St Anthony High School - Paduan Yearbook (Sterling, CO)

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1 Religion and Poetry ' Any studen't of literature and one who is especially interested in poetry cannot fail to recognize the relationship between religion and poetry, since it is as impossible to separate God from the world's great 'poetry as it is to sepa- rate Him from creation itself, because every great poem 'that 'has ever been written has a certain religious element. Man invariably turns to poetry as a medium for expression whenever he desires -to express something indescribably beautiful. We know that Cod is infinite Beauty and the Creator of all beauty, and here is the correlation, the interdependence between re- ligion and poetry. At first one may wonder where this inter- dependence exists in our modern poetry. At the turn of the century Aimerica became an in- dustrial na-tion producing and manufacturing. Vast armies of men and women were employ- ed to keep the machinery moving. Naturally there arose social problems, workers were paid poorly and little or no happiness entered into their lives. They lived from hand to mouth. Strikes and panics resulted. lt is only natural that the 'poetry of this period is a reflection of the times. The poets show evidence of having gone to life for their inspiration and mater- ial. With a change in theme the older forms and generalities of the previous periods did not suit the modern moods: as a result we now have free verse, common everyday speech, hard, clear, imaginary, and commonplace sub- jects. Some of the new school have gone to the extremes and even to the extent of becoming ridiculous. No doubt this new development saved poetry from becoming pale and artificialg how- ever, we are too close to the new poetry to judge it fairly arid there may yet be some real- ly great poems produced through the new school. As a proof of this statement let us com- pare two poets of the Transitional Period of American Literature and two of the Modern Period. Emily Dickinson, although not a Catholic, gave expression to her deep religious convic- tions in the following lines: I never spoke with Cod, ,Nor visited in heaven: Yet certain am l of the spot As if the chart were given. Father Tabb--a convert to the Catholic church and ordained to the priesthood in ISS4, has contributed rare gems to the field of poe- try. The phrase mul'tum in parvo -much in little as one writer uses it, seems to best de- scribe Father Tabb's poetry. His quatrains con- tain a tremendous amount of meaning, mani- festing a deep love of nature, and an unfalter- ing faith in God. I see Thee irgthe distant blue: - But in the violet's dell of dew, Behold, l breathe and touch Thee too. Under his pen inanimate things take on life and beauty and the abstract becomes con- crete and personal. ln the modern period we find Joyce Kil- mer, also a convert to the Church, who was killed in action during the World War at the age of thirty-two. With his death America and the Church lost a poet of rare accomplishment and great promise. One of his best known and loved' poems is Trees . -He was a man deeply tender fat heart who speaks to us in lyrics of great beauty. E My shoulders ache beneath my pack CLie easier, Cross, upon His backl. Lord, Thou didst suffer more for me Than all the hosts of land and sea. So Let me render back again This millionth of Thy Gift. Amen. Ruth Mary Fox, a writer of our own day, reveals to us her deep spirituality as brought out beautifully in her sonnet Carrying Christ Christ in His Sacrament oflove each day Dwells- in my soul a little space and then l walk life's crowded highway, jostling men Who seldom -think of God. To these l -pray That l may carry Christ, for it may be Some would not know of Him except through me. -Patricia Ann McLaughlin '38, Caesar of History and Caesar of Shakespeare When we read Shakespeares Julius Cae- sar we are quite amazed to find him so vain, pompous, and obstinate in adhering to his own opinions, so boastful of his polar star con- stancy . However, we realize that Shakespeare took several liberties with the Caesar of his- tory. This great general whom we have admir- ed in history was by no means the cheap boas- ter he is represented in the play. Although he was eager for power, he enacted many laws for the good of the people. For dramatic purpose, Shakespeare -presented only those traits which are suited to the play and many of these are not admirable, they are anything but desirable. He is portrayed as physically weak and intel- lectually vacillating, ambitious, cowardly, su- perstitious ancl vain-glorious: while in reality he was one of the greatest soldiers, statesmen and scholars that ever existed. Hudson says of him: Caesar is far from being himself in these scenes: hardly one of the speeches put into his mouth can be regarded as historically 'charac- teristicg taken altogether, they are little short of a downright caricature. and when he speaks, it is very much in the style of a glorious braggart, LITERARY t

