I am a retired English teacher. I taught for 39 years all over the world – in the UK, Africa, South America and Vietnam. My greatest love in English teaching was teaching Shakespeare and poetry. I often reflect on the epiphany I had in 6th form, which turned me into a Shakespeare- and
From a very early age I had been bookish. Starting with Enid Blytons ‘Secret Seven, I had worked my way through the Greek and Norse myths, Rosemary Sutcliff, Ian Fleming, Dennis Wheatley, H.P. Lovecraft and innumerable books about UFOs and the occult. Our English teacher, ‘Sooty Coleman, encouraged us to keep a log of all the books we read, and I remember his dismay at my appetite for books about weird phenomena.
That was the first phase of my reading life. I had not yet discovered ‘serious literature or poetry. My literary epiphany happened when I was 17, studying for ‘A level English. The text that did it, that made everything I had previously read seem rather thin, was Shakespeares The Winters Tale. I had read Henry 1V Part 1 for ‘O level but that hadnt inspired me. Perhaps Id been too young or the
It was the language that did it. Not the story or the characters but the words. Shakespeares use of English struck me as absolutely wonderful. I borrowed the Argo LP recording of The Winters Tale from the school library and played it over and over in my bedroom, savouring the exquisite speeches. Having professional actors read it aloud added an extra dimension. I liked the little phrase meaning pregnant: ‘big with child. I loved Polixenes description of Perdita as a ‘fresh piece of excellent witchcraft. I found Leontes insanely jealous soliloquies, culminating in the ‘Nothing speech, thrilling. Shakespeare had hooked me. Never before had I heard such powerful language.
My appreciation of The Winters Tale was deepened by a school trip to Stratford to watch Trevor Nunns brilliant production, starring Judy Dench, Barry Ingham and Richard Pasco.
From then on I became a serious student of literature. All my reading had hitherto been prose, but now I devoured poetry: Shakespeare, Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney, Philip Larkin, Gerard Manley Hopkins, W. B. Yeats.
I reread The Winters Tale a year ago and it had lost none of its magic. But the excitement of hearing it for the first time on those old Argo records will stay with me forever.
