I am Don Quixote

If Dr. Sexon is right, that the world is divided into pragmatic Sancho Panzas and idealistic Don Quixotes, I must confess that I am a Don Quixote. Every book that I love, I wish I could jump into like Mary Poppins into a chalk painting. Every time I read Gone with the Wind, I get the urge to wear corsets and hoop skirts, to waltz and flirt. I get so emersed in the books that I love, that I wish my emersion was literal. If I could, I would become a part of my favorite books. I would attentd Gatsby's parties, walk the halls of Hogwarts, interview Grace of Margaret Attwood's Alias Grace, watch the bull fights with Jake, from The Sun Also Rises. That's what I consider moving literature, when I am so involved with the pages that I would give anything to live them. I'm sure this is how Don Quixote felt, it's just that he believed that he could live them!

Don Quixote

First Part, Chapter XIV, pg. 99

"Moreover, you must consider that I did not choose the beauty I have, and, such as it is, heaven gave it to me freely, without my requesting or choosing it. And just as the viper does not deserve to be blamed for its venom, although it kills, since it was gven the venom by nature, I do not deserve to be reproved for being beautiful, for beauty in the chaste woman is like a distant fire or sharp-edged sword: they do not burn or cut the person who does not approach them."

I love this entire page, and only relayed a small part of Marcela's self-defense. But, for it's early publication, this is a profoundly feminist argument that doesn't seem to be mocked or satirized by Cervantes or the other characters. This is another example of the low-mimetic in Don Quixote: the chaste virgins, the beautiful damsels, they can be victims, but they can also be criminizlied just as Marcela is because of their beauty. Beauty was considered a curse, a test, in the more strict Christian sects, and it was a woman's fault to be beautiful. In the low-mimetic, life-like version of the story, men are held accountable for their lusts. Even Don Quixote...

Don Quixote and the Low Mimetic

Maybe it's just taken me the entire semester for this to click, but I had a light-bulb moment about 200 pages into Don Q: the novel, while it contains all four seasons, is basically a low-mimetic account of a romantic knight's journey.
I knew that Don Quixote lived in the low-mimetic phase and that he dreamed of the Romantic...but I think this goes beyond what was said in class...or my idea is exactly what Dr. Sexon said, I just didn't put it together until Sancho and Don Q spen 1 paragraph getting their butts kicked and the next page and a half lying in the field discussing how badly they are hurt and whether to seek revenge against their assailants for the damage done.
The novel spends as much time or more talking about how much wine Sancho drinks, whether or not Don Q sleeps, and how hungry they are as it does about their adventures and conflicts. It's humorous because Don Quixote doesn't know if knights errant are allowed to sleep because he's never read an account of it: by definition Romance does not concern it's self with the mundane events of life like the Low-mimetic does.
so, my appologies if this is simply a repetition of a point that has been made all semester long, but I gained a new perspective reading instead of simply listening to the genius insights of Dr. Sexson.

Don Q Cartoon

You know you are contributing part of culture when you have your own cartoon and theme song, several hundred years after you star in a big-ass book.
check it out for a laugh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4tFzD13hmc&feature=related

Don Quixote

First Part, Chapter VI, pg. 52
"'I would shed [tears] myself,' said the priest when he heard the name, 'if I had sent sucha book to be burned, because its author was one of the famous poets on only of Spain but of the world, and he had great success in translating some fables by Ovid."

I guess I touched upon this in my last passage, but who the author is seems to be of great importance to the priest. Authors are often made into something marketable, whether they fit it or not. Authors who have had success are expected to maintain it: Steven King, anyone? I can only recall a few things he's written, but I would expect certain things of his novels. What about Dan Brown...anything besides a history/thriller would throw me off, and maybe I wouldn't like it because it conflicted with what I wanted. But to stay on track. The Author's name alone, whether any information is known or not, influences readers.

