Littleton College - Chatterbox Yearbook (Littleton, NC)

Page 51 text:

Tnn Cu.x'rTEi:BoX. 239 The Value of the Study of Shakespeare. REBECCA NVINBORNE EVANS. Shakespeare stands out in English literature as the chief producer of a perfect literature, being Without a peer in all the realm of hundreds of English Writers. If all the litera- ture that England has produced, both good and bad, with the exception of Shakespeare's Writings, Were to be destroyed, England Would yet be rich in literature. If Chaucer, Mil- ton, Shelley, Byron, Keats, YVordsWorth, Tennyson-if all Were to be taken from the great catalogue of English Writers, and Shakespeare remained, England could boast of a litera- ture almost, if not entirely,,without equal in quality. Shake- speare stands in England as Homer to the Greeks, Virgil to the Romans, Voltaire to the Erench, and Dante to the Ital- ians. His Works have stood the test of time through all the changing years,-stood in spite of the changes of customs, manners, dress and the great change of human ideas which is often so detrimental to literary productions,-and yet is just as perfect literature to-day as during the sixteenth cen- tury. One great factor in the 'greatness of Shakespeare as a writer is that he had the whole world for the source of his Writings, and he portrays human life and character as it is instead of ideally. His field in literature is almost Without limit, to him the World was a great stage and humanity the actors-'cand all the men and Women merely playersf' With such a literature as comes to mind or is embraced in the study of Shakespeare, one can readily see that such a study should and must result in great mental development and intellectual growth. Any close observation of the forces of Nature must promote mental growth and often We are made to observe these forces by some one's calling our atten-

Page 50 text:

2 THE CHATTERBOX. A Thought. CLARA HEARNE, '08, Ah, yesterday I was dreaming, Just wondering what to do, When something suddenly answered: Work will not come to you. You first must make an effort, Or you will never grovxt No work is ever accomplished Unless it is begun. 'CBut what can I do 3 I asked, After thinking the matter o'er. There is work right here, it answered, And work that is needing you. Although it may seem humble, There is greatness in anything. VVhen you do your very best, You have not worked in vain. The little things will count, VVhen your problem you have done, And then, ah! then, you'll find That 'twas these that made the sum.', So don't sit idly waiting, For time goes swiftly by. Just seize this very minute And your nearest work begin.

Page 52 text:

240 THE CHATTERBOX. tion to them, and so Shakespeare calls our attention to these forces in diverse ways through his Works. All the passions of the human soul are brought out in Shakespeare and We are made to think of these passions in human life. Then, too, there is a mental development in concentration of thought, for a certain degree of concentration is absolutely necessary to grasp the idea, or to interpret the literature of Shakespeare as it should be to get the highest, deepest and broadest meaning. There is mental growth involved in memorizing some of the finest passages as, for illustration, the oration from 'trlulius Cacsarn by Mark Antony at Cmsar's funeral, beginning- Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears, I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him, The evils that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones, So let it be with Caesar. - and it is unnecessary to finish the quotation, for the Whole of Mark Antony's speech is familiar to all students of Shakespeare. Another quotation that is Worth memorizing for the thought contained as Well as for the mental develop- ment is- Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head: And this our life, exempt from public haunt, Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in everything. or to give one other: Good name in man or woman, dear my lord Is the immediate jewel of their soul: Who steals my purse steals trash, 'tis something, nothing, 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands, But he who iilches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed.