Lady Chatterley's Lover

I've read about 1/3 of the novel and I don't quite see what all the controversy is about. There was the scene with Michaelis, but that really wasn't too explicit. There's the use of the "f" word in a couple of places during dialogue, but it's nothing to be offended about unless you have something against men using that word in conversation (especially in front of a lady). The tension is building between Lady Chatterley and the gamekeeper, but Lawrence does so much with language that he doesn't really telegraph the relationship giving it away before it is time (although I have no idea what their relationship will be). It was a tough start, but the language is flowing now much like "Women in Love," and D.H. Lawrence seems to engage the reader in those long spans of dialogue that achieve so much. This is a beautifully written book, controversy or not.

I've taught John Keats the last couple of days with some success. The girls seemed to enjoy "When I have Fears that I May Cease to Be" most of all. I had to keep the class on track about the poem; they are so prone to easily slip away when they start to dialogue about their own experiences. This afternoon I have to present "Ode to a Nightingale" to a class of 29 teenage girls... wish me luck.