Don Quixote

First Part, Chapter VI, pg 51
"'By the orders I recieved,' said the priest, 'since Apollo was Apollo, and the muses muses, and the poets poets, no book as amusing or nonsensical has ever been written, and since, in its way, it is the best and most unusual book of its kind that has seen the light of day, anyone who has not read it can assume that he has never read anything entertaining. Giv it to me, friend, for I value finding it more than if I were given a cassock of rich Florentine cloth.'"

This passage gives credit to the classical myths and authors...which is still done today. (Anyone read Homer's Odyssey lately?) This is part of the European tradition of literature, and adorns the hightest spot on our chart as Myth. But in this passage the priest/critic is also praising entertaintment, which he seemed to discourage earlier in the chapter. Is it a different case because he finds it entertaining? It seems that this chapter is painting the critic as being influenced chiefly by his or her personal taste...and I wonder if it is possible to escape opinion when reviewing any piece.

Don Quixote

First Part, Chapter VI, pg. 47
"'The author of that book,' said the priest, 'was the same one who composed Garden of Flowers, and the truth is I can't decide which of the two is more true, or should I say, less false; all I can say is that this one goes to the corral, because it is silly and arrogant.'"

I know we've talked about chapter six in reference to censorship, but I wanted to look at it again. I found the scene very comical, whereas censorship usually irks me to no end. But it is also declaring a larger Truth about literature, that it should be more true, less silly and arrogant. But the priest is imposing a value on Don Quixote's books. It is a tragedy that many fine books get lost in the mean time.

Don Quixote

First Part, Chapter V, pg. 43
"'I know who I am' replied Don Quixote, 'and I know I can be not only those I have mentioned but the Twelve Peers of France as well, and even all the nine paragons of Fame, for my deeds will surpass all those they performed , together or singly.'"

As for me, I wish I had the confidence of Don Quixote. I liked the sound of this passage, first of all, then I read the footnotes, telling me of the knights to whom Don Quixote compared himself. The farmer is correcting Don Quixote's identity, but really, only an individual can know one's self. This part gave his character a lucidity for me, depth to the Don surrounded in madness. Even if there seems to be no distinction between himself and the fictional (I think) knights that appeared in The Song of Roland. This is another example of Don Quixote making his own reality, which is seen as insane by his family, by everyone. For me, that's the best part of this novel; I root for him, although he's a little crazy, because few else do.

Don Quixote

Part I, Chap V, pg. 41
"and his madness made him recall that of Valdovinos and the Marquis of Mantua, when Carloto left him wounded in the highlands, a history know to children, acknowleged by youths, celerated, and even believed by the old, and despite all this, no truer than the miracles of Mohammed."

This passage reminded me of the idea of innocence that we often talk about in class, that children can understand something and believe it and not be hindered by what is real. The valliant Don Quixote has the same child-like innocence, but because he believes the stories, they are real to him. That's why he begins to recite the ballad of the "wounded Knight of the Wood". But by reciting the ballad, and being a wounded knight, he becomes the original "wounded Knight". By participating in the fictional histories of his knights he is making the fantasy real.

Melody

Are there different kinds of the sublime? Because my Song of the Moment, the song that I've been listening to over and over lately, well, I still don't know all of the words. So silly question: is poetry really about the words? Essentially, poems need words, but the emotion that is brings out in you is what makes any piece a personal touchstone. I might have chosen my first touchstone, the dream-banter from Romeo and Juliet, because of the way it sounds in the Baz Lurhman movie. I understand Chris' touchstone, because sound, melody, rhythm can reach the sublime, maybe easier, than any words can. The right words can trigger those emotions, but music is almost easier because it requires no translation, it speakes directly to the sublime.
Some musc that are Touchstones:
Seven Year Ache, by Roseanne Cash
Panch and Lefty, by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggerd
"The poets tell how Pancho fell
And Lefty's living, in cheep motels
The deserts quiet, and Clevland's cold
So the story end's we're told
Pancho needs your prayers it's true
But save a few for Lefty too
He only did what he had to do
And now he's growing old"
And writing the words, I know that I can't possibly translate the real poetry that is in the quiver of Merle Haggerd's voice in addition to his words.

