Today’s class in the library was quite interesting. I particularly enjoyed at the conclusion of our period when we were able to walk around and peruse everything that was presented. In particular, I enjoyed looking at adaptations of Coleridge’s The Rhyme Of The Ancient Mariner and Milton’s Paradise lost. These two epic poems were both presented with images pertaining to their story line. However, seeing as images within the epic poems were displayed in contrasting manners, I found it interesting to compare the two.
With The Rhyme Of The Ancient Mariner, only a few lines of the poem were shown on the page below a massive picture. This shifts the focus of the reader to be more interested with the picture rather than the text. In contrast, this adaptation of Paradise Lost only displayed an image every 8-10 pages or so. Because of this, the images are much more complimentary to the poem rather than becoming the main focus.
By comparing these two epic poems, we can see the challenge and methods individuals take of balancing images and text within a book or pamphlet. While it was pleasant experience looking at the images within The Rhyme Of The Ancient Mariner, I found it took away from the actual poem. In contrast, this version of Paradise Lost found a better balance of text and images with only displaying a photo every few page to break up the dense subject matter.
I think this was incredibly interesting post. I think that the way that artists use images in order to compliment a story or a poem is a very interesting tell as to what the author is trying to portray. I also think that the two examples that you used do provide a good comparison. Would you argue that the choice to use more images as opposed to text show the authors/ illustrators view that the poem can only be understood with the images? And on the opposite side do you feel that the other authors think that too many images prevent imagination?