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“Ubi Sunt” in “The Wanderer”

“The Wanderer” from 1818 by Caspar David Friedrich

The theme of isolation dominates The Wanderer. Most of the poem gives the reader insight into the mind of a man suffering great sorrow because of the death of his family and comrades. He spends his days in a painful exile, reflecting on the life he once had — an exile forced upon him by an unfortunate and horrible turn of events. “The Wanderer” is considered a wisdom poem in that the poet achieves true insight: in this case into the degeneration of earthly goodness. From start to finish, it follows what is known as the “ubi sunt” motif: in other words it tries to answer the question, where are they?

Al Green – “I Want to Hold Your Hand”

Al Green, who sang the best Beatles cover ever.

Al Green: I Want To Hold Your Hand
From 7″ (Hi, 1969)
This is a very obscure song, at least this version of it, which originally came out on 7″. I’ve spoken to several soul fans about this song, but no one I met ever heard it. Suffice it to say this is what the old folks call “fly.”

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Soul for The Beatles

With the release this week of the remastered Beatles catalog on 09/09/09, Your English Class is celebrating the Beatles by picking some of my favorite Beatles tunes as covered by soul artists. Not everyone likes covers (especially The Beatles), but writing songs with universal appeal was a large part of why they were successful. So this week I’ll be presenting some of the heavy hitters of soul and their takes on the Fab Four.

Smokey Robinson And The Miracles: And I Love Her
From What Love Has…Joined Together, (Motown, 1970)
We begin with one of the earliest songs ever covered, “And I Love Her.” This song is beautiful in its own right, and here we find Smokey Robinson and The Miracles dosing out heartbreaking background harmonizing. The backup singing is the glue that holds this rendition together. Great song!

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Making a Pledge

About five years ago I had a student who absolutely refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. He said it was something he felt he couldn’t be compelled to do. Legally, he was right. A student cannot be compelled to say the Pledge. However, he does have to stand because that’s considered a school function, like getting out of your desk when the bell rings. But concerning the Pledge, what he took for granted was that I was like the vast majority of teachers in this country who have never served a single day in the military. (Why the white middle class has abdicated its duty of military service is another subject.) The fact is I’m a veteran and proud of it, and I wasn’t going to let this snot-nose kid think our patriotic rituals are optional. But my attempts to get him to stand for the flag were futile. He simply refused. And that was that.

I got an Assistant Principle to intervene, but he was worse than useless. The kid seemed more adamant in his determination to defy me. He remained seated. I called his mom. She was furious and read her son the riot act when he got home. He remained seated. So I had a talk with him outside. I explained that one day he’d come to understand that school was just a game which some students have figured out how to play it to their advantage. I told him he was playing the role of a fool because the game was now turned to his disadvantage. One day, I said, he’d come to understand the words behind the Pledge. He thought I was crazy.

As it turns out, I recently received an email from him. He’s now in the military, stationed in Korea. He wrote the following:

Maybe to help you remember i was a blue-haired punk rocker who wouldn’t stand for the flag. Ha. Anyways , it’s funny . . . I’m in the United States Army serving as infantry stationed in South Korea. Life is full of irony, isn’t it? Anyways, you were a great teacher, you were. Thanks a lot. I wish I would have paid more attention in class. Ha, but that’s life. Thank you, Mr. Fasano.

What is Literature?

My students might be surprised to know that using English literature as a focus of instruction is a relatively new concept. In England and America prior to the 20th century, literature classes were mostly about studying the  Bible or reading Latin and Greek texts. Believe it or not, it was India, under the British empire, that was the first country to have English literature instruction.

Today, most students think that literature is old, stuffy poems and stories found in school literature textbooks. They may never consider the fact that literature can come from the most surprising places, and that even stoned-out headbangers are quite skilled at reciting long English Romantic poems and never missing a beat or a word. See YouTube video.

Over the weekend, I want my seniors to think about what literature is exactly. How do they define it? And how do they think our concept of literature is changing?