Also, the Classical Techno Remix of the matrix theme song...but I think I love it for the piano solo.

Clapton's Layla, for the music part, though, more than any lyrics.

What's in a name?

I guess Mathew Arnold's argument that poetry can replace religion doesn't seem very radical to me. It's logical, if passion for poetry can be logical (which I don't think it can. It's emotional). If I can generalize about the way in which the Hebrew Bible was meant to be read, it's a collection of stories. Some are instructive, some are allagorical, but some are just beautiful. I'm not religious, but I can appreciate the beautiful poetry of a culture.
My touchstone passages are those because I can't help but think of them, sometimes once a day. Or sometimes I forget about them for a long time, but every time I read them, whether it's the second time or the hundreth, I'm moved. I think that's what church is supposed to do for you, once a week or month or year you feel moved by your expereince there. I wouldn't know. But poetry moves me, the rhythm of words moves me, the cadence can be comforting.
Sometimes it's the words, other times it's just the idea of beauty or strenght that it creates.
Here's another one:
Kubla Khan, the first and last stanza

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A Stately pleasure dome decree:
Where Alph the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to the sunless sea...

That sunny dome! Those caves of ice!
And all who heard should see them there
And all should cry Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes! His floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread,
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the mild of paradise

Yet Another Touchstone Passage

I'm not just trying to add up my blog posts, I swear. This assignment was exciting for me, because so many of these books are a part of me, of what I think, and I want to share it with Dr. Sexson and the class.
After taking Intro to Classical Lit. with Dr. Sexson, and hearing him recite the opening passage of Lolita to us, I had to go out and buy the book. I like the book, but I love the opening passage. And I still hear Dr. Sexson's voice reading it...

"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tounge taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.
"She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing fourfeet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was alsway Lolita."

Another Touchstone (#3)

From: The Great Gatsby

"And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown, world, I thought of Gatsby's wonder when he first picke out the green light at the end of Daisy's dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night.
"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther...And one fine morning--
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

I've read this novel several times, and the first time, I was pretty young and I didn't quite understand the didactic quality of the ending. But I liked it, it sounded nice. And as far as it's didacticism, that changes every time I read it, but no matter how old I am, I still love the ending passage.

Touchstone #2

The entire book of Peter Pan could be one of my touchstones, but I'll only select a few passages.

"She was a lovely lady, with a romantic mind and such a sweet mocking mouth. Her romantic mind was like the tiny boxes, one within the other, that come from the puzzling East, however many you discover there is always one more; and her sweet mocking mouth had one kiss on it that Wendy could never get, though there it was, perfectly conspicuous in the right-hand corner."

"Stars are beautiful, but they may not take an active part in anything, they must just look on for ever. It is apunishment put on them for some thing they did so long ago that no star now knows what it was. So the older ones have become glassy-eyed and seldom speak (winking is the star language), but the little ones still wonder."

My Touchstone(s). #1

Yes, there are several. but I can't help it. As soon as I tried to think of poetry, or pieces of poetic prose, I thought of more. Here are some, and I'm sure that this list will be added to:

From Shakespeare's Rome and Juliet:
r: I dreamt a dream tonight
m: well so did I!
r: and what was yours?
m: that dreamers often lie
r: in bed asleep while they do dream things true
m: then I see queen mab hath been with you

Although it's been years, since my freshman year of high school, since I've read the play, and even though my copy is on my bookshelf in Colorado, I thought of this passage. It's memorized, actually. Which I'm pretty proud of considering my struggles with Idea of Order in Key West

Dover Beach by Mathew Arnold

The sea is calm to-night.The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand;
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.

Sophocles long ago
Heard it on the A gaean, and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.

The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.

Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.