You must prepare your bosom for his knife,
said Portia to Antonio in which
of Shakespeare’s Comedies? Who killed his wife,
insane with jealousy? And which Scots witch
knew Something wicked this way comes? Who said
Is this a dagger which I see? Which Tragedy?
Whose blade was drawn which led to Tybalt’s death?
To whom did dying Caesar say Et tu? And why?
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark – do you
know what this means? Explain how poetry
pursues the human like the smitten moon
above the weeping, laughing earth; how we
make prayers of it. Nothing will come of nothing:
speak again. Said by which King? You may begin.
Carol Ann Duffy
Printed in The Guardian, 6 September 2008
On December 7, the lunchtime poem was Education for Leisure by Carol Ann Duffy. In 2008, the poem was withdrawn from the school curriculum on the grounds it incited knife violence. Today’s poem is the poet’s response.
Duffy points out the instances of violence in the plays of Shakespeare, many of which are still studied at school. How effective is the argument Duffy makes? Is the education curriculum the best place for dealing with complex issues like knife crime? Is poetry the right format for difficult subjects? Share your thoughts by using the comment feature.
This is the last lunchtime poem for 2016. We’ll be back in January with more poetry for your mid-week consumption. In the meantime, seasonal greetings and the very best of wishes for a peaceful new year.
I had not really read Carol Ann Duffy till you – till that – and this
and now
smitten.
Totally in love.
She has a way with
words.
With breath – and life – and love.
Poetry pursues…
Pursued
i am
caught.
Thank you!! Peace and joy – for Christmas and for 2017
2016? Well – that WAS knife crime!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you found some resonance Sandra; Early CA Duffy poems like Warming Her Pearls https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/56715 are exquisite while for me,. Prayer is a perfect and very clever sonnet http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ni/2009/05/carol_ann_duffys_prayer.html
As a collection, I would recommend Rapture https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rapture-Carol-Ann-Duffy/dp/0330433911 the story of a love affair from the beginning to after the end. Oops, that’s three weeks lunches all in one comment – still, it is Christmas!
Have a lovely seasonal time 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Reblogged this on Becoming An Educationalist and commented:
#becomingeducational Christmas 2016
Wishing you all peace and joy – and oh – some hope!!
For Christmas – and for 2017.
Take a pause from the catching up – from the frenzy – from the movies and the box sets (oh – please let me get all six series of The Walking Dead!! – now *that’s christmassy!!).
Take a break
From mince pies and hangovers…
And enjoy this poem – and reflect – on life – love – education – passion…
All those good things.
😀
All the best,
LikeLiked by 1 person