There are a few things I'd like to say; whether you have the time to read them or not, it's completely up to you.
1. This year has been incredible. I truly mean that. And I think that all of us can agree. Yes, we've had our ups and downs and we've had the ephemeral torture of attempting to cram into our heads all of the things requisite for the exam. However, learning - and I attribute a lot of credit to Mr Barlow for the way he taught us - this year, I think, has definitely paid off. We may never remember some of those tedious critics ever again; albeit the voices of Arnold Weinstein and Ralph Allen Cohen will certainly never leave my mind! Regardless of this, we will remember the texts, and we will remember the great ideas expressed. As John F. Kennedy once said, "A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on."
Philosophers have some great ideas; but writers - novelists, playwrights, screenwriters, poets, lyricists - know how to present great ideas.
"We are the music-makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams." (Arthur O'Shaughnessy)
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| Code of Hammurabi |
2. It doesn't end here: literature hasn't ended for thousands of years. Preceding great texts like the Bible, we have the engravings of ancient civilisations; the code of Hammurabi in ancient Babylonian civilisation, or the Rosetta Stone of the ancient Egyptians. And even further we delve into history, noting the greatness of the oral tradition, of language - that strange stringing of phonetics on a huge evolutionary scale - itself. The point is: our quest for knowledge in the world of English literature did not end yesterday at exactly 3:00 pm. It hardly ended at all. I came out of that exam thinking, "Thank God, this is it!" (only because writing frantically for 5 hours and coming close to developing a kind of rheumatism in one's fingers seems to make one feel that way), but later on, whilst having coffee with Joshua in Romford, I thought to myself, "How stupid a thing to say." This certainly is not it.
3. So, what now? An abundance of things hopefully. I don't want jump into what kinds of things you could do yet because this is about you broadening your horizons. What are you really into? You don't have to buy a library to continue in your literary quest... although you could pop down to the library for a little quiet read every now and then.
But say you're more for the visuals than the reading: as Mr Barlow rightly pointed out, William Blake's work is being displayed at the Tate Britain! Along with the L. S. Lowry exhibition for those Lowry fans...
I will be reading George Eliot's Middlemarch this year, among other novels; I will also be attempting to write my own novel this July, as a part of the National Novel Writing Month (abbreviated: NaNoWriMo). That's 31 days of novel writing! But even just for your own pleasure... write, write, write!
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| George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) |
It's always good to have motivation when you write: my incentives to write last year were my grandparents, who have always been supportive of my literary ambitions; one has passed away since then, and I think of her every time I go back to writing, thinking of how proud she would have been of what I accomplish.
Personal motivation is good for you, no matter what you will be doing. I know that Jack and Ellie, the artists of the class, have their own personal motivations when they offer something new to the wonderful world of art. Joshua will have his motivation of a need for justice behind him as he studies to become a lawyer! Daniel will have his motivation of the mystery of consciousness to be uncovered as he embarks on his psychology degree at UCL.
No matter what you do, remember that to keep yourself focused, you need motivation. Whatever that motivation is; that is down to you.
Thank you Mr Barlow for teaching us and for having the idea of creating this great means of conveying our own literary ideas.
Thank you to everyone in the class for such a great year. I'll see you all at the boat party!
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