Writing Workshop Series Highlights Service Offered by Study of Literature

by Jane Stahl

As part of Studio B’s summer “In Service” project, writer and teacher Sandra Williams and I offered a three-part writers’ workshop in which Shakespeare’s Hamlet served us with knowledge and perspectives from which we could examine our lives and learn something.

Loss and Betrayal are the deeply painful “slings and arrows” that Prince Hamlet faces in Shakespeare’s iconic play that involve his father, his uncle, his mother, his girlfriend, and two of his best friends. And more. It’s a lot!

How Hamlet handles the traumatic events throughout the play and suffers the consequences of his actions provides us with examples from which we can learn. And so, in our first session, we shared some of the losses and betrayals that Hamlet and we have experienced. We shared how we handled our losses and betrayals, how we might have handled them differently, and the consequences of our responses.

Assignment: I challenged participants to draft a letter to Hamlet in response to his “To be or not to be” soliloquy—expressing our own disappointments and reactions to the losses and betrayals in our own lives.

The beginning of one response follows:

Dear Hamlet,
You asked of yourself “To be…or not to be.” In the end, I suppose it’s a question of do you stay or do you leave.

I’ve pondered the question in my own life many times. And, for hosts of reasons, I’ve always decided to stay. Today is no different. And yet, there is a difference. I’ve learned a hard truth. I’ve been purposely deceived for decades.

The details of this “betrayal” aren’t important; what’s important to me today is my response. I’m working through the stages of grief—denial, bargaining. Anger? Definitely. And sadness and regret for a lifetime of lost opportunity.

And yet, I find myself in a rather blessed state of acceptance. As you’d counseled Horatio: “The readiness is all.” I guess I am ready...for whatever...and have learned from you: there is nothing more important than serenity.

Advice for Life. In our second session, we used the advice Polonius delivers to his son Laertes to help us recall advice we’ve been given. We found that Polonius’ final advice, “To thine own self be true” was his best advice and has surfaced in our own lives.

LORD POLONIUS

Yet here, Laertes! aboard, aboard, for shame!
The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail,
And you are stay’d for. There; my blessing with thee!
And these few precepts in thy memory
See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportioned thought his act.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch’d, unfledged comrade. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,
Bear’t that the opposed may beware of thee.
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;
Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express’d in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man,
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are of a most select and generous chief in that.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine ownself be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell: my blessing season this in thee

We shared quotes from J. Lubbock--“When we have done our best, we should wait the result in peace";

 Maya Angelou--“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

James Baldwin— “Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is” ~The New York Times; “The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose.” The Fire Next Time; “Those who say ‘It can’t be done,’ are usually interrupted by others doing it.” Notes of a Native Son;

and Marcus Aurelius-- “You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength”; “Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.";“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts”; “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”

Also….

The Optimist Creed
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet,
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Ray Bradbury’s and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s reflections on “Success”:

Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said..
A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made..
Or a garden planted..
Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you're there..
It doesn't matter what you do, he said, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's like you after you take your hands away..
The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching, he said..
The lawn-cutter might just as well not have been there at all..the gardener will be there a lifetime..

~Ray Bradbury

Success
To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate the beauty;
to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better, whether
by a healthy child, a garden patch,
or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Fish Philosophy: 
1. Choose your attitude.
2. Make their day. 
3. Play!
4. Be present. 

John Maxwell and Jim Dornan’s Paradoxical Commandments of Leadership, How to Become a Person of Influence

1. People are illogical, unreasonable and self-centered—love them anyway.

2. If you do good people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives—do good anyway.

3. If you are successful, you will win false friends and real enemies—succeed anyway.

4. The good you do today will perhaps be forgotten tomorrow—do good anyway.

5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable—be honest and drank anyway.

6. The biggest man with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest man with the smallest mind—think big anyway.

7. People favor underdogs but follow hot dogs—fight for the underdogs anyway.

8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight—built anyway.

9. People really need help but may attack you if you help them—help them anyway.

10. Give the world the best that you have and you will get kicked in the teeth—give the world the best that you have anyway.

11. If better is possible than good is not enough.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

— Max Ehrmann, 1927

Assignment: I challenged participants to prepare advice for others--in blank verse—the poetic style Shakespeare used in his 30+ plays--to share during our final session.

Several responses follow:

Craig B wrote…
He tried to be an honest man, compass-
ionate and kind. Forgiving, too (he tried)
In keeping with the classic Golden Rule.
No more than human, now and then he failed
To reach the goal. But when he’s gone, let it
Be said that truly, he did try his best.

Sandra W offered

When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up advice I once was taught.
Let go of holding on to fear and loss.
Change your response and set it all aside
The stress of clinging on to what once was
Will harm your mind and heart and soul in time
So, I have learned to try to live in "now"
In Hamlet’s words, To be or not to be
“Outrageous fortunes,” they will come and go
I will not take up arms when ‘er they call
but suffer them and must keep this in mind--
Remembering that “readiness is all”

Advice offered  to beginning teachers:

You know, my son, that need we share to stoke
Another’s flame to learn what drives their soul
Is dampened oft by day-to-day routine.
Distractions and the pressures that present
Themselves to be most dire get in our way.
We must recall the words that offer us
The patience, most desired, serenity
And peace. “Go placidly, among the noise
And haste”; recall the need for silent hours.
So, too, the best we do is honor them
For who they are, not what they know today.
The “Fish” philosophy will take you far.
Have fun, be present, make their day and play
And always choose an attitude of joy
To be there, ready to deliver that
Which broadens and provides a new idea.
Then smile; you’ve made their day without complaint.
And that, you know, is our true purpose all.

Legacy. In our third session, I posed several questions that my cousin John posed to me years ago: “In five words or less, what would you like folks to say about you when you’re no longer living?” And, “In six words or less, what do you want most in life?”

In the play, Hamlet shares memories of the kingdom’s former jester Yorick—“a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.” We considered how we’d like to be remembered, keeping in mind that others may have different memories of their times with us.

Several responses to how we hope to be remembered: “She showed up.” “She did her best.” “Unobstrusive, but wise.” 

In response to what we want out of life, I recall responding with 6 words: "I want everybody to be happy." Impossible. 

At the end of the play, facing the possibility of losing his life, Hamlet asks his best friend Horatio to share the story of his life and its end --in service to others who may learn to be ready for whatever comes.

As a final assignment, I encouraged the workshop’s participants to choose a struggle in their lives that forced a reaction, an action they took about which they are most proud, one in which their true character was shown. Our “stories” will perhaps appear in future editions of The Expression.

Literature serves us as J.D. Salinger expressed in his novel Catcher in the Rye through advice given to Holden Caulfield by his English teacher as he confronts life’s disappointing elements and people.

Mr. Antolini offers, “Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually just as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You’ll learn from them--if you want to…And it isn’t education. It’s history. It’s poetry.”

Those lines resonated with me as a young person figuring out how life worked. I read a lot and learned from the characters I “met” in the literature. Later, Salinger’s words then served as my mission statement throughout my career as a teacher of literature.

And while it’s been decades since I had a classroom of learners in front of me, the workshop series reminded me perhaps how I have served in life—offering the wisdom of others—found in great literature—that guides us in our quest to live meaningfully with purpose.

As always, we encourage our readers to consider completing the assignments and sending their essays or poetry to The Expression for publication. (janeEstahl2335@gmail.com or leslemisko@aol.com)

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