Relating to Literature

It doesn't feel like two days before my exams. I haven't picked up a revision book at all today, which should disturb me. The problem is it doesn't. To be fair, I have been revising for the upcoming exams for several weeks now, and especially during this week as I've gone into college every day to work in the library. It seems to be far too nice outside to do any work, even if I actually haven't left the house today. I'm enjoying the sunshine at my window almost as much as if I were sunbathing in it. At the moment I'm reading James Joyce's Dubliners which is fascinating because it's so full of knowledge. Besides, the notes and introduction in it are written by Jeri Johnson who lectured me at the Oxford Summer School last year. Somehow it changes things that I met the person who wrote all that. Normally I completely discount the introduction and notes in every book, but I learned from reading Charles Dickens's Bleak House that the notes and introduction give a much better understanding and enjoyment of the book. This relates back to my English exam, the one I'll be sitting the week after next. One of the questions on that paper will ask "Do you think that having a background knowledge of a text heightens the experience of reading the text?" or words to that effect, however they might dress it up. So my recent understanding of the purpose of background notes couldn't have come at a better time. Bleak House was an inspiring book for me, because not only did it open my eyes to the interest and knowledge contained in notes and introductions in books, but it showed me how a book can be constructed, something I have searched and scoured for many years. In the end notes is a reconstruction of Dickens's notes to himself as he wrote the book. Thinking this such a brilliant idea to adopt (well, if it works for him it can work for me!) I have bought a notepad in which to create my own notes for writing Melanie Black and the Ancient Hope Dragon. Back to what I was saying before: as a general rule I read the introduction after reading the text. This means I can still read the text as an innocent, and learn about its deeper meaning afterwards. It's often easier to read an introduction afterwards anyway because you can better understand to what the writer is referring in his or her account of the text. Also, the introduction may give away some aspect of the plot which would be better left unknown while reading it - you know, to heighten the excitement (and some books could do with a little more excitement, let's face it). And if the book is a disaster and you feel you've wasted your time reading it, at least you can say that you didn't waste more time than was needed by reading the introduction. Amongst all this reading and revising, I'm finding it hard to assign time to revising The Highway Code. Maybe I should have thought harder before deciding to take driving lessons in conjunction with my exams. On the other hand, driving around the region is a welcome break from the arduous academic sessions.

So tonight I'm staying at Paul's. I'm taking my copy of The Highway Code, Joyce's Dubliners and some notes and exam questions on Shakespeare and Chaucer, but I'll be damned if I find the time or motivation to get through any of these.

Never mind, I'm confident in my abilities nonetheless.