My hope and goal was to be done with classes and have the diploma in hand about, well, right now. Due to circumstances I’m not going to publish on the web, my summer class did not work out. So, this week I started my last class, take two. In a lot of ways, I’m thrilled that the summer class didn’t work out. I have a far better professor, a far more engaged class, and an equally as fascinating topic—the Renaissance in England. This is a topic that I would like more knowledge of anyways, so it all works out.

The course objectives on the syllabus begins:

Often students enrolled in undergraduate classes which focus on literature from an earlier period—in our case, the 150 years spanning from 1516 to 1666—feel that everything there is to be said or written about such literature has been said or written already: in other words, the meaning and significance of these texts are already part of the historical record and we simply need to learn the facts. The main objective of this class is to pulverize that misconception.

Professor Maisano wasted no time in beginning to “pulverize that misconception.” Yesterday, as we worked through Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, my classmate Bonnie pointed out that a reader could not fully understand this poem without further knowledge of Shakespeare’s use and meaning of “Fool.” While this is not knowledge that I hold, I tended to agree with her. See, I like to think of myself as just a common person, but there are a few areas where I will readily admit that I am a snob: literature, fabric, and yarn—three of my great loves.

I sat and waited for further discussion of Shakespeare’s use of the word “Fool,” but never heard it, for which I was greatly disappointed. I mean, one of the reasons I was taking this class was to get the ins and outs of the literature of the Renaissance. I want to be able to properly read literature of this time period.

And then came the kicker. Professor Maisano reminded us that the whole beginnings of the Renaissance are in the Reformation, when the common man was claiming the right to be able to read and interpret ancient texts for himself. So, if we are to truly understand the time period, shouldn’t we apply the same sort of right to new readers of this early literature?

While I appreciated this sentiment, as it would give me an opportunity to look at this literature with fresh eyes and interpret for myself, I was skeptical. It’s not that I haven’t interpreted things on my own before. I just thought I came to this class to learn all tricks to understanding the literature of the Renaissance.

As I drove to work after class, I thought about this. And I discovered that I probably will still learn those “tricks,” but not by being told them directly, but by journeying with my classmates to discover them anew. Aha! That professor—he’s good!

It also forced me to consider, though, the areas where I’m rather snobbish. I’m all about people reading literature for themselves, but I’m not sure I ever really thought they could discover the importance of said literature without a degree in literature. I’m rethinking that now.

The fabric and yarn snobbery? That’s going to be a little harder to change. I’m a fabric and yarn snob because I figure that if I’m going to spend that much time making something, I want it to last. So, I use high quality yarn and fabric. But, it’s probably time to stop looking down upon those who don’t have the same views on fabric and yarn. Their goals may not be the same as mine, and that doesn’t make them any less valid. Ah, a dialectic!

So, thank you Professor Maisano for beginning to challenge me so early in the semester. These specific challenges may not have been your direct goal, but I suspect they are on the path to the bigger picture you would like me to gain. If I’ve already began to challenge this much in the first week, I look forward to what is to come!

Recently:

• Cutting Valerie to Val
• Vivacious Valerie: When Things Come Full Circle
• Ladybug Girl Grows Up
• When Life Gets in the Way…
• Last Class, Take Two: I’m Already Being Challenged
• First Days…
• Life Imitates Life: It Must Be Friday
• Winters’ Snow
• Creative vs. Artist
• Energy