On Thursday 5/29/08 we visited the Globe Theater Exposition and attended a performance of King Lear. Unfortunately we didn't get much time to view the Shakespeare and Globe Theater exhibit, but just having the opportunity to sit in the Globe and watch a full performance was a unique experience. To sit anywhere in the Globe would be a treat, but the 27 pounds to sit in a nice balcony seat is always nice. I took a look at the box office to see how much a ticket is for standing room: only five pounds! This got me thinking about the old Globe Theater and the division between the commoners and the nobility. Of course, the sheltered balcony seats were reserved only for the rich and noble, while the common people were allowed the convenience of paying 1 pence for standing room. Although there seems to be no such thing as a clear division between classes, the Globe's prices certainly reflect the benefits of having a little extra money. Anyone can just walk in, purchase a five pound floor ticket, and enjoy a performance at last minute. It is a bit harder for the expensive balcony seats, which usually need a reservation and require over five times as much money as a standard standing ticket.
With that observation being said, I'd like to mention a few things about the performance that deserve some noting. It is commonly known that Shakespeare's plays, be it comedy or tragedy, have elements of the opposite genre. For instance, King Lear is a tragedy, but features many comical aspects. This production certainly played up on the often passed-by humor in King Lear. I was surprised at the amount of laughter coming from the audience and loved how many of the characters played up their parts while staying true to Shakespeare's language. Edmund's speech in scene one of Act V debating which sister he should choose to marry has some slight humor in it, or perhaps none at all. This Edmund decided to play up on Shakespeare's lines, addressing the audience for advice, humorously asking "Which of them shall I take?" (slight pause) "Both?" (pause) "One?" (another pause) "Neither?" The audience had fun with his speech, which I feel it is how it should have been done, since Edmund is stupid enough to get himself in between two sisters. This is just one of many examples.
Just getting the experience to see a Shakespeare play at the Globe Theater was so exciting. We each got a taste of what it would be like to see something that people of Shakespeare's time would have been watching. (The occasional plane flying by did ruin the ambiance a bit, though!)
Friday, May 30, 2008
Day 6 - The Globe Theater
Though located near the river Thames, Shakespeare's original playhouse was not in fact in central London, but rather an outlying district called Southwark. I heard that Southwark had a "colorful" reputation of being not too different from what we would call a "bad" district today, certainly not the place to find respectable gentry. Yet the famous playhouse, by attracting commoners and gentry alike, brought people of all classes together in a region "renowed for bear-baiting and other less than respectable activities" (Globe Theater pamphlet). Nonetheless, elements of England's strict class divisions remained, commoners were in the courtyard by comparison with England's nobility which were seated in the balconies. I also read something in a pamphlet, about the old Globe, relating to geography: "That playhouses could even exist at all was in part due to its Southwark location, it was outside the jurisdiction of a disappointing central London bureaucracy." Though the original playhouse is no longer with us, we can enjoy a very close approximation of it today in Southwark, the very same place the original was built in. I felt that the performance was authentic, with no fancy stage production as we may see in other theaters in the US. I really enjoyed the play and I think everything about the recreated Globe theater was fantastic. Our ticket allowed us to tour exhibits and recreations of Shakespearean costums and homes. There were also many younger kids there (because of school vacation), and I think that they would enjoy it as well- the language was not off-putting because when it is acted out, it is a lot easier to follow than reading it. I think that many people who visit the Globe have the potential to broaden their understanding of Shakespearean theater. Along with the play, the atmosphere and history truly made it a memorable experience.
Day 6 - Tabard Inn
The Tabard Inn, demolished in the 19th century, was mentioned by Chaucer in the General Prologue of the Canterbury Tales as the starting point of Chaucer's pilgrims. Before we visited this place, I was very excited to see where it was and what it looked like. I had spent almost an entire semester reading the Canterbury Tales and analyzing Chaucer's work. I was anxiously waiting to actually be in the place that was the foundation for their pilgrimage. Before the pilgrims set off, they assembled by chance at this inn. "Befell that, in that season, on a day / In Southwark, at the Tabard, as I lay / Ready to start upon my pilgrimage..." ( I. 19-21). Over supper, the inn's host Harry Bailly proposes tha they hold a "story-telling" competition to pass the time en route: each pilgrim is to tell two tales on the way and two more on the journey home and the best wins a free supper. While I was at the Inn, I pictured all of the pilgrims I had recently read about eating, drinking, and journeying down the streets that we walked down as well. The taverns location is an appropriate entryway into Chaucer's world for a number of reasons. First off, it is a hospitable place where men and women of a variety of classes can congregate. In the middle ages, it was not uncommon for people of different social classes to join together as pilgrims as they would not elsewhere in life. Overall, I especially enjoyed this experience because I got a sense for where all of Chaucer's pilgrims met before their pilgrimage - and it was almost as if we could have been that group, but heading to The Globe instead!
