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I’m obsessed with Harold Bloom. In my youth, I thought he was a pompous, elitist, fossil-headed creep. Now I think he is brilliant. He may be both.
Anyway, like Harold, I am quite concerned about the decline in the quality of the humanities, especially as it relates to education. It’s not that people don’t read fiction anymore, it’s that they don’t read good literature. I have tutored one of my students in English from grade 2 to her first year in a community college, and, not once, was she asked to read Shakespeare. Actually, I don’t recall her having to read any books written by a dead white European male. It was all multi-cultural stuff, with a great emphasis on black, chicano and women writers, most of whom were brutalized or raped in their childhoods.
This is what Harold says about the subject….
You know, there are certain inescapable books that I really do feel all of us should read as early as possible. What does education mean if it does not expose children and young people to Shakespeare and Cervantes and Dante?...But unfortunately what is called ‘multiculturalism’ in the United States never means Cervantes. It doesn’t mean replacing a writer in English by Cervantes…It means fifth-rate work by people full of resentment, who happen to be women, or who happen to be Chicano or Puerto-Rican, or who happen to be African-American, and they are by no means the best writers who are African-American, or women, or so on. They are simply the most resentful and the most ideological. The function of an education is not to make people feel good about themselves, or to confirm their sense of division, of being in one group rather than another.”
or…..
Unfortunately, nothing will ever be the same because the art and passion of reading well and deeply, which was the foundation of our enterprise, depended on people who were fanatical readers when they were still small children.…The shadows lengthen in our evening land, and we approach the second millennium expecting further shadowing.”
Okay….so am I getting smarter or am I just getting older, and sputtering against a world that is increasingly alien to me?
And, by the way, why did I have to write this is the General Discussion section of PR? Why isn’t there an “Arts and Literature” section?. Huh? HUH? I am hereby registering a complaint.
I’m not sure what the system is like in the U.S., but the focus in the UK is still very much on dead white English men. Shakespeare featured in my secondary schooling, as did Shelley, Orwell, and the various poets of the First World War. I think a larger problem, however, is the method of teaching. It’s no good teaching Shakespeare if - as it was in my case and most others’ - the teachers completely fail to engage you with the literature.
polednice: I’m not sure what the system is like in the U.S., but the focus in the UK is still very much on dead white English men. Shakespeare featured in my secondary schooling, as did Shelley, Orwell, and the various poets of the First World War. I think a larger problem, however, is the method of teaching. It’s no good teaching Shakespeare if - as it was in my case and most others’ - the teachers completely fail to engage you with the literature.
That is unfortunate. I had a wonderful English teacher who acted out all the parts in Hamlet, even with tears. I was also required to memorize many poems, which still remain with me, for which I am grateful.
“When I have fears that I may cease to be…” does not resonate with the 16 year old I used to be, but now the words are recollected several times throughout my week.
And whenever I mow the lawn, I think ..
Tenderly will I use you curling grass,
t may be you transpire from the breasts of young men,
It may be if I had known them I would have loved them;
It may be you are from old people and from women, and
from offspring taken soon out of their mother’s laps,
And here you are the mother’s laps.
This grass is very dark to be from the white heads of old
mothers,
Darker than the colorless beards of old men,
Dark to come from under the faint red roofs of mouths…..
Oh how I bitched and moaned about that teacher’s requirements, but now I am so appreciative that she was as demanding as she was
I also recall that she had us memorize that the 23rd Psalm..“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” It didn’t even occur to me that atheists might cynically reinterpret that line.
Most educated atheists (and they mostly are educated, much to the churches’ chagrin) love the 23rd Psalm. I do. It’s lovely. In times of stress and worry I hear myself silently saying it. Only the ‘thou’ who ‘art with me’ is me and the knowledge that makes me secure in my atheism and unafraid of death. I love that psalm like I love the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel or shakespeare’s plays and sonnets or Bach’s masses or Beethoven’s symphonies. Art survives. Religion dies.
Mr Bloom would heartily agree with you, except he’s concerned about the decline in the number of people who appreciate the arts, either visual or literary.
Most of the kids I tutor neither read the books assigned, nor think and write about the books assigned. It’s all copy and paste. That’s why some schools are requiring their students to read Stephen King and Harry Potter. It’s not just “dumbing down”; it’s an attempt to get kids to actually read something….ANYTHING!
