"Literature Electric:" Celebrated poems of Milton, Whitman come
alive for students through multimedia teaching tools Posted:
March 10, 2010 Photo by Christina Murrey Poetry is not meant to
be read with the eyes alone, but also with the ears. As
University of Texas at Austin English professor and Milton
scholar John Rumrich explains, the true meaning of verse can't
be divined just by looking at the words. It must be read aloud.
The poet's words must be heard. "The tough thing for me in
teaching 'Paradise Lost' is that students can't always read it
on the page and understand it. But you read it aloud and the
light bulb goes on," Rumrich says. "Inflection conveys
understanding." English Department Professors John Rumrich and
Coleman Hutchison have developed multimedia tools to teach
Milton and Whitman to students. That simple belief drove Rumrich
and former graduate student Olin Bjork to develop a
revolutionary, multimedia teaching tool for Milton's "Paradise
Lost." It has since inspired fellow English professor