If you happen to have noticed that I haven’t been around much lately, I do apologize. I keep thinking that I can make this space a priority but the reality is that most of the time, I can’t right now. I am deep into my Master’s degree at the moment. In fact, I am spending my summer preparing for my final two classes and writing my thesis. It has been the most exhausting and exhilarating experience of my life!
I am getting my Master’s in classical education, and specifically in literature. This means I have had to do an awful lot of reading over the past two years–with plenty more to come this fall, when I tackle both Children’s Literature and Drama while also doing the preliminary research for my thesis. Not to mention spending time with my daughter who will be a senior this fall, teaching my middle child to drive, directing Challenge 1, doing school with the youngest, etc. It’s going to be a very VERY intense fifteen weeks around our house. But we all know that, we all agreed to it together and we are all doing what we can to prepare for it.
For me, that looks like freezer cooking, decluttering the house, and doing ALL the assigned reading now so that I can just review it this fall. I’m not a fast reader–and I am especially slow when I “have to” read something. Doing it over the summer will take a lot of the pressure off of me. I highlight like a madwoman so I can just review my highlights and carry on.
Anyway, all of that and I haven’t even gotten to my point yet. Sometimes I have to read something that intimidates me. And if you are trying to give your kids a classical education when you yourself have not had one, I am sure you understand what I mean! This past semester I had to read The Odyssey for the first time and I was scared to death. This fall I have to read Doctor Faustus and some other rather intimidating-sounding titles. Sometimes I start to panic. And then I remember, we’ve been teaching our kids how to approach intimidating-sounding material classically for years! It’s time to do the same for myself! So here is what I’ve come up with for how to approach classical literature and the specific things I found for Doctor Faustus that helped me out. My plan is to add more to this series and share what I did to approach each one.
Step 1: Watch the play (if it is a play, that is!)
Here’s the thing. No playwright has ever intended people to sit down and read the script. The script is for the actor. You were expected to WATCH the story unfold before your eyes. So watch the play. Do not feel guilty. Do not think you are cheating! It’s a play! This was the intention. What you MIGHT want to do is keep the script in front of you in case there were major edits done, but honestly, even that is not necessary in step one.
For Doctor Faustus, I enjoyed this one: Bethany Lutheran College presents the Spiritual Tragedy of Doctor Faustus.