An indispensable post from the indispensable Mental Multivitamin. Lots of GREAT ideas there – some which I will take on myself, just for fun.
And I just want to thank her for the following paragraph, for my own reasons, which I will list in a second – In response to a reader question about how to respond to those who say that learning Shakespeare is not important in today’s society:
I also suggested that L. take a peek at this entry. There is, I am certain, something about the pursuit of excellence that some people simply. don’t. get. But life is short, and the struggle to win over the ignorant is, in my experience, futile. I’d rather discuss Hamlet than attempt to persuade someone of Shakespeare’s value .
Amen.
I hate to pull out just one paragraph in that whole cornucopia of paragraphs – all with great links, great ideas – but that one really spoke to me. I have had this struggle before when I write about stuff that I love here. On Bloomsday, someone inevitably shows up and says, “Why do you like Joyce? I find him incomprehensible.” And while this is a view held by many, obviously – to me, it is not interesting to discuss the WHYS of my own taste. Especially from someone who has a kneejerk response of dislike to something they have not yet experienced. I won’t engage with those people because it’s unbelievably boring to me. So I would rather discuss James Joyce than attempt to persuade someone of Joyce’s value. She put my vague feelings into a perfect and simple sentence.
But seriously – if you’re interested in teaching Shakespeare to your kids (and Mrs. M-Mv homeschools her kids – so this is where a lot of this is coming from) – or if you’re a teacher and wondering how to make this stuff real and relevant to your students – or if you’re a raging autodidact, if you see your life as a continuing education project for yourSELF – please check out this post! She’s got a bibliography and everything. But I love her view that the plays are meant to be seen, and heard – not just read.
I get very tired very fast when someone tries to claim that Shakespeare (or the Bible, or ancient Greek stories, or fairy tales, or any arguably-culturally-important document) is “no longer relevant.”
No – it’s not relevant TO YOU, because you have convinced yourself it is not relevant (usually because “it’s too hard.”)
And it can be very hard and very frustrating to argue that it IS, and it’s kind of like arguing with a brick wall sometimes. The people who have taken, uncritically, Henry Ford’s assertion that “history is bunk” as their motto often tend to be just another brand of Insane Lifestyle Mentioners.
There’s a lot that I read – and there’s a lot I feel like I’m not getting – because I don’t have as complete an education in Shakespeare or the old epic poems or something as I could have. As I fill in the gaps in my education, there are these lovely moments of “Oh! THAT’S what they meant!”
It frustrates me when people willingly wall themselves off from the very things that MADE our culture. It’s kind of like the people who would dump the rich and varied vocabulary of English for some kind of simplified, text-message-speak, because it’s “easier.”
Communicating in grunts or just pointing to what you want is easier, too. But it makes life impoverished – that’s my point. It’s like deciding to listen to only one kind of music, ever, because it’s the “only” “real” music there is.
Thank you for the link / nod. It always delights me to learn that a post has interested you enough to direct your readers to it. Enjoy this wonderful week.
Melissa (MFS of Mental multivitamin)
I love reporting to sheila homeroom every morning and being guided to brilliant posts.