Monday Inspiration: World Book and Copyright Day

In honour of today being World Book and Copyright Day (and the anniversary of Shakespeare’s death) I’ve decided on The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, an Oscar-winning short film, for some inspiration for the week. If you haven’t yet watched it, today is the day to do so! (Otherwise today is the day to watch it again.)

And just for fun...

Inspiration Friday: Orpheus and a long road

I picked up the second volume of Naxos’ English Song Series one day while browsing a local music shop’s Classical Room. I was looking for some light music to either work or write to and found these next to my trusty “early music” shelf[1]. The album contains 31 poems from a variety of different poets and writers, set to music by the composer Arthur Somervell (1863 – 1937).

One thing I love about Naxos’ albums is that they have a booklet containing an introduction to the music as well as the lyrics of the songs included. While I knew some of the songs from other albums, I was surprised again at the beauty and scope of the songs included. While listening to the album and reading through the poems and songs, it is very difficult not to be inspired!

Here are two of the songs included on the album. One is a poem by A.E. Housman, “White in the moon the long road lies” and the other is from William Shakespeare’s Henry VIII; “Orpheus with his lute”.

White in the moon the long road lies

A.E. Housman

White in the moon the long road lies,

The moon stands blank above;

White in the moon the long road lies

That leads me from my love.

Still hangs the hedge without a gust,

Still, still the shadows stay:

My feet upon the moonlit dust

Pursue the ceaseless way.

The world is round, so travellers tell,

And straight tho’ reach the track,

Trudge on, trudge on, ‘twill all be well,

The way will guide one back.

But ere the circle homeward hies,

Far, far must it remove:

White in the moon the long road lies

That leads me from my love.

Orpheus with his lute

William Shakespeare

Orpheus with his lute made trees,

And the mountain tops, that freeze,

Bow themselves when he did sing.

To his music plants and flowers

Ever sprung: as sun and showers

There had made a lasting spring.

Every thing that heard him play,

Even the billows of the sea,

Hung their heads and then lay by.

In sweet music is such art:

Killing care and grief of heart

Fall asleep, or hearing, die.

I found this beautiful rendition of "White in the moon the long road lies" - enjoy!

The English Song Series, vol. 2. Arthur Somervell; TheShorpshire Lad, James Lee’s Wife, Songs of Innocence. Naxos. DDD  8.557113 

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[1] I usually have a fixed route when browsing the shop – start in front with Irish, Scottish and Welsh music. Move to Early Music, then go on to ballet scores before ending up in the back row with different vocal artists, new releases and then checking if any of the Gilbert & Sullivan operas are affordable (When are they actually going to have The Mikado when I also have money to buy it?) before doing a quick tour of other composers to see if there’s anything interesting available.

Inspiration Friday: A Poem by One of the Great Masters

When I have seen by Time's fell hand defaced
The rich proud cost of outworn buried age;
When sometime lofty towers I see down-razed
And brass eternal slave to mortal rage;
When I have seen the hungry ocean gain
Advantage on the kingdom of the shore,
And the firm soil win of the watery main,
Increasing store with loss and loss with store;
When I have seen such interchange of state,
Or state itself confounded to decay;
Ruin hath taught me thus to ruminate,
That Time will come and take my love away.
           This thought is as a death, which cannot choose
           But weep to have that which it fears to lose.

-        

                                - Shakespeare, Sonnet 64

Ruins of tower at Kuskuam palace covered by vegetation

And now a bit of a ramble…

Although most people who have taken English classes know (or at least know of) Shakespeare’ssonnet 18 and 116, I firmly believe that most students do not want to study the Bard’s work (or even bother to read it) because they have been told that ‘it is too difficult’ (Not to mention ‘so not cool’ to like it).

I am very thankful for a mother who loved Shakespeare, told my sister and me the stories, and recited parts of the plays and sonnets. We both also received the Wordsworth edition of Shakespeare’s complete works (the grandest books I owned at that time; three hardback volumes in a slipcase). This was also a time when I really started to realise that most of what I was reading was considered ‘too difficult’ for my age (about 13) by some teachers and other adults. Classics like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Dickens, or Roald Dahl’s short stories and even The Neverending Story.

My point is not ‘give children a pile of thick books to read’ – although that is not really a bad thing. My point is children (or even teenagers) should not be told that something is ‘too difficult for them’ without even letting them try. Not to place that mental block there before they’ve had a chance to decide for themselves. Some books are not age appropriate, yes. But to base ‘too difficult for them to read’ simply on a book that looks ‘too thick’ or one containing words you have to look up in a dictionary is completely silly. 

Bennie Boekwurm