Dr. White continues his discussion of the results of incompetence in authority figures as represented in Measure for Measure, showing how the corruption of their society affects the characters, especially Isabella, who seeks refuge in the restraint and order of a convent. The character of Claudio is discussed as “the only sane and sensible character in the play.” Dr. White discusses the biblical references and Christian imagery in the play, and proves it to be, in one sense a Christmas play. Special attention is given to Isabella’s decision to grant forgiveness to the man who wronged her, bringing the idea of Mary’s Fiat to the play’s climax and resolution. The lecture closes with a few thoughts on Shakespeare’s Catholicism and Dr. White’s conviction that, in the words of a contemporary Protestant minister, “Master Shakespeare died a Papist.”
In this, part one of Dr. White’s first discussion of Macbeth, he reveals that there were dozens of strange stories and myths surrounding this particular Shakespeare tragedy. He goes on to set the stage with a brief background comparing the different characteristics of tragedy vs. comedy; then details Shakespeare’s Catholic heritage and how it influenced the spiritual conflict that is a part of all the poet’s great tragedies.
Dr. White continues his first session on Macbeth with a discussion of how the characters are seemingly living in the future as the action of the play unfolds. Interspersing his commentary with well-practiced readings, Dr. White explores man’s role as the preserver of moral order, and how that role is blurred as it is surrendered to Lady Macbeth. Then he proceeds to dissect the actions and motivations of the play’s characters.
In this first part of his second session on Macbeth, Dr. White discusses the legends and myths that have surrounded the play throughout the theater world. To many, Macbeth was not just a Scottish tragedy but a curse. White admits to not teaching this play as often as the other Shakespeare tragedies because of it darkness and association with evil. Then he segues into the “poetry” of the play and a detailed explanation of the meter of its most famous passage.
Concluding Part Two of his commentary on Macbeth, Dr. White continues his discussion of the poetic meter of the play’s most famous passage: “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow…” He describes it as a perfect example of meaning and sound coming together in a literary work and attributes it to Shakespeare’s genius; and makes reference to the same device being used in other of the poet’s plays such as Hamlet and Anthony and Cleopatra. An amazing exhibition, White says, coming from a writer with only an eighth-grade education.
The pilgrims assembled come from all sections of medieval life: the knight class (fighters), the priest class (prayer) and the working class. Before the trip begins, the pilgrim (Chaucer) talks to all of the pilgrims as a prologue to their tale later in the story. He describes in detail about each of them: their clothing, their manner of speech, their table manners. These descriptions give us a good external view of them, but only the exterior. We must learn to look past the externals. In each of the tales that are included, the tale matches the teller. He begins with the member in the group with the highest social standing, the knight, and the first of the tales that will be told. And he concludes with the parson, who will tell the last story. It is his story that leads the pilgrims to Canterbury. Good literature has two purposes: to entertain and to teach. The Canterbury Tales is tales within a tale. We are amused, shocked, provoked to thought, and moved by the tales. We are entertained. We are also taught virtue, humility, and the dark side of man. We are educated; we extract a kernel of knowledge from each story.