Yorkshire Moors
On Tuesday, we ventured to the Bronte Parsonage at the Yorkshire Moors where the Bronte sisters based many of their novels and works. It was mere chance that we arrived later in the day, when the sun was beginning to peek behind the clouds, and there was an eerie air to the church grounds and the parsonage. This eeriness was supplemented by the crying of the crows, the lack of tours, the rain and the looming darkness.
The isolation of the area as a whole helped me to get a sense of how trying a journey the character of Jane Eyre might have endured from Lowood to Thornfield. The atmosphere of the moors when we were there closely paralleled Charlotte Bronte's descriptions of the area that surround both Lowood and Thornfield, and throughout the novel there is always a sense of darkness and looming mystery. In the beginning of the novel, the reader can sense a pending mystery, yet it is several chapters later before it is revealed. It is something you can't quite put your finger on what it is, but it is there nonetheless. This same feeling of a looming mystery or haunting was in the air as we explored the moors, and the man in the window of the church staring out at us as Melissa read her dramatic reading definitely contributed to this. The tone of the atmosphere parallels the mysterious personalities of some of the characters in the novel, including Mr. Rochester and Grace Poole.
The geography definitely played a major role on the rest of the way I read Jane Eyre. The geography definitely effected the tone and the mood of the novel, in addition to the characterization. It would definitely be interesting to see if the mood of the moors is different when the museum is open, if there were more tourists or if the weather were sunnier.
The isolation of the area as a whole helped me to get a sense of how trying a journey the character of Jane Eyre might have endured from Lowood to Thornfield. The atmosphere of the moors when we were there closely paralleled Charlotte Bronte's descriptions of the area that surround both Lowood and Thornfield, and throughout the novel there is always a sense of darkness and looming mystery. In the beginning of the novel, the reader can sense a pending mystery, yet it is several chapters later before it is revealed. It is something you can't quite put your finger on what it is, but it is there nonetheless. This same feeling of a looming mystery or haunting was in the air as we explored the moors, and the man in the window of the church staring out at us as Melissa read her dramatic reading definitely contributed to this. The tone of the atmosphere parallels the mysterious personalities of some of the characters in the novel, including Mr. Rochester and Grace Poole.
The geography definitely played a major role on the rest of the way I read Jane Eyre. The geography definitely effected the tone and the mood of the novel, in addition to the characterization. It would definitely be interesting to see if the mood of the moors is different when the museum is open, if there were more tourists or if the weather were sunnier.
the lake district
As the roads wind away from the london sky it turns and sinks like petals on a blossoming flower overlooking londons withering sky. london sinks and dies in the backroad of an uncomfortable ride to a more beautiful landscape that has sprouted out of equally fertile ground. the route to wordsworths house is long and windy as the narrow streets colide and break apart much like wordsworth poetry did. it is almost possible now to see the solitary reaper standing there in wordsworths surrounding fields as if she just appeared from the landscape that wordsworth enjoyed so much. we see as he saw humanity sprout from the ground. we see a lonely man, not alive or dead standing there stiff and stone like. He is expressionless and is standing there meekly humbled by his surroundings. the lake district, in its tranquility and peacefulness renders one with an understanding of wordsworths passions for life and nature and it is possible to see the conflicts he saw between humanity and nature. Nature is incredibly beautiful at times and it can be extremely ugly in other cases. it can be desolate like the moors and lifeless and infirtile. it can leave the viewer staring at a lifeless shadowy landscape, eerie in all detail. but through this it is possible to see the romantic view of all life. it is the moors that show us the true beauty of the lakes. it is the way the moors themselves are beautiful. not even clouds can prevent the vivid light from protruding through the clouds and giving life to the hills and the trees. The sun that scatters through the valley and penetrates through the hills is the same sun that loosened the rain from the clouds that fell into wordsworth's eager eyes, while strolling around his gentle garden. now, a couple hundred years into the future, it is a bit more possible to see him through the foggy air as he waits for the right moment to pick an instantly petrified flower, at the first touch of his delicate hand.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Day 5: The Lake District and Yorkshire Moors
On Tuesday, 5/27/08 we visited the Lake District and the Yorkshire Moors. The Lake District featured many forms of hills, with a more rocky terrain towards the upper limited and gently rolling hills at the bottom. Looking from Wordsworth’s house window, the gardens frame the blue lake in the distance with more gentle hills in the background. From every angle exists a clear division between the harsher environment and the greener, temperate hills and pastures, yet both views are possible to see within each line of sight causing a combination of the two extremely different landscapes. The Yorkshire Moors are similar, yet there is less of a focus on the gardens and more on the hilly pastures. The most striking scene is the cemetery upon walking up to the Bronte Parsonage; it sets a dreary tone for the rest of the view, especially if it is raining.
