Naked Weekend

The test is over and done. It was no more or less difficult than I imagined. There were three sections, Poetry, Novels, and World Literature. Each section had the option of three essay prompts. I had three and half hours to write three essays, one from each category.

I can't remember all the options or the exact wording. My recollection of the prompts I didn't choose is much more vague since I didn't need to formulate a thesis about it. Here's what I remember:

Poetry:
I picked this option.
Discuss the 19th Century split of opinions that Nature has either a harmonious or monstrous relationship with humans. Then take 20th Century poetry and examine how it fits in with the previous time period's exploration of harmony vs. monstrosity. Use at least four poems, at least one British, one American, two 19th Century, two 20th Century.

The second option.
Write about poems that have another piece of art as their inspiration. Auden's “The Shield of Achilles” comes to mind. Take about some poems that have their inspiration in other art pieces and how that affects their aesthetics.

I can't remember the third option.

Novels:
I picked this option.
Discuss structure (not the plot) in a novel. Talk about how that particular non-linear or anachronistic structure affects the psychology and aesthetic values of the novel. Four novels, one British, one American, at least one pre-1950.

I can't remember the other two options.

World Literature:
I picked this option.
Discuss the image or idea of borders in three literary works. Borders can be cultural or geographic or anything.

The second option. I barely remember this prompt. I thought it too hard to answer concisely, so I stayed away from it.
Discuss the ways in which one novel from a particular country can represent the entire culture simply on the grounds that there is limited literature from said country. Discuss how this can be both helpful and harmful to cultural diversity.

I can't remember the third option.

So there you go. Over two years at school and over 24 years of reading condensed into three questions. I thought they were pretty fair questions. Nothing esoteric or ridiculously hard.

I had the most trouble with the Poetry question (even though I feel that is my strongest area) because the question was much more specific than the other two. My strategy was to answer the hardest question first because my hand and mind would be the least tired. If I fail one part, I fail the whole test, so I put the most quality energy into the question I felt was the most difficult. So the order I addressed the questions was Poetry, Novels, World Literature.

By the end of the test, my hand hurt.

I'll know the results in about two weeks. I'm sure I'll start getting nervous around the 24th, but for right now, I'm feeling free, unrestricted, and uninhibited. Relaxation Friday is always followed by the Naked Weekend. I need no armor nor clothing to protect myself from the world. I am enjoying the ephemeral invulnerability of knowing that I survived the test.

Thank you for the positive vibes.