Howdy, folks! I've been busy reading John Gay's The Beggar's Opera (1728) for school this past week. I actually performed a scene from this play with two classmates in an undergrad-level class that was, in fact, taught by the same professor. I played Polly Peachum, a young Englishwoman in a rather, um, unconventional marriage. I was informed Thursday night that I'm now famous for said perfomance. LOL!
I'm also beginning preliminary research for my thesis prospectus, which is due in December. I've decided to write about the Brook Farm Experiment-- a gathering of 19th-century American writers with a Utopian vision that took place in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, from 1841 to 1846. One of these writers was Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter (1850) and The House of the Seven Gables (1851). Hawthorne, a native of infamous town Salem, Massachusetts, was actually the great-great-grandson of Judge John Hathorne, who presided over the 1692 Salem Witch Trials (which are a good example of why we need separation of church and state, as well as balance between the worldly and religious realms). Anyway, Hawthorne added the "w" to his last name, presumably in order to distance himself from his ancestor's participation in this horrific Puritan hysteria. Earlier today, I saw a Travel Channel show called Mysterious Journeys: The Witches of Salem that delved into all this. (How's that for creepy, Halloween-themed stuff?)
Oh, BTW, I've pushed that review/discussion of The Libertine back a few more days. I'll get it on here eventually, though.
Well, until our next forum, peace, love, & happiness in all of life's endeavors.
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