Final Thoughts

As the semester comes to a close, I cannot help but recognize how much I appreciated this class.  In a semester of hectic schedules and excessive amounts of work, Shakespeare gave me peace.  In his work, I could remember why I love the English language and literature.  During the times I was stressed by unit plans, and wishing teaching was not so difficult, I was reminded why I will teach.  Literature reflects our world, our lives, our hopes and dreams.  Shakespeare captures this perfectly.  This I will teach to my students; this class helped me keep my real goals in mind.  We began with a dream, and though we technically ended with an illusion, this semester ends in a dream for me as well.  With only one year left, I am faced with nearing the opportunity to achieve my dream of becoming a teacher.  I am also faced with the reality of leaving young adulthood behind.  These years have been wonderful and dreamlike, full of strange and amazing experiences.  I have one year left upon this particular stage, and I intend to make it epic.

Memorization

Oh memorizing.  For the second spring in a row, I've found myself faced with the task of memorizing a long passage and presenting it for Dr. Sexson.  Last year it was Kubla Khan.  This year, a speech from Henry V. Both memorizations have been enjoyable, albeit taxing, work.  Unfortunately, my brain tends to glitch when I have to actually perform these recitations in front of people.  As a result, I am afraid I did not quite do my Shakespeare passage the justice it deserves.  The piece is a moving, and powerful call to battle.  I have no experience with war, nor that passionate drive to sacrifice myself for my country.  Nonetheless, I was enthralled and empowered by this speech.  I find this passage appropriate given the recent events in Boston.  We, as a nation, are good about coming together in times of need and fighting for our beliefs and country.  This reflects what Henry says in his speech.  I ask you all to take a moment now to peruse this passage.  Let it instill in you a love for country, and passion for battle no matter the odds.  We will persevere.

If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
    To do our country loss; and if to live,
    The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
    God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
    By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
    Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
    It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
    Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
    But if it be a sin to covet honour,
    I am the most offending soul alive.
    No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
    God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
    As one man more methinks would share from me
    For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
    Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
    That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
    Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
    And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
    We would not die in that man's company
    That fears his fellowship to die with us.
    This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
    He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
    Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
    And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
    He that shall live this day, and see old age,
    Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
    And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
    Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
    And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
    Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
    But he'll remember, with advantages,
    What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
    Familiar in his mouth as household words-
    Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
    Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
    Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
    This story shall the good man teach his son;
    And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
    From this day to the ending of the world,
    But we in it shall be remembered-
    We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
    For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
    Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
    This day shall gentle his condition;
    And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
    Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
    And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
    That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

 

The Words of Frederick Turner

Like you all, I spent a valuable hour of my time this evening in attendance at the Turner event.  I had no idea what to expect, and found myself presently surprised!  While not a major fan of poetry readings, I quite enjoyed Turner's work, and his reading voice even more so.  Like Nicole, I would likely buy anything this man recorded for books on tape.  He reads with marvelous inflections and power, making his written word truly come to life for the listener.

One line of poetry in particular stood out to me tonight.  I do not remember which poem it was in, but the line went like this "We are given being by our own eradication."  To me, this line reflects Shakespeare's thoughts about our hour upon the stage.  We all know we will someday die; each of us is heading for our own eradication.  There is no escape.  As a result, we are stirred to action upon our stage.  To do what we can, and make what we can of ourselves, within the short time we have been given to perform.  Thus, we are given being.  We create souls, develop them, shape them, by our actions and speakings upon this world stage.  Maybe we create these beings in a hope of finding some sense of immortality, hoping our souls will live on in some afterlife once our time is up.  Maybe we search for immortality through our actions: to be remembered for what we have accomplished, or great things we have said.  Regardless of our goals, every thing we do stems from the knowledge that we will someday no longer be able to do anything at all.  We will physically return to dust, re-entering the greater cosmos which make up our universe.

This line was a "carpe diem" moment for me today.  As the pressures of impending final projects for a myriad of classes weigh upon me, I am reminded that there is more to life than the accomplishments of these short few weeks.  My time here shrinks every day, every hour, every minute, and every second.  We must remember to enjoy these moments and make the most of them.  Do something great with your life.  Create, love, share, learn, explore.  This world is ours but for a few short hours.  Enjoy them before we are eradicated.