Take My Hand, Take My Whole Life Too: Dismemberment, Madness, and Death in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus! LOVE that. You're hilarious. And smart. And I my dear, couldn't finish Chemistry in 11th great. Completely overwhelming, and I got to my breaking point on the day Mrs. Horowitz remarked on the angry, about-to-pop zit right in the middle of my forehead, in front of my whole class. She was concerned that I might not be aware of it. The thing was like a vestigial conjoined twin being born from my skull. I marched out of the class, down to the principal's office and demanded to be removed from her class and any future science course. xo
Yes, my dear. we reap what we suck. And she sucked. I can still see her so vividly. But I can also see that zit, too, in all of it's full to bursting splendor. xo
Hahaha I see what you did there. Also, not to compete about whose zit was the worst, but I once gave myself bangs because what was growing out of my forehead was absolutely not suitable to be beheld by human eyes.
HAHAHAHA! I wish we had photo-finishes so we could compare. There is nothing worse than teenage mortification....except when it happens in front of your whole class. No one understood Chem. If they did, someone might have whipped me up a potion that works horrendous teen acne. xo
I too have both of my Norten Anthology books- one of English Literature from my High School British Literature class (cover has a grid of ALL the famous poets/authors) and one of Poetry, from college which, strangely, has no poet portraits but what looks like a painting of the blurry ruins of a church. They will be kept but I'll tell you what, our Brit Lit teacher in high school was a soft, baritone spoken gentleman whose melodious voice nearly did us all in during fourth period, AFTER LUNCH. We were all practically comatose until called upon to comment and Beowulf was as terrifying to absorb as you say- that horror story kept us awake.
Haha, there was no dozing in David Stuart Rodes' English 10A lectures. The man had a gift for oratory. And he was TERRIFYING. He actually called himself "the fierce and terrible David Stuart Rodes" on the syllabus.
As a fellow former English major, I too have that massive Norton Anthology with Queen Elizabeth on the cover. It's tea-stained and I will keep it forever. And I love your insights about Beowulf. I first read it in high school, then re-read it on college, and will never forget my professor talking about the women weeping and lamenting at the end...they know what's in store for them with the next wave of invaders and with no hero to protect them. The horror of that cuts across the centuries and I think every woman feels it.
BTW, in 1996 I saw the original manuscript of Beowulf at the British Museum (this is before they built the British Library and moved the manuscripts there). It felt like a religious experience to me.
So why didn't he give you an A? What was that minus all about? But seriously: I must return to Beowulf (Heaney translation, third or fourth read) because it speaks to primal fears that surround us in these agitating times. Beowulf's confrontation with the dragon, knowing he will die, is one of the most affecting scenes I've read anywhere. Dragons walk among us today. One is sitting in the Oval Office.
Okay, not to brag, but I was the *only* student in the class (250+ people) to get an A of any kind, and I suspect he didn't want me to get too big for my britches.
I've not read the Heaney translation but really want to. And yes—that scene with the dragon! Dragons do indeed walk among us, but I'm comforted by the fact that we've treasured stories of those who fought dragons for thousands of years, whereas the literature praising dragons is... scarce.
The dragon is one of the all-time great literary characters. If you are short of time, I recommend the Heaney audiobook. I listened while walking our dog.
I feel like all former English majors commenting on this thread should form a she-hag club;) I swear I think about the sparrow flying through the mead hall once a week. Have we talked about the Merewife and Maria Dahvana Headley's translation? Also, you are hilarious. Also, SOMEBODY is a present-day English major. And she's related to you!
Now, now, there are male English majors out here. We (or at least me) are also big fans of medieval lit. I took a whole class on medieval epics! So make it an all-hag or hag-folk club or somesuch and I might join in. Also I'll have y'all know M.H. Abrams taught my survey of British literature class, so I'm legit.
Or maybe we should just get gruesome and call ourselves "Grendel's Arm"? Also, I'm now thinking about how a return to medieval lit might be an useful way through our current dark days. Online book club perhaps? Would love to hear your M.H. stories!
Oaky, first of all, Grendel's Arm is freaking fantastic. (Also, hear me out: a pub called "Grendel's Arms"?) Second, funny story about M.H. Abrams—in the Norton, it says, M.H. Abrams, Class of 1916 Professor Emeritus, so when David told me he had M.H. Abrams for British Lit I almost fell out of my chair and then not very graciously asked, "Wait, isn't he like two days older than dirt?" It turned out that the professorship was endowed by the class of 1916 and M.H. did not actually graduate in 1916, but that story still makes me laugh.
And lastly, yes to the online bookclub! And to looking to medieval lit as some kind of solace/guidance because those people went through some dark effing times and lived to tell the tale!
