Platypus of Truth

  Then, ere that last weird battle in the west, “The last weird battle in the west” or “the battle in the west” will become a recurring motif in both “The Passing of Arthur” and “To The Queen.”  Merlin has already predicted this battle in “Merlin and Vivian” where he gave it the ominous title of “world war.”  With Arthur’s Camelot serving as an allegory for Victoria’s England, these passages then become arrestingly prophetic as we remember the destruction of the Victorian achievement on the fields of France in World War I.  Beyond this, Arthur’s last battle takes place in the west, not the north as in Nennius, and thus plays into Tennyson’s seasonal and day imagery.  Throughout “The Idylls of the King” we find Tennyson playing with the seasons, the hours of the day, and time.  The whole work moves through the seasons from spring to winter.  Arthur wages twelve great battles and there are twelve idylls, one for each hour of the day (there are none for ...

I've just wrapped up Tennyson's "Idylls of the King" with my seniors.  As I have quite number of thoughts to share, I thought I would try something rather ambitious.  I am going to attempt over the next few posts to gloss final poem in the series "The Passing of Arthur."  We'll see how it goes. That story which the bold Sir Bedivere, First made and latest left of all the knights, Told, when the man was no more than a voice In the white winter of his age, to those With whom he dwelt, new faces, other minds. The opening of “The Passing of Arthur” stands in marked contrast with the previous idyll “Guinevere.”  In “Guinevere” we see both Arthur and the Queen passing into myth while the opening to “The Passing of Arthur” claims to be an eye-witness testimony.  In his role as the last eyewitness to great events that are rapidly passing into myth, Bedivere serves as a sort of John the Evangelist.  John sets down his account to save a historical Jesus f...

My questions were not all answered.  That's par for the course when dealing with anime.  Most anime is based on manga.  That means that an immense amount of plot and character development from a 24+ volume series must be condensed into 24 30 minute episodes.  In many cases, the anime is produced before the manga is even finished.  Thus, not having a satisfactory conclusion to an anime series is par for the course.  Most times, I accept this and shrug it off.  In the case of "Trinity Blood," however, I found its incomplete ending oddly fitting.  Let me explain. "Trinity Blood" is chiefly about brokenness.  The ending song with its chorus of "my broken wings" gives it away.  The setting, a post-apocalyptic Europe, gives it away as well.  In fact, every one of the characters in the world of "Trinity Blood" is broken in some way.  We see a young Pope, broken by the political machinations of his older siblings.  We see a y...

*All Images Copyright James R. Harrington 2011

I'm back in Tennyson --with seniors this time.  The higher grade level means that we can go even deeper than we did last year.  It also means that I feel more comfortable teaching it my way with free-wheeling associations galore.  I've brought up Kennedy's Camelot, Bob Dylan (The Times They Are a Changein'), Simon and Garfunkel (The Sound of Silence), The Band Perry (If I Die Young), Hellboy (The Wild Hunt, and The Storm), and "The Lord of The Rings."  Showing the students Mignola's re-telling of the story of Nimue and Merlin right when they were reading through Tennyson's "Merlin and Vivian" was priceless.  I also enjoy any chance I get to read passages from Tolkien out loud.  Fun times.

I always enjoy getting a pile of new books at Christmas and this past year has been no exception.  In the midst of the pile, were two books by two of my favorite historians: Jonathan D. Spence and Barry Strauss. I first encountered Spence in grad school during a Historiography class.  We were looking at historical methodology and Spence's "Treason by the Book" was on the table.  It was a fascinating read; written like a novel and yet methodologically pure.  It even had a deftly inserted discussion of lexicographical transmission in early Ching China.  To boil down what impressed me: the book was both good art and good history. I didn't encounter Barry Strauss until I had been out of grad school for a few years.  I was going through a Victor Davis-Hanson phase (oh whatever shall we do with the Xenophon of Selma?) and noticed that he had a buddy over at Cornell.  That, and a Harvard catalog, led me to pick up a copy of "The Trojan War" by Barry Strau...