After viewing spot, Emily Bronte immediately comes to mind. Wuthering Heights takes place on the ever weather-changing moors. The Heights household, the Earnshaw residence, is located on the harsher, steeper hills and crags of the moors, while the passive household of Thrushcross Grange lies within the gentle hills below the Heights. The Heights is known for its high winds and fierce storms, while the Grange is likely to have more moderate conditions. Through Wordsworth’s window I can see Cathy and Heathcliff racing their horses along the rocky Heights towards the gentle Grange, or Mr. Lockwood struggling over the upper crags during a storm, taking refuge at the reclusive Heights. At the Yorkshire Moors past the Parsonage, a vast pasture sits before me. Above that lies a large sloping hill with thick, unkempt grass. I picture Cathy and Edgar’s tombs buried within that mound, with Heathcliff’s recent burial forced between the two, adding to the tangled quality of the grassy pastures. The wind blows over the moor and the closing to Wuthering Heights (also my dramatic reading) crosses my mind. I too can feel “…the soft wind breathing through the grass…” and can visualize the “unquiet slumbers” upon the moors (Bronte 322).
Bronte already does a remarkable job of using the geography to shape her characters: Heathcliff and Cathy’s wild spirits belong in the dark and violent Heights with its rocky summits and powerful winds, while refined Edgar and Isabella of the Linton family belong in the lower calm region of the Grange. Going to both locations, the Lake District and Yorkshire, only strengthen Bronte’s talent. It is amazing for a reader to visit these attractions and pick out scenes from the novel by just scanning the horizon. Certainly the geography speaks for itself. Besides Wordsworth’s house and the Bronte’s Parsonage turned into small museums, there is no mainstream marketing. The districts are still small and preserved to capture what it was like back when the Bronte sisters were writing novels, or what Wordsworth would have been doing while writing poetry. The area stresses the importance of these writers, but does not present it in a flashy, tourist attraction type of way.
After viewing spot, Emily Bronte immediately comes to mind. Wuthering Heights takes place on the ever weather-changing moors. The Heights household, the Earnshaw residence, is located on the harsher, steeper hills and crags of the moors, while the passive household of Thrushcross Grange lies within the gentle hills below the Heights. The Heights is known for its high winds and fierce storms, while the Grange is likely to have more moderate conditions. Through Wordsworth’s window I can see Cathy and Heathcliff racing their horses along the rocky Heights towards the gentle Grange, or Mr. Lockwood struggling over the upper crags during a storm, taking refuge at the reclusive Heights. At the Yorkshire Moors past the Parsonage, a vast pasture sits before me. Above that lies a large sloping hill with thick, unkempt grass. I picture Cathy and Edgar’s tombs buried within that mound, with Heathcliff’s recent burial forced between the two, adding to the tangled quality of the grassy pastures. The wind blows over the moor and the closing to Wuthering Heights (also my dramatic reading) crosses my mind. I too can feel “…the soft wind breathing through the grass…” and can visualize the “unquiet slumbers” upon the moors (Bronte 322).
