wanted to discuss?"

"All set!" Kiki announces, writing her name on the top of the page.

"And no questions - at least, nothing I can think of off-hand," she adds. ~~"Probably because my mun keeps saying this stupid thing about needing sleep or going to bed or something.~~

"Well, you know where to find me if any come up," Geoff says, adding Kiki's essay to the stack of papers he's been ~~not~~ grading.

"I'm guessing you have other things to do with your day, at least what's left of it until poetry class. So off with you, then! And I'll see you later this afternoon."

"Will do! Thanks again, Professor," Kiki says, "I'll see you later today."

Professor Chaucer's Office Hours, Tuesday

Independent Study

Re: Independent Study

Re: Independent Study

Re: Independent Study

Re: Independent Study

Re: Independent Study

Re: Independent Study

Re: Independent Study

Re: Independent Study

Re: Independent Study

Re: Independent Study

Re: Independent Study

Re: Independent Study

Re: Independent Study

Re: Independent Study

Re: Independent Study

Re: Independent Study