Our group focused on analyzing the last stanza of the Child and Flowers. We were unanimous in thinking the scanned version is so much better than the html, and especially the TEI. We agreed the scanned we more authentic and interesting to read, and keeping the readers interest with visual elements is very important.
What does this poem mean? It encourages valuing the simple things in life, enjoying the now, saying don’t live in the past. Interestingly, it seems like it is speaking to a child. A child who would not be able to understand or grasp the meaning.
Nature hath mines of such wealth–and thou Never wilt prize its delights as now!
Life hath enough of yet holier bliss!
This is about appreciation of the aesthetic, and visualization. Not just flower picking. Use of color and description.
Enough the rich crimson spots that dwell Midst the gold of the cowslip’s perfumed cell; And the by the blossoming sweet-briars shed, And the beauty that bows the wood-hyacinth’s head. Oh! Happy child in thy fawn-like glee!
One random thing I thought of was the use, applicability, and impact in a person’s life in the very simply idea of “copy and paste.” The scanned version is most intimate and real as a poem, but you can’t select text to insert it into a blog or save certain lines for later reference in the scan! I know that instead of re-typing what struck me from the scanned document, I would just forget about it. So I would loose that meaningful phrase of moment in the digital sphere with the scanned version.
Positives of digitizing: Writing is readily available to a huge wide audience. The text is search-able, so if there is a word or idea spelled out in the text, it is available to come up in search engines. Benefits of having this version to read? This is text plus image, and really, text and image are the same thing. So this is very different than just hearing it.
I think it’s a great idea to digitize as much poetry as possible, though the jury is still out for me on whether to put efforts into scanning or html (ing?) the poems, as there are pros and cons for each. Either way, it gives more people more chances to discover and experience the poetry, and also preserves it in a lasting way.