Bronte already does a remarkable job of using the geography to shape her characters: Heathcliff and Cathy’s wild spirits belong in the dark and violent Heights with its rocky summits and powerful winds, while refined Edgar and Isabella of the Linton family belong in the lower calm region of the Grange. Going to both locations, the Lake District and Yorkshire, only strengthen Bronte’s talent. It is amazing for a reader to visit these attractions and pick out scenes from the novel by just scanning the horizon. Certainly the geography speaks for itself. Besides Wordsworth’s house and the Bronte’s Parsonage turned into small museums, there is no mainstream marketing. The districts are still small and preserved to capture what it was like back when the Bronte sisters were writing novels, or what Wordsworth would have been doing while writing poetry. The area stresses the importance of these writers, but does not present it in a flashy, tourist attraction type of way.
Day 4- Bath, England
A couple days ago we toured around England and visited Bath, the area of England most associated with Jane Austen. I really enjoyed visiting this town and found it to be a great experience, although I do wish we could have stayed longer. I found out that the Austens' residence in Bath is a private home and not open for visits. But Herschel House, the residence of William Herschel and his sister Caroline, is comparable though not quite as elegant as the Austens' residence. I was able to see what Jane Austen meant when she described the houses, setting, and atmosphere in her novels and letters.
Austen was a close observer of social class and customs, and this is seen in her novel Emma. Considered the author's masterpiece, Austen believed she had created "a heroine whom no one but myself will much like (1).”
Our visit to Bath wouldn’t be complete without seeing the Assembly Rooms. The name comes from a form of eighteenth century entertainment known as an assembly. Here people would meet up to socialize — play cards, enjoy music, or dance. I was able to see that today this space is used to house the Museum of Costume. I loved seeing the architecture (which I heard another visitor call “Georgian architecture”), as well as the structural and interior designs. I was really able to see how this piece of literature was influenced by geography. For example, one of the times that this room was mentioned in Emma was when she stated, “Tea passed pleasantly here, and nobody seemed in a hurry to move (89).” Seeing this room and touring the entire area helped me better relate to the setting of the book. I was able to put a visual image in my head and connect it to what I had previously read.
I also enjoyed visiting the Upper Rooms in Bath. The Lower and Upper Rooms appear in Northanger Abbey and in Persuasion, and were the scenes for many dances and concerts. By doing research, I found out that the Lower Rooms no longer exist but the Upper Rooms, so called because they are situated in the upper part of town, are still much as they were in Jane Austen's time. In the basement of the Upper Rooms there is an excellent costume museum. I also did a little more research to find out some more about the town. Bath was Austen’s home only for four years, from 1801 to 1805. The family moved there when her father retired, and moved to Southhampton in 1805 after her father's death. Austen wrote little during the period between her residence in Bath and Southampton. Travel and various social engagements kept her busy in Bath.
Austen was a close observer of social class and customs, and this is seen in her novel Emma. Considered the author's masterpiece, Austen believed she had created "a heroine whom no one but myself will much like (1).”
Our visit to Bath wouldn’t be complete without seeing the Assembly Rooms. The name comes from a form of eighteenth century entertainment known as an assembly. Here people would meet up to socialize — play cards, enjoy music, or dance. I was able to see that today this space is used to house the Museum of Costume. I loved seeing the architecture (which I heard another visitor call “Georgian architecture”), as well as the structural and interior designs. I was really able to see how this piece of literature was influenced by geography. For example, one of the times that this room was mentioned in Emma was when she stated, “Tea passed pleasantly here, and nobody seemed in a hurry to move (89).” Seeing this room and touring the entire area helped me better relate to the setting of the book. I was able to put a visual image in my head and connect it to what I had previously read.
I also enjoyed visiting the Upper Rooms in Bath. The Lower and Upper Rooms appear in Northanger Abbey and in Persuasion, and were the scenes for many dances and concerts. By doing research, I found out that the Lower Rooms no longer exist but the Upper Rooms, so called because they are situated in the upper part of town, are still much as they were in Jane Austen's time. In the basement of the Upper Rooms there is an excellent costume museum. I also did a little more research to find out some more about the town. Bath was Austen’s home only for four years, from 1801 to 1805. The family moved there when her father retired, and moved to Southhampton in 1805 after her father's death. Austen wrote little during the period between her residence in Bath and Southampton. Travel and various social engagements kept her busy in Bath.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Issues to Consider
Some issues to consider:
- Influence of museums enshrining authors
- Economic dependence of small towns on literary tourism
- Economic impact of literary tourism in cities
- Gift shops’ role marketing authors
- Authentic versus restored or modernized
- Entertainment versus education (how much does that parallel tension apparent in literary studies
- Role of place/locale/geography in each novel/play/poem
- Ways authors use place/locale/geography to set tone and provide imagery
- Ways place/locale/geography shapes narrative
- Ways author borrowed from or changed locale
Monday, May 19, 2008
Instructions
We've created this class blog as a group travel journal for everyone to contribute impressions, adventures, and photographs. Title each post or comment as Day #x (according to the day of the trip).
