Seniors steal the show

What do Lord Tennyson, Beowulf and rabbits have in common?

All three, along with several other topics – some serious, some humorous – were covered extensively in the English department’s senior presentations.

The seniors took the podium on April 20 and 22 at 7 p.m., giving prepared speeches on their theses to their friends, family and professors. Fowler Hall’s Great Room provided an intimate setting for the presentations.

Tuesday night presentations began with Amanda Glatfelter’s “Visions of Eternity: An Analysis of Human Freedom in Blake’s Visions of the Daughters of Albion.” A reading of Liz Crowder’s autobiography, “In Wales,” followed.

Next came Rebecca Coppola’s “Zooey’s Gospel: The Unlikely Union between Theater and Religion in J. D. Salinger’s Zooey.” Actors performed segments of “Zooey” for the audience.

Stephanie Auffarth followed with a discussion about the themes of loss and doubt in Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poetry. Audra Lombardo presented next, reading a section of her fictional piece, “What Happens in Ugly Yellow Beach House.”

Finishing up the night was Wathira Nganga who presented on the mythic archetype in Beowulf and The Lord of the Rings series.

Kaylena Crompton began Thursday evening’s presentations with her study of justice theology in the works of Flannery O’Conner where she discussed the social consciousness of O’Conner and her works.
Beth Johnson’s presentation consisted of a four-way reading of an original drama that she had written over the semester called, “The One about the Quest.” With a terrific sense of humor and quick wit that revealed themselves in the lines of the play, the audience thoroughly enjoyed the reading.

Leah Vooys chose to discuss the concept of female vocation as determined by social class dynamics. She primarily focused on this idea in the work of Elizabeth Barrett Browing entitled, “Aurora Leigh.”
In a humorous yet touching original work, Quiana Harris shared her autobiography that centered around her love for shoes which was appropriately titled, “In Her Shoes.”

Aaron McGarvey discussed the theological ambiguity of Christopher Marlowe’s famous character, Dr. Faustus, and wrestled with the question of who is to blame for Faustus’ eternal damnation.

Last but not least, Harry Slack rounded out the evening with a reading of his original work entitled, “Love Bunny: A Short Fluffy Tale about True Love.” In the piece, Slack writes of a man who has fallen in love with a rabbit and the daily struggles that he faces for his choices.

“It was a wonderful night,” English professor Dr. Caroline Cherry said. “These students really demonstrated the talent of the entire English major.”