Lawrence Hall HSG
[email protected] From Shakespeare: Bare Ruined Arguments
Cf. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73
In near-winter’s cold, lonely emptiness
As manifested by the utilitarianism
The industrial Mordor bleakness of
A cafeteria for adjunct instructors:
V. Obviously, the bare ruined choirs are an allusion to the dissolution of the monasteries.
R. It’s not obvious at all! It’s a may be, not a must be!
V. It is obvious; the Shakespeare family were secret Catholics!
R. We don’t know that! And even if so, you can’t just say that everything is secret Catholic stuff! The sweet birds really could be just sweet birds gone for the winter, not Benedictines martyred in the Dissolution! A cigar is just a cigar, right?
V. But Shakespeare is not as shallow as some critics I could name; his language is rich and layered. He enriches the language with his depths of meanings, and religious persecution has the side effect of taking ordinary nouns and comforting the reader who would still miss the ancient usages of the monastic Daily Office.
R. Edmondson and Wells say the reference is to choir boys, so there’s a possibility!
V. Yes, but Edmonson and Wells are published by the Cambridge University Press (Harrumph!).
R. And just what’s wrong with the Cambridge University Press?
Voice Off: If you two are done we need to clear this table; people are waiting, you know.