glancing at my blog and saw i had something in 'draft', and this was it. i must have planned to come back to it later in the week, and forgot it. but '12th night' should never be forgotten....and this will do as it is; i'm sure i'll have more to say about it in the future.....
april '12...tonight is my last Literary Foundations class of the term, and as always, the final work discussed is 'twelfth night.' in my reckless youth, i beleived 'much ado' was shakespeare's best play, but after years of teaching 'twelfth night,' nothing will ever convince me that it is possilbe for anything to be better than this utterly exquisite play. it's a heartache of a play, brilliant comedy though it is. its very title is a giveaway: though Pepys and others have grumbled that the plot has nothing to do with that holiday, it totally mirrors it. we've had our weeks of fun and joy, of romance and resurrection, of seas that swallow souls up and then gently push them to shore unscathed. this is now ending. so let's have this one more happy game, because tomorrow death and pain will be waiting for us,with no miracles but life itself, and that not guaranteed. feste the clown--tragic by the very nature of his profession--jokes with maria about death: 'he that is well hanged in this world need fear no colors.' when maria asks why, feste replies that 'he shall see none to fear.'' 'a good lenten answer,' retorts maria. a good lenten play; fun is everywhere, but tomorrow reality takes over once more.
No comments:
Post a Comment