No Music
Mar 3– From Life of George Herbert (1670) by Izaak Walton
Summary: A biography of a poet/priest.
Commentary: Another odd selection. Walton's most famous work, by far, is The Compleat Angler. I think that'd be a charming diversion from the norm in T5FSOB, and developing a hobby, like fishing, is good for a well-rounded liberal education. Volume 15 isn't even biographically themed (it's got another one of Walton's bios, and The Pilgrim's Progress) so it could've fit right in there. Might be an nice palate cleanser after the relatively heavy allegory in TPP.
Not really a great piece. It's a biography that tells as much about his family as it does him (part of this is due to the part Elliot selected) and it's full of awkward "Now I'm going to tell you about..." intros to sections that're only a paragraph or so long anyway. Complemented by the also common, "I will later write about" it feels like only half the reading is actual content. The inclusion of the love letter and sonnet were a nice touch. A biography-via-correspondence probably exists, and would be neat to read.
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