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Although the St. Anthony's Music Department did not in- clude an orchestra this year, the glee clubs, both boys' and girls' have been sufliciently ac- tive to more than make up for this deficiency. With few exceptions all of the junior and senior girls were accepted as members of the Girls' Glee club. The male chorus made up of upper-classmen also, in- cluded only nine members, but these sufliced to out voice if not to out number 'the for- mer group. The first demonstration of combined gen- ius on the part of the glee clubs was displayed at the annual Christmas car-olling tour through the city, held on December 22. Quaint lanterns added the ancient atmosphere so imperative to such an affair. On various occasions both the boys and girls entertained at programs. An Indian Song program as well as a St. Patriclfs day program were outstanding features among these. The final undertaking of the Girls' Glee club for t-he school year of I937 was the oper- etta Margie Goes Modern by Carrington. The cast of characters: Margie, niece of foundress, Louise Dal Pon- te. Madame Raphael, Teach of the Art Acad- ' kg E -t:'-all emy, Gertrude Lauby. Madame X. Madame Y. S Madame z, Art judges, Ala-ce Graves, Mary K. Hagerty, Elll abeth Bellender. Helen, Janis, Sophia, friends of Margie, Germane Klausner, Helen Gollobith, Elizabeth Mildenberger. Chorus of Art Students-Louise Lazaretti, Frances Flaherty, Pauline Becker, Patricia Mc- Laughlin, Mildred Wernsman, Elizabeth Her- genreter, June Flaherty, Anna Hergenreter, Margaret Ahern, Marcella Osterholt. Margie, a student of the Brower's insti- 'tute of Art, will inherit a million dollars if she wins the Cecilian Medal before she is twenty- one. The medal is 'to be awarded to the best painting. It is to the advantage of Madame Ra- phael and the judges to keep Margie from win- ning the prize for if she fails to win, the money will revert to the Academy. The girls -of the Art institute when they hear of the plot to keep Margie from winning the prize decide to leave their paintings un- signed so that Margie can claim the prize. Mar- gie hides a painting 'that she has discarded. The judges not knowing what to do when they find the paintings unsigned decided to give the prize to the poorest painting by proclaiming it a piece of modern art. Margie's discarded painting is the one they choose and a hap- BOYS' GLEE CLUB C. Schadegg. R. Hoffman, B. Quinn, J. Brown, C. Mentgen, W. I-I-averland, L. Schlenz, J. Keenan. GIRLS' GLEE CLUB Top-A. Hergenreter, A. Graves, L. Dal Ponte, L. Lazzaretti, G. Lauby, M. Osterholt, J. Flaherty. Second Row--M. Wernsman, F. Flaherty, G. Klausner, E. Bellender, E. Mildenberger. First Row-M. Hagerty, P. McLaughlin, M. Ahern, P. Becker, H. Gollobith. r-1 py ending is reached with the chorus sing- ing the catchy refrain Come on and Smile. Sr. Margaret Mary has conducted all music activities throughout the year. MUSIC ml

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full cf lofty airs and mock thunder. How can we reconcile the Caesar of Shakespeare to the hero we have admired in history-the man Who won so many vfictories on the field of bat- tle and in the Forum? Can he be the man who has come down to us as such a striking person- ality worthy of our esteem and admiration? According to the view of one author, Shakes- peare could not afford to depict such an im- pressive picture of Caesar. lf our sympathy for him were too keen, it would detract from our kindly feeling toward Brutus. Brutus would seem a little less than a brute. Furthermore, Caesar's role comes to an end at about the mid- dle of the play. If our attitude toward him is such, his disappearance will interrupt our inter- est in the play as a whole. Consequently, Shakespeare defpreciates Caesar's virtuesancl magnihes his faults. Another writer says: Cae- sar as Shakespeare conceives him, is a most fascinating study in arrested development. He has achieved supreme power in the Roman state: he has defea-ted his rival, Pompey: he is in fact, if not in name, a king. And he rests on his laurelsg he stops growing. His victories have made 'him over-confident: over-secure: his place in 'the sun has turned his head. There- fore, we find him boasting: Caesar shall forth: the things that threatened me , Ne'er look'd but on my back: w'hen they shall see The face of Caesar, they are vanished. And again : I rather tell thee what is to be feared Than what l fear: for always I am CAESAR. ln the play he shows neither the modesty nor the quiet self-confidence that usually ac- companies true greatness: rat-her his wisdom is consumed in confidence. The position to which he is raised: the never-failing adulation with which he is surrounded, the success he has achieved-all this left its mark upon him so that he already speaks of himself in the third pfrson-as though he were a god. For exam- p e: Caesar is turned to hearn: . Caesar shall forth. However, it is evident on the other hand, that Shakespeare understood and admired the greatness of Caesar's character. We read: Thou are the ruins of the noblest man That ever lived in the tide of times. -Florence Killerlain '39. Editorial given Honorable Mention in Scholas- tic Awards Contest-by Barbara' Maurer '38 Q And Their Light Shines 'February marks the birthdays of two fa- mous men of History, George Washing-ton whose birthday is celebrated on the 22nd and Abraham Lincoln whose birthday is on Febru- ary l2. h Wash'ington, the Father of our Country was one of the greatest patriots in the history of 'the United States. He led a small but brave army against the British to win freedom from England. He was the first president of the United States and helped draw up the Consti- tution whereby the thirteen colonies announc- ed their independence from England in l776. Washington was a great leader, an able statesman, and a man with sterling qualities. Abraham Lincoln rose from an humble country boy to the position of president of the United States. His heart was with the poor and common folkg he won freedom for the slaves of the South, even though it meant civil war. ln his famous Gettysburg Address he express- ed the true ideals of every patriotic citizen of America, the same ideals found in the pream- ble of the Constitution. Lincoln did not have the same advant- ages that Washington had, but was a self-edu- cated man. He had a great love for books. Lincoln had a noble character and above all he was honest, known even today as Honest Abe. It is fitting and proper that we observe the birthdays of these two men, who by their un- tiring efforts made this country the great na- tion it is today. Book Review- Vanity Fair -William Makepeace Thackeray. This novel is Thackeray's masterpiece, and it is the only novel of society which has ever ranked as a classic. The author is a master of pure, simple English prose and also of blunt satire. His object is to bringhmut the shallow- ness of some of his characters. ln these he em- bodies all the vulgarity, hypocrisy, and immor- ality of society. However, at times his satire becomes too coarse and dbscure. His charac- ters are usually representative of types and not individuals. The plot is well developed and the climax rather unexpected. The story has no hero, but it is not without a heroine, the adventuress of literature, Becky Sharp. In contrast to her is Rretty, pink-and- white Amelia, whose place in society is assur- ed by birth. She be-friends Becky while they are at school and invites her to her home. Here Becky first begins her climb toward the heights of societv. At first the reader's sympathy is en- listed in her attempts to rise above the low sta- tion in life she occupies by birth. Though she is quite successful, few if any will admire the means by which she attains these ends. ' -Patricia Ann McLaughlin '38. LITERARY