YES!!! YES to the she-hag club!! (And yes to the English major in the family, of whom I'm very proud. I was speaking more generally :-))
We have not talked about the Merewife and Maria Dahvana Headley's translation (I'm ashamed to admit I haven't even read Heaney's!). On my list this summer: Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey and all the translations of Beowulf that have been published since the 1987 edition of The Norton Anthology.
ELVIS! Did the professor get it?? I remember that Norton Anthology. The Faery Queen may have contributed to my switching from an English major to Classics. I have to confess (because people like us feel that we have to confess stuff) that I’ve never read Beowulf. So now I’ll try. (Kevin Wilson! That must have been fun. Go you!!)
Apparently the audiobook of the Seamus Heaney translation is supposed to be really good. And if we're confessing, I was in grad school before I learned Seamus Heaney was not pronounced "See-moose Heeney."
The Kevin Wilson thing was amazing. Much better than reading the Faerie Queen, I gotta say :-)
We, the mostly sororal order of English majors, salute you. And I had that exact same edition of the Norton Anthology (may still have it somewhere...) in my first English class at Berkeley!
Kerfuffle is one of the best words! Gossamer makes me want to write a poem. I have never used antediluvian in a sentence. (Until now.) I did not know of Letters of Note! That is very cool. Word nerds are fun.
Hi Irena! Some still major in English; my daughter graduated last year from Bryn Mawr College as an English/Theater major with a classics minor! Their thesis was on Moby Dick through some theater lens (as a poli sci major (bruin freshman class of 1987) I didn’t even understand the intro page). Can’t wait to read your new book! Will Jill be having a HWD meet up?
Take My Hand, Take My Whole Life Too: Dismemberment, Madness, and Death in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus! LOVE that. You're hilarious. And smart. And I my dear, couldn't finish Chemistry in 11th great. Completely overwhelming, and I got to my breaking point on the day Mrs. Horowitz remarked on the angry, about-to-pop zit right in the middle of my forehead, in front of my whole class. She was concerned that I might not be aware of it. The thing was like a vestigial conjoined twin being born from my skull. I marched out of the class, down to the principal's office and demanded to be removed from her class and any future science course. xo
"The thing was like a vestigial conjoined twin being born from my skull." I HAD THOSE TOO! THEY HAVE THEIR OWN HEARTBEAT!
Mrs. Horowitz clearly had no business teaching anything to anyone. We hates her forever.
Yes, my dear. we reap what we suck. And she sucked. I can still see her so vividly. But I can also see that zit, too, in all of it's full to bursting splendor. xo
Hahaha I see what you did there. Also, not to compete about whose zit was the worst, but I once gave myself bangs because what was growing out of my forehead was absolutely not suitable to be beheld by human eyes.
HAHAHAHA! I wish we had photo-finishes so we could compare. There is nothing worse than teenage mortification....except when it happens in front of your whole class. No one understood Chem. If they did, someone might have whipped me up a potion that works horrendous teen acne. xo
True. And you're hilarious too.
Thanks, Rona! xo
I too have both of my Norten Anthology books- one of English Literature from my High School British Literature class (cover has a grid of ALL the famous poets/authors) and one of Poetry, from college which, strangely, has no poet portraits but what looks like a painting of the blurry ruins of a church. They will be kept but I'll tell you what, our Brit Lit teacher in high school was a soft, baritone spoken gentleman whose melodious voice nearly did us all in during fourth period, AFTER LUNCH. We were all practically comatose until called upon to comment and Beowulf was as terrifying to absorb as you say- that horror story kept us awake.
Haha, there was no dozing in David Stuart Rodes' English 10A lectures. The man had a gift for oratory. And he was TERRIFYING. He actually called himself "the fierce and terrible David Stuart Rodes" on the syllabus.
As a fellow former English major, I too have that massive Norton Anthology with Queen Elizabeth on the cover. It's tea-stained and I will keep it forever. And I love your insights about Beowulf. I first read it in high school, then re-read it on college, and will never forget my professor talking about the women weeping and lamenting at the end...they know what's in store for them with the next wave of invaders and with no hero to protect them. The horror of that cuts across the centuries and I think every woman feels it.
BTW, in 1996 I saw the original manuscript of Beowulf at the British Museum (this is before they built the British Library and moved the manuscripts there). It felt like a religious experience to me.
Ohhhhh, so jealous that you got to see the original manuscript! I completely believe that seeing it felt like seeing a holy thing.
