Thank you, Don Rosa!

[Matthew Williams]

Tomorrow in the two "Introduction to Literature" classes I teach, I will
actually be able to incorporate the ducks and the genius of Don Rosa!  I'm
giddy with anticipation!

In the class, we're discussing Samuel Taylor's Coleridge's "Kubla Khan."  I
had small groups looking at the poem on Monday, and they seemed to find it
virtually incomprehensible.  As I tried to explain difficult parts of the
poem to them, I got off into talking about Tralla La!  When I came home that
evening, I quickly pulled out Rosa's "Return to Xanadu."  Reading back
through the comic, it struck me that page 6 serves as a perfect visual
accompaniment to a discussion of the story!  The ducklings quote the poem,
there's a beautiful picture of the river Alph, and the ducklings even share
background info on the poem.  Anyway, I've put together a spiffy handout
that will help my students understand and visualize Coleridge a bit better
and will also introduce them to the work of Don Rosa and duck comics.  Thank
you, Mr. Rosa!  If you had just managed to include something about
Coleridge's opium dream... :)

Matthew A. Williams