sal - using hypertext as a tool to teach poetry

• The most interesting hypertext poem I found on the internet was not a poem written for hypertext but hypertext written for a poem. The web authors have taken two poems, Thomas Warton's 'The Pleasures of Melancholy' and Goldsmith's 'The Desterted Village' and annoted them with useful information, using hypertext.

• I can see that this would be a very useful teaching tool. It essentially teaches the text to the person browsing. It is like an annotated edition of the text but better- a lot of information can be accessed very easily at once. A book's boundaries are finite whereas the web's are infinite.

• For instance alongside the poem are links to pages of criticism on the poem and also works cited. This would be an incredibly useful resource if many more texts - poetry and prose were available on the web in this format.

• There is the problem of authority- in that to many the web seems a less trustworthy source. This, I hope, will eventually change and good websites, just like good books will gain authority by reputation.

• There is another problem - no one really makes money out of the web so to have a really good database of annotated literature with references to critics (which would be an enormous task) would require support involving at least a few academic institutions. Many academics, however, still remain unconvinced about the value of the world wibe web.