And so we arrive, fellow banterers, to preparing for our twelfth night: Sunday, May 15, 7pm. Thank you warmly for this.
A little historical context on the term (likely quite unrelated to our 12th banter, but fun nonetheless, after our topic tonight):
The title Twelfth Night, or What You Will, prepares the audience for its jovial feel of festivities consisting of drink, dance, and giving in to general self-indulgence. "Twelfth Night" is a reference to the twelfth night after Christmas Day, called the Eve of the Feast of Epiphany. It was originally a Catholic holiday but, prior to Shakespeare's play, had become a day of revelry. Servants often dressed up as their masters, men as women and so forth. The Twelfth Night marked the end of a winter festival that started on All Hallows Eve — now more commonly known as Halloween. The Lord of Misrule symbolized the world turning upside down. On this day the King and all those who were high would become the peasants and vice versa. At the beginning of the Twelfth Night festival, a cake that contained a bean was eaten. The person who found the bean would rule the feast. Midnight signaled the end of his rule and the world would return to normal.
Any or all of the above is welcome to be brought into our 12th banter as you like. Some of it may fit in nicely with our topic, actually. Not to worry, it is not more Shakespeare:The title Twelfth Night, or What You Will, prepares the audience for its jovial feel of festivities consisting of drink, dance, and giving in to general self-indulgence. "Twelfth Night" is a reference to the twelfth night after Christmas Day, called the Eve of the Feast of Epiphany. It was originally a Catholic holiday but, prior to Shakespeare's play, had become a day of revelry. Servants often dressed up as their masters, men as women and so forth. The Twelfth Night marked the end of a winter festival that started on All Hallows Eve — now more commonly known as Halloween. The Lord of Misrule symbolized the world turning upside down. On this day the King and all those who were high would become the peasants and vice versa. At the beginning of the Twelfth Night festival, a cake that contained a bean was eaten. The person who found the bean would rule the feast. Midnight signaled the end of his rule and the world would return to normal.
Topic: Human Nature (the exceedingly narrow subject, as Mike put it)
Task: Contemplate Human Nature. Is it ruled by the Lord of Misrule, or isn't it? Perhaps it is altruistic at its base? Perhaps loving, compassionate? Perhaps pack-animalesque? Does Human Nature straddle cultural and historical contexts? Or not? Try to find a source (a poem, essay, article, piece of fiction, podcast, song, piece of art, excel spreadsheet, scribbled on sticky note dropped in the street, etc.) that reflects your take on human nature (please pick one), including any questions you have for the group & email it to me by April 22nd. I'll then put everyone's bits and pieces into a document and email it to the group for prep reading.
Most cordially,
Sabine
No comments:
Post a Comment