About the Audiotext

(Version 0.9.1)

Development: this prototype for a complete digital audiotext of Paradise Lost was funded by a 2005-2006 grant from the University of Texas at Austin's Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services (LAITS). With the support of a second LAITS grant, we plan to develop Books I and II in 2006-2007. The interface design is informed by our own experiences teaching poetry as well as cognitive research demonstrating that comprehension increases when students read and hear a text sequentially or simultaneously. The audio recordings provide dramatic rather than strictly metrical renditions of Milton's verse.

Textual Note: for the reading text, we are using the 1674 second edition text as our copy-text. The lineation, however, corresponds to the 1688 fourth edition at a ratio of 1:2 (17 lines to 34 lines). We have modernized spelling and punctuation. Elision has been retained when necessary for the meter.

Modes: the audiotext has four modes, each of which offers a distinct visual engagement with the poem. The "text-only" mode displays our modernized reading text on both sides. The "annotation" mode displays our (somewhat minimalist) notes in parallel with the reading text. The "comparison mode" displays a diplomatic transcript of the 1674 second edition text in parallel with the reading text. The "your notes" mode allows users to type and save their own notes for each page.

Annotation Mode: the audiotext imports the annotations from an external document (annos.txt) that can be edited with any text editor. If this document is renamed or removed from the download folder, the audiotext will not be able to import the annotations. The Flash movie file (pl#.swf, pl#, or pl#.exe) can be renamed but not removed from the download folder. The download folder can be renamed and/or moved anywhere within the user's domain.

Your Notes Mode: the audiotext creates a shared local object file (e.g., pl9_notes.sol), also known as a "Flash cookie," on the user's computer. When the user saves notes, they are stored in this file, from which they are then imported for each new session. By default, the Flash player sets the maximum size of .sol files to 100kb, so we have limited user notes to 2000 characters (roughly 300 words) per page. This system has several other limitations:

  1. If you access an audiotext from multiple computers, you will create multiple .sol files.
  2. Online audiotexts create .sol files in a different location than offline audiotexts. Notes saved from an online audiotext, therefore, will not be imported into an offline audiotext, and vice versa.
  3. Lab computers may be configured to clear user information (including .sol files) when the user logs out.
  4. A user may inadvertently delete .sol files.

These limitations can be combatted by finding out where the Flash player has created the .sol file, copying it, and storing the copy elsewhere as a backup and/or for use on other computers. The following guide will help you locate the .sol file based on your operating system:

Here are three other things to keep in mind:

  1. Computers can be configured to prevent Websites from creating .sol files.
  2. The Flash Player Settings Manager can increase or decrease the maximum size of .sol files.
  3. Multiple versions of an audiotext stored under the same username will import notes from the same .sol file.

Version Change Log:

9.0.1 (11/22/2006):