AboutDr. K. M. Parsons Expertise First off: I WILL NOT DO ANYTHING RESEMBLING YOUR HOMEWORK FOR YOU. Don't bother leaving me a question if this is what you're after. If, however, you have a general-interest question ("Was Elizabeth I really a virgin her whole life?"), or want a _general_ opinion about something on which you've been working (i.e. something on which you've already put in a good deal of effort), I'll be happy to help to the best of my ability.
I am able to answer questions on early modern English literature (that is, generally speaking, literature of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries), particularly those pertaining to poetry (secular or devotional) and drama. I am also well-versed in the political and religious matters of the England of this era, and have a particular interest in the Tudor monarchy.
Experience I teach part-time in the disciplines of English and Theatre at the university level.
Publications I edited and wrote the introduction to the first modern edition of the sonnets of Anne Locke, an early modern English woman writer, entitled _"A Meditation of a Penitent Sinner"_ (North Waterloo Academic Press); I also wrote a chapter on Locke that is included in _Other Voices, Other Views_ (University of Delaware Press).
Education/Credentials I hold a PhD in Renaissance English literature.
Last time I was reading Henry David Thoreau's quotes, there are some I don't quite understand:"Do not worry if you have built your castles in the air. They are where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." and "This world is but a canvas to our imagination."
The first one I understand that we should have dreams (castles in the air) and then do everything to realize them (build foundations)
As for the second one I don't know what to think about it. What's your opinion? Thank You
Answer I'd say that Thoreau here is saying pretty much what he says in the first quotation, in terms of encouraging people to believe that they can achieve what they really want if they're willing to put the effort in. Rather than seeing the world as an obstacle course or a forest in which we may be lost, we should see it as simply a blank slate on which we, as the agents of our own fates, may "paint" anything we like.
I'm the first to admit that this is a very optimistic view of life, but there it is! :-D
