o you’ve chosen to be the family disappointment by being an English major? Just kidding, it’s not like you’re a philosophy major. All joking aside, if you are looking for a fun break, enjoy the following English memes. Don’t miss out on all the grammatical pun, err fun. Check out some topical memes to help bring yourself a good chuckle during the hectic semester.
A few things that will never be heard from an English major
English majors aren’t known for their great math skill for sure. They tend to collect books until their shelves overfill. Coffee is the staple of every college student. Movies, while nice, will never match up to how you picture a book perfectly in your head. English majors know better than to blindly trust autocorrect. As for Nicholas Sparks, well that could go either way--depends on your personal tastes.
The semicolon struggle, because why end the sentence?
Oscar Wilde had an affair with semicolons; it was the kind of love that could never end or at least last longer than you definitely think it should. Actually this meme is applicable to quite a few authors in their day. Robert Louis Stevenson definitely had his fair share of semicolon favoritisms instead of letting his sentence end. Alas who hasn’t gotten carried away from time to time and used an unnecessary semicolon or two?
Knowing that Purdue OWL is the backbone of any written paper
Purdue OWL is the ultimate writing college writing guide. The handy dandy MLA and APA style guide is a lifesaver to anyone writing an English paper. Not to mention Avoiding Plagiarism tips to put any anxious minds that are worried about academic fraud. Plus Perdue OWL has some quick and fresh tips on business letter writings and developing resumes. That’s just to name a few, but Purdue OWL offers some extra suggested resources as well. It’s not hard to imagine why it’d be the English Majors best friend.
When someone from another major tries to flirt with you
Lucky for them word play is a crowd pleaser amongst English majors. Although reading the book and preparing your own lit analysis yourself would be all the better. Don’t worry if you don’t have the time, you can use the Sparknotes true to how the average student writes his or her paper anyway.
When your major turns you into an over analyzer
When you’re in the literary grind non-stop it’s hard to turn off. Before you notice it you can’t even scroll through some spicy memes without narrating your own analysis in your head. Don’t worry if you let that literary charm grow on you, it'll hardly seem like an issue. Besides you might be able to get a sick twitter joke out of it like this user did!
When you can relate Odysseus in the Iliad and the Odyssey
If you haven’t read either of the books Odysseus ends on a high note of the winning war strategy that ended the Trojan War. Note: Odysseus’ plan may or may not have been something to do with giving a wooden horse to the enemy side under the guise of peace offering, concealing warriors inside, and then jumping out and attacking when the enemy's guard was down.
So bonus points if you have ever pulled off a convoluted scheme over the semester and it’s pulled off. Then in the sequel book the Odyssey, Odysseus greatly struggles to return home. He may have invoked the wrath of Poseidon by attacking one of his cyclops children. If you know anything of the Greek gods you know that it didn’t go over well with Poseidon which is not the god you wanna tick off if you’re traveling. So of course hijinks ensue when Odysseus tries to sail home. Even though the cyclops attack might have been justified you can almost certainly feel Odysseus question his choice to tell the cyclops his name in a moment of excessive pride after the attack.
When you love words, but don’t always have the mental capacity to tap into your extensive vocabulary.
Sometimes words glide out of you like a really fresh ballpoint pen. Other times you get some of these masterpieces like “pillow fish boi sometimes sting.” Any good-natured English major would completely understand. Besides these descriptions are beautiful in their own fun way, just perhaps not the most grammatically effective way.
Trying to decide what is intentionally written and what might you just be imaging
In writing there can often be something that is more than meets the eyes, but as an English major, you’re always looking for the deeper meaning. However, it can be hard for an English major to grasp over being beaten over the head with the wealth of deeper meaning that is often found in wonderful texts. This can have English students overthinking minor details that may coincidentally have a literary device such as repetition or alliteration.
When you think you’ve nailed a great rhyme but it’s not grammatically correct
It’s okay Count we’ve all been there. Trying to make good poetry is no walk in the park even when you’re doing free verse let alone if you try your hand at something crazy like a sonnet. Fourteen lines, a number of different rhyme schemes, and 10 syllables that have to be written in iambic pentameter. No thank you.
Knowing where to go for all your word related memes
Some sources are better than others to pull from. The English major will recommend something studious like Webster's dictionary or Thesuarus.com for your academic related needs. However, for comedic purposes or figuring out day to day slang the occasional urban dictionary use might be alright. Be warned not every definition will be for the general public. Things can get PG-13, R, and even at times X rated. Although sometimes can be helpful for keeping up with youth slang like what is VSCO girl?
When you start to enjoy Shakespearean drama a bit too much
Macbeth is arguably one of Shakespeare's most dramatic characters, although it ‘s certainly a stiff competition. Quite frankly at times Macbeth can be pretty relatable to the average English major too. The modern day English major equivalent would be Something like Me: I should enjoy the holidays this year and keep it low key. Inner me: beef over politics you know your uncle is dying to to talk about the election.
When you get three responses when people ask you about your major
Then you get to hear their “hot take” on how “useless” an English degree or BAs are. If you’re really lucky, the person will ask what you want to do and tell you what degree you should get. A personal favorite response to these people with the unsolicited advice is “Would you like to pay for my degree?” and then the uncanny silence will have your question or maybe if you’re really lucky you get a shot at a free ride. Unlikely, but a student can dream right?
Knowing how everyone else perceives you when you say you’re an English Major
Your friends outside of your major think you have it easy, when nothing could be further from the truth. Your parents think you might be having some sort of onset poetic emo phase and hope you pick a different major, or at least go get a Masters in Library and Information Studies or something “useful like that.” Society definitely thinks of you as basically Bell from Beauty and the Beast, but you actually went to college instead of marrying a prince. Your boss thinks you do something easy and playful. Your peers think you’ll write/edit their papers for some odd reason. Your professors think you just got stacks and stacks of books, which might be true, but not the whole picture. Everyone in the STEM field sort of thinks you’re a bit of a “free spirit.” Really you are just nonstop reading, writing, analyzing, and editing on your laptop.
When the literary jokes hit differently
If you haven't read The Picture Dorian Gray (Spoiler Alert!!) more or less is about how Dorian Gray achieves immortality by putting his soul into a painting, sort of. It gets a little more complicated, but that’s the gist. A few other great literary jokes that will have any English major rolling:
- Great Gatsby’s car was a real hit with the ladies.
- What do you get when you cross alcohol and literature? Tequila Mockingbird
- How to get an A on everything? Commit adultery in a 17th century Puritan town.
- What do you yell at Edgar Allen Poe right before he crashes into a tree? Poetry.
The wealth of jokes are endless. Hopefully these few funny English Major related memes made you laugh out loud or at least made you exhale through your nose in mild amusement.