Yes, Saralynn, getting kids to read these days is a problem. I agree with Dawkins - the King James version of the Wholly Babble should be available in all secular schools for kids to read. It is the best defense against religion and there is much to be gleaned from it. And reading it will promt kids to ask what it means. And, with secular teachers, that is when real learning that will progress civilisation can start to happen.
When I taught high school English I allowed time for kids to read whatever they liked. The only proviso was that they question everything they read. The kids who did that went on to do well after high school.
What sort of kids do you teach? Problem children for whom the quality of mercy must not be strained? From religious homes no doubt where child abuse is rife? That should get you screaming from the fence.
Just kidding, Saralynn. But I do like to hear a good lady give forth voiciferously from her high horse… sorry, fence.
Mr Bloom would heartily agree with you, except he’s concerned about the decline in the number of people who appreciate the arts, either visual or literary.
Most of the kids I tutor neither read the books assigned, nor think and write about the books assigned. It’s all copy and paste. That’s why some schools are requiring their students to read Stephen King and Harry Potter. It’s not just “dumbing down”; it’s an attempt to get kids to actually read something….ANYTHING!
I have a cousin who has been active in founding and administrating charter schools in Phoenix for about 20 years. She started the first to give her kids a good background in reading, writing, and arithmetic (or, as I called them in my younger days, reeling, writhing, and rhythmic tics) and they learned much literature from dead white males. But she also read her daughter Harry Potter (and told me that the books were quite well written and worth reading for late childhood and teens). My great grandmother read me all the Oz stories when I was a young kid, and Gulliver’s Travels as well. I was quite a pest, following her around the house asking her to read to me. Later, my mom tried to get me to read Cervantes the summer after my 4th grade with no success at all. Didn’t start reading myself until I got into 7th grade and discovered the science fiction shelf at the local library. I think my mom was so pleased I was starting to read that she ignored a neighbor’s advice to “not let him read that pulp junk.” On the other hand, I’ve never found much modern writing that engaging (Updike, Irving, Morrison, the top writers today, none of them attract me at all).
When it first came out I read Hillary Mantel’s ‘Wolf Hall’ (Winner of the 2009 Man Booker Prize) and I was enchanted. Yesterday I read the sequel, ‘Bring up the Bodies’. I recommend both for their artistry and the history on which they draw.
People who cannot read such works are severely handicapped. If they cannot read art with pleasure then how can they ever read philosophy or science?
Which works from the English canon must be read?
1. The Wholly Babble (although not strictly of the western canon)
2. Shakespeare
3. Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters
4. Dickens
5. And, of course, much more after those four must and will follow.
.I’ve listed only those of the English canon that I, as a teacher of English, think are essential . After those, much else, including the great modern writers in English, will follow naturally for the non-religiously indoctrinated student of average intelligence. After these, they will want, indeed will feel the need, to read more.
But reading is only the first necessary step. They must read and write. Read and write. And then read and write some more. The more they read the better they will write becasue they will understand better what it means to be a creative being. A human. And maybe, once they understand that, they will be creators whose works will become timeless. Humanity needs more creators in the arts just as it does in philosophy or science. But without the arts, philosophy and science will be left bereft of those who can explain themselves.
And I speak here only of English. But the whole western cannon and, indeed, the wisdom of the east, must be incorporated into a fully rounded education in the arts.
Rob: What sort of kids do you teach? Problem children for whom the quality of mercy must not be strained? From religious homes no doubt where child abuse is rife? That should get you screaming from the fence.
Most of my students are academically behind, but a few are doing well in school, but their parents want them to get that extra “edge”. Very upwardly mobile types.. No one comes from a religious family, other than one Muslim student who has been totally Americanized. He’s the one who wrote an essay for me about his trip to Saudia Arabia (the Haj) last year, The most vivid things that happened to him was that he had to wear a long white robe and he wasn’t allowed to put on underpants. Because he is 12, he was horrified by this, especially when he was pushed and jostled by a million or so people.
