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05 March 2007

So many flashcards, so little time

For the past few weeks, my life has been consumed by flashcards. I made a million of them, with the picture pasted on the front, and the vital stats on the back. This was in preparation for my M.A. exam, which was this morning.

The whole exam focused on 17th century England and fashion history, as reflected in literature (plays, poetry, essays, personal diaries) and art (paintings, portraiture, sculpture, engravings).

At the beginning of the exam, we were each given an envelope in which were printed copies of the following images, which I had to identify and write about (answering four separate essay questions), of course tying in additional paintings and literature as well.

To understand the gravity of the situation (and my panic), you must realize that the following images were selected from over 400 that we were required to know. Now, I don't know about you, but memorizing the stats of 400 historical images is a bit much. Not exactly my cup of tea.

	Gheeraerts (attrib.) Queen Anne of Denmark 1612
	van Somer Elizabeth Grey, Countess of Kent 1619
	Hollar Winter, from The Seasons c. 1643-44
	de Critz Hester Tradescant and Her Stepson, John Tradescant 1645
	Anon. The Execution of Charles I c. 1649-50
	van Tilborgh The Tichborne Dole 1670
	Engraving of Ogilby and Morgan's Map of London: Its Presentation to Charles II 1682
	de St. Jean Homme de Qualite Garny de Rubans 1689
	Maubert John Dryden c. 1696-97

I am so glad the exam is over. I must say, I do not like the British way of education, with so much riding on one single exam. And I am not the comfortable test-taker. I would rather write academic papers. Then I'm in my element. Which is a good thing, because today the clock starts ticking: I have ninety days to write my M.A. dissertation. Which I consider a fun exercise.

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