In addition, students enrolled in English 458 will also use the blog to brainstorm for their course essay by “posting” (creating a text entry on the front page) or “commenting” (responding to another student’s post) at least 5 different days between 24 May and 7 June. For these special entries you need to create at least 2 posts and at least 3 comments. Please label your posts Literature/Geography: Author's Name.
For your posts, you should use the class’s evolving ideas about the intersection of geography and literature to argue for a relationship you have discovered between one of our literary texts and a place we have explored. (So for Day #8, you might consider how your visit to the Tate Modern helps you better understand Daisy in McEwan’s Saturday; for Day #14, you might consider the ways Oxford shaped/was shaped by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, or The Hobbit.)
You’ll need to do the following, in the order given; include the numerals to designate the separate parts of the assignment:
1. Provide the name of the place you explored, followed by a brief (probably between 50 and 100 words) but pertinent description.
2. Provide the name of the literary text, and summarize a segment of the text illuminated by your explorations.
3. Finally, explain how you see the literature and geography shaping one another. This explanation should not be a simple observation on how this particular locale is the setting for the novel. Such statements are invariably unhelpful overgeneralizations. Instead, provide a significant insight. Maybe you’re realizing just how the Globe’s size would have determined the number of characters on stage at one time; or maybe you’ve seen that desolate landscapes of a novel help explain the desperation of its characters. Or maybe you’ve discovered that our image of Shakespeare is the result of tourism’s very active merchandizing. Always support your discussion with evidence, quoting and citing from the literary text(s) when possible.
For your responses, you should agree with, disagree with, or amend a post’s conclusions about the intersection of a specific work of literature and a locale by providing and explaining NEW evidence that either supports, questions, or adjusts the post.
This assignment is credit/no credit. If you complete all the blogs as instructed, you will receive credit.
In addition, students enrolled in English 458 will also use the blog to brainstorm for their course essay by “posting” (creating a text entry on the front page) or “commenting” (responding to another student’s post) at least 5 different days between 24 May and 7 June. For these special entries you need to create at least 2 posts and at least 3 comments. Please label your posts Literature/Geography: Author's Name.
For your posts, you should use the class’s evolving ideas about the intersection of geography and literature to argue for a relationship you have discovered between one of our literary texts and a place we have explored. (So for Day #8, you might consider how your visit to the Tate Modern helps you better understand Daisy in McEwan’s Saturday; for Day #14, you might consider the ways Oxford shaped/was shaped by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, or The Hobbit.)
You’ll need to do the following, in the order given; include the numerals to designate the separate parts of the assignment:
1. Provide the name of the place you explored, followed by a brief (probably between 50 and 100 words) but pertinent description.
2. Provide the name of the literary text, and summarize a segment of the text illuminated by your explorations.
3. Finally, explain how you see the literature and geography shaping one another. This explanation should not be a simple observation on how this particular locale is the setting for the novel. Such statements are invariably unhelpful overgeneralizations. Instead, provide a significant insight. Maybe you’re realizing just how the Globe’s size would have determined the number of characters on stage at one time; or maybe you’ve seen that desolate landscapes of a novel help explain the desperation of its characters. Or maybe you’ve discovered that our image of Shakespeare is the result of tourism’s very active merchandizing. Always support your discussion with evidence, quoting and citing from the literary text(s) when possible.
For your responses, you should agree with, disagree with, or amend a post’s conclusions about the intersection of a specific work of literature and a locale by providing and explaining NEW evidence that either supports, questions, or adjusts the post.
This assignment is credit/no credit. If you complete all the blogs as instructed, you will receive credit.
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