LITTLE GIDDING AND SHAKESPEARE REVIEW
Title: Little Gidding and Shakespeare Review
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Counsels of the dead master in Little Gidding II
The dead master gives the writer a series of counsels, connected with a person growing older. As one becomes wiser, beauty loses its meaning, or is not perceived in quite the same way it as in the earlier days. The dead master laments the lack of interest in enchantment. By this, the poet may mean that while beauty remains the same, with age, the mind is more discerning. People who are wiser will be able to see beyond the physical beauty, and not be distracted by it. Things such as a person’s character, their personal inclinations, and other qualities will have a more defining role on how a wise man perceives another, without reliance on the first impression, mainly physical.
Over time, things that used to amuse or interest a person lose their allure. Things that were once interesting, or that were done in enthusiasm, are looked at with less interest, or even seen as follies. The dead master advises that, as one becomes older, what impresses or amuses the person will be different. This could perhaps be due to the reason that the person has an enriched sense of life, having been through so much. With such experience, the individual will have a different set of criteria to consider when assessing whether an experience is worth the time, whether something is sensible, and other such decisions. This could also be tied to the fact that with wisdom, a person’s perception and appreciation of things is more profound.
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Johnson and Shakespeare’s imperishable fame
One of the passages in the poem that shows an attempt by Johnson to have Shakespeare achieve immortality is “My Shakespeare, rise! I will not lodge thee by; Chaucer, or Spenser, or bid Beaumont lie; A little further, to make thee a room: Thou art a monument without a tomb; and art alive still while thy book doth live.” The passage implies that Shakespeare need not a tomb, nor do Chaucer or Spenser need to make room for him. In a sense, through the body of his work, Shakespeare is still alive. As long as this work is there, and appreciated by the people, Shakespeare will always be glorified.
Another passage is “But stay, I see thee in the hemisphere; Advanc'd, and made a constellation there!” Here, Johnson seems to suggest that Shakespeare, after his death, gains immortality by becoming a constellation of stars, to forever be present amongst men, but on a higher level than them. Johnson also aimed to marry Shakespeare with the idea that he was an authentic Englishman, by quoting the River Thames and “Sweet Swan of Avon in the preceding lines.
In life, people are judged not only by the way, they live, but also by who praises them. Johnson gives the example of a matron being praised by a bawd, which would actually damage the matron’s reputation. Shakespeare suffers from no such ill fortune, however. “But thou art proof against them, and indeed, Above th' ill fortune of them, or the need.” Any praise, even bad, cannot do anything to the legend and legacy of William Shakespeare. He has been immortalized by his own exploits, and reached a level that few other men can achieve – there can never be any negativity that will cast aspersions on the name of Shakespeare. He has truly achieved imperishable fame and glory.