So why didn't he give you an A? What was that minus all about? But seriously: I must return to Beowulf (Heaney translation, third or fourth read) because it speaks to primal fears that surround us in these agitating times. Beowulf's confrontation with the dragon, knowing he will die, is one of the most affecting scenes I've read anywhere. Dragons walk among us today. One is sitting in the Oval Office.
Okay, not to brag, but I was the *only* student in the class (250+ people) to get an A of any kind, and I suspect he didn't want me to get too big for my britches.
I've not read the Heaney translation but really want to. And yes—that scene with the dragon! Dragons do indeed walk among us, but I'm comforted by the fact that we've treasured stories of those who fought dragons for thousands of years, whereas the literature praising dragons is... scarce.
The dragon is one of the all-time great literary characters. If you are short of time, I recommend the Heaney audiobook. I listened while walking our dog.
Ooh, thank you for the recommendation! That sounds like a pretty
perfect walking-and-listening experience.
I feel like all former English majors commenting on this thread should form a she-hag club;) I swear I think about the sparrow flying through the mead hall once a week. Have we talked about the Merewife and Maria Dahvana Headley's translation? Also, you are hilarious. Also, SOMEBODY is a present-day English major. And she's related to you!
Now, now, there are male English majors out here. We (or at least me) are also big fans of medieval lit. I took a whole class on medieval epics! So make it an all-hag or hag-folk club or somesuch and I might join in. Also I'll have y'all know M.H. Abrams taught my survey of British literature class, so I'm legit.
Or maybe we should just get gruesome and call ourselves "Grendel's Arm"? Also, I'm now thinking about how a return to medieval lit might be an useful way through our current dark days. Online book club perhaps? Would love to hear your M.H. stories!
Oaky, first of all, Grendel's Arm is freaking fantastic. (Also, hear me out: a pub called "Grendel's Arms"?) Second, funny story about M.H. Abrams—in the Norton, it says, M.H. Abrams, Class of 1916 Professor Emeritus, so when David told me he had M.H. Abrams for British Lit I almost fell out of my chair and then not very graciously asked, "Wait, isn't he like two days older than dirt?" It turned out that the professorship was endowed by the class of 1916 and M.H. did not actually graduate in 1916, but that story still makes me laugh.
And lastly, yes to the online bookclub! And to looking to medieval lit as some kind of solace/guidance because those people went through some dark effing times and lived to tell the tale!
YES!!! YES to the she-hag club!! (And yes to the English major in the family, of whom I'm very proud. I was speaking more generally :-))
We have not talked about the Merewife and Maria Dahvana Headley's translation (I'm ashamed to admit I haven't even read Heaney's!). On my list this summer: Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey and all the translations of Beowulf that have been published since the 1987 edition of The Norton Anthology.
ELVIS! Did the professor get it?? I remember that Norton Anthology. The Faery Queen may have contributed to my switching from an English major to Classics. I have to confess (because people like us feel that we have to confess stuff) that I’ve never read Beowulf. So now I’ll try. (Kevin Wilson! That must have been fun. Go you!!)
Apparently the audiobook of the Seamus Heaney translation is supposed to be really good. And if we're confessing, I was in grad school before I learned Seamus Heaney was not pronounced "See-moose Heeney."
The Kevin Wilson thing was amazing. Much better than reading the Faerie Queen, I gotta say :-)
I have a cute story about Seamus H for you when we talk next!
Thank you for writing!! You are the best!
Love this, Irena! Stale beer and bad decisions needs to be a fragrance! Your event sounds like so much fun!
We, the mostly sororal order of English majors, salute you. And I had that exact same edition of the Norton Anthology (may still have it somewhere...) in my first English class at Berkeley!
I laughed out loud at: "I mean, who does?" Also, "arch" is an excellent word, seldom used.
Right? There are so many good words that don't get enough play. Gossamer. Kerfuffle. Antediluvian.
Speaking of words: do you know Shaun Usher's book Letters of Note? There's one in there that is my absolute favorite: https://lettersofnote.substack.com/p/i-like-words?r=xmo7s&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Kerfuffle is one of the best words! Gossamer makes me want to write a poem. I have never used antediluvian in a sentence. (Until now.) I did not know of Letters of Note! That is very cool. Word nerds are fun.
So bold to take English instead of an engineering class your freshmen year. Fun to read about your first rigorously engineered paper.
Thanks, Jill! Not bold. Just self-aware enough to suspect what disasters (to my GPA and otherwise) might ensue had I taken engineering.
Hi Irena! Some still major in English; my daughter graduated last year from Bryn Mawr College as an English/Theater major with a classics minor! Their thesis was on Moby Dick through some theater lens (as a poli sci major (bruin freshman class of 1987) I didn’t even understand the intro page). Can’t wait to read your new book! Will Jill be having a HWD meet up?