ENGL 190: A Reflection on Literary Experiences and Insights

This essay provides a reflection on a student's experience in the ENGL 190 course. The student discusses their changing perceptions about literature, including a shift from negative attitudes towards poetry to a newfound appreciation. The essay details the student's enhanced understanding of literary elements such as figurative language, symbols, and plot, making reading more enjoyable. Furthermore, the student shares insights on different literary genres, particularly short stories, poems, and plays, with a preference for short stories due to their conciseness and ease of understanding. The essay concludes with advice for future ENGL 190 students, emphasizing the importance of gaining knowledge about literary genres, reading widely, and preparing for the challenges of the course.

Surname 1
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Subject
03 05 2019
REFLECTION ON ENGL 190
My experience over the last 14 weeks has significantly changed my perceptions
about literature. My enrollment for ENGL 190 has brought new insights and inspired me to seek
more knowledge about literature. Before this experience, I had many misinformed perceptions
about literature. First, I have always thought that the older generations of writers are better than
the newer generation of writers. However, based on the knowledge that I have gained in this unit
I have established that there is no connection between the generation of a writer and their ability
to write engaging literary pieces. Secondly, I have always had a negative attitude towards poetry
primarily because I found poems quite difficult to understand. My experience in this unit has
however changed my attitude and made me realize that poems are quite easy to understand.
Based on what I have learnt in this unit for the last 14 weeks, I find reading more
enjoyable than before. In particular, my understanding of various literary elements such as
figurative language, symbols, elements of character and plot has made my reading more
enjoyable.M y understanding of these literary elements has made it easier to decipher the
meaning and understand what the authors of various literary pieces were trying to communicate
to the reader. It has also enabled me to find reading much more enjoyable unlike before where I
was reading majorly for fun without focusing on any specific aspects of the literary works.
My enrollment for this unit has also enabled me to learn more about different
genres of literature. In particular, I have learnt many new things about plays, poems, and short

Surname 2
stories. Out of the three genres, however, I appreciate short stories more than poems and plays.
One of the reasons I appreciate short stories is because they are a bit detailed and require little
time to read. In addition, they are easier to understand as compared to poems which require
detailed analysis to decipher meaning. In addition, reading a short story and being able to finish
it motivated me to read the next. I have always had a problem of finishing a story after reading it
but with short stories it was much easier to start and finish in a short duration of time.
For future ENGL 190 students, my advice is diverse. First, I would advise them to come
prepared to gain more knowledge of literary genres than they have gained before. Reason being,
there is so much to learn about in this unit. Secondly, I would also advise them to come prepared
to read widely and wildly because the number of booms to be covered in this unit is enormous.
For those who are not used to read many books, I would encourage them to take time to inculcate
in them the art of reading. Finally, I would also advise them to come prepared to deal with some
minor challenges because of the wide range of topics covered in this unit