Bad Classics?

[bumblepudding]

In his book on Ben Jonson, Algernon Charles Swinburne opines that the former's celebrated Cary-Morrison Ode-- in which Jonson mourns the death of Henry Morison and celebrates his former friendship with the poem's addressee, Lucius Cary-- is not "even a tolerably good" poem, and distinguishes one stanza in particular as "eccentrically execrable."

Comments

[callunav]

One of my favorite English professors in college often swore he was going to teach a course entitled, "Shakespeare's Turkeys." I think Two Gentlemen of Verona was on the syllabus, and I forget what else. It was very entertaining - and liberating - to posit. I hope he actually did it.

[bumblepudding]

I would certainly take that course. :)

[drastic]

I forget where I heard it, but I enjoyed it: "Shakespeare is the Elvis of English literature." Talented, sure, but aggressively marketed with a sort of reputation feedback loop that warps spacetime around it.

Plus, I like to think if that analogy really caught on, it would lead to a sequel to "Bubba Ho-Tep" in which Elvis ends up stumbling into a time machine, and the plot twists just so such that he has to team up with Shakespeare in order to battle supernatural threats. Shakespeare's lines would need to all be written and delivered in iambic pentameter, of course.

[bumblepudding]

If Elvis and Shakespeare get involved in a time-travel adventure, then I think it should work out that Shakespeare actually pens "Jailhouse Rock." Or maybe "Viva Las Vegas." Or even better--

"Hey, Bill. Uh-huh... what's that on yer feet there?"

"Mean'st thou these shoes of blue? Methinks they're suede."

"Thos're right pretty. Gets me to thinkin'."