Both his parents are from Pakistan, very well-educated, and excellent parents, but they are very religious, which puzzles me. The wife is studying to become a doctor, so she isn’t oppressed or anything. But they do a lot of praying and there are always a lot of religious books and commentaries about the Qur’an lying around.
Die fröhliche Wissenschaft (Rob) - 26 May 2012 03:17 PM
1. The Wholly Babble (although not strictly of the western canon)
2. Shakespeare
3. Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters
4. Dickens
5. And, of course, much more after those four must and will follow.
Even if in modern translations, Beowulf, Malory’s Arthur, and the Canterbury Tales are surely necessities as well. Let’s not neglect our medieval heritage!
For those in the Pacific Northwest, Bard on the Beach is a fine Shakespeare festival that goes on all summer. This year performing the Scottish play, King John, Taming of the Shrew, and The Merry Wives of Windsor.
...That’s why some schools are requiring their students to read Stephen King and Harry Potter. It’s not just “dumbing down”; it’s an attempt to get kids to actually read something….ANYTHING!
Your going to hate me Saralynn, I am one of those who passed my literature with a really good grade, but never read any of the books we were assigned in their completeness….
....I pause to beg forgiveness…
I read precis of each book and watched films and videos about them, I know i know!!....sorry….
I think I struggled to absorb when reading, was easily distracted and had to keep going back and re-reading the paragraph as it just wouldn’t sink in with me. So maybe I’m the shithead…
Martin: Your going to hate me Saralynn, I am one of those who passed my literature with a really good grade, but never read any of the books we were assigned in their completeness….
....I pause to beg forgiveness…
I read precis of each book and watched films and videos about them, I know i know!!....sorry….
I think I struggled to absorb when reading, was easily distracted and had to keep going back and re-reading the paragraph as it just wouldn’t sink in with me. So maybe I’m the shithead…
Nah, I’m not going to hate you. My husband is the same way and he has tragic stories to tell about being assigned to read “Moby Dick” and “Beowolf” in school and, for him, it was torture.
Fortunately, there are many ways to seek for truth and literature is just one of them.. I just feel badly for the kids of today who aren’t even introduced to great literature, for some would thrive on it if exposed to it. .
Also, Shakespeare isn’t easy. Much better to see a play, then read it.afterwards. Helps to understand the cadence of the language and the meaning of the words.
I consider myself intelligent, but I have a heck of a time understanding Shakespeare. Maybe because I was more attracted to the math and science classes and never took a proper college-level lit course? I feel I’ve missed something, so I’ve started attending Shakespeare’s plays. But I always have to read and reread the Wikipedia summaries first so I know what is going on. I saw Merchant of Venice last year and was just wowed. But, I tell you, anything that takes so much work to understand (for its language, not its themes) will never be as popular as contemporary entertainment.
I do think there is a lot of wonderful modern writing, besides all the pop-lit on the best seller shelf. And there are many more recent classics written in simpler language. Sara, you inspired me to read Anna Karenina, and I am a little more than half-way through. Tolstoy was an amazing observer of humanity and a great writer; however, I will not say it is the most enjoyable book I’ve read.
I think there is something to be said for reading good books that you enjoy. I started Canterbury Tales and was just bored. Pretty much the same for Austen’s books. Sorry.
Literature is a lot like food. People have very different tastes. Junk food debilitates the body, and junk reading debilitates the mind. There are ancient geniuses and modern geniuses. We should steer our children to both, knowing the majority will probably enjoy the latter more. You cannot make a child love a food, but you can at least have them try one bite. Maybe they will find that they love it later in life, when their tastes have changed.
I would personally argue that if Shakespeare is going to be taught in school, it must be watched and not read. Making students read a Shakespeare play is destined to kill it.
I consider myself intelligent, but I have a heck of a time understanding Shakespeare. Maybe because I was more attracted to the math and science classes and never took a proper college-level lit course? I feel I’ve missed something, so I’ve started attending Shakespeare’s plays. But I always have to read and reread the Wikipedia summaries first so I know what is going on. I saw Merchant of Venice last year and was just wowed. But, I tell you, anything that takes so much work to understand (for its language, not its themes) will never be as popular as contemporary entertainment.
Try the Kenneth Branagh films of some of the plays. Much Ado About Nothing is particularly nice. Hamlet is, as well but runs 4 hours.
