Summative Entry

As I reflect upon my experiences in this Shakespeare unit, it comes with a multitude of feelings that are strangely apt for what Shakespeare has to tell us. It is the final semester of my Bachelor of Arts before I go on to obtain my Masters in Teaching but it is also Michael Griffith’s last semester. The first class I took at ACU was with Michael and now so is the last class.  Shakespeare had much to say about such endings, let’s take the time to reflect upon them:

My first blog was an examination of the Fool from Twelfth Night. The Fool is one of Shakespeare’s examples of the wisdom that comes with not taking yourself too seriously. For all his banter and innuendo, he is able to highlight flaws in the other characters that they may not be aware of themselves and without drawing their ire. I would argue that part of the reason I sense that he is so capable in doing is that he knows himself best out of any of the characters. As Feste himself says ‘cucullus non facitmonachum’ – the cowl makes not a monk. This is a vital component to living a fulfilled life here in the 21^st century, to understand and accept yourself. It is only when you can do that do you have the best opportunity to then help others.

My second blog reflected on our excursion to the State Library, particularly the Shakespeare Room and the statue amidst the highway. Shakespeare’s ongoing presence speaks much to the universality of his works. The ideas he explores of love, revenge, forgiveness, jealousy, desire, ambition and many more beside are as relevant today as they were the day he put quill to paper to write about them.

And all the men and women merely players:   

All the world ’s a stage,   

They have their exits and their entrances;   

And one man in his time plays many parts,  

As You Like It 2.7.139-143

The inscription upon his statue is a timely reminder that this is a transient existence and his plays send us messages about what comprises a meaningful, satisfying life in our time upon the stage. When one stage in my journey ends so another begins, much as the figures in the stained-glass windows of the Shakespeare Room. Our final play, The Tempest, has two apt quotes for such moments that I will leave on. Shakespeare has enduring relevance that continues to offer us meaning in the 21st Century.

There be some sports are painful, and their labour

Delight in them sets off. Some kinds of baseness

Are nobly undergone, and most poor matters

Point to rich ends. (III.i.1-4)

The Tempest 3.1.1-4

We are such stuff

As dreams are made on, and our little life

Is rounded with a sleep. (IV.i.148–158)

The Tempest 4.1.148-158