You forget the ordinary
TGIF, world, TGIF. It was my last German Romance class today, which made me kind of sad. It was fun, though; Prof. S. brought pastries and juice and stuff, and we pretty much just sat around and chatted. A couple guys in the class talked about their papers, we argued about film adaptations of Beowulf and King Arthur stories, we talked about the quarter system....it was just fun. Teaching went okay today, too. The presentations today were quite good--some of those kids are pretty good actors. I got all the papers graded, even their in-class compositions, and then I pulled a brief Jeopardy game out of my ass that took up all the remaining time. I also introduced one of my students to Rifftrax, which is to say that she ranted in her in-class composition about how much Twilight sucked, I wrote "rifftrax.com" in the margins, she said, "What's rifftrax.com?" To which I said, "Have you ever seen Mystery Science Theatre 3000?" She had not. I finally said, a bit awkwardly, "They make fun of movies." Sometimes I feel I have an excess of nerdiness. Eh. Whatever, my students already probably think I'm a loser, what's a little more loser-ness on the pile?
So! Poetry! I'm jumping forward, like, seven hundred years, to some gnomic verses from the Exeter book. What can I say, I just have a thing for wisdom literature.
Frost shall freeze
fire eat wood
earth shall breed
ice shall bridge
water a shield wear.
One shall break
frost's fetters
free the grain
from wonder-lock
--One who all can.
Winter shall wane
fair weather come again
the sun-warmed summer!
The sound unstill
the deep dead wave
is darkest longest.
Holly shall to the pyre
hoard be scattered
when the body's numb.
Name is best.
A king shall win
a queen with goods
beakers, bracelets.
Both must first
be kind with gifts.
Courage must wax
war-mood in the man,
the woman grow up
beloved among her people,
be light of mood
hold close a rune-word
be roomy-hearted
at hoard-share and horse-giving.
When the hall drinks
she shall always and everywhere
before any company
greet first
the father of aethelings
with the first draught
--deft to his hand she
holds the horn--
and when they are at home together,
know the right way
to run their household.
The ship must be nailed
the shield framed
from the light linden.
But how loving the welcome
of the Frisian wife
when floats offshore
the keel come home again!
She calls him within walls,
her own husband
--hull's at anchor!--
washes salt-stains
from his stiff shirt
brings out clothes
fresh and clean
for her lord on land again.
Love's need is met.
Its gender roles are pretty 10th century, but what can I say, it's got a nice turn of phrase. A propos of nothing, I just finished watching Mostly Martha, and the actress playing the main character's boss is named "Sibylle Canonica." That is a fantastic name.
So! Poetry! I'm jumping forward, like, seven hundred years, to some gnomic verses from the Exeter book. What can I say, I just have a thing for wisdom literature.
Frost shall freeze
fire eat wood
earth shall breed
ice shall bridge
water a shield wear.
One shall break
frost's fetters
free the grain
from wonder-lock
--One who all can.
Winter shall wane
fair weather come again
the sun-warmed summer!
The sound unstill
the deep dead wave
is darkest longest.
Holly shall to the pyre
hoard be scattered
when the body's numb.
Name is best.
A king shall win
a queen with goods
beakers, bracelets.
Both must first
be kind with gifts.
Courage must wax
war-mood in the man,
the woman grow up
beloved among her people,
be light of mood
hold close a rune-word
be roomy-hearted
at hoard-share and horse-giving.
When the hall drinks
she shall always and everywhere
before any company
greet first
the father of aethelings
with the first draught
--deft to his hand she
holds the horn--
and when they are at home together,
know the right way
to run their household.
The ship must be nailed
the shield framed
from the light linden.
But how loving the welcome
of the Frisian wife
when floats offshore
the keel come home again!
She calls him within walls,
her own husband
--hull's at anchor!--
washes salt-stains
from his stiff shirt
brings out clothes
fresh and clean
for her lord on land again.
Love's need is met.
Its gender roles are pretty 10th century, but what can I say, it's got a nice turn of phrase. A propos of nothing, I just finished watching Mostly Martha, and the actress playing the main character's boss is named "Sibylle Canonica." That is a fantastic name.