London has been a total blast thus far. I studied abroad a few years ago in Ireland, and believed that when it came to the grandeur of a new place, I had already seen it all. I am a graduated senior who majored in English. I chose to come back to Europe because of the wonderful and life-changing experience I had a few years ago. My favourite part about London so far was seeing the place where Virginia Woolf wrote "To the Lighthouse". I read this modernist novel as a part of my British Literature II course. I can honestly say that I'm amazed of how much we have done in the first two days alone. Maybe I am judging it a little bit too early, but being here for the past few days has reignited my drive to really charge after life unabashedly. Simply put, I did not expect to return to Europe anytime soon, let alone London. Another really interesting part of these past two days has been experiencing the little things, like the interactions of people. Today, we as a CSS group start a play called "The Mousetrap", which was about a murder mystery. Now, when I first heard the synopsis of this place I thought that it was going to be high drama, and it wasn't. However, I really appreciate the fact that it wasn't high drama. This particular play that we started a made me appreciate the mode of civil storytelling without all of the dramatics involved. That's why I appreciate writers like Virginia Woolf, because artists like those really understand the human mind and how humans are very complex expecially with their emotions. This has only been Day 2, and I can't even begin to imagine how the rest of the 3 weeks will turn out.
I think it's super interesting how many places have statues, plaques, and other signage indicating the historical significance of the location but at the same time our Shakespeare tour guide mentioned that he feels famous locations related to Shakespeare are underrepresented. I wonder how they decide which places are noted, if it's a city-wide decision with committees and votes or if it's just the current owners of buildings marking it with the information. I feel like in my experience, which is rather limited, I don't see a lot of this in the U.S. where as here I've seen something on about every block. Maybe I just haven't traveled enough in the U.S. or maybe we just don't mark things as frequently and clearly as they do in London.
ReplyDeleteTo comment on your curiosity about plaques and statues in America Taylor, I believe it's a combination of what each city committee decides is significant and how low-key the plaques and statues are. Take Duluth and Milwaukee, for example. I can say after living in both cities that each have differing ideas about how local art and famous locations should be recognized. The main one being that history and heritage are either thrown in your face in delightful pride (Milwaukee), or only brought up if it relates to the subject because when it does relate it's obviously of some importance (Duluth). But that's just been my experience, and I expect that someone else has a different viewpoint.
ReplyDeleteI love your enthusiasm about Virginia Woolf! I never read Woolf until my Literature of London class and loved reading Mrs. Dalloway. I think she is a great modern writer! I think that Woolf's writing is a great reflection of the London mindset but does reflect human nature as well. I noticed this a lot in Mrs. Dalloway when the characters are reflecting on age and death. This is no just a reflection of London people, everyone in the world thinks about aging and death because it is human nature. Yet, she gives a picture of what the mindset of Londoners was like after World War I. The way Woolf can reflect human nature and one specific culture at the same time in one novel is brilliant!
ReplyDeleteSemaj, I love how excited you are about everything Virginia Woolf in London! It must be really neat to compare your experience in London thus far to the experience you had in Dublin. How do the cultures compare and more important how does the literature compare? I enjoyed seeing the park where Woolf gained inspiration for her work, though the times and circumstances are drastically different it feels like we are seeing the world through her eyes in that moment. Hopefully we are able to see more areas that inspired great works!
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