Reverence, Irreverance & Blasphemy

Rao Veluri (rveluri@smtpgate.anl.gov)
Mon, 23 Jun 97 17:00:54 CST 

     Friends:
     
     About four weeks ago, when the topic "Who's a Poet?" 
     was discussed, dissected and torn apart, in one of the
     posts there was a reference to Shakespeare, Milton, etc.
     I many be wrong, but the 'inference' I could draw from
     this reference was simply this: that some of us derive
     a sort of 'vicarious' pleasure in taking frequent
     'pot shots' at our great revered classics, where as the
     present day English literature enthusiasts accept their 
     classics as they were and are not bothered with them in
     their 'comtemporary' writings.      
     
     This year two 'scholarly' studies were published on the 
     good old Bill. One deals with Shakespeare's treatment of
     Jews (a very old theme, beaten to death by umpteen
     'non-amateur' pundits!) and the nit-picking and hair pulling
     arguments about the real significance of the 'pound of flesh,'
     from what part of the body, the Reniassance beliefs about Jews,
     the circumcision, and even an 'erudite' discussion on the
     Geneva Bible and the meaning of 'flesh' therein!
     James Shapiro spends a good 317 pages on this in his book
     "Shakespeare and the Jews." Another study deals with impersonations, 
     cross-dressing, and in general the performance of gender in 
     Shakespeare's England. It goes into the usage of the word 'eunuch'
     (Twelfth Night) and etymological suggestions on the word Cesario
     and 'cut'! This 179-page book is by Steven Orgel.
     
     True! These were definitely 'scholarly studies' since they were 
     published by Cambridge University Press and Columbia University
     Press. Not certainly posted in Telusa or SCIT by some
     irascible nit-wit!!
     
     Another interesting book is the recent "pot shots" work by 
     Norman Mailer, on who else, but Jesus! The book entitled The 
     Gospel According to the Son has received reviews ranging from 
     'rave to raw.' All Mailer does is to present a nice fellow, 
     who hears  instructions from the Almighty, who sometimes loses
     temper, looks confused, and confuses others, worries about a lot of 
     things, contradicts himself, and so on and so forth! Just like any 
     other human being; a very concerned human being at that! IMHO,
     Jesus has been neatly 'un-deified' and beautifully 'humanized' 
     in this work. 
     
     Say something like that about any of our  ancient poets,
     prophets or'deities,'-- our great commoners of yore, who have been 
     elevated to the House of Lords;- you would be "branded" 
     and castigated immediately by our resident scholars that pretend
     to be the preservers of our ancient wisdom in tact!  
     
     Finally, this post on books about Shakespeare is based on the
     reviews I have read. I had the pleasure of reading 
     Mailer's "Gospel" which I have thoroughly enjoyed! After 
     reading it, I haven't lost an iota of my respect and
     reverence to Jesus.
     
     Regards.
     
     V R Veluri