Greetings & Welcome

I heart on-topic procrastination. When I'm in the stacks collecting research materials for a paper or project, I end up thumbing through just as many books that don't deal with my topic as those that do. My hope is that when you're doing work in the library or your dorm room and you hit that threshold where the words blur together on the page, you can take a few minutes away and check out this blog.

My aim is to write frequently, with informative but digestable portions of material on Shakespeare and the Renaissance. Hopefully the posts help your thought process regarding the plays we're reading and the culture we're exploring.

That said, there's a quote in the blog description above: "O this learning, what a thing it is!" It's spoken by Gremio, an older and unattractive suitor to the young and desirable Bianca in "The Taming of the Shrew." Like many single lines from Shakespeare taken out of their context, it seems a pearl of wisdom penned by a literary master. On one level, it is. But Gremio is set up as a pathetic character, duped by another who desires Bianca. (Lots of Shakespearean wisdom comes from his most dubious characters, which is interesting). When Gremio expresses his admiration for scholarly learning, Grumio, another character, says in an aside, "O this woodcock, what an ass it is!" A woodcock is a bird that's easily caught, or one who is proverbially stupid (Bevington note).

Typical of Shakespeare, we are given multiple perspectives to evaluate simultaneously. Rarely does the playwright depict a character or explore a theme in a one-dimensional or literal way. Characters and thematic concerns are dynamic, shifting, and blend together qualities of love and hate, understanding and ignorance, etc. Gremio appreciates and marvels at the skill that another character, Lucentio, possesses. He comes out with the great one liner- "O this learning, what a thing it is!" Lucentio's intellectual prowess, however, is a disguise, so Gremio appreciates something that's not really there--something purely performative. Furthermore, Gremio on one level admits his limited knowledge, and when Grumio replies, "O this woodcock, what an ass it is," he is suggesting that the streams of Gremio’s ignorance run that much deeper. He is literally saying, "Gremio, you have no idea, buddy..."

Of course we should also notice the repetition in the phrases; it's a similarity with a difference.

Gremio: O this learning, what a thing it is!
Grumio [aside]: O this woodcock, what an ass it is!

Though the utterances are phrased similarly, their content is dissimilar. Shakespeare's great at playing characters off each other rhetorically.

So, welcome to English 221. Always feel free to post responses or questions. Here's to a good semester.