Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Notes-PRA-7/7/2015

Search & Study on Poor Richard's Almanack.

*I typed this in Word and then pasted it to the blog and I don't know how to make it so the white behind the words doesn't show up.

Who was Richard?
The text, that is given as a summary, states that Richard, Richard Saunders, comes from which the author Franklin would sign his prefaces. This was what I found, and not sure if this was entirely what I was to look for, because it didn't seem to tell any story. He would use characters, one named Richard, that was used with the "humor and wisdom" in the author's writing which seemed to hold popularity for people that would read these works of literature. 
What is an almanack or almanac (you may want to go through the same search process, except choose Oxford English Dictionary)?
An Almanac, according to the dictionary, is "An annual table, or (more usually) a book of tables, containing a calendar of months and days, with astronomical data and calculations, ecclesiastical and other anniversaries, and other information, including astrological and meteorological forecasts." When I looked up the other spelling, with a k, the definition that I received was the same. 
What does this have to do with farming?
I wasn't really sure at first what Poor Richard's Almanack, or an almanac in general, might have to do with farming, but then when you actually read the definition, the word almanac, and how it is used for the author, that it made more sense. When it comes to farming, you cannot just plant anything in the ground and expect it to grow; this seems like fairly common sense, but then again.. Regardless, there are some things that you need to know such as: knowing when to plan certain crops, what kind of weather might occur, when and where the best plants will grow and in what kind of soil, etc. These have a lot to do with astronomy because of the different times of the year and weather. If you try and plant a certain crop that will only grow in the summer and you try to do it in the winter you will not have a lot of luck.
What does this have to do with literature and where does it fit into the different literary eras?
Well, as an English major, I can see this as it's own kind of literature. That being because I have seen so many different aspects of writing and how the writing is used. Just because it does not read like a normal book, does not mean it does not have any resourceful information. 
I do believe that this could fit into different literary eras, depending on the information that is used as well as how it is used. There are many types of literature, ones that I feel could fit in all eras, but some that do better than others. With almanacs I know that I have seen them since I have been alive, but they were probably more prevalent to previous eras, but could very well be beneficial to today's age if we knew how to use them. 

Sources:
http://www.oxfordreference.com.dist.lib.usu.edu/view/10.1093/acref/9780195065480.001.0001/acref-9780195065480-e-3842?rskey=dnWal1&result=1
http://www.oed.com.dist.lib.usu.edu/search?searchType=dictionary&q=Almanac&_searchBtn=Search

"Almanac" Infoplease. Infoplease; The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. n.d. Web. July 7, 2015.  
http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/entertainment/almanac.html

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